Full House: Review of DELIA D. : Dilemmas of a Drag Diva

April 27, 2025

Delia (Phi Palmos) was a drag queen who performed at the Drag & Tell nightclub run by Mama Eme (John Lapus). However, instead of the required lipsyncing, Delia wanted to sing her songs live. It was the big dream of her dear mother Anet (Joann Yap Co) back in Ozamis that she should succeed as a singer. She joined the Idol of the Galaxy singing contest of the JBC station. Delia's favorite singer Mamon (Tex Ordonez-de Leon) was one of the judges.

Because of his popularity with the TV audiences, the flamboyant Delia (now with a mysterious D as his surname) managed to make it to the semifinal round, together with her shy new BFF Kiki (Shaira Opsimar), his handsome crush Raymond (Omar Uddin), and bitchy mean girl Pheobe (Chaye Mogg). Station manager Sir T (Floyd Tena) seemed very sure that Delia D will win, but Kiki was gaining more confidence in her flawless belting and was catching up fast. 

This was the latest original Filipino jukebox musical theater show after those featuring Aegis ("Rak of Aegis"), the Eraserheads ("Ang Huling El Bimbo"), Ben&Ben ("One More Chance", Parokya ni Edgar ("Buruguduy..."), and Rico Blanco ("Liwanag sa Dilim").  The songs of "Delia D." are derived from the songs written by composer Jonathan Manalo, whose breakthrough as a songwriter came in 2003 when his song "Tara Tena" won an ABS-CBN songwriting contest.  

If you are not familiar with Manalo's name (probably Gen X like me) and which songs he wrote, you may not know which songs will be included in the show, even if they were very popular. Of course, Manalo's ultimate torch "Gusto Ko Nang Bumitaw" was the most ubiquitous song of the show. It was the first song we hear in the show, then it was sung a couple more times, once as a rousing duet, and the other, a painful solo. 

Aside from "Bumitaw," Manalo had other melodramatic ballads like "Patuloy ang Pangarap" and "Pangarap Kong Pangarap Mo." Manalo also wrote youthful pop like "Tara Tena" and "Pinoy Ako," dance bangers like "Unleash the Diva" and "Let It Loose," or novelty hits, notably "Boom Panes" and "Rampa." Manalo's versatility to write such a broad range of musical genres made his discography a rich and eclectic collection. On the other hand, some may find show's overall tone rather unfocused, yet undeniably entertaining.

Compared to previous jukebox musicals where the songs had to be integrated in the story, the storyline of "Delia D." made it easier for musical director Vince Lim to stuff in a lot of random Manalo's songs as contest pieces of various contestants and pop hits by various recording artists. Delia D.'s manager thought she was only good for novelty songs, so songs with silly comical topics like "Pancit Habhab" could make it into the show. 

John Lapus, Floyd Tena, Phi Palmos and Shaira Opsimar

at the curtain call

After a series of award-winning featured roles, Phi Palmos finally broke out as a lead star here. His Delia D. was delightful, endearing, and someone you'd want to root for to get back on track. He went for every song 100%, even if was beyond Delia D's range.  As Kiki, Shaira Opsimar was given all the big belting songs and she knocked them out of the park each time. She is such a vocal powerhouse, I've never noticed how petite she was in stature till now.

Floyd Tena's stage career is on a roll these days as he gets bigger and more varied featured roles. His Sir T was a two-faced anti-hero one here. Ever since she wowed me in "Lam-Ang" (2019), whenever I see Tex Ordonez-de Leon name in a show, I look forward to her songs. In this show, she sang with Opsimar in what is for me the most impressive duet number "Pagbigyang Muli" with de Leon even taking the higher harmony part. 

After making his mark in smaller roles in "Bar Boys" and "Next to Normal," Raymond allowed Omar Uddin to step further out more into the spotlight as Delia D's love interest with love duets like "Puede Ba?" and " Easy Boy Easy Gil." John Lapus' rough voice sounded like it was on the brink of hoarseness, but he was still giving his hilarious all as Mama Eme. Mimi Marquez was GVB, the elegantly dressed CEO of JBC, whose singing vocals were also just elegant. 

Miah Canton has really gone a long way from her innocent ingenue stage debut, here playing Tonee, a high-energy show host with a knack for intrigue. Too bad the run of Alfritz Blanche's character Billy gets cut short, we do not hear him sing more, especially with Natasha Cabrera playing his girlfriend Sheryn. Joann Yap Co can really wring the tears out of yet another mother role here, while Joshua Cabiladas playing Delia's older brother Jose. 

