PETA's "William": Making the Bard Fun and More Accessible

August 20, 2011

The Philippine Educational Theater Association offers for its 44th theater season an original Filipino musical simply entitled "WILLIAM." However, this musical written by Ron Capinding is anything but simple.  It tries to make the formidable works of William Shakespeare accessible to the ordinary Filipino high school student.  Incorporated into the story are innovative hip-hop songs composed by Jeff Hernandez with funky R and B grooves which further adds to the youthful appeal.

The story centers around a group of five third year high school students.  Richard is the Junior class representative who lives with a forbidden admiration.  Stella is a bookish honor student whose mom has taken up with another man while working in London.  Sophia is a girl from Tondo family to suddenly hit the big time when her dad won the Lotto.  TJ is the jock who was constantly at odds with his violent dad.  Erwin is the all-too-familiar shy guy who seemed content just to blend into the walls.

Their class adviser Ms. Lutgarda Martinez gave her English class an assignment about William Shakespeare and his significance.  Predictably, the students cannot relate and come up with dismal reports.  Disappointed, the teacher challenges them more by making them act out a scene from a Shakespeare play.  While rehearsing a scene from "Romeo and Juliet," secret longings were revealed which lead to fights among the group members. To diffuse the tension, teacher changes her assignment and asks the students to instead act out a solo monologue that relates to their personal life.

The play is dedicated to high school students so the plotting and language is expectedly juvenile.  However, it does not mean that adults will not gain any insight out of this.  The problems tackled were real and familiar, and most of the audience will be able to identify with one or more of the characters and relate with their Shakespearean epiphany at the end. The music and rap songs were also fun and had some very interesting word play.  The response from the predominantly young audience was quite rousing, particularly during the cute romantic moments involving the kids in the cast.

The young cast playing the five main kids and the chorus were all unknown but that was a charm in itself.  The best was John Moran, the actor playing Richard, who delivered his Shylock soliloquy about revenge with so much passion that it evoked spontaneous applause. Ian Segarra, the guy who played Erwin, had a more slow burn character development which peaked in that unexpectedly strong delivery of that Marc Anthony speech during the school election day to break out of his timid shell.  J-mee Katanyag, the girl who played Sophia, is very cute and very natural in her delivery of her Juliet speech and the whole play in general.  It was as if she was not acting at all.  

I had a little problem with Norbs Portales, the boy who played the jock TJ, whom I felt unfortunately had a physical disconnect with this role.  His body build and look did not really jive with the character he was supposed to portray.  His delivery of his apology monologue fromHamlet did not seem sincere. Richard even stole the limelight in that scene with his meaningful red Angry Birds t-shirt alone.

In the looks department, the girls in the audience seemed to squeal more for that one guy in the chorus (Cheeno Macaraig) that they did for TJ.  Anj Heruela, the girl who played Estella was also a bit stiff in the acting department as maybe her character required.  Her big Portia speech about mercy was the last monologue of the play, but it was a bit anti-climactic as the speech was not very familiar and her delivery was not very convincing.  She did quite well in her "kilig" scenes when she was being teased about her crush though.

I only know one actress in the cast and that is Ms. Meann Espinosa from the PETA Marketing Department. This is the first time I have seen her onstage and it is a central role to boot!  She goes to town playing the indefatigable English teacher Ms. Martinez.  She's got the nasal accent, the mannerisms, the hair all down.  She was also able to convey her love and understanding of Shakespeare very well.

There was also that innovation of having one actor play the fathers of the kids (each with his own local accent and behavior).  The actor who played these father roles, Jojo Atienza, was excellent in his multiple portrayals.  Kudos!

Overall, "William" is another excellent addition to PETA's roster of plays and musicals that cater to the educational needs of the Filipino youth.  Congratulations to the director Ms. Maribel Legarda, who is still fresh from the critical and box-office triumph of "Care Divas". Parental guidance is required for very young kids because of some scenes depicting violence and mild expletives.

This musical play is a perfect prelude to the next PETA production slated in January 2012 as it takes on the Filipino version of the Shakespearean tragedy"Haring Lear," as translated by National Artist for Literature Bienvenido Lumbera.

