Rivalry: Ateneo-La Salle The Musical: The 2nd Round (4th Wall Theater Company)

January 24, 2013

"RIVALRY" had been a much buzzed-about show last year during its first run.  However, for some reason I did not have the interest to see it despite the good reviews.  Maybe it was the main topic of the musical, which was about the fabled Ateneo-La Salle rivalry in the college basketball league.  I was afraid I could not relate to the story because I am neither from Ateneo nor La Salle.

The original Filipino musical, with music by Ed Gatchalian, lyrics by Joel Trinidad (both Ateneans) and directed by Jaime del Mundo (a La Sallite), went on to win year-end accolades including Best Music for a Filipino Musical for Mr. Ed Gatchalian from the Broadway World PH Awards.    It must be so successful, that there is now a re-staging of this show this month!  Therefore when the opportunity came up for me to watch it, I grabbed the chance this time.

There was no big mystery what the main story is about. The setting is Manila in 1968.  The Valencias are hard-core Ateneans.  The Basilios are hard-core La Sallites.  The moms are sisters, but their husbands are both bitter rivals on and off the basketball court.  Their sons continue this rivalry.  Paco Valencia (OJ Mariano) is the current star player of Ateneo, while Tommy Basilio (Mako Alonso, who is ironically an Atenean) is the star of the La Salle varsity.  Both teams were still members of the NCAA back then, with Mapua and San Beda.

Paco's brother Quito (Red Concepcion) has a crush on a certain Maryknoll girl Rina (Athena Tibi) and asks his cousin Tommy to help introduce him.  As fate would have it, Tommy finds himself falling for the charming Rina. How will this love triangle play out as the college basketball season reaches its heated finale?

The script reminds me of one-act Filipino plays in English that we used to see high school students stage back in the day.  I find the play very amusing when it comes to conversations -- the way they speak with all its "burgis" styling, English with distinct "Filipinisms."   While there were also a number of witty one-liners, but I guess I was expecting more school jokes. The staging and choreography reminded me a lot of "West Side Story" with the rival gangs dancing.  Well to be frank, the story concept is somehow reminiscent of that musical classic too because of its romance in the context of rivalry.

There were two song numbers that really stood out for me.  From Act One, it was the very cute "Boy from La Salle" coquettishly sung by the Maryknoll colegialas.  From Act Two, it was the dramatic "What If" sung by the three corners of the love triangle, Quito, Tommy and Rina.  The songs of Act Two were basically reprises or mash-ups of the songs from the first act.  The director said that this "Second Round" was already streamlined from the first run in terms of its content.  But I feel, some more streamlining could be done to make it a tighter show.  There were certain moments where the momentum would lag.

Mako Alonso, whom I have not seen before, was actually very good as Tommy.  He has a good voice, and he has his "crush ng bayan" character down pat.  He can also do the physically strenuous sit-ups and clap push-ups that Tommy had to do.  OJ Mariano is unfortunately limited by the dour way his serious character had been written.  I am sure there is a way to make his Paco more interesting in future stagings.  As for Red Concepcion, he has this look that does not exactly make him convincing as a romantic lead.  He is quite earnest though and he sings well, but he was not realistic as a boy in love with a girl.

The star of the show for me though was the very pretty Athena Tibi, whom I have also not seen on stage before.  She sings very well, and her stage presence was electric, making her rise above the other Maryknollers on stage with her (which includes known actresses like Cara Barredo and Caisa Borromeo).  I found it interesting when it was revealed that Ms. Tibi actually has an active career in Japan as a pop star, from which she took a break to join this show.  She could make it as well in the local scene, I think.

Overall, whatever they say, I still think you would have to be an Atenean or a La Sallite to get into the groove fully with this musical.  There was still some "inside joke" territory that alumni of other schools cannot completely get.  I personally could not help but burst into applause and cheer when my own alma mater was suddenly mentioned.  So Maroons, there is something for you in this show!  It was not a completely perfect show yet, especially the final resolution, which I found was not too clearly expressed.  I think it could still be improved further because I think this musical will live on as long as there are Ateneans and La Sallites.  But as it is now, it is already a fun, amusing and entertaining show!

