Joanna Ampil News

The musical pedigree of Ang Larawan, an official entry to the 2017 Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF), traces back to Culturtain Musicat Productions' (formerly Musical Theatre Philippines) 1997 musical adaptation of Nick Joaquin's 1950 landmark play A Portrait of the Artist as Filipino. Why such a masterwork has stood the test of time is what this film adaptation wants you to fully grasp.

Sans the female lead Joanna Ampil (Candida), who's currently part of the UK/International tour of the musical Cats, the rest of the cast and the creative team behind the stage-to-screen adaptation of Nick Joaquin's A Portrait of the Artist as Filipino ( Ang Larawan ) recently met with the members of the Philippine press with one plea: urge the moviegoing public to catch the movie musical Ang Larawan during its first two days at the Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF), which traditionally opens on Christmas Day and runs through the holidays.

The international tour of CATS is set to perform in Stockholm, Sweden this fall on October 6 and 7 at the Ericsson Globe.

The international tour of CATS is set to perform in Stockholm, Sweden this fall on October 6 and 7 at the Ericsson Globe.

CATS will perform at the Alte Oper in Frankfurt, Germany August 23 through the 27. This is one of five stops in Germany, which includes Berlin (August 9-19), Baden-Baden (August 29-September 3), Bremen (September 5-10), and Duisburg (September 12-17). CATS is based on T.S. Eliot's 'Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats' and was the winner of seven Tony Awards, including Best Musical, Best Book of a Musical, and Best Original Score.

Repasamos los espectaculos que llenaran las carteleras en Madrid, Barcelona y giras en la nueva temporada.

Alfonso Casado y Mariano Detry volveran a dirigir un espectaculo homenaje a Broadway en l'Auditori de Barcelona, en este caso centrado en el trabajo de Webber.

Prior to its limited release at select SM Cinemas across the Philippines this weekend, MISS SAIGON 25th-anniversary performance in cinemas had a special advance screening at the Director's Club Cinema, S Maison-Mall of Asia last Wednesday, November 9. MISS SAIGON Australia's original star Joanna Ampil and producer Cameron Mackintosh's representative in Manila Dong Alegre graced the occasion.

Back by popular demand with a new programme of show-stopping music and songs from the greatest Broadway and West End musicals.

This week, we go around our Broadway World to feature stories in Boston, Chicago, Singapore and more. Check out our top 10 stories around our Broadway World below, which include ARCADIA in Boston, Victory Gardens Theater's World Premiere of HILLARY AND CLINTON, and a special feature on LES MIS in Singapore, just to name a few.

'Adrian Pang is wonderful to work with, such an instinctive actor! It was so much fun to play off him, I just love him! I hope we get to work together again soon,' says Menchu Lauchengco-Yulo, who along with Lea Salonga, make up the first three internationally acclaimed Filipina actresses - the third being Joanna Ampil - to have ever played Fantine in Alain Boublil and Claude Michel Schonberg's LES MISERABLES , playing at The Esplanade beginning May 31 onwards.

No less that theater impresario Cameron Mackintosh, the world's first 'theater billionaire' according to Forbes, much-lauded composer Claude-Michel Schonberg, and prolific theater director Laurence Connor attended the gala premiere of the reimagined production of Schonberg and Alain Boublil's phenonemal musical LES MISERABLES' first-ever Asian Tour, which kicked off at the state-of-the-art The Theatre at Solaire, Solaire Resort and Casino, last Wednesday, March 16.

MISS SAIGON producer Cameron Mackintosh has just released the details of the open call auditions for the upcoming global productions of the show whose reimagined 25th-anniversary production took London by storm and is set to open on Broadway next year, starring Eva Noblezada as Kim and Jon Jon Briones as The Engineer.

DEFYING GRAVITY: the songs of Stephen Schwartz played at Sydney's Theatre Royale February 12-13. The event, celebrating the composer's incredible body of work, was headlined by two-time Tony Award winner Sutton Foster (Anything Goes, Thoroughly Modern Millie) and Aaron Tveit.

It was every music theatre nerd's dream come true: Broadway legends from Australia and the States converging in Sydney to give intimate treatment to the songs of one of our generation's most acclaimed songwriters. Stephen Schwartz's inimitable music is almost unarguably sure to have passed your lips at some point in the decades he has been active as a treasure of theatre and film. The Academy and Grammy Award-winning composer is best known for his touches on Disney's Pocahontas, as well as contributions to famed musicals Godspell, Pippin and - perhaps most notably - Wicked.

Freaking out over Sutton Foster coming to Gilmore Girls? Trying hard to win the online #Ham4Ham? Didn't have time to check in on your favorite Broadway stars? Well don't worry BroadwayWorld has rounded up some of the biggest stories from this week from Broadway and beyond with BroadwayWorld's 'This Week in Pictures.'

Below, Tveit stops by Sydney's 'Morning Show' to chat about the upcoming concert, his new TV series, and his past costars!

DEFYING GRAVITY: the songs of Stephen Schwartz is the world premiere concert production that is set to become the most exciting musical theatre event down under, playing at Sydney's Theatre Royale February 12-13. This event celebrating this incredible body of work is headlined by two-time Tony Award winner Sutton Foster (Anything Goes, Thoroughly Modern Millie) and Aaron Tveit (Les Miserables movie, Next To Normal, Catch Me If You Can) who will appear alongside internationally renowned West End star Joanna Ampil (Miss Saigon, Les Miserables, Cats), Helpmann Award winner Helen Dallimore (Blood Brothers, Legally Blonde) and David Harris(Miss Saigon, Legally Blonde) who is returning to Australia for this event.  Making a very special guest appearance is Tony Award winning Broadway, TV and film icon Betty Buckley (Cats, Pippin, Sunset Boulevard, Carrie) in her debut Sydney performance.

Aussie musical theatre fans, David Harris has returned to Oz - but only for a flying visit! We get our homegrown leading man back to the Australian stage for two nights this weekend, when he joins Sutton Foster, Aaron Tveit, Betty Buckley, Joanna Ampil and Helen Dallimore in DEFYING GRAVITY - a world premiere concert celebrating the work of Stephen Schwartz. 

Discovering just how the commercial and critical reception of the stage or film adaptation of any bestselling book would pan out (regardless of whether it was first adapted into a film before it became a stage musical or vice versa) will most likely never be boiled down to an exact science.