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PHILIPPINES, JUNE 6, 2011 – AXN is cooking up Southeast Asia’s first ever regional television musical, The Kitchen Musical, conceptualized and produced by Singapore’s The Group Entertainment. The Kitchen Musical, which is now in production in Singapore, is set to be the Glee of restaurants.
Singers Karylle and Christian Bautista hold key roles in the show, alongside other Filipino cast members Arthur Acuna, Thou Reyes and Ikey Canoy, who will be based in Singapore for the next four months.
The Kitchen Musical is set in the famous Avilon restaurant upon the return of Maddie (Karylle), the owner’s daughter, who has just come home from culinary school in Paris.
“The idea of a musical television series that hones in on Asia’s passion for food has never been done before," said CheeK, executive vice-president and creative director of The Group Entertainment. "We wanted to create a fresh and original concept for the global audience and still well identifiable within the region.”
Crew members and behind the scenes staff will work with Australia’s top choreographer, Jason Coleman, current judge of Australia’s So You Think You Can Dance and the man who orchestrated the performance at the Sydney Olympics in 2000. Other notable crew members include Philippine’s well-known music director, Gerard Salonga, as well as Massimiliano Della Maggesa, international make-up artist who has worked with Alexandra McQueen, Donna Karen and Chloé.
Production company Unitel worked on the pitch tape, a pilot episode for potential investors. The pitch tape was written by Katski Flores and directed by Mark Reyes, featuring an all-Filipino cast and crew that included Ikey Canoy, Nelson Caruncho, Frenchie Dy, Jaime Fabregas, Pamela Imperial, Jon Joven, Fredison Lo, Jake Macapagal, OJ Mariano, Chinie Nepomoceno and Gary Valenciano.
The 13 one-hour episodes will be aired during primetime in 22 markets across Asia starting October 2011. The Kitchen Musical will premiere locally on ABS-CBN’s Sunday’s Best before being served up in full on Studio 23.
Source: Manila Bulletin, AXN press release
