The musical We Will Rock You comes to Manila
THE MUSICAL We Will Rock You will be coming to Manila on Oct. 27 to Nov. 20, with performances at the newly constructed Samsung Performing Arts Theater in Circuit Makati. The new reimagined production is directed and choreographed by Olivier Award nominee Nick Winston. We Will Rock You follows two revolutionaries as they try to save rock ‘n’ roll in a post-apocalyptic world. In an age where algorithms predict our every preference, We Will Rock You is a fist-pumping, foot-stomping anthem to individuality. “The original production has been seen by over 16 million people worldwide. We can’t think of a better title to come back with after such a long intermission — and there is no better place to launch the show than the Philippines. We know Filipino audiences love Queen and Queen music,” GMG Productions CEO and We Will Rock You producer Carlos Candal said in a statement. The production features 24 of Queen’s biggest hits, including “Under Pressure,” “We Are the Champions,” “Radio Ga Ga,” “Bohemian Rhapsody,” “Another One Bites the Dust,” and “We Will Rock You.” We Will Rock You is produced by Selladoor Worldwide, Carlos Candal, Gavin Kalin Productions, Limelight Productions and ShowTime Management South Africa. GMG newsletter subscribers get to enjoy exclusive offers available on June 1 (visit the website www.gmg-productions.com/manila). The Three-Price-Tuesdays offers theater goers a single price per level of the new Samsung Performing Arts Theater. Ticket prices will be from P1,800 with a special ticket offer for Tuesdays at P1,000. Tickets go on sale on June 6 at ticketworld.com.ph or 8891-9999.
The M pays tribute to National Artist Larry Alcala
AT THE HEIGHT of his career, Larry Alcala was part of every Filipino’s life with his slice-of-life cartoons. The common and endearing subjects and scenes portrayed by Alcala are a fitting celebration and offering for National Heritage Month, with its theme “Pamanang Lokal: Binhi ng Kulturang Pilipino.” The exhibit “Larry Alcala: Slices of Life, Wit, and Humor” opened at the SMX Convention Center Aura in Bonifacio Global City, Taguig on May 31. The exhibition features a collection of archival reproductions of Alcala’s works alongside works in drawing, print, and digital media of selected artists influenced by Larry Alcala, including members of the organization Ang Illustrador Ng Kabataan (INK), which thrives to this day. The exhibition at the SMX Aura is complemented by the M’s education and public programs from June to July: an M Collab participatory project, inviting 18- to 25-year-old participants to share “à la Alcala” digital art contributions online. An online conversation, M Art Inspires on June 4 will feature insights and stories from illustrator and UP Professor Ruben “Totet” de Jesus, visual artist-illustrator Aldy Aguirre, and writer-speaker Carl Javier. At the end of June, young artists will be invited to join the M Online Studio Studies, storytelling through comics and illustration workshop with visual artist-cartoonist Manix Abrera. “Larry Alcala: Slices of Life, Wit, and Humor” will be on view until June 6 at Function Hall 1, SMX Convention Center Aura, SM Aura Premier, Bonifacio Global City, Taguig. For more information, send an e-mail to info@metmuseum.ph.
ArtistSpace presents Katrina Cuenca’s solo exhibit
“THROUGH The Looking Glass,” a solo exhibition of works by Katrina Cuenca is ongoing until June 13 at the Ayala Museum’s ArtistSpace. The multi-sensorial show, organized by Pinto Art Museum, highlights the artist’s commitment not to describing the world, but to creating an alternate magical realm to it. While referencing Lewis Carroll’s literary masterpiece, Through the Looking Glass provides a subtler introduction to phantasmagoria in which the viewer, just like Alice, may frolic and take everything in: sculptural biomorphic forms appearing to waver and undulate, paintings responding to light in a multiplicity of ways, flashes of projection swimming onto the gallery walls, and a scent in the air evoking a memory of a garden full of flowers as soft music plays in the background. By tapping all the senses of the viewer, Cuenca envisions a portal that is both a respite and an escape through which anyone may enter. Ayala Museum is located at the corner of Makati Avenue and De la Rosa Street in Greenbelt Park, Makati.
