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'Para Kay B': A stage adaptation takes its final bow this week

Published Sep 25, 2025 12:54 am  |  Updated Sep 25, 2025 01:15 am

Capturing the magic of Para Kay B onstage — a powerful adaptation of National Artist Ricky Lee’s best-selling novel.
Capturing the magic of Para Kay B onstage — a powerful adaptation of National Artist Ricky Lee’s best-selling novel.

After a run that has thrilled, unsettled, and captivated audiences at the Doreen Black Box Theater, Para Kay B enters its final week of performances (Sept. 21–28, 2025). Co-produced by LA ProdHouse and Fire and Ice Live, this daring stage adaptation of Ricky Lee’s groundbreaking novel has become one of the year’s most defining

events in the Philippine theater.

Adapted for the stage by award-winning playwright Eljay Deldoc, Para Kay B takes audiences deep into the interwoven lives of five women—Bessie, Ester, Sandra, Irene, and Erica—whose journeys in love expose brutal truths, biting humor, and the fragility of our own illusions. Told through the lens of Lucas, a struggling writer grappling with the power of storytelling, the play strips away the fairy tale sheen of romance and reveals what we dare not admit: “Sa bawat limang umiibig, isa lang ang magiging maligaya.”


National Artist Ricky Lee signing copies of Para Kay B at its stage adaptation — a special moment with the man behind the masterpiece.
National Artist Ricky Lee signing copies of Para Kay B at its stage adaptation — a special moment with the man behind the masterpiece.

From the moment the lights went up on opening night, the production has drawn standing ovations and impassioned word-of-mouth. Notable personalities have joined the chorus of praise: “Tulad ng libro, ang talino, nakaka-aliw, at napaka-brutal sa pagka-honest sa usaping pag-ibig.

Pakahusay ng cast!" said Ron Atianzar. "Saludo ako sa lahat ng gumanap, sumulat, nagdirek ng isang dukang napakayaman sa istorya….!” said Rams David.

Audiences have described the experience as both devastating and liberating, a rare theatrical work that dares to confront the limits of love while celebrating its contradictions.

The cast of Para Kay B, the stage adaptation of the best-selling novel by National Artist Ricky Lee, led by Mario Magallona (center) as Lucas, the writer who believes love has a quota and that only one in five love stories will succeed.
The cast of Para Kay B, the stage adaptation of the best-selling novel by National Artist Ricky Lee, led by Mario Magallona (center) as Lucas, the writer who believes love has a quota and that only one in five love stories will succeed.

With only a handful of performances left, this is the last chance to witness Para Kay B before the curtain falls. For fans of Ricky Lee, lovers of Philippine theater, and anyone who has ever dared to love against the odds, missing it would mean missing a piece of history.

"Para Kay B" runs until Sept. 28, 2025, at the Doreen Black Box Theater, Ateneo de Manila University. Tickets are available via this link: bit.ly/PKB2025Tickets.
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