Repertory Philippines Foundation Inc. (REP) is a Filipino theater company dedicated to showcasing English-language productions.

History

Repertory Philippines was established in 1967 by Zenaida Amador and

Baby Barredo Carmen "Baby" Johnson Barredo (April 28, 1941 – May 23, 2021) was a Filipino theater actress and producer known for co-founding Repertory Philippines, a major English-language theater company in the Philippines. Early life and education Baby ...

. Its first production was a Tagalog-language adaptation of ''Miss Julie'' by

August Strindberg Johan August Strindberg (, ; 22 January 184914 May 1912) was a Swedish playwright, novelist, poet, essayist and painter.Lane (1998), 1040. A prolific writer who often drew directly on his personal experience, Strindberg wrote more than sixty p ...

, directed by

Rolando Tinio Rolando Santos Tinio (March 5, 1937 – July 7, 1997) was a Filipino poet, dramatist, director, actor, critic, essayist and educator."Philippine Theater", Nicanor G. Tiongson (ed.), CCP Encyclopedia of Philippine Art, Volume VII, 1994 Biography ...

. In its early years, REP experienced difficulty in attracting audiences for its plays; the owners assessed that the paying audience preferred plays in English and those authored by American and European playwrights. REP's debut play ''Miss Julie'' had poor viewership which led the theater company to focus on English-language plays. With the patronage of

Jaime Zobel de Ayala Jaime Zóbel de Ayala y Pfitz (born 18 July 1934), also known as Jaime Zóbel, is a Filipino businessman who served as the chairman of the Ayala Corporation from 1984 to 2006 and as its president from 1984 to 1994. Presently, he holds the ho ...

, the viewership of REP's plays gradually increased. Most of the theater group's productions were derived from classic English-language plays and

Broadway musicals Broadway theatre,Although ''theater'' is generally the spelling for this common noun in the United States (see American and British English spelling differences), 130 of the 144 extant and extinct Broadway venues use (used) the spelling ''Th ...

. In 1988, REP-trained actors including

Lea Salonga Maria Lea Carmen Imutan Salonga (; born February 22, 1971), known professionally as Lea Salonga, is a Filipino singer, actress, and columnist. Nicknamed "Pride of the Philippines," she is best known for her roles in musical theatre, for supplyin ...

and

Monique Wilson Monica Anne Esteva Wilson (born May 4, 1970), usually credited as Monique Wilson, is a Filipina singer, actress, and women's rights activist. She began her professional career at the age of nine. At 18, she gained recognition as the understudy f ...

were selected to join the original West End company of

Cameron Mackintosh Sir Cameron Anthony Mackintosh (born 17 October 1946) is a British theatrical producer and theatre owner notable for his association with many commercially successful musicals. At the height of his success in 1990, he was described as being "th ...

's ''

Miss Saigon ''Miss Saigon'' is a stage musical by Claude-Michel Schönberg and Alain Boublil, with lyrics by Boublil and Richard Maltby Jr. It is based on Giacomo Puccini's 1904 opera ''Madame Butterfly'', and similarly tells the tragic tale of a doomed rom ...

''.

Venues

Since 2002, Repertory Philippines' home venue is the OnStage Theater at the

Greenbelt A green belt is a policy and land-use zone designation used in land-use planning to retain areas of largely undeveloped, wild, or agricultural land surrounding or neighboring urban areas. Similar concepts are greenways or green wedges, which hav ...

shopping mall in

Makati Makati ( ), officially the City of Makati ( fil, Lungsod ng Makati), is a 1st class highly urbanized city in the National Capital Region of the Philippines. Makati is the financial center of the Philippines; it has the highest concentration ...

. Prior to that period, REP did productions at the Insular Life Auditorium in Makati (1967–1992) and the William Shaw Theater at

Shangri-La Plaza Shangri-La Plaza is a shopping mall located in Ortigas Center, Mandaluyong, Philippines. It is owned and operated by the Kuok Group of Companies, the owner of the worldwide chain of Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts. Shangri-La Plaza opened on No ...

Mandaluyong Mandaluyong, officially the City of Mandaluyong ( fil, Lungsod ng Mandaluyong), is a first class highly urbanized city in the National Capital Region of the Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 425,758 people. Loca ...

(1992–2002). The theater group also did plays at the

Cultural Center of the Philippines The Cultural Center of the Philippines ( fil, Sentrong Pangkultura ng Pilipinas, or CCP) is a government-owned and controlled corporation established to preserve, develop and promote arts and culture in the Philippines.Presidential Decree No. ...

, the

Meralco Theater Meralco Theater is a theater located at the compound of Meralco, Ortigas Avenue in Pasig, Philippines. It used to be known as the Meralco Auditorium. It seats over 1,000 people and is a popular venue for various concerts, plays, musicals and eve ...

, and the now-defunct Rizal Theater in Makati.

Reputation

Repertory Philippines is known for producing plays in English – a subject of criticism by Filipino nationalists, although the theater company has a policy of not hiring foreign actors for the lead roles in their plays.

References

{{reflist Theater companies in Metro Manila 1967 establishments in the Philippines Companies based in Makati

History

Venues

Reputation

See also

References