Upstart's "Forbidden Broadway": Naughty and Irreverent ... And Super-Hilarious

May 13, 2012

"Forbidden Broadway" is a satirical show-tunes revue conceptualized and written by Gabe Allessandrini.  It made its debut Off-Broadway back in 1982, and has since had several incarnations, updated with spoofs of newer shows. This is a unique show with only four actors, two male (OJ Mariano and Lorenz Martinez), two female (Liezl Batucan and Caisa Borromeo) playing multiple roles.  These four talents have to give life to hilarious parodies of the biggest Broadway hits and the brightest of Broadway stars by not only verbal humor, but more importantly physically and aurally.

The spoof of "Chicago" centered on the exaggeratedly slinky Bob Fosse jazzy dance moves. The "Annie" (Liezl) spoof was simple yet funny.  The song starts "I'm 30 years old...  tomorrow!" and the rest is just as hilarious.  The "West Side Story" spoof featured a battle-royale between Latina queens Chita Rivera (Liezl) vs. Rita Moreno (Caisa), both of whom played the feisty Anita.  There was a "tribute" to Stephen Sondheim and his pretentious musicals ("Sunday in the Park with George," "Sweeney Todd" and "Into the Woods")  and complicated  lyrics (which was highlighted by inviting the audience to sing along with the lyrics on the projector screen then further speeding up the tempo).

The spoof of Ms. Carol Channing (Liezl) made fun of how she kept on starring in only "Hello Dolly" all these years.  The spoof of Mr. Mandy Patinkin (Lorenz) made fun of the intense way he sings and the cover photo of his album "Dance Casually."  The "Wicked" spoof featured Caisa and her amazing vocal strength which she displayed in her spoof of Idina Menzel as the green witch Elphaba singing "Defying Gravity".  

The "Les Miserables" segment was multi-episodic. The fantastic spoof of "I Dreamed a Dream" by Liezl as Fantine, lamenting about miserable musicals with extreme angst, where an actress would sing one song and then die.  The spoof of "Bring Him Home" ("God it's high this song's too high, goodness me change the key. bring it down. Bring it down. It's too high.") featured special guest star Gabe Mercado.  I call myself a fan of Philippine musical theater but I am embarrassed that although he looked familiar, I did not recognize Mr. Mercado by name nor recall where else I have seen him before.  Much later I realized he was the guy in the Yakult "Ok ka ba tiyan?" commercials.

After a 15-minute Intermission, the second act began with a debate on vocal technique between the suave Phantom of the Opera (OJ) with his trusty head microphone vs. the naturally rich and brassy-voiced Ethel Merman (Caisa). The very funny spoof of Ms. Liza Minnelli (Liezl) focused on her lisp and her cocaine-induced hyperactivity.  I found the spoof of another Les Miz hit "On My Own" entitled "On My Phone" by Caisa to be memorably hilarious.  I can just imagine Ms. Lea Salonga possibly spoofing this her audition song if she was to be the guest star artist.

The "Rent" segment is especially straightforwardly frank as it declared that "'Rent is Spent," saying how this musical used to be so big, but now is hopelessly dated.  I loved it! The Barbra Streisand segment spoofed her "Back to Broadway" album.  Liezl was a powerhouse in this number, effectively mimicking the unique vocal inflections of old Babs. The other musicals spoofed in Act Two were "Cats," "Fiddler on the Roof," "Spam-A-Lot," "Mamma Mia," "Hairspray" and "The Chorus Line."  Cameron Mackintosh (OJ) was also roasted on his "Souvenir Things" (to the tune of "My Favorite Things.")

I laughed out loud at most of the digs at the Broadway shows and stars.  They fly out fast and furious, you'd need more than one watching to get all of them.  You'll still be laughing when another one is being dished out.  This is really naughty and irreverent stuff, but oh so potent and HILARIOUS!  These are not mean-spirited by any means, and obviously written out of adoration of Broadway lore.  

Even if you may not be familiar with the musicals and stars being spoofed, I believe you will still have a lot of fun.  My three kids (who were too young to know most of the subjects of the spoofs) were with us last night and they really enjoyed the whole thing! The sheer talent of the cast for physical comedy more than made up for what the kids might have missed with the verbal jokes.  

