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Sarah K. Joaquin was one of the pioneers of the Philippine theater who for many years ruled as the grande dame of the stage. She was well-loved here, as well as back home, in the Filipino community in the Washington D.C. metro area as the celebrated theater icon and for the all the great stage plays she directed, most notably the lavish zarzuela “Ang Kiri” in 1995. In early January of 2001, at the age of 93, Lola Sarah decided to write her own memoirs which she titled “Of Laughter And Tears.” When she passed away in January 2002 at age of 94, she was two chapters shy of finishing the book.

Arena Stage Artistic Director, Molly Smith promises that this 2007-08 season will be diverse- in form, in theme, in mood, in tone. The dynamic line-up includes musicals and drama, classics and premieres. It will make you laugh, cry, sing. . . and think. Arena Stage is located at 1101 Sixth St. NW, Washington D.C. For tickets and info, call 202-488-8300.

When “The Phantom Of The Opera” premiered on Broadway in 1988, it became an instant hit and subsequently won seven Tony awards including Best Musical. It is now the longest running Broadway show ever. The international mega- hit helmed by Harold Prince is back at the Kennedy Center Opera House.

Bethesda, MD. Round House Theatre closes its 2006/2007 season with “Summer Of ‘42,” a charming new musical based on the coming-of-age novel and film that became cultural icons of the 1970s. Adapted for the stage by noted Broadway actor, Hunter Foster and David Kirshenbaum, it tells the story of three teenagers struggling to lose their innocence as they spend the summer of 1942 on an island beach off the New England Coast.

Directed by Meredith McDonough, “Summer Of ‘42" sheds new light on the important lessons of life, love and the scope of human compassion.

FilAm author, composer/singer-songwriter/lawyer Rod Garcia and his traveling U.S.- based band will launch their new CD called “The Right Time" by doing concert tour this June to venues in Honolulu (Bikini Cantina in Aloha Towers Marketplace June 9), Manila Pearl Hotel (June 13 and 14) and the MagNet Katipunan, June 15. Rod’s original songs has been hailed in the Washington D.C. area.

MANILA, Philippines - The dream marriage between actress Ruffa Gutierrez and Turkish scion Yilmaz Bektas is heading for the rocks.

Yilmaz said in a statement recently that his only wish is to save his family. It seems that the meddling by Ruffa’s parents has led to the separation of the two for a long period now. Money seems to be the cause of it all.

In 1969, when best friends Jim Paredes, Danny Javier and Buboy Garrovillo were students at the Ateneo de Manila High School, they formed the APO(Apolinario Mabini) Hiking Society. The group became an instant hit in 1973 after their first professional gig. Since then,these musical legends have recorded countless albums and performed in successful concerts both at home and abroad. Weeks before their May 6 concert at the GWU Lisner Auditorium, their many fans in the Washington D.C. metro area were just excited that their idols were coming back here to perform. After all, it had been three years since they last performed here. On the evening of their show, thoser fans came in droves at the Lisner Auditorium.

Note:

Two Filipina beauties will make beauty pageant history by competing in the Miss Universe contest in Mexico city on May 28.

The two are Anna Theresa Licaros, 22, the Binibining Pilipinas who will represent the Philippines and Kirby Ann Basken, 21, the Mutya ng Pilipinas, who will represent Norway. Kirby, born in Oslo to a Norwegian father and Filipino mother, was recently crowned Miss Norway of 2007.

Lecaros, 22, is currently a law student at the University of the Philippines. She was also the first Broadcast Communication student to graduate Suma Cum Laude from the College of Mass Communication in UP Diliman.

Basken, 21, was born in Oslo to a Norwegian father and a Filipino mother. She was crowned Frken Norge-Universe on Monday.

She first joined the annual search for Miss Norway in January 2006, and finished first runner-up. In June of that year, she flew to her mother’s native land to represent Europe’s Filipino community in the Mutya ng Pilipinas pageant, and bagged the title.

The Miss Asia Pacific Quest Inc. (MAPQI), owner of the Mutya ng Pilipinas pageant, subsequently sent her to represent the Philippines in the Miss Intercontinental pageant in the Bahamas, where she emerged among the top 12 contenders.