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"Rivalry: The Second Round" runs from January 25 to February 17, 2013, weekends at the Meralco Theater.  Ticket Prices: P1,699.50/ P1,339/ P1,030/ P978.50/ P824/ P618. For ticket reservations, call TicketWorld at 891-9999.

Billboard Top Hot 100 Songs of 2012

January 13, 2013

1 Gotye feat. Kimbra Somebody That I Used To Know

           It debuted at number 91 on the Billboard Hot 100 on 14 January 2012. In its fifteenth week on the chart – after it was performed on Glee, American Idol and SNL  – the song rose to No. 1. The song had the fourth highest-selling single week ever with 542,000 digital downloads sold, and was the first Australian single to top the Hot 100 since Savage Garden's "I Knew I Loved You" in 2000. As of 6 June 2012, it has remained at No. 1 for eight consecutive weeks. 

2 Carly Rae Jepsen Call Me Maybe

          It debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 on the week of 10 March 2012, at number 38. The song reached number one on the week ending 23 June 2012 and spent nine consecutive weeks at number one on the Billboard Hot 100. She is the first Canadian female artist to have a number one on Billboard Hot 100 since Avril Lavigne's "Girlfriend" in 2007. The song is only the fourth song to log seven weeks at number one by an artist from Canada, tied with "Sh-Boom" by The Crew-Cuts, "Informer" by Snow featuring MC Shan, and "(Everything I Do) I Do It for You" by Bryan Adams. The song is Jepsen's first entry on the Billboard charts in the country, which made her the first lead woman since Kesha with her single "Tik Tok" to have her debut single peak at such position. 

3 fun. feat. Janelle Monae We Are Young

          "We Are Young" entered the Billboard Hot 100 in December 2011 at number 53 but quickly fell off. It wasn't until the song appeared in the Super Bowl spot that it took off, exploding at radio and at retail.  In the week following the Super Bowl, it rose 26 spots to number 63 on the Hot 100. On March 7, 2012, "We Are Young" ascended to the top position on the Billboard Hot 100. It remained at the number one position for six consecutive weeks.

4 Maroon 5 feat. Wiz Khalifa Payphone

          The song debuted at number 3 on the Billboard Hot 100. It failed to reach number one, peaking at number 2 on that chart for six non-consecutive weeks, being blocked from the top spot by Gotye's "Somebody That I Used to Know" and Carly Rae Jepsen's "Call Me Maybe". On its 18th week in the top ten, "Payphone" dropped to number seven on the Billboard Hot 100, making it the first time the song was not a part of the top five.

5 Ellie Goulding Lights

          On the issue dated 20 August 2011, "Lights" debuted at number 85 on the Billboard Hot 100. The song re-entered the Billboard Hot 100 at number 99 for the week of 14 January 2012.] When "Lights" reached number 40 in its 19th week, on the issue dated 12 May, the song represented the third slowest climb to the top 40 by a female artist, after Norah Jones's "Don't Know Why" and KT Tunstall's "Suddenly I See". In its 29th week, the song made Hot 100 history by achieving the longest climb to the chart's top five not aided by country-to-pop crossover success or multiple releases. In its 33rd chart week, the single reached number 2 on the chart dated 18 August 2012, and held that position for two weeks, behind "Call Me Maybe" by Carly Rae Jepsen and "Whistle" by Flo Rida, respectively.

6 The Wanted          Glad You Came

           In the United States, the song became their first to chart on the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at number three for four non-consecutive weeks after it was covered on the television series Glee, and becoming the highest American chart entry by a British boy band, surpassing Take That who peaked at number seven with "Back for Good" in November 1995.