Again, the four Filipino actors in the cast really made this come alive so vibrantly.  Liesl Batucan got the more bombastic solo spots mimicking icons like Minnelli, Channing, Streisand, and succeeded with flying colors.  Caisa Borromeo was very successful in her Menzel and Merman impersonations.  The boys OJ Mariano and Lorenz Martinez were also very funny in the ensemble segments, though their individual solo spots could not really compare to the female solo spots.  

The young pianist who provided the live musical accompaniment to the whole show, Mr. Dingdong Fiel, was exceptionally talented!  Kudos to the director Mr. Joel Trinidad for a great job.  This is the first project of Upstart Productions, co-founded by father and son team Noel and Joel Trinidad among others, that I have seen.  Looking forward to seeing more projects from this new theater group.

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"Forbidden Broadway" will run at the Carlos P. Romulo Auditorium, RCBC Plaza, Makati for two more weekends in May, up to May 27, 2012.  

The leaked schedule of special guest stars: May 11 (Fri), 8 p.m. -- Jett Pangan; May 20 (Sat), 3 p.m. -- Menchu Lauchengco Yulo; May 25 (Fri), 8 p.m. -- Lea Salonga; May 26 (Sat), 8 p.m. -- Aiza Seguerra; May 27 (Sun), 3 p.m. -- Rachel Alejandro.

"A Ray of Light": A Madz Concert at the CCP (04/22/2012)

Despite their illustrious reputation in the country as one of the best and internationally-acclaimed choral groups, I have not watched a full concert by the Philippine Madrigal Singers (or more affectionately called the "Madz").  I was able to catch a sampler they presented at the CCP Pasinaya last year and was wowed by their style.  I was not even aware there was a Madz concert this week until Friday when Ms. Perlita Reyes of the Madz personally invited me to go watch them sing.  How could I say no to a rare invitation like that?  Go!

April 22, 2012

The concert was entitled "A Ray of Light".  The concept of the whole concert was to depict despair and despondency in the first half, which then turns into joy and hope in the second half.  

The first half was surreal with all the songs seeming to wallow in deep sorrow about the end of life on Earth.  The Madz were in all-black attire and accessories.  The excellent first song was called "Doxologia 2012" based on a verse of the book of Revelations.  It was nothing I had ever heard before as the song started with syncopated notes coming from we do not know who, finally meshing together in a melodious crescendo.  The talented composer was revealed to be one of the Madz, Ily Matthew Maniano (the young man with the soprano voice).  The other songs were compositions of Thomas Weelkes, Heitor Villa-Lobos, Alberto Grau, and Meir Mindel.  "The Maya Prophecy" by Mindel was really something else with the strange silent beginning verse and whispering to shouting it involved.  The penultimate song was "La Noche de Mil Noches," inspired by verses of Pablo Neruda, by Filipino composer and Madz alumnus, Nilo Alcala II, They saved the most bombastic song for the final number of Act 1, "An Apocalypse Alleluia," which featured some Madz members playing percussion instruments.  This was also composed a Filipino composer, Jude Edgard Balsamo, who was just unassumingly sitting right behind us when he was introduced.  

After the 15 minute intermission, the second half began.  The Madz came out this time in brighter clothes: Barong Tagalog for the men, and pink ternos for the women.  The songs of this half are generally known pop songs about the Earth and Mother Nature.  They started with "Earth Song" by Michael Jackson, then "Africa" by Toto.  Two Filipino songs followed, "Tuwing Umuulan at Kapiling Ka" by Ryan Cayabyab, and"Forevermore" by Joey Benin for Side A.  The next number was "Change the World"by Eric Clapton, and this was done by the boys only.  Of course, the girls stood up to sing the next song, "Under the Sea" (from "The Little Mermaid"). There was some comic relief in this number care of one of the boys who interrupted the girls' singing.  The next song was an energetic Tagalog song by Mike Villegas and Bayang Barriosentitled "Bagong Umaga."  The last song of their regular set was another song called"Earth Song," this time by Frank Ticheli.  No, they did not sing Madonna's "Ray of Light", despite the title.

The audience was wildly appreciative of the awesome singing we had heard for the past two hours.  We were not about to let them go without an encore number.  They re-entered and took their seats again to sing "Heal the World" by Michael Jackson.  After this song, more requests for another song came from the audience. Choirmaster Mark Anthony Carpio relented, and they launched into their version of John Lennon's"Imagine."  After this hauntingly touching song, the Madz finally took their leaves for good.  I am very happy that I was able to bring my parents with me to watch this special musical event this afternoon.  Finally I was able to watch a full Madz concert, and I am pretty sure it would not be my last.