I do not follow the local drag scene, but I have to say that Delia D's drag sisters at Drag and Tell were truly impressive queens. Franco Reyes stood out with her yellow wig and beer belly proudly hanging out. Bomba Ding was fierce with her red wig and the beard. Having heard him sing in the "Zsazsa Zaturnnah" musical before, I thought Almond Bolante would be singing a lot more. He just had one brief yet spectacular belting run, that elicited spontaneous applause. 

Kudos to director Dexter M. Santos, with Menchu Lauchengco-Yulo and Michael Williams assisting. Book was by Dolly Dulu with Vince Lim as Musical Director. Budget seemed to be no issue for Scenic Designer Lawyn Cruz, Video Designer GA Fallarme and Lighting Director John Batalla for those fabulous sets they collaborated on. As this was practically full-length drag show, choreographer Stephen Viñas, costume designer Mitoy Sta. Ana and makeup and hair designer Marlon Rivera maxed on the groove, color and glitter.

*****

Newport World Resorts and Full House Theater Company's production of "DELIA D." runs from April 25 to June 8, 2025. You can buy tickets from TicketWorld and the Newport World Resorts Box Office: PHP 3,500 (SVIP), PHP 3,000 (VIP), PHP 2,500 (GOLD), PHP 1,800 (SILVER), and PHP 1,000 (BRONZE).

Review of VoiceConPH 2025: Vocalizing with Vitality!

April 26, 2025

April is the month when hospitals all over the world celebrate World Voice Day (WVD), specifically on April 16.  On this day in 1999, a group of voice care specialists chose to highlight the value and care of the human voice in Brazil. Since then, the practice of World Voice Day spread to other countries, serving as an education campaign to inform the public of the importance of the human voice and the need for preventive care.

April 16 is an important day in the calendar of Philippine Academy of Laryngobroncho-esophagology and Phoniatrics (or PALP), a sub-organization of board-certified otolaryngologists (or ENT-HNS specialists) with special interest and additional training in the care and management of diseases that affect the patient's voice, airway and swallowing. Care of the professional voice is one of the main advocacies of PALP. 

The full house audience eagerly awaiting the start of the program

Therefore, it was such a stroke of providence that for WVD this year, PALP had the opportunity to collaborate with Voice Con PH, a premier voice mastery event especially curated to benefit content creators, entrepreneurs, and professionals who rely on their voices to earn their daily bread. It is a joint brainchild conceptualized and executed by Ron and Joyce Titular of BrightSpeak, Peter Veriña of Finest Media and Brien Ordiales of Cloud Studio.

Only on its maiden outing this year, VoiceConPH promised an immersive learning experience which will impart science-backed, real-world strategies that can transform how one speaks and his confidence in delivering his message. Enrolling in VoiceConPH carried a premium price tag, either in-person or online, but it did gather top voice experts as faculty to teach attendees how to use their voices "for influence, impact, and income." 

Inside the PALP Booth

After getting confirming my attendance as a guest at the registration desk and having my wrist stamped, I was admitted into the convention venue located on the second floor of the SMX Convention Center Manila beside the SM Mall of Asia. Paying VIP (P24K) and Regular (P8K) delegates had a colorful lanyard and ID, as well as a pen and notebook in their kits. There was an exhibition area with booths of the various industry partners and sponsors of the event.

PALP had been given its own booth, giving out brochures about voice hygiene and the directory of PALP members, supported by PALP's generous partner Ms. Auldrey Silpedes and S.V. More. PALP has done this activity to fulfill our commitment to the advocacy of our umbrella organization, the Philippine Society of Otolaryngology - Head & Neck Surgery (PSO-HNS) for additional public awareness of the various subspecialties of our specialty. 

At 9 am, all the seats in the meeting area proper was already almost completely full, the place abuzz with excitement.  After the National Anthem, the emcees were introduced, namely award-winning radio host Jordan Escusa and popular motivational podcaster Myrza Sison, who wasted no time getting the program started with infectious energy, setting the positive and fun mood which was going to inhabit that room for the rest of the day.

Emcees Myrza Sison and Jordan Escusa

The first speakers were the real-life husband and wife team of Ron and Joyce Titular, both DJs of NU 107 in the past, and passionate voice coaches and voice talents currently.  Their morning session was entitled "Making the Voice Connection." They posited a metaphor of public speaking anxiety as the fear of seeing a T-Rex. We need to overcome this panic in order to reach a safe calm state, for which they taught a number of vocal yoga exercises. 

Ms. Joyce started with the vagal massage, starting from the back of the ears going down the side of the neck. This was done for vagus nerve activation needed in order to keep our calm. She proceeded to teach about the foundational breath, essential for achieving relaxation. She then taught about humming, which was essentially massaging the vocal folds. There were also various relaxing stretching exercises while making animal sounds, like the Cat-Cow.