7 Kelly Clarkson Stronger (What Doesn't Kill You)

          The song entered the Billboard Hot 100 at number 64 on the week ending October 30, 2011. Three weeks later, the song re-entered Billboard Hot 100 at number 99. Following its release as a single, the song once again returned to the Hot 100 at number 58 after Clarkson performed the song at Saturday Night Live on January 7, 2012. On its 4th week, the song climbed to number 21. The following week, the song ascended to number eight at the Billboard Hot 100 chart and became her tenth top-ten hit. With "Mr. Know It All" having peaked at number ten, the song's ascent marked the first time Clarkson has had back-to-back top-ten hits since 2004–2005, when she had four consecutive top-ten hits from her sophomore album, Breakaway. On its 6th week, it went from number 8 to number 2 and then went to number 1, becoming Clarkson's third number one hit, after "A Moment Like This" and "My Life Would Suck Without You". On the week ending March 3, 2012, the song descends to number four after spending two consecutive weeks at number 1. The same week, "Stronger" became Clarkson's first song to top Billboard Hot Dance Club Songs. This makes Clarkson as the first artist ever to have topped the Hot 100 and each of Billboard's Dance/Club Play Songs, Country Songs, Adult Contemporary and Adult Pop Songs charts. On its 9th week, the song returned to top Billboard Hot 100 for the third week and becomes the longest-reigning single by an American Idol contestant.

8 Rihanna feat. Calvin Harris We Found Love

          The song debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 chart on September 28, 2011, at number 16. "We Found Love" became the singer's second highest debut on the chart out of her 31 Hot 100 chart entries, with the highest being Rihanna's collaboration with Eminem, "Love the Way You Lie", which debuted at number 2 in July 2010. The following week, it rose to number 9, giving Rihanna the record for a solo artist to have amassed twenty top-ten singles in the history of the Billboard Hot 100 chart in the shortest amount of time. Rihanna achieved the feat in a time span of 6 years and 4 months, surpassing the record previously held by Madonna who managed the achievement in a time span of 5 years and 9 months. In its 6th week on the chart, the song reached number 1, giving Rihanna her eleventh number-one single thus making her only the seventh artist in the 53-year history of the chart to amass at least 11 number-one singles, behind The Beatles (20), Mariah Carey (18), Michael Jackson (13), Madonna (12), The Supremes (12) and tying with Whitney Houston. Additionally, Rihanna moved into 3rd place, tied with Houston, for the female artist with the most number-one singles, behind Carey and Madonna. "We Found Love" spent 8 consecutive weeks and 2 additional weeks (after 3 weeks at number two) at the top of the Billboard Hot 100, surpassing "Umbrella" as Rihanna's longest number-one single in the country, and was the longest-running number one of 2011.

9 Nicki Minaj Starships

          "Starships" debuted at number nine on the US Billboard Hot 100, marking her second solo arrival in the top ten after "Super Bass", which reached number 3. The song eventually peaked at number 5 and was certified triple platinum in the US on August 16, 2012.

10 One Direction What Makes You Beautiful

          "What Makes You Beautiful" became the highest Billboard Hot 100 debut for an UK act since 1998. On 22 February 2012, the single debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 at number 28. On the week ending 14 April 2012, it peaked at number 4. As of 30 June 2012, the single had spent thirteen consecutive weeks in the Billboard Hot 100 top ten.

11 Flo Rida feat. Sia Wild Ones
12 Adele Set Fire To The Rain
13 LMFAO Sexy And I Know It
14 fun. Some Nights
15 Katy Perry Wide Awake
16 Flo Rida Good Feeling
17 Flo Rida Whistle
18 Maroon 5 One More Night
19 Train Drive By
20 Drake feat. Lil Wayne The Motto

21 Rihanna Where Have You Been
22 Neon Trees Everybody Talks
23 Drake feat. Rihanna Take Care
24 David Guetta feat. Sia Titanium
25 Jason Mraz I Won't Give Up
26 Bruno Mars It Will Rain
27 Kanye West, Big Sean, Pusha T, 2 Chainz Mercy
28 Justin Bieber Boyfriend
29 LMFAO feat. Lauren Bennett & GoonRock Party Rock Anthem
30 Alex Clare Too Close

