MANILA, Philippines – Philippine Educational Theater Association (PETA) has just announced that more shows for One More Chance, The Musical will be available starting March 7 via TicketWorld, due to overwhelming demand.

PETA has added more shows and after tickets sold out months before the show opened.

One More Chance, The Musical, will now run from the 12th of April to the 30th of June at the PETA-Phinma Theater in New Manila, Quezon City, instead of the initial closing date of June 16, 2024. 

Tickets for the feverishly anticipated show were made available via TicketWorld early February during the exclusive pre-sale for Metrobank, PETA’s co-presenter and official bank partner. 

Close to 1,800 tickets were sold in the first hour alone, and by the end of the three-day pre-sale, more than half of the tickets of the 50-show run were gone in an instant. 

“We are thankful and extremely grateful for the unprecedented ticket turn-out and box-office surge. Maribel Legarda, One More Chance, The Musical director and PETA artistic director enthused. 

“The local theater industry is rising and seeing an economic boom,” she adds.

“We’ve chosen to put together two Pinoy icons, One More Chance and Ben&Ben to tap and develop new audiences outside of the regular mainstream musical theatergoers,” Legarda said, adding that the overwhelming reaction of the public shows the strength of this collaboration of a lifetime.

About One More Chance, The Musical

One More Chance, The Musical is based on the motion picture One More Chance (2007) produced by ABS-CBN Film Productions, Inc.

PETA’s musical adaptation not only brings the iconic love story of Popoy and Basha to life but also creates a more nuanced and expanded experience for audiences, thanks to Ben&Ben’s captivating and emotionally charged songs. The musical includes the band’s smash hits Kathang Isip, Araw-Araw, Leaves, to name a few.

Audiences can expect a richer version that examines various lessons and themes from the vantage point of today’s generation, nearly two decades since the film’s premiere. 

“We brought depth to how we view the self in relationships, the choices that we make, and how these reverberate to our social circles, our family, friends, and society in general,” One More Chance, The Musical playwright Michelle Ngu-Nario said, adding that it will also immerse in raging issues such as mental health.

The musical features an impeccable cast led by Sam Concepcion and CJ Navato who will play Popoy, together with Anna Luna and Nicole Omillo as Basha. They are joined by Kiara Takahashi and Sheena Belarmino as Tricia, Jef Flores and Jay Gonzaga as Mark. The musical will also feature Poppert Bernadas and Paji Arceo as Kenneth, Ada Tayao and Rica Laguardia as Krizzy, Via Antonio  and Dippy Arceo as Anj, Jon Abella as JP, and Johnnie Moran as Chinno. The cast also includes budding and veteran theater artists: Chez Cuenca, Coleen Paz, JC Galano, Matthew Barbers, Neomi Gonzales, Carla Guevara Laforteza, Raul Montesa, Floyd Tena, and Hazel Maranan.

One More Chance, The Musical is written by Michelle Ngu-Nario, directed by Maribel Legarda, assistant direction and dramaturgy by J-mee Katanyag, musical direction and sound design by Myke Salomon, choreography by Michael Barry Que, set design by Ohm David, costume design by Carlo Pagunaling, lighting design by David Esguerra, projection design by Bene Manaois.

The musical is presented by PETA together with Metrobank and Robinsons Malls.

For more information, follow PETA’s social media accounts at @petatheater (Facebook, Instagram, X, and TikTok). For partnerships, contact PETA’s Marketing and Public Relations Office at 0917-5765400 or petatheater@gmail.com.

One More Chance, The Musical featuring the songs of Ben&Ben

One More Chance, The Musical is based on the motion picture One More Chance (2007), produced by ABS-CBN Film Productions, Inc. 

One More Chance is a popular Filipino romantic drama film released in 2007. The movie tells the story of Popoy (John Lloyd Cruz) and Basha (Bea Alonzo), a couple whose long-term relationship faces numerous challenges. 

PETA’s musical adaptation not only brings the iconic love story of Popoy and Basha to life but also creates a more nuanced and expanded experience for audiences, thanks to Ben&Ben’s poetic, emotionally charged, and LSS-inducing songs. The musical includes the band’s smash hits “Kathang Isip,” “Araw-Araw,” “Leaves,” and “Paninidigan Kita,” to name a few.