Keynote Speaker Mr. Francis Kong

Up next was the keynote speech by the inspirational Mr. Francis Kong. I've only heard his talks via online videos before and already knew he was good. However, hearing him speak live in person exceeded all my expectations. As he discussed about investing in your voice, his talk was full of quotable lines and funny jokes. He emphasized that delivery is an important as the content, and he was truly an impressive embodiment of that tenet.

The first session after lunch featured another very popular content creator, Real Time Darbs. His hard-hitting talk was about creating Viral Content that Converts into Sales, about becoming an effective influencer. In order to create content that people will watch, one should follow his tried-and-true formula of Hook, Value and Pay-off, the proven secret path to success for a number of unlikely multi-millionaire TikTok businessmen.

The Virality Guru Real Talk Darbs

The next lecture was Audio Technicalities, a title that seemed to suggest a formidable sound engineering tech-heavy talk. However, when Ron, Joyce and emcee Jordan all acknowledged the next speaker Mike Pedero as their mentor in their careers as radio DJs, you too will sit up and listen to him. His easy-going fatherly speaking style made his subject matter about how to choose and use a microphone very engaging and easy to understand. 

Ron and Joyce returned with their second lecture-workshop session of the day, this time entitled "Setting Up Your Voice for Success." They talked about the shape, color, and range of the voice we produce, citing experts like Don LaFontaine and Dr. Albert Tomatis. They taught straw phonation and other vocal warm-ups before speaking in public. They talked about varying our intonation, volume, pace and phrasing to give further character to our voices.

The delightful vocal power couple, Ron and Joyce Titular

First at bat for PALP was current PALP chair Dr. Shamylle Quinto who talked about the anatomy, physiology and diseases of the vocal folds. She shared videos of her patients whose problematic voices were helped by available therapeutic options.  Former PALP chair Dr. Mary Arlene Bongosia then took the stage to share about her tips for Vocal Hygiene to prevent serious vocal disorders. The whole delegation of PALP was called onstage for a photo op.

For her third session, Ron and Joyce talked about how to develop a boss voice with correct Bruegger's posture, mirroring voice idols, saying it like you mean it and telling stories (and how these made you more memorable to your audience).  Joyce shared a traumatic speaking mishap she experienced on a TV variety show and related how she built up her confidence in public speaking back up to become a respected voice talent and coach now. 

Q&A session with PALP Drs. Arlene Bongosia and Shamylle Quinto

The name and face of financial adviser and influencer Chinkee Tan was prominently featured in the posters of VoiceConPH as a speaker. Unfortunately, he was not there in person. Instead he endorsed a video lecture about his TAPE Framework in monetizing communication to advise prospective influencers on how to start their online brand. However, he did oblige to have a live Q&A session via Zoom call so the audience was still able to interact with him.

The final part of the program was a casual discussion of Ron and Joyce, Jordan and Myrza with special guest Ms. Inka Magnaye. Everyone was just seated comfortably on a sofa and their conversation about their careers focused on their voices was free-flowing and unscripted, making their sharing feel very genuine and sincere. Magnaye was a big hit with the crowd, as she gamely and skillfully fielded a number of questions from the audience. After some closing messages, this full-packed whole-day event finally concluded at around 7pm. 

The magnetic Ms. Inka Magnaye and the insightful final panel discussion

I have to say, the multi-generational audience (more than 1,000 pax strong) of this first VoiceConPH was very impressive. When Ron went into the crowd for them to return-demo the various vocal exercises being taught onstage, those chosen were very game with the activities. When some delegates asked questions during Q&A sessions with speakers, their voice sound so good, it was obvious that they were formidable voice talents themselves who expressed themselves very well. 

Kudos to the organizers of VoiceCon PH who envisioned this to be THE premier voice development event in the Philippines, and succeeded with flying colors. The theme “Bringing Confidence to Your Voice" was achieved by teaching all aspects of the human voice -- from its basic anatomy and physiology, all the way to the maximizing the potentials of social media to expand the reach of that voice to spread one's message to the whole world. PALP will be willing to partner with you in this advocacy for future VoiceConPH's to come. 

Review of PILATO: A Troubling Truth to Tell

April 5, 2024

Poncio Pilato (Jerome Ferguson) was assigned to Judaea as its new Roman prefect. His wife Procla (Christy Lagapa) was very supportive of his ambition to leave a significant legacy. A Jewish historian Josepo (Onyl Torres) has been commissioned to record his rule. When Pilato placed monuments with Caesar's face in Jerusalem and then used temple funds for his aqueduct project, he caught the ire of Caiaphas (Jeremy Manite), high priest of the Sanhedrin. 