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"William" play dates are August 19-21, 26-28, September 2-4, 9-11, 16-18, 23-25, 2011 with shows at 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. The PETA Theater Center is located at No. 5 Eymard Drive, New Manila, Quezon City.

Sweet Charity (9 Works Theatrical)

August 6, 2011

At first, I was not so sure I wanted to watch this musical called "SWEET CHARITY".  I was not really familiar with the story nor the songs. I only knew one, which was "Big Spender".  Because of that, I also felt this might be a very dated piece of musical theater being first staged in 1966.  Finally, the tickets to this musical were expensive!  The prices are higher by P500 from the usual prices of Atlantis shows at theRCBC Theater.  However, since I was quite impressed with Nikki Gil playing Elle Woods in "Legally Blonde," I wanted to see how she would do as the lead in "Sweet Charity."  So when I was offered a 10% discount for tickets by The Scalpers (a legit ticket sellers group) for the 8pm show on August 6, I decided we could give it a try. To date, this was the first musical staged by 9 Works Theatrical that I have watched.

Because of a busy Saturday afternoon at work for me, coupled with some car trouble that necessitated some time at a gas station along the way, we did not make it to the theater on time.  We probably missed the first 20 minutes or so. I later disappointingly discovered that we have actually missed "Big Spender," which was the second song sung!  I realized that the lead character Charity Hope Valentine (Nikki Gil) was a generous, vivacious "dance hall hostess" who was always wishing to get out of her miserable job at the Fandango Ballroom. 

Act I was full of very funny situations.  Unexpectedly, I knew another song from the first act "If My Friends Could See Me" sung by Charity as she found herself in the bedroom of famed actor Vittorio Vidal (OJ Mariano).  I also like very much the last song in Act 1, which was"I'm the Bravest Individual" which Charity and Oscar Lindquist (Kris Lawrence) hilariously sung in a stalled elevator.  In Act II, more of Charity's love story with Oscar came into focus.  The most striking number was the first one called "The Rhythm of Life" where Oscar and Charity visit a very colorful hippie "church" led by Daddy Brubeck (also OJ Mariano).  The rest of the songs were less memorable.

(photo credit: broadwayworld.com)

Easily the best part of this 9WT Production is none other than Nikki Gil as Charity!  She is flawless as a singer, a dancer and an actress.  She convinces us that she is really a child-like, good-hearted girl in the wrong job, and we root for her to get free from it.  Her New York accent was very natural, not forced and awkward like those of Ciara Sotto and Sheree who played Helene and Carmen respectively, immigrant girls of unknown origin who also dance at the Fandango.  The performance of Nikki captures the innocence, heartbreaks and joie de vivre of Charity Hope Valentine.  Her performance is riveting and real, certainly worth the price of admission.

For the other members of the cast, they do quite well.  OJ Mariano, whom I only knew from TV's "The Singing Bee" was able to play very distinct characters.  His singing as Vittorio Vidal was seriously formal, while as Daddy Brubeck had a rock-edged falsetto (ala Judas in "Jesus Christ Superstar"), very impressive.  Shiela Valderrama-Martinez was striking and effective as the jaded senior (?) dancer Nickie. Sheila was the best-looking among the dance hall girls, even better than the buxom and sexy Sheree.  Kris Lawrence I know was a winner of a TV singing contest. He did the nerdy and nervous tics of his character Oscar very well for a beginner, quite charming most of the time.

It was rather disappointing to see that the seats in the theater were not filled.  I do not remember watching a show in RCBC that was not full before.  This is too bad because the slick sets, sparkly costumes and grand stage lighting effects were all very well done (as you can see in the center photo).  You could see why the tickets were more expensive.  The choreography of Bob Fosse may be rather dated being set in the 1960s, but it was very interesting and amusing to watch the unusual undulations of the dancers. This show has exceeded my modest expectations. Congratulations to Director Robbie Guevarra.  Ms. Nikki Gil, you need to do more musical theater. I have become a big fan!

Game of Thrones (HBO): Season One

July 17, 2011

I have not seen a complete HBO series before. A colleague convinced me to try "Game of Thrones." I did watch the first episode and never looked back. Over the past days, I watched one episode a day until I completed all 10 episodes of the first season. It was that good. You'd never want to be kept hanging.