The Cranberries Live in Manila - My Concert Review and Videos!

April 10, 2012

There are three concerts scheduled one after each other this week at the Araneta Coliseum.  April 10 would be The Cranberries, April 11 would be LMFAO and April 12 would be The Stylistics, more to come in the weeks to come.  Gone are the days when concerts would be special events that fans would save up for.  Now these foreign artists come so regularly you have to choose which to go watch.  

 Truth to tell, I was not really thinking about watching The Cranberries until my Stateside cousin Marv talked about it, so now I have a companion.  Now, I came by the tickets in an entirely fortuitous way.  The night before the concert, I came across this raffle by Astroplus for a couple of Lower Box tickets on Facebook.  I joined, and the next morning, I read that I won!  On our way to Araneta, the Astroplus girl Charm called and told me that the tickets have been upgraded to Patron!  Of all the years I have been watching concerts (and my regular readers know how many), this is the FIRST TIME I have watched anything from the Patron section of the Araneta.

 The concert started at about 9 pm already.  The Cranberries, led by their front woman Dolores O'Riordan, fired a one-two punch right off the bat as they opened their show with "Dreams" and "Linger."  I know some people who could have already gone home satisfied after that opening salvo!  She would then sing all of the hits that I know them for:  "Animal Instinct," "Just My Imagination," "Ode to My Family," "When You're Gone," "Free to Decide" and of course, their biggest hit here "Zombie", which closed out their regular set.  Interspersed with the hits are some unfamiliar songs which I guess are from their new album.  She sang two more new songs in their encore, and finally ended the whole show with "Salvation."  

I did not expect Dolores O'Riordan to be such a rock goddess live!  Their hits (like "Dreams" and "Linger") are more on the soft side, so I did not her to rock so hard, and she DID!  She was tireless and her voice remained strong despite all the energetic wailing and screaming she had to do.  She was amazing, to say the least, to the very end as you can hear on her last song "Salvation."  There are times when I thought she may not be hearing herself as she went off-key.  But then again, those are their unfamiliar songs, so I don't really know the actual tune.  And her wild dance moves, wow!  Her band was also smokin' as they banged their guitars and drums. The lone female back-up singer was very effective support with her calming voice helping Dolores with the plaintive Irish chanting over the din.

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Security was lax, and people could actually all go forward and stand nearer the stage.  I often see that occurrence in the Patron area from the higher sections, but it was actually fun to be in the midst of it all.  The Patron area felt like a mosh-pit with all the standing and dancing fans.   Talking about the fans, I did not expect the Cranberries to have so many devoted local fans. The girls beside us were singing all the songs, even the unfamiliar ones.  I was also surprised that the sound quality was not really that good in the Patron area.  My ears went numb with the volume of the amplifier there.  I could not hear the audience singing along too much, as I did in other concerts from the higher seat areas.  On my videos though, the sound and the singing along could all be heard very well, much better than it was on the floor.  Overall, another satisfying concert experience!

Olivia Newton-John Live in Manila: Timeless Voice and Beauty

March 31, 2012

Olivia Newton-John is a pop superstar in the 70s and early 80s.  Her distinctive voice had brought several songs to the top of the charts.  This was indeed a concert event as this was unbelievably only Olivia's first visit to Manila!  There were conflicting family plans which made watching this concert an uncertainty until I finally decided that it should not be missed.

Upon entering the doors of the auditorium past 8:30 pm already, Olivia was already singing "Xanadu".  She then followed it up with a number 1 song "Magic."  She then segued to "Suddenly" which she sang as a duet with one of her back-up singers taking the Cliff Richard parts.  I asked the woman behind me if many songs had already been sung and she said yes.  I just wonder how many songs I had missed.  However, I cannot believe how good and svelte Ms. Newton-John looked.  And more so, her mellow voice was as pristine as ever, like she never aged at all.

She then related that she started in London as a country singer.  She sat down on stools with her band and back-up singers to sing country songs which she had recorded.  Incredibly, some members of the audience were also familiar with these and were singing along. She sang "If Not For You," "Let Me Be There," and "Please Mr. Please".  She then covered Johnny Cash's "Banks of the Ohio," followed by a beautiful version of Dolly Parton's "Jolene"  (VIDEO).  She ended this set with her own hit version of John Denver's "Country Roads, Take Me Home."  What can I say, her singing here was effortless!

