Stuff to Do (06/19/26)

Enjoy Ballet Manila’s full-length Paquita

BALLET MANILA is staging a full-length production of Paquita, choreographed by the company’s founder and artistic director, Lisa Macuja-Elizalde. The production marks the first time a full-length version of the classical ballet will be staged in the Philippines. Paquita follows a young Romani woman who saves the life of a French officer, Lucien, from an assassination plot orchestrated by a governor. Along the way, she discovers her noble heritage, allowing the couple to overcome social barriers and marry. Principal dancers Abigail Oliveiro and Joshua Enciso will alternate in the roles of Paquita and Lucien with soloists Shamira Drapete and Jos David Andes. Paquita runs on June 19 at 8 p.m. and June 20 and 21 at 5 p.m. at the Aliw Theater. Tickets are priced at P2,060 (Center) and P1,030 (Sides), and are available through TicketWorld.

Buy a book, have some coffee

TO MARK its third year, publishing house Exploding Galaxies will be offering coffee, a little sale, and a space for reading at The Brewman Coffee House in Cubao Expo, Cubao, Quezon City, from 1:30 to 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, June 20. The first 50 customers to buy a book get a free coffee. Each book — available at 20% off (excluding Canticles for Dark Lovers) — also comes with new stickers and an author bookmark (while supplies last). Exploding Galaxies’ Sarap cap and tote bags will also be available for purchase.

Catch BINI at Mall of Asia

BINI, which is celebrating its 5^th anniversary this June, will hold the Manila stop of its Signals World Tour at the Mall of Asia Arena on June 20 and 21.

Watch Rep’s musical Man of La Mancha

FOR the 3^rd time since its founding, Repertory Philippines is staging the musical Man of La Mancha. The Tony Award-winning Broadway musical unfolds in a grim Spanish dungeon, where author Miguel de Cervantes must defend himself by telling an imaginative tale. He transforms into Don Quixote, a self-proclaimed knight determined to see the world not as it is but as it ought to be. The show is directed by Nelsito Gomez, and stars Nonie Buencamino as Miguel Cervantes/Don Quixote, Katrine Sunga as Aldonza/Dulcinea, and Marvin Ong as Sancho Panza. Also in the cast are Tarek El Tayech, Alfredo Reyes, Mikkie Bradshaw-Volante, Sarah Facuri, and Steven Hotchkiss. Performances run until June 28, Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m., with 3:30 p.m. matinees on Saturdays and Sundays, at the Repertory Eastwood Theater, 4F Eastwood Citywalk, Quezon City.

Go to a 2-for-1 performance

KHO-LAB PRODUCTIONS and Artist Playground stage Double Take, a twin bill production featuring Reverse Card and AL.TER, on weekends until June 21. Both pieces are directed by Paul Jake Paule. Reverse Card, written by Chase Kyle Loza, follows a gay author who invites his former classmate and longtime bully to his home but then things take a sinister turn. AL.TER, written by Pablo Joaquin, follows an interior designer who returns to a department store filled with memories of his late partner, then he sees a stranger who looks exactly like him. Double Take has performances at Illumination Studio, 2723 Sabio St., Corner Chino Roces Ave., Makati, every Friday to Sunday at 8 p.m., and 3 p.m. matinees on Saturdays and Sundays. Tickets are priced at P1,500 and are available via Ticket2Me.

Catch the various sets of the Virgin Labfest

THE VIRGIN LABFEST (VLF) is back with its untried and untested one-act plays. For its 21^st year, the festival lays bare the things that people leave unsaid with its theme “Hubo’t Hubad,” meaning “completely naked.” Performances are being held at the Tanghalang Ignacio Gimenez (the Cultural Center of the Philippines’ Blackbox Theater), CCP Complex, Pasay City. There are 12 new one-act plays and one set of revisited plays presented Wednesdays to Sundays until June 28. Shows are set at 2 and 8 p.m. For more information, contact the CCP Box Office or visit the social media accounts of the CCP, Tanghalang Pilipino, The Writers’ Bloc, and Virgin Labfest.

Catch the finale of Heart World

HEART EVANGELISTA will conclude the second season of her reality show, Heart World, on June 20, with a retrospective look at her travels, fashion engagements, and personal milestones throughout the season. The finale will also give viewers a behind-the-scenes preview of her upcoming game show hosting debut, The People Have Spoken, as well as footage from a recently filmed music video with John Prats. The final episode of Heart World Season 2 will air on GMA Network at 9:30 p.m. on Saturday.

Attend the Father’s Day Celebration at Araneta City

ARANETA CITY is celebrating Father’s Day with The Dad Grand Prix, a racing-themed campaign featuring family activities, promotions, dining offers, and competitions across its commercial district. Among the highlights are the Dad’s Pit Stop promo, which rewards fathers with exclusive gift cards for a minimum P3,000 spend at participating establishments, a family fun run organized by the aRUNeta Run Club, racing simulator challenges at Gateway Mall 1, Tamiya Mini 4WD activities at Ali Mall, and sports-themed events at Farmers Plaza. Participating dining establishments and hotels, including Novotel Manila Araneta City and ibis Styles Manila Araneta City, are also offering special Father’s Day dining promotions, while brands such as Pizza Hut, Taco Bell, and Dairy Queen will feature limited-time food bundles and treats for the occasion.