 

The series brings us back to a medieval time with kings and queens, lords and ladies. It showed things as they probably were back then, grimy, rough and violent. There was very little of the glitz and glamor that mark modern royalty nowadays. It shows the political intrigues of the aristocracy, as well as their advisers, whores and knights behind them. 


It is also about family. The central family were the Starks. Eddard Stark (a no-nonsense Sean Bean) was picked by his good friend King Robert of  the family Baratheon (a hearty Mark Addy) to be his Hand (or executive officer). This threw the Stark family (his wife, three sons, two daughters and one bastard son) into the political fray after after their long quiet existence in the North. There is also the Lannister family of Robert's Queen Cersei (a nebulously sinister Lena Headey), constantly waiting for an opportunity to grab power. And finally, the very blond Targaryen family who ruled the realm before Robert, now down to their last two members, the crazy Viserys (Harry Lloyd) and his meek sister Daenerys (Emilia Clarke).



As you can envision, the violent action scenes in the battlefields, sword fights, and jousting area were very graphic and bloody. We were not spared the sight of gushing severed arteries, festering wounds, impaled heads and animal attacks. This is definitely not for the faint of heart! You can just look away and the sound effects do just as well to convey the gore on screen. On the other end of the Rated MA spectrum are the occasional sex scenes with both female and male members on display. These may be called gratuitous for TV, but I do gather these are also part of the books. Nevertheless, the sight of a 10-year old boy breastfeeding from his queen mother was still very disturbing, even in these days.


For someone who had not yet read the books, the way the story was written for TV and the directorial execution were very good. The ending scene of the first episode alone will make you want to be back for more. Love those endings for most episodes, aside from Episode 1, those of 7 and 9 will really shock you! There are things that happen that you would never predict. The fates of the characters were very unpredictable up to the very last episode. The ending of the last episode gives the series another dimension, whetting our appetite for the next season.



The writing style may be archaic in vocabulary and construction, but yet they remain crisp and witty, especially those lines uttered by the intrepid dwarf Tyrion Lannister (Peter Dinklage in his Emmy-nominated role). The set design of the the throne room, the dungeons that open into cliffs, the war camps, all were excellent. The cinematography was sweeping when it needs to be majestic, and intimate where it was necessary to be claustrophobic. I did not know most of the actors here, but they will affect you as they portray their characters very well, be it hero, villain or double-agent. Aside from Bean, Headey and Dinklage, special mention go to Michelle Fairley (as Eddard's willful wife Catelyn), Nikolaj Coaster- Waldau (as the rogue Jamie Lannister) and Jason Momoa (as the imposing Khal Drogo).


This show deserves its Emmy nomination for Best Drama Series. Definitely, I will be back to watch the second season. I will also be reading the series of novels "A Song of Ice and Fire" by George RR Martin that inspired this sweeping epic series.  Excellent series that challenges the boundaries for cable television.  Well-recommended!

The Hunger Games Trilogy: My Book Reviews

July 11, 2011

This is a best-selling trilogy of young adult novels by Suzanne Collins that were released every year since 2008.  They have supposedly broken new ground in that genre and had devoted fans.  With the movie version of the first book coming out next year, I was drawn to read all three books to see what the fuss was all about.  

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THE HUNGER GAMES

The time is in the future, a post-apocalyptic time, it seems.  The place is District 12, a township of sorts in the nation of Panem, where mining is the main occupation.  We get to know Katniss Everdeen, a teenage girl who loves adventurous activities like going into the woods, climbing trees and hunting animals with her bow and arrow.  The titular Hunger Games is a yearly activity sponsored by the Capitol where "Tributes" are chosen from teens from each of the twelve districts.  These tributes were to fight to the death in an elaborate tournament broadcast to the whole country.  There could only be one survivor, the Victor.  I found this concept to be very interesting.  Of course, you would probably expect the heroine Katniss to be in on the action somehow, but it would be in a way that you would not guess. 

There is humor and violence and drama before and during the games themselves. Being a novel with teenager lead characters, there are also moody, angsty and even cheesy moments involving Katniss, her reliable hunting buddy Gale and the charismatic baker's son Peeta (yes, those last two are boys' names).  These events were written very screenplay-like.  You could imagine the movie scenes unfold as you read about the rich and vivid descriptions of the hair and makeup, the fantastical costumes, the wild action of the fights and big explosions.