With the stage play adaptation, we relive the moments of the central characters with much more intimacy, intensity, dimension, and perspective. Here we see them in the flesh; we are with them in the same room, watching them and seeing what goes behind every choice made and chance taken or not taken by the characters we all love so well. 

The musical features the songs of the massively popular and award-winning Filipino nine-piece band, Ben&Ben.

One More Chance, The Musical is slated to run from April 12–June 30, 2024, at the PETA Theater Center in Quezon City. The musical is presented by PETA and co-presented by Metrobank and Robinsons Malls.

Overview

One More Chance is a classic and an icon. Loved by a generation that saw themselves in Popoy, Basha, and the many friends and lovers that came into their lives. In them, we saw how a seemingly picture-perfect and solid relationship can easily crumble when the small cracks are ignored, or worse, covered up. With Popoy, we learned that giving your best doesn’t mean you won’t get your heart broken, and with Basha, we hoped to be chosen once again for another chance for a better kind of love. In the present context, this story about taking chances and living life without regrets resonates more than ever.

A chance to get closer

The intimacy of theater and the nuanced expression

Hope, love, and chances. These are sentiments that don’t escape us, sentiments that were captured so well by One More Chance because of how the film provided a closer look at a couple growing into themselves as individuals, and as lovers. Now, with the stage play adaptation, we relive the moments of Popoy and Basha with much more intimacy, as lent by the theater. To see them in the flesh, to be with them in one room goes beyond what cinema captured. In this version, we not only show the nuanced and expanded experience of the couple but also their friends, the Thursday barkada—the level-headed Kenneth and Krizzy and their couple goals, the jovial Chino and his heartbreak, tough-loving Anj’s tenacity, and carefree JP’s adventures as a playboy. We can also look into the people who were there for the protagonists at their lowest, Mark and Tricia.

Beyond Love

Behind the choices and chances

A musical provides the avenue to pick the characters’ hearts and minds, for their inner monologues to be heard in song as they make their choices. With the adaptation, the relevant themes and issues presented in the film can be further explored. More than the relationship, Popoy and Basha’s struggles were also tied up to the expectations shouldered by the age group they belonged to—young professionals making a name for themselves; breaking boundaries in society while establishing their own; expectations from family; expectations to hit the ground running in a rat race that diminishes the self and self-care. These, along with the interrogation of how one handles pressure, pain, heartbreak, and depression, among others, are possibilities the stage play could accommodate.

Icon for an icon

Bridging generations with music

As an iconic film, One More Chance is only befitting of the iconic music that is Ben&Ben. Their songs capture the emotional angst that will bring the scenes of the movie to the ‘now’. The music of Ben&Ben reflects the brokenness of a person and his or her  journey to heal from it and come out stronger. Their music is a fitting anthem to the film that embodies just those. This coming together of cinema, music, and live performance aims to be a heartwarming welcome for Filipinos back to the theater, for one more chance at love, healing, and the songs that go along with it.

A 9-piece band from the Philippines, composed of:

• Twin brothers Miguel Benjamin and Paolo Benjamin on acoustic guitars and vocals
• Poch Barretto on electric guitar
• Keifer Cabugao on violin
• Andrew De Pano and Toni Muñoz on percussion
• Pat Lasaten on keyboards
• Agnes Reoma on bass
• Jam Villanueva on drums

Ben&Ben has endeared itself to many with their heartfelt lyrics, unique musicality, and their electric vibe onstage. In the prime of their youth, the band is keen on dedicating themselves to bringing richness to the music they create through songs of hope, love and positivity. 

In a few years’ time, folk-pop collective Ben&Ben has maintained a level of cultural relevance that earned its place in the history of contemporary Philippine music. The award-winning band rose to prominence with heartfelt anthems that define an entire generation and show-stopping performances that mesmerize the audiences from all over the world.

For three years, the dynamic young band emerged as the most streamed OPM Artist and Group in the Philippines, being the first Filipino act to surpass more than a billion streams. In addition to this game-changing feat, Ben&Ben has averaged nearly three million monthly listeners on Spotify, and eclipsed its previous record by simultaneously charting a total of 10 songs on the platform’s Top 50.