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Manila Bulletin devider Entertainment devider Theater in a Cup: Teatro Tomasino brews anew with 'Juan Ekis's Kapeng Barako Club: Samahan ng mga Bitter'

Theater in a Cup: Teatro Tomasino brews anew with 'Juan Ekis's Kapeng Barako Club: Samahan ng mga Bitter'

Published May 8, 2024 07:32 am

At A Glance

  • The Palanca award-winning play is a unique and flavorful story that covers the lives of an eclectic group of friends and their delightful misadventures at Beans Coffee Shop. 

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In its 46th year, Teatro Tomasino, the premiere theater performance group of the University of Santo Tomas celebrates its return to the live stage with Juan Ekis’s Kapeng Barako Club: Samahan ng mga Bitter.

The Palanca award-winning play is a unique and flavorful story that covers the lives of an eclectic group of friends and their delightful misadventures at Beans Coffee Shop. It’s a delectable tale about love and friendship in its sweet highs and bitter lows brewed into one smooth and one-of-a-kind blend. Its tight focus on relationships and human connections makes it the ideal material to showcase Teatro Tomasino’s new generation of artists.

“I want the staging to focus on each actor’s personality and the unique way they relate to each other on stage,” says Lendro Enore, the production's director.

Enore, an honorary member of the guild, has also directed past successful Teatro Tomasino productions from Jose Victor Torres’s Sandaling Tagpo (2018), Liza Magtoto’s Agnoia (2019), and Pagpili (a Teatro Tomasino’s Original Music Video Performance, 2022).

After a series of online performances, this will be Teatro Tomasino’s first live onstage performance since 2019.

“We wanted to do something fun and contemporary. A performance that’s simple but supple that will help rebuild every member’s foundation of theater fundamentals,” according to Teatro Tomasino Artistic Director, Jed Porlaje. “Hopefully, this becomes a springboard for next year as the guild tackles more complicated but equally interesting materials,” he adds.

This isn’t the first time Teatro Tomasino has performed a Juan Ekis drama; he successfully staged Ekis’s wildly popular Twenty Questions in 2014.

As Teatro Tomasino presents the bittersweet story of the Kapeng Barako Club, the guild hopes to perfectly complement a new generation of Thomasian audiences.

Don't miss your chance to join this new Teatro Tomasino serving! Book your tickets now and join us for an evening of laughter, tears, and revelations at TARC Auditorium, University of Santo Tomas; showing on May 7, 8, and 9.

For ticket inquiries and more information, please visit @Teatro Tomasino- UST on Facebook and Instagram or call Abegail Morante, 0998-854-9877 or Heaven Vergara, 0929-106-6166.

For media inquiries, interviews, or press passes, please contact: Remus Macasero, 0945-435-9255 or Veronica Tan, 0933-664-8435.

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