{{Short description|Filipino theater actress and producer (1941–2021)}} {{use mdy dates|date=May 2021}} {{Infobox person | name = Baby Barredo | image = <!-- filename only, no "File:" or "Image:" prefix, and no enclosing brackets --> | image_upright = | landscape = <!-- yes, if wide image, otherwise leave blank --> | alt = <!-- descriptive text for use by speech synthesis (text-to-speech) software --> | caption = | pronunciation = | birth_name = <!-- only use if different from name --> | birth_date = {{Birth date|1941|04|28}} | birth_place = | death_date = {{Death date and age|2021|05|23|1941|04|28}} | death_place = Taguig, Metro Manila, Philippines | resting_place = | resting_place_coordinates = <!-- {{coord|LAT|LONG|type:landmark|display=inline}} --> | burial_place = <!-- may be used instead of resting_place and resting_place_coordinates (displays "Burial place" as label) --> | burial_coordinates = <!-- {{coord|LAT|LONG|type:landmark|display=inline}} --> | monuments = | other_names = | siglum = | citizenship = | education = | alma_mater = University of Indiana<br />American Conservatory of Dramatic Arts (New York) | occupation = Theater actress, director, producer | years_active = | era = | employer = | organization = Repertory Philippines | agent = <!-- Discouraged in most cases, specifically when promotional, and requiring a reliable source --> | known_for = | notable_works = <!-- produces label "Notable work"; may be overridden by |credits=, which produces label "Notable credit(s)"; or by |works=, which produces label "Works"; or by |label_name=, which produces label "Label(s)" --> | style = | net_worth = <!-- Net worth should be supported with a citation from a reliable source --> | height = <!-- "X cm", "X m" or "X ft Y in" plus optional reference (conversions are automatic) --> | television = | title = <!-- Formal/awarded/job title. The parameter |office=may be used as an alternative when the label is better rendered as "Office" (e.g. public office or appointments) --> | term = | predecessor = | successor = | party = | movement = | opponents = | boards = | criminal_charges = <!-- Criminality parameters should be supported with citations from reliable sources --> | criminal_penalty = | criminal_status = | spouse = <!-- Use article title or common name --> | partner = <!-- (unmarried long-term partner) --> | children = | parents = <!-- overrides mother and father parameters --> | mother = <!-- may be used (optionally with father parameter) in place of parents parameter (displays "Parent(s)" as label) --> | father = <!-- may be used (optionally with mother parameter) in place of parents parameter (displays "Parent(s)" as label) --> | relatives = Maniya Barredo (niece) | family = | callsign = | awards = | website = <!-- {{URL|example.com}} --> | module = | module2 = | module3 = | module4 = | module5 = | module6 = | signature = | signature_size = | signature_alt = | footnotes = }} '''Carmen "Baby" Johnson Barredo''' (April 28, 1941 – May 23, 2021)<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.bworldonline.com/philippine-theater-icon-baby-barredo-80/|title=Philippine theater icon Baby Barredo, 80|date=May 24, 2021}}</ref> was a Filipino theater actress and producer known for co-founding Repertory Philippines, a major English-language theater company in the Philippines.<ref name=abspasses>{{cite news |last1=Dumaual |first1=Mario |title=Theater icon Baby Barredo passes on at 80 |url=https://www.abs-cbn.com/life/05/23/21/theater-icon-baby-barredo-passes-on-at-80 |access-date=24 May 2021 |work=ABS-CBN News |date=23 May 2021 |language=en}}</ref>
==Early life and education== Baby Barredo's first involvement in theater was when she was five years old, when she portrayed the angel Gabriel for a school Christmas pageant. She attended the St. Scholastica's College for her elementary and high school education.<ref name="platonic">{{cite news |last1=Llamas |first1=Cora |title=Baby Barredo on Bibot Amador: 'It was a platonic relationship' |url=https://lifestyle.inquirer.net/154054/baby-barredo-on-bibot-amador-it-was-a-platonic-relationship/ |access-date=24 May 2021 |work=Philippine Daily Inquirer |date=15 March 2014}}</ref>
