MANILA – Comedy reigns supreme at this year’s Virgin Labfest, the Cultural Center of the Philippines’ annual theater event for “unpublished, unstaged, untested and untried” plays, which is now on the 15th year.

The 12 one-act plays in the 2019 edition of VLF, which is now on its final week at the Tanghalang Aurelio Tolentino (Little Theater), while at the Tanghalang Huseng Batute are three plays from last year’s festival that have been chosen for the “revisited” set.

According to festival director Tuxqs Rutaquio, a record 207 plays were submitted for this year’s festival, many by playwrights who should be familiar to VLF fans.

Among them is Rick Patriarca, who made waves in 2016 as a then-21-year old “virgin” playwright with his rip-roaring “Hapagkainan,” which was set up as a parody of Pinoy families in TV commercials. He’s back with another riot of a play, “Wanted: Male Boarders,” a no-holds-barred sex comedy about the shenanigans that ensue when a flamboyantly gay Ariana Grande fan (played with wild abandon by Lance Reblando) becomes the new housemate of three young men at a boarding house in Cavite.

“Ang Pag-uulyanin ni Olivia Mendoza” by Rolin Migyuel Obina, who wrote last year’s EJK drama “Mga Bata sa Selda 34,” could well be its geriatric version. Set in a home for the elderly, the play starts off on a serious note as we are introduced to the titular character who is suffering from Alzheimer’s disease. But when Olivia’s old friend Julia (a scene-stealing Celeste Legaspi) enters the picture, it swiftly lightens up with an unexpected twist that you won’t see coming.

Even the seemingly dramatic “Huling Hiling ni Darling” by Patricio Barcelon, set in a hospital room as family members say their farewells to a comatose woman, comes with sit-com punchlines, although not as hilarious as the similarly themed “Ang Naghihingalo” in VLF 10.

Here are four plays in this year’s Virgin Labfest, which I personally liked (in order):

“Fangirl”

It is only apt that the best play this year is an unabashed comedy. In “Fangirl,” playwright Herlyn Alegre chose a far lighter subject compared to her VLF debut in 2013 -- the well-received “Imbisibol” about Filipinos in Japan. High school friends Barbara, Jessica and Angeline get together to book tickets online for the much-awaited reunion concert of their beloved boyband. But as with most works about reunions, expect deep-seated and seemingly forgotten issues to surface as they reminisce about the past.

The play, nonetheless, feels fresh and anyone who has ever geeked out on something – that makes all of us – would understand the thrill and pressures of fandom, as well as the irresistible hold of pop culture. Alegre and director Charles Yee refused to belittle such celebrity pursuits nor did they attempt to intellectualize such behavior. Instead, they created a snug comedy on friendship and fandom, zanily brought to life by the skintight trio of Mayen Estanero, Marj Lorico and Meann Espinosa.

“Larong Demonyo”

There were also a few dead-serious plays in VLF 15 and “Larong Demonyo” by veteran playwright Nicolas Pichay towers with its subject matter, tense setup and a taut and terrifying performance by Leo Rialp as a Martial Law-era general planning his political comeback. With his eyes on the presidency, General Videla hires a young man to write his biography.

The two-character play begins as a basic job interview but immediately one senses that everything is not what it seems. The tension quickly escalates as the two men struggle to get the upperhand, which they eventually settle in a chess game with deadly stakes.

The beauty of Pichay’s text is that it goes beyond the usual politics, turning it into a riveting psychological thriller, deftly directed by Jose Estrella.

“The Bride and the Bachelor”

Talk about star power. Headlined by TV and film stars Via Antonio and Alex Medina, “The Bride and the Bachelor” marks the return of playwright Dingdong Novenario to VLF after the hit musical “Ang Huling El Bimbo.”

This time he creates a high concept rom-com, with the play set in some sort of parallel dimension as the bride retreats from her wedding to make sense of her failed 10-year relationship with her ex-boyfriend. It’s a tricky proposition and director Topper Fabregas stages it with whimsical touches. But there’s a winning quality to the pairing of Medina (in his theater debut) and Antonio that brings out the relaxed and natural beauty of Novenario’s text as it explores the ups and downs of millennial relationships.

“Anak Ka Ng”

The writing tandem of U Z Eliserio and Maynard Manansala was responsible for several plays in previous VLF editions, like “Hindi ako si Darna," which imagines the superhero as an aging woman. This year, Eliserio goes solo, with Manansala taking on the directorial duties on this family drama.

“Anak Ka Ng” spins a familiar OFW yarn of a mother who reunites with her resentful daughter after her husband dies. This particular estranged relationship rings painfully true and oftentimes it is uncomfortable to watch, particularly with the way the daughter rudely dismisses her mother’s attempts to connect. But at the same time, the play’s cold, less than rosy tone offers a different and welcome break from the usual OFW clichés. Skyzx Labastilla and Krystle Valentino are perfectly matched, as they navigate the tricky turns of this thorny relationship.