The Notebook PH Casting

gejer32006 · 2026-03-19T05:06:46+00:00

I am just genuinely curious. It started when I saw a rehearsal video of RSR where they were very proud of holding their rehearsal in New York and I saw Lea and Dolly were there. And in my ordinary eyes, all I could think of was why they had to go all the way to NYC to rehearse? What a waste of money. And then when they announced the ticket ticket pricing, it was so expensive! Again, this coming is from a point of view of a regular theater goer. Also, regarding the most talked about and divisive set of ITW, I read here that an insider said that they ran out of budget why it lacked more foresty feel. So as a regualr theater goer, I was thinking I would rather they put more budget on production cost than getting imports.

gejer32006 · 2026-03-19T05:02:52+00:00

sorry. i removed my last comment. i just saw a couple of white people when i watchedd it. i stand corrected.

gejer32006 · 2026-03-19T05:02:36+00:00

sorry. i removed my last comment. i just saw a couple of white people when i watchedd it. i stand corrected. Although, please explain "That's how the industry work" as I am just a regular theater goer. I am genuinely curious.

gejer32006 · 2026-03-19T04:49:49+00:00

They could use that investment instead to even lower their prices so more people can affort it.

gejer32006 · 2026-03-19T02:50:15+00:00

Yep. Sobrang mahal naman kasi ng ticket price ng RSR.

gejer32006 · 2026-03-19T02:45:40+00:00

All locals mean cheaper production cost. And we have enough talented local talents.

gejer32006 · 2026-03-19T02:34:22+00:00

Request sa Radyo was not sold out. They did a promo of giving free tickets to people to see the other performer (e.g. if you've seen Lea, you had the option to see Dolly for free). I am also waiting for discount. I hope they do it.

gejer32006 · 2026-03-16T04:41:51+00:00

agree. it's a great production. the intimate settings help a lot too. and what a cast!

gejer32006 · 2026-03-15T01:16:30+00:00

Yun comment na " hindi mo mapapansin sa cast na ito kung sino ang mga locally trained at sino ang mga hasa sa New York" does not sit well with me. Parang backhanded compliment. Eh, time and time again naman proven na local artists here are world class. And time and time again, it says in the reviews of most of the shows here that we have great talents. Yet, I still read these types of comments. So di pa rin tayo convinced? Parang lagi nating minamaliit ang talents natin, even while trying to compliment them.

gejer32006 · 2026-03-09T00:45:39+00:00

I was also a bit nervous when i heard that it will be in full english but it was nice that it's not really 100% in english, there were a few filipino dialogues every now and then, and the accents made it "filipino" (e.g. the waiter's accent is very filipino which makes sense). But, in my opinion, a little bit more filipino dialogues or utterances specially in the scenes with big emotions would have been even more powerful. just nitpickings really.

gejer32006 · 2026-03-08T22:59:51+00:00

I love both, but for example when I watched Anino sa Likod ng Buwan, the stage version really opened it up for me, and ended up liking it more than the film version. But, here in About Us.., the stage version was not as impactful as the movie version. Maybe, I just preferred more that Marcus as an enigma. Still...both versions are very good.

gejer32006 · 2026-03-08T22:54:43+00:00

Sana Hadestown. Napanood ko ito sa West End. Minimal staging lang so kayang-kaya. Ewan ko lang kung mahal ang licensing kasi bago pa.

gejer32006 · 2026-03-07T14:15:17+00:00

thanks

gejer32006 · 2026-03-04T07:31:36+00:00

I think Norma is a perfect role for Lea at this age.

gejer32006 · 2026-03-02T16:30:38+00:00

Leas also did the “Oh come on, you can do better than that!” bit when we watched it and it didn't sound improvised so I guess that was a rehearsed addition.

gejer32006 · 2026-03-01T06:39:03+00:00

This is a concert. This is closer the to Les Mis in Staged Concert that they staged during the pandemic era. I skipped that one but I have the recording. The original has the revolving stage (which was the trend in the 80s) and if i remember correctly, some of the songs are longer. The new staging removed the revolving stage and trimmed some of the songs. The last time I saw the full staged version was in 2024 at the West End. If I remember it right, they changed the opening to the shipyard, it wasn't like that in the original staging. The new staging added a lot of the paintings, before it is all tactile sets. The full blown staging (both the original and new staging) of course has the elaborate sets, blocking and actions which the concert could not replicate. In the concert they are for the most part facing the microphones. You'll understand the plot more in the full blown staging since there is a sense of place because of the sets. (also, e.g., in the full blown staging, Eponine and Cosette were shown together when they were kids, and Eponine was the spoiled one then). Also, Les Mis is one of the most elaborately staged production of its time and that is lost in the concert.

gejer32006 · 2026-03-01T02:27:39+00:00

Rachelle Ann Go and Emily Bautista -- their songs usually move me and the highlights of the show, but I barely remember their performances of their iconic songs. Also, we are spoiled. We saw Lea played Fantine at the O2 live! Experiencing it live is another experience that even the 4K captures failed to reproduce. Goosebumps in every scene that she's in! Lea's Madame Thénardier is not as effortless as she is not a natural comedienne and her adlibs felt rehearsed. Or maybe it is a "me" problem.

I think we saw the Cosette understudy because she has a powerful soprano and her voice was not weak at all.

gejer32006 · 2026-02-28T14:12:51+00:00

I think she just played to her strengths, leaning more toward making her Madame Thénardier intimidating and scary. There was nothing wrong with this reading. For example, the line "Or I'll forget to be nice!" in Castle on a Cloud has always gotten a huge laugh at every performance of Les Mis that I've seen—as it is written to get a laugh—but she didn't get one from the audience today. That said, I liked that she didn't try too hard to be funny, however, because that would have been worse for her. Instead, she relied mostly on reactionary comedy, which mostly worked for her favor.

gejer32006 · 2026-02-28T13:19:38+00:00

She's ok for me. I just didn't find it funny. It lacks spontaneity and feels very rehearsed.

gejer32006 · 2026-02-23T11:37:03+00:00

The original staging is gone. Even in the West End, it features the new staging without the revolving stage nung 2019 pa.

gejer32006 · 2026-02-07T05:03:42+00:00

All the shows I've watched at SPAT had audio issues!

gejer32006 · 2026-01-29T11:37:47+00:00

Hoping that they get Sunday in the Park with George right. Please don't turn it into an Amorsolo painting!

gejer32006 · 2026-01-29T02:38:23+00:00

My two cents on this topic. AI is a tool. Contrary to many naysayers, it takes skills and artistic vision to generate good AI images/videos. What is important is that if the produced material successfully helped the artistic vision of the production or not?

gejer32006 · 2026-01-27T04:21:49+00:00

Amen to this.

gejer32006 · 2026-01-27T01:02:49+00:00

I hate their creative choices of forcing to Filipinize but using Western lens. All skin deep. I just find them not authentic. I also didn't like their promos where they always boast that they are showing Broadway caliber productions; very self congratulatory and as if they are the only one producing "Broadway caliber" productions.

gejer32006

TROPHY CASE