The first book of a series is the book where we get to know about the time and setting of the novels and the main characters.  This may mean that this could be the most boring book, just establishing the whole scenario. Ironically though after reading all three, I thought "The Hunger Games" is the best book of the three!  It takes a little getting used to in the beginning with regards to the story-telling technique, but once you get familiar with how Collins told hers, you will get drawn in.  I liked the way she ended her chapters with a totally unexpected event. You will really be interested to read quickly to the finish of this book, and onto the next volume.

CATCHING FIRE

In this book, we meet the slimy leader of Panem, President Snow, a snake-eyed man who smelled of blood and roses.  He threatens Katniss for defying the Capitol during the last Games.  The seeds of a nationwide uprising are already being hinted at.  For the Quarter Quell, a special edition played on every anniversary of the Hunger Games, the Capitol calls all districts to send their victors to take part in the Games that year.  Katniss get to meet and form alliances with victors from the past from other districts, like Finnick, Joanna, Beetee. These people who would later also figure prominently in the the revolution to come.

For me, this book is an unfair one.  It is a book that does not stand on its own.  It is incomplete, clearly just a transition volume from the first to the third book.  The Quarter Quell Hunger Games with the victors was basically a repeat of the games in the first book, just with more elaborate, (and therefore, harder to visualize) challenges.  The climax with Katniss and the force field and the explosives was a blur as written words could not seem to adequately describe the idea in the author's head.  You have an idea what she means, but it was not easy to picture that pivotal scene in your head while reading.  I am quite curious to see how that scene wold be interpreted in the movie version.  The ending also seems disjointed from the fiery conclusion of the games.  When you read these books, you have to constantly shift the scenes in your head as if the movie had sudden jerky edits.  That is a quality of Collins' writing that keeps the storytelling interesting.  

MOCKINGJAY

The title of the third book is a fictional hybrid bird which was Katniss' symbol during her stint in the Hunger Games.  After the Quarter Quell Games, the revolution in Panem gains steam in District 13 under the leadership of a female rebel named Coin.  Upon Coin's invitation, Katniss agrees to BE the personification of the Mockingjay, a symbol of the rebellion against the oppressive the Capitol.  Katniss leads her team in a personal plan to assassinate President Snow by herself.  Her plan goes haywire as they enter the Capitol and she sees her team depleted along their way.  The climax of their Capitol attack was a highly-charged dramatic scene with children serving as the protective shield of the President as bombs fall from the sky.  However, more unexpected things continue to happen up to the ending chapters.  

Of all the books, this is the one with the most non-stop action and violent death scenes as we follow Katniss and her group from the bowels of District 13 all the way into the sophisticated booby-trapped streets of the Capitol.  A lot of the chase and fight scenes in the buildings of the Capitol were difficult to imagine because of the wildly futuristic setting and set-ups.  The senseless nature of war will certainly not be lost on the readers. Everyone loses something valuable because of this war even if they survive, not the least of whom was Katniss herself.

Through all the battles and near-death close calls, Katniss still remains to be a teenager at heart.  She continues to have those self-conversations where she debates with herself regarding her decisions.  She continues to have those angst-ridden moments where she over-interprets statements said by boys about her.  Yet, she also shows that she has a mind definitely of her own alone.  Neither Snow, or Coin, her family or any of her friends can dictate to her.  She makes her own mind up.  No wonder this book series is a huge success among teenagers.

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As mentioned earlier, the vivid description, editing and progression makes this series a natural candidate for a movie trilogy.  As of now, Jennifer Lawrence has been cast as Katniss Everdeen.  Lawrence is having an incredible career trajectory as her debut movie role in 2010's "Winter's Bone" already earned her an Oscar nomination for Best Actress.  She was also featured in big movies like "X-Men First Class" and "The Beaver" (with Mel Gibson).  Peeta Mellark will be played by Josh Hutcherson ("The Kids Are Alright").  Gale Hawthorne will be played by Liam Hemsworth (more known as Miley Cyrus' boyfriend and brother of "Thor"'s Chris).  The notable adult roles will be taken by Woody Harrelson (Haymitch, the drunkard District 12 ex-victor and Katniss's mentor), Donald Sutherland (Pres. Snow), Stanley Tucci (Caesar Flickerman, the emcee of the Hunger Games) and Lenny Kravitz (Katniss's flamboyant stylist).  Gary Ross, who wrote "Big," "Pleasantville" and "Seabiscuit," is set to direct and adapt the screenplay.  Tentative release date is March 23, 2012.