Barredo had various people as mentors; she studied voice under Fides Asencio and Ines Zialcita, music under Lucrecia Kasilag, and drama under Daisy Avellana. Barredo attended the University of Indiana in the United States where she studied voice, and later attended the American Conservatory of Dramatic Arts in New York to complete her studies in drama.<ref name=abspasses/>
==Career== Barredo returned to the Philippines after pursuing studies in the United States. She co-founded the Repertory Philippines with Zeneida Amador in 1967 which became reputed for its English-language productions.<ref name=abspasses/> Amador was Barredo's long-time friend whom she had met in her 20s.<ref name="platonic"/> Under her watch, Repertory Philippines produced several figures in Filipino theater including Pinky Amador, Maya Barredo, Jonjon Briones, Red Concepcion, Bart Guingona, Junix Inocian, Cocoy Laurel, Gia Macuja, Lea Salonga, Monique Wilson, and Rem Zamora.<ref name=abspasses/>
In the 1970s, Barredo was invited to join the Philippine Educational Theater Association but had to decline as she had, by then, established Repertory Philippines with Zeneida Amador.<ref name="platonic"/>
Barredo did acting for Repertory Philippines. Among the roles she played were as Violet Weston in the ''August Osage County'', Maria in ''The Sound of Music'', Evita Peron in ''Evita'', Anna in ''The King & I'', Maria Callas in ''Master Class'', Mme. Thenardier in ''Les Misérables'', Bloody Mary in South Pacific. She had a ten-year hiatus in acting following the death of Amador. Aside from acting, Barredo also served as stage director, musical director, and costume designer for several Repertory Philippines productions.<ref name="potBW">{{cite news |last1=Cruz |first1=Jasmine Agnes |title=Baby Barredo: Maria, Evita, and a pot-smoking grandma |url=https://www.bworldonline.com/content.php?section=Weekender&title=baby-barredo-maria-evita-and-a-pot-smoking-grandma&id=104656 |access-date=24 May 2021 |work=BusinessWorld |date=20 March 2015}}</ref>
She is a recipient of the ''Gawad Parangal sa mga Tampok na Yaman ng Teatro Pilipino'' ({{translation|Tribute to the Living Legends of Philippine Theatre}}) of the International University Theater Association (IUTA).<ref>{{cite web |title=2011 Living Legend of PHL Theater Awardees |url=https://ncca.gov.ph/about-culture-and-arts/in-focus/2011-living-legend-of-phl-theater-awardees/|publisher=National Commission for Culture and the Arts |access-date=24 May 2021 |date=29 July 2011}}</ref>
==Death== Baby Barredo died on May 23, 2021, at the St. Luke's Medical Center in Taguig due to multiple organ failure caused by sepsis.<ref name=abspasses/>
==Personal life== Baby Barredo's relatives include ballerina Maniya Barredo, her niece.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Sering |first1=Tara FT |title=The Theater of Imagination |url=https://artplus.ph/the-theater-of-imagination/ |website=Art Plus Magazine |access-date=24 May 2021 |language=en}}</ref>
Barredo and her Repertory Philippines co-founder, Zeneida Amador, lived together until Amador passed in 2008, each adopting a daughter and son, respectively. It was long rumoured that they were in a relationship, however, Barredo denied these rumours, insisting that the relationship was strictly platonic.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://lifestyle.inquirer.net/154054/baby-barredo-on-bibot-amador-it-was-a-platonic-relationship/|title = Baby Barredo on Bibot Amador: 'It was a platonic relationship'|date = March 14, 2014}}</ref>
==References== {{reflist}}
Category:Filipino theatre directors Category:Filipino stage actresses Category:2021 deaths Category:St. Scholastica's College Manila alumni Category:1941 births