Still sitting down, her guitarists began playing a bossa nova beat, to which she began singing the first verse of her massive (topping the chart for 10 weeks) Number 1 hit "Physical."  Midway into the second verse though, she interrupted her musicians and asked the audience whether we'd like to hear the original way this song was sung.  Of course the audience said "Yes!"  So she stood up and rendered an energetic and rousing version, singing and dancing like it was still 1981! Amazing!

In the next songs, she became personal.  She first sang "Send In the Clowns" saying how much she loved the song.  She then proudly related about surviving breast cancer, singing the lively "Not Gonna Give In To It."  She then proudly dedicated her next beautiful ballad "Grace and Gratitude" to Earth Hour, an Aussie initiative, now observed worldwide, which was being celebrated tonight as well.  She followed this with another original, "Don't Stop Believing," (NOT the Journey or Glee song).  She then sang some revivals of familiar fast songs from a movie she recently made where she played a mother of the bride from hell ("Mickey," "I Think I Love You," and "Sugar Sugar" among others).

After that lull of not-too-known songs, the next segment was dedicated to her most famous movie: GREASE!   The first song of the set was "You're the One That I Want" (VIDEO), followed by "Hopelessly Devoted to You."  She drew the audience to sing along with her and her back-up singers on "Summer Nights."  And finally after she sang "We Go Together," she waved and left the stage.  Of course, the audience still clamored for more.

Ms. Olivia then came out with a glittery shawl and finally sang her most awaited song as her finale: "I Honestly Love You."  She sang it very slowly, seemingly meaning every word.  Her audience was mesmerized and showered her with declarations of love throughout the song. After this, the concert ended.  I am very happy to have seen her perform her timeless songs live.  Ms. Olivia Newton-John is indeed timeless voice and beauty personified.

Repertory Philippines "Jekyll and Hyde": Pefectly Realized Duality

March 25, 2012

"Jekyll and Hyde" was a 1997 Broadway musical based on a novella by Robert Louis Stevenson. The music is by Frank Wildhorn and the lyrics and book are by Leslie Bricusse.  I was very excited to finally get to watch an actual stage production of this musical since I was introduced to a lot of its songs during a mini-concert we staged at work almost eight years ago.  "This is the Moment," "Someone Like You," "In His Eyes," "Take Me as I Am" are all beautiful songs, and I was eager to see how they were used telling the story.

The story is about the duality of human nature:  the good and the evil.  Dr. Henry Jekyll was developing a serum called HJ7 which could separate the evil from the good.  The patrons at the St. Jude Hospital all mock and reject his research proposal.   This pushes the good doctor to try out the formula on himself, with deadly results.  Caught in Dr. Jekyll's morality dilemma are two contrasting women:  the virtuous society lady Emma Carew and the loose bar girl Lucy Harris, both of whom fall for the two sides of the man.

I was fortunate to have caught Jett Pangan as Jekyll/Hyde on the 3pm show yesterday afternoon.  He was the Jekyll I wanted to see since the cast was announced last December (the alternate is Michael Williams). From a sluggish start, with a rather weak version of "I Need to Know," Jett steadily gained momentum as the play progressed.  He was especially sinisterly good as Edward Hyde!  His centerpiece song "This is the Moment" was strong and masterful.  His "Alive" was very powerfully sung.  His sensual duet with Lucy "Dangerous Game" was very steamy.  His final song, "Confrontation,"where he would alternately shift from Jekyll to Hyde was an amazing tour-de-force performance, worth the price of admission by itself.

Kalila Aguilos was a revelation as the unfortunate wench Lucy Harris.  I don't think I have seen her in other plays before but she certainly makes her mark in a major way here.  Her earthy sensuality in slinky and sexy songs like "Bring on the Men" and especially"Dangerous Game" was so palpable!  It was just too bad that the staging of "Someone Like You" was not very imaginative, which was rather disappointing.  

Jekyll's betrothed Emma Carew was played in this show by Tricia Jimenez.  Her soprano was very strong and crystal-clear ( as I had heard her sing as Mary in "Song of Joseph" before), but I felt she was miscast, as she looked too mature to be Emma, and had no chemistry with Jett Pangan.  I am imagining that her alternate Cris Villonco would have been the ideal Emma.  I must say though that the duet of Emma and Lucy "In His Eyes" was perfectly realized, with the ideal juxtaposition of the contrasting vocal styles of Ms. Aguilos and Ms. Jimenez.