The legendary APO Hiking Society will be back performing at the GWU Lisner Auditorium on May 6. Funny woman Nanette Inventor and singer-actress Heart Evangelista will also be performing alongside the APO Hiking Society as part of the Kumustahan Worldwide Concert Tour kicks off in the United States. Expect a night to remember as Nanette unfolds her “Tita Munding" persona, Heart showcases her singing talent and the APO does their famous routine. Kumustahan Sa Amerika is brought to you by One Ayala, TFC, PAL, New World Tours and Send Balikbayan Box. Minor Sponsors are Philippine Airlines, Yehey, State Farm Insurance, Radiant Printing, and DeAusen Real Estate.

Arena Stage is proud to present a major revival of the Pulitzer Prize-winning contemporary comedy "The Heidi Chronicles" in loving tribute to the late, great Wendy Wasserstein, the play’s author. Arena Stage welcomes back acclaimed director Tazewell Thompson to guide this smart and comedic production. Helen Hayes award winner and Washington favorite Ellen Karras will star in the title role alongside a cast of familiar Arena faces including Marty Lodge( "M. Butterfly," "Of Mice And Men"). In this insightful comedy, Heidi Holland, feminist art historian, recounts significant milestones in her life- meeting lifelong friends at '60s political events, her own uncertain activism in the '70s and confronting her inner turmoil over her role as a woman of the '80s.

"I am thrilled to be producing this remarkable play in honor of my dear friend Wendy Wasserstein," said Artistic Director Molly Smith. "Each time I encounter Wendy's work, I am struck by its significance for myself and for all women in each stage of our lives. Wendy challenges the status quo with grace, wit and warmth in a way that goes beyond the social mores of any decade or gender. Heidi's struggle with identity is one that is painfully and brilliantly self-referential, and I know that audiences will love her intelligence and spirit."

WASHINGTON - Nora Aunor is back at the top of her game, her Filipina lawyer Claire Espina said categorically rejecting as "false" reports that the superstar was arrested in Los Angeles recently for violating the terms of her probation.

Aunor's manager Norie Sayo dismissed the reports as “crazy news" fabricated and spread by "some parties who do not have anything better to do with their lives."

"Guy is well and moving around freely and in the midst of preparing for her coming tour in April," Sayo said adding "I cannot understand where all of these crazy news are coming from."

The Round House Theatre in Maryland has been known for its first rate productions and one of them is the DC-area premier of Austin Pendelton's critically-acclaimed Off-Broadway hit "Orson's Shadow" which I saw last week. Brilliantly directed by Round House Artistic Director Emeritus Jerry Whiddon, it is a deliciously witty and intelligent fictional account of real events that re-imagines the high drama accompanying a 1960 production of Ionesco's "Rhinoceros".

MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Maryland - Gus Alzona, an accountant and former US congressional candidate, will be performing with his classic rock dance party band "Trademark" at the Zodiac Lounge, Gaithersburg, Maryland, on Saturday, March 3, 2007. Trademark will perform classic hits from the sixties, seventies and eighties for the listening and dancing pleasure of local area classic rock fans.

In his press release, Alzona said he first moved to the Washington, D.C. area in the mid 1950s, and is 'the only Asian Pacific American musician and band leader to have consistently performed for mainstream audiences since the late 1960s to the present day. A self-taught lead guitarist, backup vocalist, music video and record producer with over forty years of experience, Alzona continues to work in the local entertainment business as both a paid professional and a volunteer for charitable causes."

When esteemed Artistic Director Eric Shaeffer formed Signature Theatre 13 years ago, he put up stellar productions, mostly Stephen Sondheim musicals, in the converted garage space on S. Four Mile Run Dr. Three months ago, he moved the venerable company a few blocks away in the vibrant neighborhood of Shirlington Village to a much bigger, elegant two-story complex. Unlike the cramped garage, the new $16 million complex has a sky-high glass facade- a sight to behold. Inside, a sweeping two-story staircase leads from the ground floor box office to a stylish lobby. Inside the Max( the larger of two new theaters), the close proximity to the stage remains unchanged.

Last year, I saw a variety of sumptuous stage productions both in New York and right here in D.C., from the sublime to the simply delightful. One of them, "The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee” is still showing on Broadway and I highly recommend this to those of you who are making a trip to New York. Here is my list of the best shows of 2006.