Around GMA

Article Inside Page

After almost three decades of closure and disrepair, the newly-conserved Metropolitan Theater is set to get a new lease on life this October 24 as the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) stages the musical Lapulapu, Ang Datu ng Mactan as the venue's first theatrical production in 25 years.

The NCCA made the announcement on its Facebook page, saying that the production is part of the Quincentennial Commemorations in the Philippines, the Year of Filipino Pre-Colonial Ancestors, and the National Indigenous Peoples' Month.

The staging of Lapulapu, Ang Datu ng Mactan is a welcome development for the eventual full reopening of the Metropolitan Theater. The theater was initially set to reopen in June of this year but was forced to reschedule due to the global coronavirus pandemic.

In its post, the NCCA said Lapulapu, Ang Datu ng Mactan will cover historical events like the Victory at Mactan in 1521, the circumnavigation of the world, and the arrival of Christianity in the Philippines.

Lapulapu, Ang Datu ng Mactan will be directed by University of the Philippines (UP) Professor Dexter M. Santos, whose previous musicals include Ang Huling El Bimbo and Orosman at Zafira. Award-winning poet and lawyer Nicolas B. Pichay wrote the musical's libretto, while Krina Cayabyab set it to music. Stephen Viñas and Kenneth Torres are the show's choreographers.

Cast members include Arman Ferrer as Lapulapu, Andre Tiangco as Ferdinand Magellan, Red Nuestroas as Rajah Humabon, and Cara Barredo as Reyna Juana. Also in the cast are Natasha Cabrera as Babaylan, Paw Castillo as Enrique de Malacca, Robert Barbers as Juan Sebastian de Elcano, Al Gatmaitan as Antonio Pigafetta, and Ivan Niccolo Nery as Papa Alexander XI and Padre Pedro de Valderrama.

Also participating in the productions is former Miss Universe and NCCA Arts Ambassador Catriona Gray.

While an audience will be unable to watch Lapulapu, Ang Datu ng Mactan in the Metropolitan Theater itself, the production will be streamed on the Facebook page of The Metropolitan Theater, and will be cross-posted on the pages of the NCCA, Radio Television Malacañang (RTVM), Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO), the NHCP, the NQC, and other partner institutions' official Facebook pages.

Check out the newly-conserved Metropolitan Theater in the gallery below.