Care Divas Tops the 1st MyFABE Theater Awards

The musical comedy-drama Care Divas topped the 1st MyFABE Theater awards winning five awards - Best Musical, Best Director - Musical for Maribel Legarda, Best Actor Musical for Melvin Lee, Best Supporting Actor Musical for Ricci Chan and Best Songbook for Vincent de Jesus.

This year's Best Play, Bawal Tumawid Nakamamatay won four awards - including Best Director for Joey Paras who also won Best Script, and Best Actress in a Play for Kiki Baento.

The surprise of the night was the four awards for 39 Steps.  They got two acting awards for Liza Infante (Best Supporting Actress in a Play) and for Juliene Mendoza (Best Supporting Actor in a Play).  They also grabbed two technical awards - Best Costume Design and Best Production Design.

The queen of local theater, Menchu Lauchengco-Yulo, won Best Actress in a Musical for her turn as a woman sinking into madness in Next to Normal. Veteran actor Siegfried Sepulveda won the Best Actor in a Play award for his turn as a retiree in The Valley Mission Care while veteran actress Pinky Amador snatched the Best Supporting Actress in a Musical award for Zsa Zsa Zaturnnah.

Mga Lobo Tulad ng Buwan won for Best Lighting while Sweet Charity got the Best Choreography award.

Only plays and musicals that I watched this year are qualified to be nominated in the said categories.  Winners are basically the personal choice of moi, the blogger!

Related articles

• Dominic Roque - Cover for the First Issue of FABE Magazine
• BTS Shots: Dominic Roque Cover Photo Shoot for FABE Magazine
• Once: Tony Awards Best Musical 2012

1st MyFABE Theater Awards: Best Play

Five outstanding plays are nominated for Best Play this year.  39 Steps from the Repertory was an interesting whodunit.  Dulaang UP asked us to examine ourselves in Fake while the CCP's Virgin Labfest gave us Bawal Tumawid Nakamamatay, Mga Lobo Tulad Ng Buwan and The Valley Mission Care.

BEST PLAY

39 Steps

Bawal Tumawid Nakamamatay

Fake

Mga Lobo Tulad Ng Buwan

The Valley Mission Care

And the award for Best Play goes to..........Bawal Tumawid Nakamamatay from the CCP's Virgin Labfest!

1st MyFABE Theater Awards: Best Director - Play

Five fantastic directors occupy the nominees for Best Director in a Play.  Ana Abad Santos gave us the fast-paced and entertaining 39 Steps.  Tony Mabenta directed the pensive Fake.  Missy Maramara directed the bittersweet The Valley Mission Care.  Joey Para gave us the hilarious Bawal Tumawid Nakamamatay while Pat Valera showed us the lives of the loved ones left behind in Mga Lobo Tulad Ng Mga Buwan.

BEST DIRECTOR (PLAY)

Ana Abad Santos - 39 Steps

Tony Mabenta - Fake

Missy Maramara - The Valley Mission Care

Joey Paras - Bawal Tumawid Nakamamatay

Pat Valera - Mga Lobo Tulad Ng Buwan

And the award for Best Director - Play goes to............Joey Paras for Bawal Tumawid Nakamamatay!

1st MyFABE Theater Awards: Best Script

These are the five best scripts this year.  The lives of our fellow OFW caregivers were written poetically by Vincent de Jesus.  Russell Legaspi of The Valley Mission Care had the most mysterious ending of any play this year.  Joey Paras' Bawal Tumawid Nakamamatay was hysterical!  Floy Quintos' Fake dissected the anomalies in our history, while Pat Valera captured the angst of the loved ones left behind in Mga Lobo Tulad Ng Buwan.

BEST SCRIPT

Vincent de Jesus - Care Divas

Russell Legaspi - The Valley Mission Care

Joey Paras - Bawal Tumawid Nakamamatay

Floy Quintos - Fake

Pat Valera - Mga Lobo Tulad Ng Buwan

And the Best Script goes to..........Joey Paras for Bawal Tumawid Nakamamatay!

MyFABE Theater Awards: Nominees For Technical Categories

I started watching local theater, seriously again this year.  I saw thirteen different plays and musicals this year and from those, I have come out with my own MyFABE Theater Awards for 2011. 

I have mulled over this list for the past 11 months and in my opinion, these are the five best performances for each technical category -

BEST SONGBOOK

Care Divas

In the Heights

Next to Normal

Sweet Charity

Zsa Zsa Zaturnnah

BEST SCRIPT

Vincent de Jesus - Care Divas

Russell Legaspi - The Valley Mission Care

Joey Paras - Bawal Tumawid Nakamamatay

Floy Quintos - Fake

Pat Valera - Mga Lobo Tulad Ng Buwan

BEST LIGHTING

39 Steps

In the Heights

Mga Lobo Tulad Ng Buwan

Next to Normal

Zsa Zsa Zaturnnah

BEST COSTUME DESIGN

39 Steps

Care Divas

Fake

Sweet Charity

Zsa Zsa Zaturnnah

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN

39 Steps

Fake

In the Heights

Mga Lobo Tulad Ng Buwan

Sweet Charity

BEST CHOREOGRAPHY

Care Divas

In the Heights

Sweet Charity

William

Zsa Zaturnnah

The winners will be announced on December 31, 2011.

