Now that the Manila Metropolitan is all set to open, my eyes cannot help but turn misty.
I had worked at the Manila Met as part of the Production and Publicity Department, as a PR Assistant for five years and left it with a heavy heart prior to its closure in 1996.
A year before its doors were closed due to ownership issues, I began to work at the National Commission for Culture and the Arts, my entry point, the National Cinema Program, headed then by the late film master Eddie Romero, as a project development officer.
At the Manila MET, I was able to learn PR writing, of course, repagination of the souvenir programs for The Flower Drum Song, The Mikado, and Romeo and Juliet, to mention a few. I was also tasked to write short bios of the artists who were part of these productions, including the messages of the artistic director. Also, I was introduced to the many editorial assistants and editors of the lifestyle section of newspapers that carry the publicity for the Manila MET.
In its dance hall, I had professional dance classes both in basic and modern jazz. In the Dalubdulaan, had my first and last acting experience in Frank Rivera’s musical Oyayi, believe it or not as Eleonor Roosevelt-Batungbacal, the spinster elementary school teacher who sang the heart-breaking anthem “Pusong Tigang.”
My Eleonor acing moment, all chronicled and documented in Rivera’s book, and how mighty proud he was of the fact that in the six performances that I clocked, no one ever suspected that my femininity was a fraud.
In a statement recently share with the press, National Commission for Culture and the Arts chairman Arsenio “Nick” Lizaso said that the “doors of the newly restored Met will be open to all Filipinos from all classes of our society for this is the people’s theater.”
“The inauguration of the new Met is the culmination of a long arduous journey. This has been made possible by the determined effort of a long line of individuals who share a common dream to bring back to life one of our nation’s cultural treasures. We will strive to do our best to be worthy of this collective effort as well as the high expectations of our people,” the commission’s chairman added.
The Metropolitan Theater will house the quincentennial evening show on April 27 to commemorate the 500th anniversary of the Victory at Mactan, which will serve as the maiden show of MET after 25 years since its closure in 1996.
Currently, the NCCA and the City of Manila headed by Mayor Francisco “Isko” Moreno Domagoso is working on a partnership to celebrate the 450th anniversary of the city at the Metropolitan Theater this June.
In 2015, the NCCA purchased the Metropolitan Theater from the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) and started its rehabilitation and restoration, with the National Museum of the Philippines and the National Historical Commission of the Philippines providing the necessary technical expertise. Representatives from the Cultural Center of the Philippines were also consulted in the rehabilitation of the MET’s Main Theatre.
What must the Manila Metropolitan Theater do then to realize its dream of becoming the “people’s theater” after its opening?
First, they must gather a team of artistic, creative and marketing experts to plan a comprehensive artistic season that must showcase and highlight Filpino traditional theater art forms such as the balagtasan, cenaculo, duplo, komedya and zarswela and new works in Filipino, contemporary plays and musicals.
Second, the Manila MET must open its doors to the members of PhilStage or the Philippine Legitimate Stage Artists Group or PHILSTAGE, the alliance of professional companies in the theatrical arts headed by Audie Gemora, PHILSTAGE companies must be given the opportunity to stage Filipino plays on the main theater.
They must also conduct, during the lean season of the arts and culture calendar, workshops in acting, dance and singing with special emphasis on the traditional and original Filipino works, and eventually established its in house choral, dance and acting companies that will lead to the establishment of an academy dedicated to higher learning of Filipino performing arts.
Now that the Grand Dame is so back, exciting times and events will indeed happen at the Manila Metropolitan Theater.
For more details, please contact Rene S. Napenas, Head, Public Affairs and Information Section through 09285081057 or email us at ncca.paio@gmail