It had also been well-publicized that this show would welcome back on the Repertory stage Mr. Junix Inocian.  Mr. Inocian was a constant presence in Rep productions back in the day until he was hired in the original cast of Ms. Saigon in 1989.  His role as John Utterson, Jekyll's attorney and best friend was not really too showy but his voice really stood out in the amazing quartet arrangement of "His Work and Nothing More," another favorite song of mine in the play.

The stage design, rich costumes and blocking were very effective and dramatic.  The lighting effects, especially important in delineating the duality of character in Jekyll and Hyde, were very well-done.  Congratulations to the director Ms. Menchu Lauchengco for successfully bringing this to life.

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Repertory Philippines' "Jekyll & Hyde" runs at Onstage in Greenbelt 1, Makati City until April 22, 2012.

The 84th Oscar Ceremony: My Tweets and Comments

February 27, 2012

Glad to see Billy Crystal as emcee again!

It was good to see Billy Crystal again do his initial movie montage about the nominated films.  One memorable clip was that when George Clooney laid a lip smack on Billy (!), spoofing the same scene in "The Descendants."  Also featured in the video were Justin Bieber and Tom Cruise.  

 

His "Oscar Oscar" song after his opening spiel did not really have too much time to be funny, too rushed I think.  The funniest part was his "What's it all about, Malick?" (to the tune of "Alfie") pertaining to director Terence Malick's nebulous "The Tree of Life" (my review HERE).  For the rest of the show though, Billy was pretty much on the safe side only with his spiels.

Tom Hanks presenting for Best Cinematography: winner is "Hugo." I thought it would be "Tree of Life" for sure!

Hanks again for Art Direction: winner is "Hugo" again. I got that one right, though I really wanted "Midnight in Paris" to win.

At this point, "Hugo" jumps the gun with two wins!  I was not liking the prospect of a Hugo sweep later on.  If you have read my review, you'd know I did not really like this movie.

Jennifer Lopez and Cameron Diaz (both looking svelte and beautiful) forCostume Design: winner is The Artist!

J-Lo and Cameron again for Make Up: winner is The Iron Lady. Really? Over Harry Potter?

It turns out J Lo's plunging outfit raised some people's eyes for a supposed wardrobe malfunction.  I think these people are just staring at her breasts too much, they are imagining things.  While I bet on "Hugo" to win Costume, but I am glad it went to "The Artist." Definitely, I thought the work of the Make-Up department in Harry Potter was considerably more difficult than making Meryl Streep look like Mrs. Thatcher.

Sandra Bullock for Foreign Language film: A Separation! As it should!

This is a worthy winner even though I had only seen this out of the five nominees. My review was posted HERE.  The winning Iranian director Ashgar Fahnadi made a political statement with his call to "despise hostility and resentment."

Christian Bale for Best Supporting Actress: Octavia Spencer wins as predicted! But I was rooting for Jessica Chastain.

Standing O for Octavia!

Octavia was a shoo-in to win based on the pre-Oscar awardings .  Yet, she still was very emotional because of her win.  I don't know why the audience accorded this new actress a standing ovation.  While I bet on Octavia, I really felt though that her co-star Ms. Jessica Chastain SHOULD have really won.  My review of "The Help" is posted HERE.

Tina Fey (with a big bun) and Bradley Cooper (with a mustache) for Film Editing: winner is Dragon Tattoo! Great choice!

Tina and Bradley for Sound Editing: Hugo. Meh.

Tina and Bradley again for Sound Mixing (how's that different from Sound Editing?): Hugo AGAIN!

I also bet on "Dragon Tattoo" for sound, but it did not win.  I posted my review for that David Fincher film HERE.  I did not really think too much of Sound when I watched "Hugo". I thought it was more of a Visual film experience, rather than Aural.

Kermit and Piggy intro a Cirque du Soleil type number about movie watching. Of course with another movie montage in the background.

Standing O for the amazing Cirque number! Very daring acrobats.

Gwyneth Paltrow and Robert Downey Jr. for Documentaries: funny fighting on stage! Winner is "Undefeated", about football.

Ok that was not really "fighting" but I could not think of another word while tweeting.  It was a faux argument by the two presenters made to look like they were filming a gritty documentary called "The Presenter". A tad uncomfy, but I found it funny.  

Whoops! Documentary winner dropped an F bomb during his excited acceptance.

I heard this young man had already apologized for cursing on worldwide TV.

