More musicals to rock Manila

MANILA, Philippines — More big musicals will hit the Philippine stage after Andrew Lloyd Webber’s The Phantom of the Opera.

Matilda and We Will Rock You are some of the Broadway or West End productions that Lunchbox Theatrical Productions CEO James Cundall has been eyeing to bring to Manila next. But what has been set to date is the international (return) tour of CATS in November, School of Rock next year and then Love Never Dies, the sequel to The Phantom of the Opera which added one final week to its current Manila run.

Produced by Lunchbox, brought here by Concertus Manila and presented by PLDT and Smart, The Phantom is now playing at The Theatre at Solaire until April 7. It was first and last staged here at the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) in 2012. “Why (bring back) Phantom and why CATS, which is our next one? These two shows, I think, they’re most wonderful,” Cundall told The STAR at a recent media call.  

“I think the Manila audience is a very mature audience. They appreciate musicals more than anyone in Asia. We started in many markets and we return the very big shows in every five or six years because there’s a new audience coming through all the time. There’s the younger people that didn’t go (the first time), there’s older people that didn’t go,” he added, recalling that they also flew Wicked to Manila twice.

Ten years ago, when Lunchbox began to bring shows to the country with local partners led by Concertus Manila, it made its Philippine debut with CATS starring Lea Salonga. The upcoming CATS has been confirmed to feature Joanna Ampil. She played Grizabella the Glamour Cat in the musical’s UK and European tour in 2013 to 2014 and the world tour from 2017 to 2018.

In a previous interview, the award-winning actress and West End star said she’s excited about doing CATS because it’s an opportunity “to do something for the country.”

As for the 2020 tour of School of Rock, “that would come out of Australia; it’s the one that’s been on Broadway and West End,” Cundall said. “We’re also working on Love Never Dies to come here, which is the sequel to Phantom. It’s a very big show. So, what we’re trying to do is bring you the very best shows in the world.” 

There was a plan to stage We Will Rock You, the rock musical based on the music of the iconic British band Queen, here in 2015 but that fell through. With the box-office success and critical acclaim of the 2018 film about Queen, Bohemian Rhapsody, there’s keen interest to finally tour the musical here. “We’re working on that actually,” said Cundall, who had worked with Queen members in the past. “That would happen. There are five or six shows we’re working over here.”

The international tour of CATS, which is coming to Manila in November, will star Joanna Ampil

The STAR learned that the British producer, a former successful banker who ventured into theater in the ‘90s to build Lunchbox into this leading producer of live entertainment in Australasia, is a descendant of Henry Cundall, said to be one of the closest associates of Shakespeare. It was Brian May, lead guitarist of Queen, who traced that ancestry and revealed it to Cundall. “(Brian May) was that one person who told me I was related to Henry Cundall… and obviously, (Queen drummer) Roger Taylor, and didn’t they do well (at the Academy Awards) with four Oscars? That has been a passion for them; it took them eight to 10 years to make that show.”

When asked about any plans to bring Miss Saigon — which is forever special to Pinoys with Lea originating the lead role Kim and succeeded by other Pinays including Joanna — as well as the West End hit Harry Potter and The Cursed Child to Manila, Cundall said, “I think, all the big shows will eventually keep coming here. We want to bring Matilda here. We brought that in Singapore and we want to bring that here maybe in two years. Harry Potter just opened in Melbourne. Well, I think that would be a very, very long time. But there’s plenty of shows over the next five years.”

Cundall said their new productions mostly start in Manila before moving on to other countries, like the 2016 Asian tour of Les Misérables kicked off in Manila. Phantom heads to Israel next that the recent media call was attended by Israeli press.

“(Cast and crew) got a lovely time rehearsing here and all credit to the Philippines for being able to satisfy Broadway creative teams,” he said. “I don’t think Filipinos should get on an airplane and go somewhere else. I think you should be able to see the very best shows in this country.”

Meanwhile, producers are happy that The Phantom has been opening to packed houses and standing ovations. The ongoing season brings back Jonathan Roxmouth — the South African actor was first cast in the title role during the CCP show — as the disfigured musical genius who falls hopelessly in love with a beautiful soprano Christine (Meghan Picerno) who in turn is in love with Raoul (Matt Leisy).

The production has a total of 130 cast and crew, including Pinoy musicians hired for the orchestra under the baton of David Rogers. “In this show and in all of Andrew Lloyd Webber shows, the orchestra is a key component and it is a major player as the actors, so are the orchestra members,” said music supervisor Kristen Blodgette. “Here in Manila, we’re fortunate to carry with us five members of the orchestra, and they travel with us. The rest is made from professionals who are Manila-based and I can tell you, it has been a major, major joy to be with these people. And they have set a really high bar for us as we continue.” 

For tickets, log on to ticketworld.com.ph.