Manila Society of Theater Reviewers Names the Best Shows and Artists of 2025

More than a month after the official launch, the Manila Society of Theater Reviewers (MSTR) announced the winners of the 1st MSTR Awards through Instagram and Facebook at noon on January 10. Quomodo Desolata Es? Isang Dalamhati as Best Production of a Play and Si Faust as Best Production of a Musical are among the honorees of the inaugural edition.

Quomodo Desolata Es? Isang Dalamhati is having a limited rerun from January 30 to February 8 at Hyundai Hall, Areté, Ateneo de Manila. Tickets are from P999 to P1,499.

Founded in 2025, MSTR aims to promote, support, and celebrate the theater industry of Metro Manila. It is composed of regular reviewers of the Manila theater scene writing across print and online platforms. The Society fulfills its mission through consistent, publicly accessible theater reviews and through the presentation of annual awards honoring the year’s most outstanding theatrical work. Beyond these goals, MSTR seeks to cultivate and elevate discourse on theater among industry practitioners, journalists, academics, and the general theatergoing public.

"Our theater community is thriving, but meaningful engagement requires a reliable and diverse critical voice," said MSTR founder Nikki Francisco in a press statement during the launch in December. "We formed the Society to help ensure that productions, artists, and companies shaping our cultural life are met with thoughtful, publicly accessible reviews—reviews that treat this art form with rigor, respect, and perspective. A strong culture of criticism also empowers audiences: it helps them navigate an increasingly busy season, understand the intentions behind the work, and engage more deeply with what they’re seeing."

"Manila’s theater ecosystem—dynamic as it is now—is not just a phenomenon of the ‘now’; it’s also history in the making, one show at a time," said co-founder and convenor Vincen Gregory Yu. "By coming together as a community of reviewers, we hope to contribute to a more robust public conversation—one where reviews and analyses are seen not as gatekeeping, but as forms of care for the art and the people who make it."

The Manila Society of Theater Reviewers compiles links to all reviews by members on its website.

For the 1st MSTR Awards, winners were chosen from 66 eligible productions that opened in Metro Manila during the 2025 calendar year. Eligibility was determined according to MSTR’s established criteria: fully staged theatrical works developed, created, and premiered in the Philippines, including productions by professional companies, campus-based or student-led organizations, and thesis performances. All eligible productions must have been seen by a minimum of three voting members to be considered in the awards deliberations. The Society also recognized honorable mentions in all categories.

The winners of the 1st MSTR Awards were chosen by its voting members for 2025: Vladimir Bunoan (ABS-CBN News Online), Gibbs Cadiz (Philippine Daily Inquirer), Christa De La Cruz (Esquire Philippines), Nikki Francisco (TheaterFansManila.com), Arturo Hilado (Independent), Emil Hofileña (TheaterFansManila.com/Independent), Ricky Toledo (Philippine Star), Chito Vijandre (Philippine Star), and Vincen Gregory Yu (The Diarist/Independent).

Best Achievement in Design

D Cortezano (set), Ali Figueroa (costumes), Jethro Nibaten (lighting), and Ronelson Yadao (movement) - Quomodo Desolata Es? Isang Dalamhati

Emerging Talent Award

Benedix Ramos (performance), Bar Boys: The Musical, Dagitab, and Next to Normal

Best Featured Performance in a Musical

Marvin Ong, Side Show

Best Featured Performance in a Play

Benedix Ramos, Dagitab

Best Lead Performance in a Musical

Maita Ponce, Si Faust

Best Lead Performance in a Play

Jojit Lorenzo, 3 Upuan

Best Director

Guelan Varela-Luarca, 3 Upuan and Quomodo Desolata Es? Isang Dalamhati

Outstanding Contribution to the Theater

GA Fallarme

George De Jesus III

Best New Filipino Work

Quomodo Desolata Es? Isang Dalamhati - translation by Jerry Respeto and adapted by Guelan Varela-Luarca

Best Production of a Musical

Si Faust - produced by Arete Ateneo and directed by Nelsito Gomez

Best Production of a Play

Quomodo Desolata Es? Isang Dalamhati - produced by Arete Ateneo and directed by Guelan Varela-Luarca

Disclaimer: Esquire Philippines' Associate Editor, Christa De La Cruz, is a voting member of the Manila Society of Theater Reviewers.

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