Check out the Dad’s Day events at GH Mall, Estancia

GH MALL and Estancia Mall are marking Father’s Day with a series of family-oriented activities and exhibits from June 17 to 21. Highlights include the PSBI National Bonsai & Suiseki Show at GH Mall, featuring bonsai displays and a Bonsai 101 lecture and workshop on June 21, as well as the show Memories with Dad: Songs Through the Years with Wanlu & Nicolo, and Father and Child Fun Games at Estancia Mall. Both malls will also host Father’s Day-themed photo spots where families can take commemorative photos throughout the weekend. The activities are designed to encourage bonding and celebrate fathers through shared experiences and interactive events.

Learn about choice and consequence with Pasiya

THE Corner Studio, in partnership with Headroom, is set to stage Pasiya, a twin bill of original works that look at power, choice, and consequence, which has performances until June 21. The twin bill features a restaging of People v. Dela Cruz, a satire in which six jurors decide one man’s fate. The second play is Every Male or Female, which looks at the Philippine women’s suffrage movement in 1935. The production is staged at Headroom, located at 2611 Lamayan St., Sta. Ana, Manila, on June 19, 20, and 21, with 2:30 p.m. shows on Saturday and Sunday, and 7 p.m. shows on Friday and Saturday. Tickets are priced at P1,500 and are available via tcs.helixpay.ph.

Catch take 3 of 1 Gay Show

ANG Kagila-gilalas na 1 Gay Show (Again and Again and Again…) has returned for a third run. It is a one-man show starring Johann Dale Reyes who delivers three monologues on gay life. The monologues evolve with each restaging, reacting to the events of the real world, this time taking cognizance of the ongoing global conflict. The pieces are written and directed by Gio Potes, Jasper Villasis, and PB Maraña. Ang Kagila-gilalas na 1 Gay Show (Again and Again and Again…) will have performances on June 19 and 20, 7 p.m., at Benton Hall in UP Diliman. Tickets are priced at P400. The production is for audience members who are 18 and above.

See the 4^th piece in the Babae Sa Septic Tank franchise

THE Philippine Educational Theater Association (PETA) presents Ang Babae sa Septic Tank 4: Oh Sh*t! It’s Live sa Cheter! starting June 19 to Aug. 16 (Friday, Saturday, and Sunday at 7:30 p.m., and on Saturday and Sunday at 2 p.m.) at the PETA Theater Center in Quezon City. The franchise started with a film starring comic Eugene Domingo in a heightened version of herself which skewered the indie movie scene. It was followed by another film and a hit series, all of which starred Ms. Domingo. She returns for the fourth entry in the series, this time a play which looks at the messy, hilarious, and painful process of making theater in the Philippines today. Also in the cast are Meann Espinosa, Stella Cañete-Mendoza, Andoy Ranay, JC Santos, Melvin Lee, Marlon Rivera (who directed the first three installments), and Joshua Lim So. It is directed by Maribel Legarda. Tickets are available via TicketWorld. Ticket prices range from P1,800 to P3,500.

Watch 9 Works’ Yemaya

A FILIPINO translation of Yemaya’s Belly by Quiara Alegría Hudes (In the Heights, Water by the Spoonful) is 9 Works Theatrical’s latest production. Yemaya was translated by Eljay Castro Deldoc, and is directed by Ed Lacson, Jr. It follows a young person’s epic journey across lands and seas as he searches for his place in the world. It stars Bituin Escalante, Benedix Ramos, Tommy Alejandrino, Sheena Belarmino, and Ness Roque. Yemaya has 3 p.m. and 7.30 p.m. performances on Saturdays and Sundays at The Black Box, The Proscenium Theater, Rockwell, Makati. Tickets are available via Ticket2Me.

Celebrate Pride with a Queer Theater Fest

INDEPENDENT theater collective Teatro Marco is holding the Queer Theater Festival (QTFest 2026) on June 20 and 21 at 3 and 6 p.m. at Teatro Marco in Maginhawa St., Quezon City. The festival features four original plays presented in two performance sets. The plays are Pilar Pilapil, set in a Miss Gay beauty contest in Quiapo which explores the different definitions of womanhood through the lens of a transwoman; Exsena sa Backstage, on what happens as drag queens get ready for a tribute night celebrating pop icons like Beyoncé and Lady Gaga; Dalaga Na Kami, which explores sisterhood between a young girl who just had her first period, and her queer older brother who laments his own version of pagdadalaga; and, Our Lady of Mama Hello Kitty about a family and their assigned female at birth child, who turns out to be straight. Tickets are P799 per set or P1,200 for a day pass. Tickets are available via the group’s Paymongo page.