Weekend Entertainment (June 24 to 26, 2016)

Do you still have a hangover from the Independence Day celebrations? Fret not, as more exciting events are just around the corner this week.

From movies to concerts and ballet shows, here’s what’s happening in Manila from June 24 to 26.

Independence Day: Resurgence, the highly anticipated sequel to the 1996 sci-fi blockbuster movie Independence Day, will hit Philippine cinemas starting June 22. After 20 years, the aliens return with even bigger spaceships and humans must fight back to avoid extinction. Bill Pullman and Jeff Goldblum, who were in the original film, reprise their roles. Also in the cast are Liam Hemsworth, Sela Ward, and Maika Monroe.

SM and Ayala Cinemas are offering advanced tickets to the movie. A special early screening will be held at Ayala Cinemas on June 22, 12:01 a.m.

Saving the world is also the task at hand for Dwayne Johnson and Kevin Hart in the action-comedy film Central Intelligence, in Philippine cinemas starting June 15. The movie follows the story of a secret agent and a former accountant who embark on a mission and are thrust into the dangerous world of international crime and espionage.

Deeply emotional lines have been making the rounds of mainstream and social media as of late. And so if millennials have “the feels,” then lovelorn and broken-hearted Filipinos have “hugot.”

The “hugot” phenomenon and other matters of the heart are explored in Ang Walang Katapusang Sequel, happening at Splice Resto Bar, Ortigas on June 24, 8:00 PM and June 25, 5:00 PM and 8:00 PM. Watch the drama unfold as Matt and friends drown their sorrows with beer one night in an acoustic bar. One unique twist from the organizer Antrosininglaya Theatre Company is that they have made audience interaction an integral part of the show in a bid to veer away from the set-up of traditional plays.

Tickets are priced at PhP250. For inquiries, contact Maxin Canlas at (+63917) 764-0827.

If you’re not the sentimental type, you might want to head to the rock musical Green Day’s American Idiot. This Tony award-winning Broadway musical will be staged starting June 24 at the Globe Iconic Store at the Bonifacio High Street Amphitheater in Bonifacio Global City, Taguig. Songs from American punk rock band Green Day are used to tell the story of three friends exploring American life in the wake of the September 11 terrorist attack. The show will feature performances by vocalists from local bands. Also in the cast is Basti Artadi of Wolfgang, along with other theater veterans.

You can catch American Idiot on June 24, 25, 26 and on July 1, 2, 3, 8, 9, 10. Tickets are available through TicketWorld for PhP2,090.

Filipino-Canadian crooner Darren Espanto will sing and dance his way into your heart in the Darren Espanto D Total Experience concert at the Kia Theater this June 25, 8:00 PM. Joining Darren on stage is Jed Madela and other surprise guests. Tickets range from PhP1,000 to PhP4,500 and can be bought from TicketNet.

Darren is a Season 1 finalist of The Voice Kids Philippines. He sang “Tell the Word of His Love” during Pope Francis’ visit to the Philippines last year. At only 15 years old, he has released three albums and five singles, performed in numerous solo concerts, and received awards and nominations for his music.

Do you have Black Swan aspirations? Then Dance.MNL: The Philippine International Dance Festival TicketWorld.from June 21 to 26 might be right up your alley.

This first-ever biennial dance festival and workshop series gathers together 500 dance professionals as they perform in 11 shows for two weeks. This weekend, you can still catch the last few performances featuring Airdance, Daloy Dance Company, and Ballet Manila at the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP). To close the festival, “Ballet Filipino” will be held on June 26 at 8:00 PM, where Ballet Philippines, Philippine Ballet Theatre, and Ballet Manila showcase the best of Filipino dance.

Festival passes are priced at PhP3,605, while single tickets range from PhP200 to PhP1,000. Tickets are available through TicketWorld.

Dance Intensive classes will also be held from June 14 to 26.The country’s best dance instructors, including first Filipina prima ballerina Lisa MacujaElizalde, will teach aspiring dancers the art of graceful movement.Rates are at PhP2,000 to PhP5,000.