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

History

Repertory Philippines was established in March 1967 by five actors: Zenaida Amador, Carmen Barredo,

Leo Martinez Leo Martinez (born March 7, 1945) is a Filipino actor, comedian and director. Martinez also served as Director General of the Film Academy of the Philippines. Personal life He is married to Gina Valenciano (sister of Gary Valenciano), and has chi ...

, Tony Mercado, and Monina Mercado. 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 60 pla ...

, 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 Biogra ...

. 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 hon ...

, 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), many of the extant or closed Broadway venues use or used the spelling ''Theatr ...

. In 1988, REP-trained actors including

Lea Salonga Maria Lea Carmen Imutan Salonga, ( ; born February 22, 1971) is a Filipino singer and actress. Known primarily for her work in theatre, she has starred in musicals on Broadway and in the West End. Her accolades include a Tony Award and a L ...

and Monique Wilson 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 "t ...

's ''

Miss Saigon ''Miss Saigon'' is a sung-through musical theatre, 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 ''Madama Butterfly'', and similarly tells th ...

''.

Venues

Since 2024, Repertory Philippines' home venue is the Carlos P. Romulo Auditorium in RCBC Plaza,

Makati Makati ( ; ), officially the City of Makati (), is a highly urbanized city in the National Capital Region of the Philippines, known for being one of the leading financial centers in the country. As of 2013, the city has the highest concent ...

, while a new venue at Eastwood Citywalk in

Eastwood City Eastwood City is an mixed-use development complex located in Barangay Bagumbayan, Quezon City. Launched in 1997, it is Megaworld Corporation’s first “live-work-play” community that is known to offer complete facilities, amenities, and e ...

Quezon City Quezon City (, ; ), also known as the City of Quezon and Q.C. (read and pronounced in Filipino language, Filipino as Kyusi), is the richest and List of cities in the Philippines, most populous city in the Philippines. According to the 2020 c ...

is slated to open in October. Prior to that period, REP did productions at the Insular Life Auditorium in Makati (1967–1992), 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 Nov ...

Mandaluyong Mandaluyong ( ; ), officially the City of Mandaluyong (, ), is a Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, highly-urbanized city in the Metro Manila, National Capital Region of the Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a popula ...

(1992–2002), and the OnStage Theater at Greenbelt 1, Makati (2002–2024). The theater group also did plays at the

Cultural Center of the Philippines The Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP; ) is a government-owned and controlled corporation (GOCC) established to preserve, develop and promote Arts in the Philippines, arts and Culture of the Philippines, culture in the Philippines.Presid ...

, 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 1,500 people and hosts concerts, plays, musicals and events. History The Meral ...

, 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 Privately held companies of the Philippines

History

Venues

Reputation

See also

References