Singer-actor theater director Jojo Urquico. Handout
For more than three decades, Jojo Urquico has built a diverse career onstage as a singer and actor, taking on roles in musicals and plays in Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Guam and other international stages.
Urquico originated the role of Thuy in the German production of “Miss Saigon” in 1994, performing the acclaimed musical in both German and English. He later joined the Asian tour of “Miss Saigon” with Lea Salonga and went on to appear in productions of “Rent,” “Die Zauberflöte,” “Romeo and Juliet” and “Aladdin.”
“I was just working as an actor for three decades,” Urquico told ABS-CBN News. “In 2017, I started directing. The first production that I directed was ‘Les Miz’ in Guam. But I didn’t plan to be a playwright. I just discovered it last year.”
In late 2025, Urquico expanded his artistic journey once again, this time discovering a new passion for writing. That exploration eventually led to “Last Dance: Hubo’t Hubad,” an original play that he wrote and directed.
“I believe that everyone of us has more than one passion,” Urquico said. “This play is just one of them. Acting is one, painting is one, dancing is one, writing is one. I am still an old school guy. I write everything in long hand. I don’t use the computer. Even my thoughts, I write everything. Where I live, you will find papers with my handwriting everywhere.”
It took Urquico three months to finish “Last Dance,” although he is still putting the final touches until now. “I’ve always been curious about people,” disclosed Urquico. “I wanted to know the human being behind the label that they call commodity. That was what prompted me to work on this play.”
“Last Dance” is a poignant and intimate queer ensemble play that takes place inside the dressing room of a struggling revue bar in Manila on what may be its final night.
As a violent storm rages outside and the threat of a police raid looms, five male performers prepare for one last show while confronting the dreams they abandoned, the identities they concealed and the lives they sacrificed to survive.
Behind the glitter, laughter and seductive performances are men searching for dignity, love, acceptance and a place to belong. Told through humor, heartbreak, music and raw confession, their intertwined stories reveal the resilience of a chosen family determined to keep dancing despite an uncertain future.
“Last Dance: Hubo’t Hubad” began taking shape at the UP Faculty Center in Diliman, where Urquico first developed his interest in straight plays as a student.
“I started doing straight plays there when I was still a student,” said Urquico, who took up political science at the University of the Philippines. He did not finish his degree, however, after “Miss Saigon” came along and opened an unexpected path in musical theater.
'Last Dance: Hubo’t Hubad' director Jojo Urquico (center, seated) with the cast. Handout
So far, the five-member cast in “Last Dance” had done one table read. Then they will start rehearsing some parts of the monologue of the characters that’s in the script. “I got sur
Urquico auditioned the lean cast, chosen from among over 40 male talents. “I didn’t know the talents can do certain acts,” he said. “I was surprised. After we made the announcement for the audition, I was surprised to see the raw talents. Our job is to teach them to prepare for possibilities. They didn’t prepare for anything. I’d rather see someone who’s alive onstage than someone who rehearsed and planned everything.”
The macho dancers will be played by Gerald Magallanes, an accomplished theater actor and dancer; Paolo Domingo, a versatile film and stage actor and Halxyon Club resident DJ; model and pageant performer John Segui; Kriszan Manipon, theater actor and improviser; and Robbie Padilla, photographer and visual storyteller.
Urquico created “Last Dance: Hubo’t Hubad” with the goal of making theater more accessible to everyone, particularly young people.
“I want young people to be involved in theater more than games,” he said. “You want to take the kids out of the streets, introduce them to theater. Big and small productions can attract more young people to be involved in theater.”
For Urquico, every production and every role can be an opportunity to get people interested in the performing arts.
“There’s no such thing as small productions, no small roles, only small actors,” he said.
“Last Dance: Hubo’t Hubad” will run at the Halcyon Club in Poblacion, Makati, starting September 29, with performances on October 1, 6, 8, 13, 15, 17, 20, 22, 27 and 29. Shows start at 7:30 p.m.