Will people from the provinces flock to Metro Manila this March to watch the musicals and straight plays whose previews and opening nights are raved by reviewers, showbiz journos and vloggers?

Or are the live entertainment-loving Metro Manilans more than enough to keep stage play production companies profitable? It’s still rare for live entertainment to be regularly moved from Metro Manila to the provincial cities.

The opening night at PETA Theater of the stage adaptation of Jun Lana’s 2015 film Anino sa Likod ng Buwan was described by PEP.ph’s Troika columnists as “star-studded” in attendance even as it has a cast of only three actors who are well-known in indie films and in medium-sized theater offerings. 

Those three are Elora Españo, Martin del Rosario and Ross Pesigan. They were not the stars of the critically acclaimed film: LJ Reyes, Luis Alandy and Anthony Falcon. 

The Troika spotted in the audience of the 300-seater PETA Theater in Quezon City balikbayan Hilda Koronel, Jackielou Blanco, Cherie Pie Picache, Vice Ganda, Eugene Domingo, Gladys Reyes,  National Artist for Film and Broadcast Ricky Lee, Denise Esteban, Tanya Gomez, Angellie Sanoy, Sharmaine Arnaiz, Barbara Miguel, Shun Mark Gomez and Janina Mendoza.

The film’s writer Jun Lana was in the audience, too, and expressed his admiration for the stage production directed by Tux Retaquio. 

Lana posted on X (formerly Twitter) Vice Ganda’s complete fascination for the play expressed entirely and lengthily in Filipino. The main host of ABS-CBN It’s Showtime as blurting: “Ang lala ng experience ko (My experience was intense). I was super in awe. Yung ganung pagtataka (That kind of wonderment).

“Sabi ko, isa ito sa pinakamagagandang napanood ko na performances, kasama na yung mga pelikula at sa mga napanood ko sa telebisyon I said, this is one of the best performances I have seen, including those I have watched on TV or the movies).

“After watching this play, grabe yung pagsaludo ko, yung respeto ko, yung paghanga ko sa talent, sa brilliance, sa passion, sa discipline, sa dignidad, sa talino nung mga actors na pinanood ko (After watching this play, I salute all, my respect and admiration for the talent, brilliance, passion, disciple, dignity and intelligence to the actors I saw)....”

“Grabe! Ang taas-taas ng pagtingin ko sa kanilang lahat (I look highly on them all)!” 

On the other hand, the Troika quoted Gladys Reyes as intoning after watching: “Grabe! Malala, matapang! Kung mahina-hina ka, baka di mo kayanin (Wow! Serious, brave! If you’re a little weak, you may not be able to take it)!

“Unang eksena pa lang, todo na! Ang tindi nyo (From the first scene alone, it was intense. You were intense), Joel (Del Rosario), Nardo (Pesigan), at Emma (Españo).”

Lana himself raved on his Instagram: “...It felt like a culmination of years of shared stories and trust. It was a raw, beautiful unfolding, an emotional rollercoaster from start to finish. To everyone who joined us, thank you for making it truly magical... 

“To Elora, Ross and Martin, your performances were breathtaking. And to Tuxqs, your vision made this brave, mind-blowing production a reality.”

The audience clapped loudly and gave the play a standing ovation. 

Anino sa Likod ng Buwan will run on weekends until 23 March.

Political, more than sexual

In its report on the play’s opening day, the Troika did not highlight the 15-minute sex scene between Españo and Del Rosario, which the Troika did when they covered the preview some weeks ago at Ateneo’s Doreen Fernandez Blackbox which is way bigger than PETA Theater. Troika’s Gerry Olea mightily announced that Del Rosario exposed the trunk of his most private part. (Olea didn’t mention any action of that kind from Del Rosario on opening night.)

The play is actually political, more than sexual. Del Rosario’s role is that of a supposedly friendly soldier who belongs to a troop that has driven away the residents of a village so the soldiers can corner the alleged dissidents there. 

The miserable hut that Españo and Del Rosario occupy is merely assigned to them and they are not allowed to go out of the hut night, pushing them into extreme boredom and Españo into the forceful embrace of Del Rosario. 

Another stage adaptation of a film is opening on 7 March: Kisapmata, originally helmed by Mike de Leon. The venue is Tanghalang Ignacio Gimenez, CCP Complex. 

A production of Tanghalang Pilipino, the play headlines Jonathan Tadioan, Lhorvie Nuevo-Tadioan, Toni Go-Yadao and Marco Viaña, the theater company’s resident actors. 

Adaptation and direction by Guelan Varela-Luarca with the Tanghalang Pilipino Actors Company.

The 1981 film starred Charito Solis, Jay Ilagan, Vic Silayan and Charo Santos. The story deals with incest.