31 Katy Perry Part Of Me
32 Snoop Dogg and Wiz Khalifa feat. Bruno Mars Young, Wild & Free
33 Taylor Swift We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together
34 Justin Bieber feat. Big Sean As Long as You Love Me
35 David Guetta feat. Nicki Minaj Turn Me On
36 Maroon 5 feat. Christina Aguilera Moves Like Jagger
37 P!nk Blow Me (One Last Kiss)
38 Owl City and Carly Rae Jepsen Good Time
39 Demi Lovato Give Your Heart A Break
40 Jay Z and Kanye West Ni**As In Paris

41 Katy Perry The One That Got Away
42 Calvin Harris Feel So Close
43 Adele Someone Like You
44 Usher Scream
45 Tyga Rack City
46 Jessie J Domino
47 PSY Gangnam Style
48 Pitbull feat. Chris Brown International Love
49 Phillip Phillips Home
50 David Guetta feat. Usher Without You

51 Gym Class Heroes feat. Neon Hitch Ass Back Home
52 Hunter Hayes Wanted
53 Luke Bryan Drunk On You
54 2 Chainz feat. Drake No Lie
55 Cher Lloyd Want U Back
56 Chris Brown Don't Wake Me Up
57 Big Sean feat. Nicki Minaj Dance (A$$)
58 Eric Church Springsteen
59 Karmin Brokenhearted
60 Gavin DeGraw Not Over You

61 Gym Class Heroes feat. Adam Levine Stereo Hearts
62 Pitbull Back In Time
63 J. Cole Work Out
64 Adele Rumour Has It
65 Calvin Harris feat. Ne-Yo Let's Go
66 Carrie Underwood Good Girl
67 Little Big Town Pontoon
68 The Lumineers Ho Hey
69 Coldplay Paradise
70 Carrie Underwood Blown Away

71 Adele Rolling In The Deep
72 Usher Climax
73 Wiz Khalifa Work Hard, Play Hard
74 Ne-Yo Let Me Love You (Until You Learn To Love Yourself)
75 Nicki Minaj Pound The Alarm
76 Kenny Chesney Come Over
77 Trey Songz Heart Attack
78 Kirko Bangz Drank In My Cup
79 Rihanna feat. Chris Brown Birthday Cake
80 B.o.B So Good

81 Train 50 Ways To Say Goodbye
82 Toby Keith Red Solo Cup
83 Selena Gomez and The Scene Love You Like A Love Song
84 Chris Brown Turn Up The Music
85 Ke$ha Die Young
86 T-Pain feat. Wiz Khalifa and Lily Allen 5 O'Clock
87 Christina Perri A Thousand Years
88 Jason Aldean Take A Little Ride
89 Rihanna You Da One
90 Havana Brown feat. Pitbull We Run The Night

91 Imagine Dragons It's Time
92 Ca$h Out Cashin' Out
93 Luke Bryan I Don't Want This Night To End
94 Rihanna Diamonds
95 Lee Brice Hard To Love
96 Kip Moore Somethin' 'Bout A Truck
97 Miguel Adorn
98 Jason Aldean Fly Over States
99 Eli Young Band Even If It Breaks Your Heart
100 Linkin Park Burn It Down

UP Concert Chorus 50th Anniversary Gala Concert

December 21, 2012

Last September I got news that the UP Concert Chorus was going to have a 50th Anniversary Concert this year.  However I did not hear when this was going to be held.  In fact, I forgot all about this event, until by sheer serendipity, I saw a poster of this in the lobby of our building!  Given that I had the opportunity, I resolved to catch this special concert.

When I got to the University Theater, only Balcony tickets were for sale.  All the seats in the Center and Side Orchestra were sold out.  And why not, I believe those prime seats were only being sold for P300 and P200 each!  Anyway, the theater was not really that big, so we can recognize faces on the stage from our seats in the Balcony.

The show began about 15 minutes after 7pm when the multi-generational UCC with singers from Batch 60s to 2012 formed on the stag amidst great applause.  They began by singing "Battle Hymn of the Republic."  I am not really sure why, if there was any story behind this song choice, which I imagined was their Invocation.  A most rousing version of the Philippine National Anthem followed.  The show was emceed by Mr. Chinggoy Alonso, who was a member of UCC in the 1970s.

