Beauty and the Beast: An enchanting retelling of a familiar love story

Once upon a time, there was a self-centered, haughty prince living in a majestic castle in the middle of the dark woods.

One night, an old woman knocked on the castle's gargantuan door, begging to be accommodated for the night. The prince, selfish as he was, refused to let the old woman stay despite the cold and harsh environment of the forest.

She begged a second time, telling him not to make judgments based on one's appearance, but the prince rejected and banished her. Little did he know that the old woman was an enchantress putting him to test. A few moments later, she transformed to reveal her true self.

Realizing his mistake, the prince knelt before her and begged for her forgiveness. But it was too late. She cast a spell on him and turned him into a hideous beast. The spell would be undone only if he would learn to love and someone would love him in return before the last petal of the rose from the enchantress falls.

The night they rocked my world

A night of jammin’ and slammin’ with the Rock of Ages

It was a night I didn’t see coming.

Fact: I’m not a rock fanatic. I’m unfamiliar with most of the famous rock hits. And I’m not acquainted with rock stars. I’m not into excessively loud music and heart pounding beats. But after watching a musical heavy with rock, I realized I could do a compromise with the genre.

Last Thursday, Oct. 30, Rock of Ages premiered once again in Manila. Held at the Meralco Theater, it is a musical that highlights the dream of a simple boy at Sunset Strip in West Hollywood. Of course, the story concluded with the usual happy ending, but the way the characters dealt with their individual issues is moving.

Shrek the Musical—an energetic mix of contagious humor

“It's a big bright beautiful world...”

What the world presents is quite different from the picture formed by expectations in your head. This reality—and other life's ironies—dawned on Shrek and Princess Fiona, but the effect on their lives is something that makes everyone wonder, “Why did I not ever wish for this to happen?”

Shrek is a big, fat, ugly Ogre who was sent out by his parents at the tender age of seven. He knew from the start that there's a “big, bright, beautiful world” out there—but not for him. He thinks that only the physically beautiful deserve it; not someone who's hideous looking.

Princess Fiona has been locked up in a tower since she was a child. Every day, she expects that her Prince Charming will climb up the tower and rescue her from the solitary loneliness that has been her companion.

Lord Farquaad, the vain, short ruler of Duloc realizes that he needs to rescue Princess Fiona from the dragon-guarded tower and marry her, so he could be king. But he didn't want to do the mission himself.

They are unsuspecting that their lives will change one fateful day. Sent by Lord Farquaad shortly after arriving in Duloc, Shrek, together with his new-found quirky friend, Donkey, embarks on a mission he accepts with the sole purpose of recovering his swamp from the unjust ruler. The three has different expectations. Little do they know that their stories are written with a different plot.