Aida (Atlantis Productions)

July 2, 2011

I have long heard about "AIDA," a musical play set in Egypt in the time of the Pharoahs, with music by Elton John, lyrics by Tim Rice and book by David Henry Hwang et al.  I heard about it first when the song "Written In the Stars" (by Elton John and Leanne Rimes) came out as a pop hit back in 1999.  This musical went on to win Tonys for Best Musical Score (for Elton John and Tim Rice), as well as Best Actress (for Heather Headley).  It is only now that this play makes it debut on the Philippine stage via Atlantis.  It was promoted as a must-watch.  The ticket prices for this show is notably more expensive than previous Atlantis shows, with the Center Orchestra seats at P1,700 each.

As predicted, the stage and costume designs were quite simple, in contrast with my imagination of how the Tony award-winning Broadway production design looked like.  I don't know, but I felt a disconnect between the French revolution-style costumes of the Egyptian soldiers with the rest of the more traditional Egyptian-looking set production.  The lighting effects were very haunting and effective in building mood.  However, when we watch Filipino musical productions, we really watch out for the singing talent of the Filipino cast of actors.  And in that aspect, "Aida" did not disappoint.

Ms. Ima Castro is a theater actress whose name precedes her, but I had never ever seen her before.  I do know she had been Ms. Saigon somewhere before.  She takes on the serious title role of Aida, a Nubian princess who was captured and later enraptured by Egyptian captain Radames.  Unfortunately, Ms. Castro does not look like the typical romantic lead princess.  Her scenes with Radames sadly lacked any spark or chemistry.  It did not seem believable that Radames would dump the lovely Amneris for her.  But Ms. Castro and her powerful voice really shone brightest in her scenes with the Nubians ("Dance of the Robe" and "The Gods Loves Nubia") in which she was able to project her true nobility as a Nubian princess.

Captain Radames is played by Myke Salomon.  I have seen Myke before as the Palestinian boyfriend of one of the "Care Divas".  While he was still liberal in showing off his bare torso, more importantly he was able to showcase his singing voice.  Whatever sneak preview of singing talent was shown in that PETA production became a full realization in "Aida."  He was a revelation in his efficient rendition of the mostly rock/pop songs in the score which were a good fit for his voice quality.  His solo spot in the song "Radames Letter" was his best moment I think.

The third angle of the love triangle was played by luminous and ever-reliable Ms. Rachel Alejandro, who was absolutely delightful as Amneris, an Egyptian princess who had been betrothed to Radames for nine years now.  She had fun in her flighty role in the first half ("The Strongest Suit"), and tackled her character's dramatic turn in the second half ("I Know the Truth"), both very well indeed.  She looked youthful, vivacious and regal in her colorful costumes and was believable as a real princess.

Very interesting was the casting of Ms. Rachel's father Hajji Alejandro as Zoser, the villainous Chief Minister and father of Radames.  When he first stepped out on stage, Mr. Alejandro still looked quite young and did not really look like the father of Myke.  His singing voice though is still very strong and solid.  Josh Santana played the Nubian slave Mereb quite well.  His Mereb had more chemistry with Ms. Ima's Aida than Radames did!  He sang the song that impressed me the most in the whole show "How I Know You."  These two guys figured in an awkward moment during the climactic fight scene towards the end, but it may have been a problem in stage direction.  

Overall, the show is very entertaining with great singing moments.  It was fun to recognize Atlantis staples Felix Rivera and Johann dela Fuente, as well as singer Jimmy Marquez (with his trademark hairstyle) among guys in the chorus. Congratulations once again to Atlantis Productions and to director Ms. Chari Arespacochaga for yet another good show.  There will be one more show today July 3, and the last four more shows in the next weekend.

