True blue Manileños, recent transplants, and visitors to our city all know — there is never a lack of things to do in Manila. This is Coconuts Manila’s guide to all things good and great happening over the coming weekend. Peruse it, take note of everything that interests you, and hit us up on our Facebook page or on Twitter @CoconutsManila to sound off on what you think.
Catch an alt romcom stage play that tries to sort out real and make-believe feelings
Date: Feb. 7, Friday to March 1, Sunday
Venue: Greenbelt Onstage Theater, Greenbelt 1, Makati City
Sarah Ruhl’s Stage Kiss kicks off Repertory Philippines’ 2020 season at the Greenbelt Onstage Theater in Makati. The 2014 New York Times critic’s pick follows an out-of-work actress (referred to simply as “She”) auditioning for a lead role after coming off a decade-long acting hiatus. She wins the role, only to find out that the actor who’s playing her lover in the melodrama stage play is her real-life former flame.
She has a husband, and he has a girlfriend, but as the play points out, what happens when former lovers share a “stage kiss”? Should be an emotional and entertaining ride.
This local adaptation is directed by filmmaker Carlitos Siguion-Reyna and headlined by Missy Maramara and Robby Guevarra.
Tickets are priced from PHP1,000 (US$20) to PHP2,000 (US$40), and are available on Ticketworld’s website.
See a multi-story interwoven play addressing how Filipinos live with HIV
Date: Feb. 7, Friday to March 22, Sunday
Venue: Philippine Educational Theater Association, 5 Sunnyside Drive, New Manila, Quezon City
Under My Skin puts a spotlight on Filipinos living with HIV, as taken from writer Rody Vera’s personal experience with the viral illness through friends and loved ones. The stories he collected are woven into this drama of fictional characters who experiencing the very real hardships of those living with the illness.
The play follows an epidemiologist studying HIV, an online gamer who finds out he is HIV positive after contracting tuberculosis, a mother who discovers that she’s passed the virus to her young son after contracting it from her husband, and a gay beauty parlor employee who’s suing his employer for discriminating against people with HIV.
Vera has said he plans to raise awareness about the issue by writing multiple stories to show that HIV is not “just a ‘gay’ disease.” The play is directed by Melvin Lee and features a mix of veteran and up-and-coming film and theater actors including Cherry Pie Picache, Miguel Almendras, Gio Gahol, Mico Esquivel, and many others.
Tickets range from PHP800 (US$600) to PHP1,800 (US$35), and are available on Ticketworld’s website.
Catch the Manila leg of this Grammy-winning a capella group’s world tour
Date: Feb. 8, Saturday
Venue: Smart Araneta Coliseum, General Roxas Avenue, Cubao, Quezon City
Three-time Grammy-Award-winning a capella group Pentatonix is having a one-night-only performance for Manila fans this Saturday as part of their 2020 World Tour.
The renowned pop chorale boasts almost 17 million subscribers on YouTube, and has racked up a total of 4 billion video views. Their purely vocal-driven, sans-instruments hits like Mary, Did You Know?, Hallelujah, and Can’t Sleep Love are sure to send Pinoy fans into a sing-along frenzy, if that’s your cup of tea.
Tickets run from PHP840 (US$17) to PHP6,825 (US$134), and are available on Ticketnet’s website.
Catch this South Korean boy band’s ‘Ode To You’ Valentine’s month tour
Date: Feb. 8, Saturday
Venue: SM Mall of Asia Arena, Mall of Asia Complex, J.W. Diokno Blvd, Pasay City
South Korean boy band Seventeen, the 13-man group beloved by perpetually young-at-heart fans, is back in Manila after four long years to perform this Saturday at the SM Mall of Asia Arena for their “Ode to You” World Tour.
S.Coups, Jeonghan, Joshua, Jun, Hoshi, Wonwoo, Woozi, The8, Mingyu, DK, Seungkwan, Vernon, and Dino are set to bust out some pyrotechnic dance moves for Pinoy fans just in time for Valentine’s, serenading their following with their third album, An Ode, which has conquered the music charts since its release five months ago. (It sold over 160,000 within just 24 hours after its release!)
Tickets range from PHP 2,120 (US$41) to PHP15,900 (US$313), and are available on SM Tickets’ website.
Catch this Midwest emo rock band from Minnesota
Date: Feb. 9, Sunday
Venue: Skydome, SM North EDSA, North Avenue, Quezon City
Rounding out this weekend’s foreign acts performing in Manila is Minnesota’s Tiny Moving Parts. The three-piece Midwest emo band last visited the country in September 2018, and are back with fresh tunes off their new album Breathe.
The self-professed “family rock band,” with five albums and a decade of music experience under their belt, is composed of brothers Matt and Billy Chevalier, and Dylan Mattheisen, all of whom will be playing hits like Caution, Always Focused, and Warm Hand Splash at the SM Skydome. Gates open at 6pm and the show starts at 8pm.
Tickets cost PHP1,555 (US$30), and are available on SM Tickets’ website.
Read more about places to see in the metro here.
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