Act 1 chronicling Pilato's rise to power in Judaea ran for about 1-1/2 hours long. This part of the story will be new for most viewers (including me), as writer-director Eldrin Veloso distilled his extensive research into Pilate's largely apocryphal history into his Filipino languae script and lyrics. The start may be rather confusing as we met Pilato's father (Robert Macaraeg) and Emperor Tiberius's rep Sejanus (Thor Ganchero), but we do get the drift soon enough. 

An interesting part of Act 1 was the scene where they gave us a peek into the debates in the Sanhedrin, as Pharisees and Sadducees  (Mika Espinosa, VJ Cortel, Julia Panlilio) argue over laws applicable to the cases at hand. We also meet Nicodemus (Darwin Lomentigar) and hear his more liberal views. However if the production will decide to streamline the play in future stagings, this is likely the part which may be cut out without affecting the run of the story.

Hesus (Noel Rayos) will not come out until Act 2, which also lasted 1-1/2 hours long. It opens with His triumphant entry into Jerusalem greeted with palm leaves.  We see all the key events -- the Last Supper, the kiss of betrayal, the release of Barrabas on Pesach (or Passover), the trial with Herod Antipas (also Thor Ganchero), Pilate washing his hands, the Crucifixion and the sign above His head. We Christians already know this part of the story like the back of their hands, but I still feel that most of us watched this show only expecting to see this part of the story. 

An interesting part of Act 2 was when Pilato's three sidekicks -- Publius (Marit Samson), Decimus (Chan Rabutazo) and Marcus (Ard Lim) -- give their analysis of a tense meeting between Pilato and Herod Antipas. This was one of the rare humorous scenes of the whole play, as the three make witty side comments as they decode the hidden double-talk meaning of each and every statement made by the two politicians. (Before the show, we already heard Marit Samson warning that rule violators will be punished by flogging.)   

Jerome Ferguson certainly looked the part of Pilate, with his patrician looks and how he rocked a toga. However, his performance of Pilate as an ambitious governor with a streak of violence was not consistent. Ferguson had some uneven moments when it felt like he slipped out of character. This was perhaps because of the way this character was written to be an enigma, as there was barely any record about him before and after his time in Judaea. 

For me, the best total performance of the show was given by Noel Rayos for his emotionally and physically pitch perfect portrayal of Hesus. Even if the central character of this play was supposed to be Pontius Pilate, it cannot be denied that Jesus Christ still dominated this story. From the moment Rayos entered the stage through the doorway of the temple at the start of Act 2, he fully embodied the image of Jesus as leader, teacher and sacrifice. 

The best singers in the cast were: Jeremy Manite, whose soaring tenor lifted his Caiaphas over everyone else; Christy Lagapa, whose Procia can belt like any of the best power-divas; and Onyl Torres, whose vocals were solid throughout as he sang his lengthy wordy narrative songs. The rest of the ensemble include: Hiro delos Reyes, Misha Fabian, Francel Go, Harrah Casey, Cynthia J. Santos, Jason Chan -- all showing potential to be triple threats. 

The original songs with music by Yanni Robeniol and lyrics by Eldrin Veloso, had appropriate solemnity, yet the melodies were catchy and had some pretty complex choral arrangements. I'd listen to the whole soundtrack on Spotify if they uploaded them, to better appreciate the lyrics. The lighting design of Ian Torqueza worked very well to enhance the Tsard Chua set, as well as build up the drama of the emotional scenes, particularly those of Hesus. With a few tweaks here and there, this show could be a Lenten stage staple for years to come. 

The point of the play was precisely about the accuracy with which Pilate's history had been written. Among Christians, he was mentioned by name in the Apostles' Creed as the man who made Jesus suffer, as recorded in all four Gospels.  He believed Jesus had done nothing wrong, but he bowed to the pressure of the Jewish mob. Presently there are Orthodox Churches who even consider Pilate a saint because this disinclination to pass sentence. As Pilate himself asked Jesus in John 18:38, "What is truth?" Such is the question of any history.

Rebutazo, Manite, Torres, Ferguson, Lagapa and Rayos

lead the ensemble at the curtain call

**********

"Pilato" runs at the PETA Theater Center from April 4 to 13, 2025. Ticket prices are as follows: P2,200 (VIP), P2,000 (Orchestra Center), P1,500 (Orchestra Side and Lower Balcony Center), P1,200 (Lower Balcony Side and Upper Balcony Center) and P1,000 (Upper Balcony Side). To buy tickets, please click on this LINK.