The Music of Andrew Lloyd Webber: My Review

June 25, 2011

When ads for this show called "The Music of Andrew Lloyd Webber" started to come out very early this year, I felt sure I wanted to watch this, even without knowing who would be singing. ALW's compositions are a staple of modern musical theater, which I enjoy listening to. There would only be 13 shows starting June 24 at the CCP Main Theater, and I bought tickets for the first weekend (last night June 26).  We bought the tickets early in March I think, so we were able to get very nice Orchestra Center seats.  (There were offers for cheaper tickets weeks before the show, but I do not know if these offers could still be availed of at present.) Advanced press releases reveal that the singers would be musical theater performers from Australia.

The show began with some lines from "Love Changes Everything" (Aspects of Love), and from there the hits kept on coming. The first big set of songs was from Evita (1976).  We heard "On This Night of a Thousand Stars," "And The Money Kept Rolling In (And Out)" and "High Flying Adored" from the male singers, Shaun Rennie, Blake Bowden and Michael Cormick, respectively.  Of course, this segment was capped by "Don't Cry for Me Argentina".  This, as well as the other big diva songs in the show, was very dramatically sung by Ms. Delia Hannah.  

The next big set was from ALW's newest output Love Never Dies (2010).  The beautiful title song was rendered by Ms. Trisha Crowe, who has this strong yet sublime soprano voice.  Bowden then followed very strongly with my personal favorite song from that show, "Till I Hear You Sing." The concluding set of the first act from Cats (1981) was quite underwhelming (as expected), except for "Memory" (by Ms. Hannah).  In between these sets, Ms. Alinta Chizdy charmingly sang "Take That Look Off Your Face" (Tell Me On a Sunday) and "I Don't Know How to Love Him".  Andrew Conaghan powerfully sang "All I Ask of You" (duet with Ms. Crowe) and "Light at the End of the Tunnel" (Starlight Express).

After the 20 minute intermission,Rennie opened the second half with an electrifying rendition of the Judas Iscariot rock aria "Heaven on their Mind" from Jesus Christ Superstar (1970).  We also get to hear songs from lesser known ALW shows like The Woman in White (2004) and Whistle Down the Wind (1996) ("No Matter What" and the title song by Kristen Hobb). Ms. Hobb and Ms. Crowe had a beautiful subtle duet on "Pie Jesu" (Requiem). Ms. Hannah gets to sing two more diva songs in this set "Tell Me on a Sunday" and "With One Look" (Sunset Boulevard). Her very dramatic style of singing really fits these songs.  

The highlight of all these highlights was the fantastic and showstopping performance of the title song from the eternal Phantom of the Opera (1986). The soprano of Ms. Crowe was perfect as the enchanted Christine.  The vocals of Mr. Cormick was of a totally different timbre and quality as the Phantom compared to the other songs he sang tonight.  It was dangerous and sinister, on a much higher level altogether.  The concluding song for the second act was the energetic "Superstar" led by Rennie and the girls, and later the rest of the 8-man cast.  The dancing lights and screen visuals of this numbers were really stepped up as well for a memorable upbeat conclusion.

The whole cast had come out to take their bows.  The strongest applause were accorded to Mr. Cormick and Ms. Hannah.  But as they were exiting, Rennie suddenly led them back to center stage to sing "Any Dream Will Do" (Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat). Finally, the very last song the group sang together was the complete version of  "Love Changes Everything". Then, everyone took their second and final bows, and the concert was over.

Those big, colorful brightly-lit rectangular screens which showed video images as the songs were being sung were a big factor in keeping things interesting and alive.  There were also pictures and videos of ALW himself as he talked about his work and passion which were funny and revelatory.  Not perfect all the way through though.  No "As If We Never Say Goodbye" and "Starlight Express." Shaun Rennie and Blake Bowden can tend to act too awkwardly effeminate for comfort.

Overall, this was a very entertaining night of timeless songs from the theater.  If you like musical theater and ALW, you will surely enjoy this show.  It was certainly very hard to keep from singing along!  Truth to tell, though, I am very sure a local Filipino group of musical theater stars and musicians can stage the same show with similar, if not better, quality.  If ever they do, we will surely watch them as well.

