Muli: The OPM Musical Our Readers Keep Asking For
An original musical from the team behind Sa Wakas, about a woman who gets to try the lives she did not choose. It is on at BGC Arts Center until 27 September, and there are two weekends left.
Photo: Muli, An OPM Musical
When we asked what you would do with a free night out this September, one answer kept coming back. So we went to the people who made Muli, and they gave us two seats for one of you. The details are at the end.
Muli: An OPM Musical (OPM stands for Original Pilipino Music) opened on 11 September at the Globe Auditorium in BGC Arts Center, and it runs Friday to Sunday until the 27th.
A second go at a life
Anita is 42. She had a child young, married early and put her dream of being a singer-songwriter in a box, which is exactly where the show finds her, going through old boxes. What she digs up lets her step into the lives she might have had, from the career to the one that got away, and each of them comes at a price. Her grown-up daughter Kath is the one telling her it is not too late.
"When you're in your 20s, you can do whatever, but as you get older, it's actually harder for you to start over because you have much more to lose."
Charissa Pammit, writer and producer
Eleven new songs
The team behind Muli made Sa Wakas, the 2013 musical built on the songs of Sugarfree. This time the score is original: Nica del Rosario and Matthew Chang wrote 11 songs that move through the eras of Filipino pop, from Fliptop-style rap to acoustic ballads and '90s bubblegum. Kakki Teodoro, a Gawad Urian winner, plays Anita, and the singer Janine Teñoso makes her stage debut as Kath.
Two of the songs are already streaming, "Ya Girl" and "Iba't Ibang Mundo". Play them before you book.
Before you go
- When: Fridays to Sundays until 27 September. Shows at 8PM, with 3PM matinees on selected dates.
- Where: Globe Auditorium, Maybank Performing Arts Theater, BGC Arts Center, 26th Street corner 9th Avenue.
- Tickets: mulimusical.com and TicketWorld, or walk up to the TicketWorld booth in the theatre.
- Running time: about two and a half hours.
Dinner first
Two good rooms sit a short walk up 9th Avenue. Makanai does Japanese shared plates and takes walk-ins. Cochi is Marvin Agustin's Bib Gourmand suckling pig restaurant, and worth booking on a weekend.
One of you is going on Friday
The Muli team gave us two house seats for the 18 September show, for a reader from our September Night Out giveaway. We will announce who is going on @whatson.mnl this week. The ₱2,000 night out is still open until Sunday 20 September.
The production gave us the seats. Nobody paid for this story.
More stories
All stories
This Season in Manila: What's Worth Your Time
A short, useful guide to the strongest cultural nights across Metro Manila from June to August 2026, for the reader who wants to pick a few and pick well.
A Perfect Weekend in Manila
A two-day route through Makati for residents who want the good version of their own city: weekend markets, a gallery hour, a proper listening bar, and a dinner worth booking ahead.
The Rise of Manila's Listening Bars
Manila has built a small but serious circuit of hi-fi and vinyl bars, where the sound system is the point and the records set the pace. A guide to the rooms worth the trip.