Chris Rock presenting for Animated Feature: hilarious for saying how black people could voice donkeys and zebras. Rango won as expected.

Chris Rock says the work of voice talents are an easy buck.  I found it funny, and I gather, so did a lot others who are starting a campaign to get him as the next Oscar host. I heard voice talents are not amused though.  I still could not get over the snub of Adventures of Tintin in this category.  My review of Tintin is postedHERE.  My review of winner Rango is posted HERE.  I did not expect how Gore Verbinski looked like onstage.  I expected someone who looked more bohemian.

Ben Stiller and Emma Stone (savoring her first time as presenter) for Visual Effect: Hugo yet again! I preferred Apes and HP.

Emma Stone was really funny while she was in that "Anne Hathaway"-excited mode, while Stiller is the dour straight man here.  Liked her poking fun on Stiller's previous Oscar stints wearing embarrassing outfits, like his Avatar costume.  

Melissa Leo presents Best Supporting Actor: Christopher Plummer wins his first Oscar at age of 82! Standing O!

Looking at Oscar, Plummer quipped "You are only two years older than me, darling! Where have you been all my life?"  Plummer became the oldest actor to ever win an Oscar.  An award for Max Von Sydow (also 82) would have been great too.

Billy Crystal reads minds of actors in the audience. Funny about Morgan Freeman and the Emperor Penguins. LOL!

This comedy bit fell flat most of time.  It is either the gimmick was too old, or Billy Crystal needs better writers.

Penelope Cruz and Owen Wilson presents Original Musical Score: winner isThe Artist! My prediction wins!

Two of the most annoying actors Will Ferrell and Zach Galifiankis present for Best Song. Two unmemorable nominees only. "Man or Muppets" win.

Hearing snippets of the nominated songs, I understood why there were no production numbers based on these very unremarkable songs.  

Original Girl with a Dragon Tattoo Angelina Jolie presents for Adapted Screenplay, sticking out her right leg from her long black gown: winner is The Descendants! Great!

Jolie again for Original Screenplay: winner is Woody Allen!!! As it should be.

Angelina Jolie created quite a moment by presenting while sexily sticking her right leg out of her gown for everyone to see.  It was hilarious the way the winning writers of The Descendants were spoofing her pose during their acceptance speech.  I posted my review of The Descendants HERE.

Mila Jovovich presents the Technical Awards this year.

Bridesmaid stars Kristen Wiig and Maya Rudolph present Live Action Shortwith a lot of naughty double entendres: winner is The Shore.

Rose Byrne and Melissa McCarthy present Documentary Short Subject: winner is Saving Face.

Animated Short Film: winner is Fantastic Flying Books.

I still do not know who those last two "Bridesmaids" were who presented the Animated Short Film category.

Michael Douglas ( looking NOT sick at all) presents Best Director to Michel Hazanavicius of The Artist!

Meryl Streep presents the Governors Awardees: Oprah Winfrey (Jean Herscholt Humanitarian), James Earl Jones and make-up artist Dick Smith.

In Memoriam segment. A girl with a big Afro sings "What a Wonderful World". Very solemn.

I knew it! That was Esperanza Spalding who sang in the In Memoriam segment.  I did not recognize her right away because she did not play her bass.  She sang this song very well indeed!  Elizabeth Taylor, Sydney Lumet, Cliff Robertson and Jane Russell were the notable names on this list this year.

Natalie Portman was too cheesy as she introduces Best Actor nominees. Winner is Jean Dujardin for the Artist!

George Clooney's prediction on the red carpet was correct.  The winner did speak French!  I do wonder how this guy would fare in Hollywood after the novelty of "The Artist" eventually wears off.  Shades of F. Murray Abraham?

Colin Firth presents Best Actress: winner is Meryl Streep for The Iron Lady!!!

Streep was so funny when she said something like "Every home in America is thinking, why is HER again?!"  Haha!  She was also very gracious thanking her husband first, then her makeup artist who also won an Oscar tonight.  This is actually Streep's first Oscar since 1982! My review of "The Iron Lady" is posted HERE. Everyone thought Viola Davis (who was supporting a very short afro, and looking very sophisticated in her emerald gown) was a shoo-in to win this category, but they were wrong.

Dapper Tom Cruise presents the final award for Best Picture: and the winner is THE ARTIST!

I was happy it did not go to "Hugo".  Haha!  This was the only other silent film to win Best Picture since "Wings" in the first Academy Awards ceremony back in 1929. Good to see the wonder dog Uggie onstage carried by Dujardin.  I posted my review of "The Artist" HERE.