Doo-Wops and Hooligans: Bruno Mars Live in Manila!

April 8,2011 

When we reached the Araneta Coliseum for the Bruno Mars concert, it was already past 8pm.  To our surprise, there was still a long line outside for the Upper Box!  When we got inside the coliseum, the seats in the Upper Box were already quite full.  Luckily, there I chanced upon a couple of "healthy" girls who were occupying four prime seats in the middle of a row. For a second stroke of luck, the both of us fit into that space quite comfortably.

By that time, the first front act, Juris Fernandez, was already winding up with her second and last song, a cover of "Ironic" by Alanis Morrissette.  To her credit, her voice sounded quite good.  However, it was not really very memorable.

After a short break, the videos announced the arrival of the second front act.  He was a guy I only heard about in the past few days when his name was being promoted as the front act of this concert.  His name is Michael Copon, a Fil-German Hollywood actor whose main claim to fame was being Kim Kardashian's boyfriend for a while. The girls in the Araneta seemed very excited to see him.  He was singing a series of abridged covers of recent hits like "OMG" by Usher, "Baby" by Justin Bieber (yeah, really) and a couple of Black Eyed Peas songs "Time of My Life" and "I Gotta Feeling."  (VIDEO) He also had some songs from his "album", which were bland and monotonous as they come.  The highlight of his segment was a part where he serenaded this girl Bea whom he picked from the audience.  He playfully teased this girl to the delight (jealousy?) of the other girls there.  

The next break was a longer one, about 30 minutes, before finally, the band entered the stage.  Suddenly, Bruno Mars was spotlighted playing a mean solo on the drums!  His first song was the last song on his album, "The Other Side."  This was immediately followed by "Top of the World."  When we heard give a shout-out to his friend Travie Mc Coy, we knew the next song would be "Billionaire."  (VIDEO) The crowd went wild with this song!  After this, Bruno slowed things down with a slow sexy number called "Our First Time."

Before he sang his next song, Mars asked the people to excuse him while he fooled around with some songs.  The band began to play the classic riff of Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit."  When he began to sing though, the lyrics were those of Michael Jackson's "Billie Jean."  Great mash-up.  He then segued into another Michael Jackson classic song "I Want You Back."  Very good tribute to his idol and musical influence.

Bruno and his posse on stage did some fantastic barbershop quartet harmonies.  This led into the very poppy and happy song "Marry You."   This immediately led into another happy little number, his current Hot 100 hit, "The Lazy Song."  Bruno then took up his ukulele and began to dedicate the next song to "barkadas" in the audience.  This song was the jaunty and folksy "Count on Me."  The next song was the awesome "Liquor Store Blues" which featured very strong vocals and instrumental work.  

The next three hits came one after the other as the homestretch drew near.  His "Nothin' on You" was even dedicated to this pretty girl in the audience who was with Richard and Raymond Gutierrez.  I thought the girl was Kristine Hermosa (which brought to mind Mars' resemblance to Jericho Rosales).  Word is though, that the lucky girl was named Nichole Anderson.  From there, he introduced his next big song, "Grenade".  (VIDEO) Another loud and driving number with great vocals.  And finally, and as everyone was eagerly waiting for, his last song is the song that brought him solo success, "Just the Way You Are."  At the end of this very engaging song before saying goodbye, Bruno declared that he was proud to be a Filipino and will be coming back soon, eliciting wilder cheers from the audience.

The lights did not turn back on, so you knew there would be something more.  Bruno came back out amidst calls for an encore.  He sang his James Brown inspired number called "Runaway Baby."  (VIDEO) He displayed his terpsichorean skills as he slinked on stage.  This extra song ended the concert, which lasted only a little over an hour, as the lights came back on at 10:30pm.

I was very impressed with Bruno Mars skills as a total entertainer and songwriter.  His songs were very melodic, catchy and memorable.  His singing voice was very strong, especially considering this was his second night in the Philippines, after having a concert in Cebu just the night before.  His dance moves were very smooth, showing his rock and roll roots.  We saw an artist on the rise last night.  I am very sure more success will be heading his way in the future if he keeps himself grounded!  Great concert! Expensive (Upper Box tickets priced higher than the Taylor Swift concert) but well worth the price.