NCCA Composition Prize deadline extended
THE NATIONAL Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) has extended the deadline for submission of scores for the 2022 NCCA Composition Prize until June 30. The NCCA Composition Prize is a biennial award given to deserving composers of concert hall music. The award is open to all Filipino composers, of legal age at the time of the submission. Submitted compositions must be unpublished and unperformed until the award is given. Likewise, these compositions should not have been awarded a prize from any award-giving body. The categories and prizes for this year are as follows: Solo piano (P100,000); Standard Chamber Orchestra (P150,000); Standard Full Orchestra (P250,000); and Symphonic Band (P250,000). For more information, complete guidelines, and the entry form, visit https://ncca.gov.ph/…/2022compositionprizecallforscores/.
10 new artists in Crimson Boracay Arts in Youth Program
AS part of its ongoing commitment to becoming both a world-class resort as well as a center for the arts and humanities on the island of Boracay, Crimson Resort and Spa Boracay recently introduced 10 young local artists currently being nurtured under its Arts in Youth program. Under the tutelage of the resort’s General Manager Patrick Manthe and Artist in Residence Eric Egualada, these young artists are being encouraged to make the most of their imagination and creativity to make pieces that are both visually striking and thought-provoking. Egualada selected youngsters with advanced skills in drawing and painting. Several participants have also proven themselves with regard to poster-making, portraiture, and simple landscape painting. This batch created works using a realist color scheme under a number of themes, including Flowers in Watercolor, and was introduced to concepts like the separation of positive and negative spaces in visual art, as well as how to break down and compose organic and geometric shapes in colors and figures. They also participated in a live painting activity at the Katungan Itibajai Mangrove glade at the Bungan-Bungan cold spring in Aklan. The works of Crimson Boracay’s second batch of Arts in Youth participants are currently being exhibited at the resort. Visit www.crimsonhotel.com or follow @CrimsonBoracay on Facebook and Instagram for more information.
New movie book on saving the world
PENGUIN Random House SEA has released the book Movies to Save Our World by Kenneth Paul Tan. It is a critical reflection on the power of moviemaking to shape our collective imagination of better futures. Through a close analysis of more than 70 popular documentaries and feature movies from around the world, produced in the 21st century, this book explores the theme of poverty, inequality, ecological degradation, and revolutionary change, all associated with a contemporary crisis of neoliberal globalization in a world where it has become so pervasive. Profit rules, while poverty and inequality make the political ground fertile for populist manipulation. By returning power to the people, healthier forms of populism can lead the way to the progressive revolutionary change that enriches democracy and corrects social injustice. The book urges progressive moviemakers to take advantage of advancements in digital technologies and to collaborate, in post-pandemic times, with educators to develop public deliberation skills and inspire a new generation of informed and compassionate change-makers. The author, Kenneth Paul Tan, is a tenured Professor at Hong Kong Baptist University. He teaches and conducts interdisciplinary research at the Academy of Film, the Department of Journalism, and the Department of Government and International Studies.
Urban artist Taxa creates mural in Hong Kong
TO CELEBRATE the latest gifting campaign of Johnnie Walker Blue Label, award-winning Japanese artist Taxa has created an original mural that was unveiled at the heart of Hong Kong on Aberdeen Street, across from PMQ. The mural marks the launch of a limited-edition gift set curated by Johnnie Walker Blue Label and glassmaker Riedel. The gift set contains two of Riedel’s glasses carefully selected to pair with Johnnie Walker Blue Label. The striking outline of a heart is at the center of the mural, whilst within the layers of his art, are symbols of Johnnie Walker’s characteristics and icons such as visual representations of the flavors and aromas expressed with abstract florals and bee. A subtle but distinct glimpse of wood is also used to symbolize the casks in which the whisky is aged, while a silhouette of a pair of faces expresses the depth of a relationship when gifting from the heart.