Ateneo's Oldest Repertory Theater Company Revives 50-Year-Old Musical

Dulaang Sibol, Ateneo de Manila University's oldest repertory theater company, is celebrating 50 years of its home theater, Tanghalang Onofre Pagsanghan, through a staging of the 50-year-old musical Sinta.

Sinta is a two-act show with book, music, and lyrics by Dr. Onofre R. Pagsanghan (fondly known as "Mr. Pagsi"), Ateneo High School teacher and Gawad Buhay lifetime achievement awardee. The late National Artist Bienvenido Lumbera described it as "a story of young love told in verse and song, steeped in nostalgia for simpler times."

According to a 2025 article by Ali Figueroa published on Ateneo's official website, Sinta takes inspiration from Mr. Pagsi's 1973 study trip in New York, where he caught The Fantasticks, a musical with music by Harvey Schmidt and lyrics and a book by Tom Jones, loosely based on the 1894 play Les Romanesques by Edmond Rostand. He attempted to translate it, but realized that a translation would not suffice. Sinta's first act was presented on February 7, 1975, at the old Dulaang Sibol theater, which was then actually a lecture room. On August 14, 1976, Sinta was staged as a two-act full musical. It's considered the country's longest-running musical, playing nearly every Valentine's season at the Ateneo de Manila High School.

Dulaang Sibol traces its origins to 1955, when it was founded as the Ateneo High School Dramatics Society. It adopted its current name 60 years ago, and inaugurated the theater 50 years ago with the debut of Sinta. Its anniversary staging is directed by Giancarlo Abrahan, who recently bagged Best Director at Cinemalaya 2026 for Mag-iina—also the Best Full-Length Film.

Sinta opened on August 21, 7:30 p.m., with seven more shows from August 22 to August 30. Tickets are available for P500 through a Google Form.

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