James Ingram Live in Manila: The Malfunctioning Mic Let Us Down!

February 17, 2012

I must confess.  When I learned that Ms. Lea Salonga was going to be guest singer in James Ingram's concert, that was when I decided that this would be the ideal Valentine's gift to my wife.  I bought these tickets exactly on Valentine's Day and got seats near the side of the stage already, but in a reserved section since this would be a night where we would probably be late to arrive at the venue.  

That assumption was right.  Traffic was bad enough that we reached the Coliseum well after 8pm. Fortunately, it was still the front act performing when we arrived.  It was an oldies vocal group which I did not catch the name at all.

By about 9pm, Ms. Lea Salonga walked out on stage  in shiny gold & black gown to sing Bette Midler's "From a Distance."  In her spiel, she confessed she was "kilig" about singing with Ingram, that his voice sounded exactly as it did back in the 80s.  Her second and last solo song was Barry Manilow's "When October Goes."  That song was hauntingly and beautifully sung as only Lea can (VIDEO).

After about five to ten minutes after Lea exited, the lights came on again and the band started to play. I recognized the tune as Outkast's "The Way You Move."  The back-up singers sure were hefty ladies!  After that warm up, an emcee can on stage and introduced James Ingram!  He came out in a bright blue-green suit and greeted the audience.  He then went right into his first song, "One Hundred Ways."  As early as this first song, we already noticed something was wrong with Ingram's microphone. as James' voice kept on dropping off at certain parts.

He then sang  "There's No Easy Way" and "She Loves Me."  He shared that he wrote music for Michael Jackson, then he sang "P.Y.T."  One of the big backup ladies stepped out on stage to duet with James the song he originally recorded with Ms. Patti Austin, the Number One hit "Baby Come to Me."  His next song was what I felt was one of his best vocal performances of the night, "The Secret Garden" (which he originally recorded with Quincy Jones, Barry White, El DeBarge and Al B. Sure!) (VIDEO).  He then sang a couple more of his big hits "Whatever We Imagine" and then his only Number One solo hit "I Don't Have the Heart."  

After these, he introduced Ms. Lea Salonga to sing with him the next song, which turned out to be "Somewhere Out There" (which James originally sang with Linda Ronstadt). As you can see in the video, it was a beautiful vocal performance from the two stars, and the audience loved it. When Lea exited, James was really getting frustrated with his microphone which had been cracking and dropping the whole night.  Unfortunately, that was when he was going to sing the song the audience had been waiting for the whole night, the signature hit, "Just Once."  He actually had to change mics midway through the song multiple times, all with problems.  Really terrible.  I would even call it a disaster.  I was really expecting James, being the professional, to sing the song all over again, but alas, it was not to be. 

From there, the concert was anti-climactic.  The backup crew sang James the Birthday Song as it was his birthday (today?), but I did not really feel that much audience participation. He sang the beautiful "How Do You Keep the Music Playing?" (also originally recorded with Patti Austin) with another one of his healthy backup singers, but the mic sound quality was really so poor and several times we could not hear them as their mics both were malfunctioning. Very bad and disappointing though they were both trying their best.  He then sang "My Cherie Amour" and "Signed Sealed Delivered".  I must say that his intro (about how he met his wife and mother of their 6 kids back in 10th grade) was more memorable than the songs. 

I do not know why the audience response to "Yah Mo B There" was so weak.  I do not hear people singing along when Ingram was asking them to. They did not seem to laugh when James was trying to copy the voice of his duet partner in the recording, Michael McDonald.  And that song's extro was even prolonged so much!  The final song was James' version of Nat King Cole standard "For All We Know."  In a very long extended ending sequence which could have lasted for 15 minutes or more, James went down the stage and slowly walked among the audience in the orchestra section where he shook hands and gamely posed for pictures.

That was it after that.  No song was re-sung.  No encore numbers.  Overall it was a bit of a letdown for me because of the mic sound issues and the rather strange arrangement of setlist, ending with songs that did not resonate too well with the audience. James Ingram himself looked and moved quite oddly as you can note in the videos.  He seemed to be awkward, shuffling more than walking, and even looking drunk at times.  Despite the mic issues though, you know his voice is as strong as ever.  His love songs really endured the test of time and it was certainly good to reminisce them.  Too bad that technical problems had to ruin the songs and the mood.