Best Supporting Actress - Play 2011 Nominees: MyFABE Theater Awards

I started watching local theater, seriously again this year.  I saw thirteen different plays and musicals this year and from those, I have come out with my own MyFABE Theater Awards for 2011. 

I have mulled over this list for the past 11 months and in my opinion, these are the five best performances by an actress in a supporting role in a play for 2011.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS PLAY

Sharmaine Buencamino - Fake

Gimay Galvan - Bawal Tumawid Nakamamatay

Alya Honasan - Fake

Liza Infante - 39 Steps

The winner will be announced on December 31, 2011.

Best Actress - Play 2011 Nominees: MyFABE Theater Awards

I started watching local theater, seriously again this year.  I saw thirteen different plays and musicals this year and from those, I have come out with my own MyFABE Theater Awards for 2011.

I have mulled over this list for the past 11 months and in my opinion, these are the five best performances by an actress in a play for 2011.

BEST ACTRESS PLAY

Mary Jane Alejo - Mga Lobo Tulad Ng Buwan

Kiki Baento - Bawal Tumawid Nakamamatay

Mayen Estanero - The Valley Mission Care

Katte Sabate - Mga Lobo Tulad Ng Buwan

Chic San Agustin - Mga Lobo Tulad Ng  Buwan

The winner will be announced on December 31, 2011.

Best Actor - Play 2011 Nominees: MyFABE Theater Awards

I started watching local theater, seriously again this year.  I saw thirteen different plays and musicals this year and from those, I have come out with my own MyFABE Theater Awards for 2011. 

I have mulled over this list for the past 11 months and in my opinion, these are the five best performances by an actor in a play in 2011.

BEST ACTOR (PLAY)

Joel Lamangan - Fake

Gerard Pizarras - Fake

Leo Rialp - Bawal Tumawid Nakamamatay

Siegfried Sepulveda - The Valley Mission Care

Michael Williams - 39 Steps

The winner will be announced on December 31, 2011.

Best Director - Play 2011 Nominees: MyFABE Theater Awards

I started watching local theater, seriously again this year.  I saw thirteen different plays and musicals this year and from those, I have come out with my own MyFABE Theater Awards for 2011. 

I have mulled over this list for the past 11 months and in my opinion, these are the five best directors of a play in 2011.

BEST DIRECTOR (PLAY)

Ana Abad Santos - 39 Steps

Tony Mabenta - Fake

Missy Maramara - The Valley Mission Care

Joey Paras - Bawal Tumawid Nakamamatay

Pat Valera - Mga Lobo Tulad Ng Buwan

The winner will be announced on December 31, 2011.

Best Play 2011 Nominees: MyFABE Theater Awards

I started watching local theater, seriously again this year.  I saw thirteen different plays and musicals this year and from those, I have come out with my own MyFABE Theater Awards for 2011. 

I have mulled over this list for the past 11 months and in my opinion, these are the five best plays for 2011.

BEST PLAY

39 Steps

Bawal Tumawid Nakamamatay

Fake

Mga Lobo Tulad Ng Buwan

The Valley Mission Care

The winner will be announced on December 31, 2011.

Meeting the People Behind 'Bawal Tumawid Nakamamatay'

I actually watched the play last week with Mama, and since I did not bring a camera, I was not able to have some pictures with the cast.  Anyhow, I went to CCP again this week to watch the ballet Romeo and Juliet and after the show, my friend and I went to Yellow Cab for dinner.  We were seated inside and I noticed instantly the lead actress in the play who was seated on a table outside.  I immediately asked my friend, who brought a camera, to take a picture with them, when they were not too busy. 

Anyhow, after we finished our dinner, we went outside and I asked to have a picture with Kiki (the lead actress in the play) and Joey (the writer and director).  They told me there would be a repeat of the play on August 12 and I immediately said, Yes, I would be watching it again, and this time, I would be bringing some friends with me.

Well, I strongly urge you to watch the play too!  It's witty and the dialogue is very current, and it's one of the rare plays that can make you laugh so hard, tears fall down your face!  The ending is just really, really hilarious!  It definitely brought the house down the first time we watched it!

Theatre Review: Bawal Tumawid Nakamamatay

Bawal Tumawid Nakamamatay is probably the funniest play I've seen in a long time and at the Cultural Center of the Philippines, at that!  The dialogue is something ordinary Filipino can follow so it has none of those high brow stuff ordinary non-theatergoers would sometimes shy away from.  It was great that they allowed everyone involved in the play to come out.  Joey Paras directs it very tight and the best things in this play are the two wonderful leads, Leo Rialp and Kiki Baento.  I swear, Kiki is the funniest non-stand up comic actress I've seen in a long time!  Maybe because I only watch musicals that I've forgotten how fun plays can be.  You'd really have to watch this and I guarantee you that it's a lot of fun!