The next segments were special numbers from every batch (divided per decade) of UCC members. There were introductory videos which preceded each batch.  Unfortunately the font was too thin and too dim, orange with poor contrast from the black background.  Everything was not legible from where we were seated, which was too bad.

Batch 60s was represented by Ms. Becky Demetillo-Abraham who sang a folk song "Hurry Sundown" with a mellow voice that evoked the hippies who may have sung it back then.  She was accompanied by Leter Demetillo on guitar and back-up vocals.

The 60s and 70s batches joined forces in a trio of songs, the best of which was their version of "May Bukas Pa". They also broke formation to sing "Neneng" which was a funny medley of Filipino folksongs. I recognized Ms. Kitchie Molina and Ms. Joscephine Gomez in that batch of singers.

UPCC Batch 80s was in more colorful get-ups.  They sang a lively medley of songs with dancing, including "Pumapatak ang Ulan" and "Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In."  They then sang "Kalesa" which they mixed with an unexpected partner "Oppa Gangnam Style"!  Of course, the dance step fit right in with the "Kalesa" lyrics, ingenious.  They ended their set with "Kay Ganda ng Ating Musika".  No 80s song in their set.

UPCC Batch 90s started with a serious choral piece first.  Then they segued to singing Filipino pop classics "Tuwing Umuulan at Kapiling Ka" and "Mambobola."

This was followed by a rendition of the Broadway song "Love Changes Everything" by a couple of UCC couples (UCC members who also married a UCC member).  They are Raymond Roldan and wife Jeannelle,  whom I knew as the writers of "Song of Joseph," and Lionel Guico and his wife Cynthia, who were introduced as theater actors.

UPCC Batch 2000s rendered a couple of religious songs, one English and one Filipino.  Their final song was their version of Fantasia's "I Believe."  They has three awesome soloists whose voices simply soared in that seriously belted diva number.  The guy soloist matched his female co-singers in the lung-busting notes in the soulful end portion of the song.

A 10 minute intermission followed.

The Second Act opened with an In Memoriam slide show.  Unfortunately again, we cannot read anything on the screen.  The main and final tribute was for their beloved late Dr. Rey T. Paguio, who conducted the UCC from 1969 to 1999.  After this, Dr. Dot Gancayco, who headed the organizing committee of the 50th anniversary celebration, delivered her thank you speech.  Her enumeration of prominent UCC alumni was very impressive.

The stage was then given to the current batch of UCC, which they called the Golden Batch.  Their first song was entitled "Ama Namen" (not the church hymn we know) which featured a spectacular soprano whose name eluded me.  They sang three more songs, before they sang an amazing Michael Jackson tribute medley which featured a solo from their conductor Jai Sabas-Aracama.

After this, the other alumni of UCC all gathered again on the stage to render the final series of songs.  Very notable here are the beautiful Christmas songs they rendered.  The very sad "Pasko Na Sinta Ko" featured a solo by Jonathan Badon, and guitar by a UCC alumnus who is now an Ambassador, Mr. Vic Lecaros. The solemn "Payapang Daigdig" featured the original soloist who was none other than Ms. Kitchie Molina.  After a rousing version of "Simbang Gabi", they began to call all UP Alumni to go up the stage to join them to sing.  I had half the mind to go up, but I wanted to watch the rest of the show from my seat.



One of the original conductors of UCC in the 60s, Dr. Ramon Santos, was called in to conduct and lead the choir to sing Handel's "Hallelujah".  This classical Christmas hymn was sung with sheer perfection.  But they reserved their best for last as they sang a most touching version of "UP Naming Mahal" which totally captured my heart.  What a fitting finale for a fun and nostalgic evening!

Looking back, not joining a choir in college was one of the regrets in my youth.  But then at that time I was not really sure what I can do yet and I was too timid to pursue anything except my studies.  Watching their reunion show tonight showed their audience with pride how UCC not only molded musical talent among the members, but also improved their personalities and built lasting friendship.  Watching this show let me know what I missed because of my reluctance to try out the unknown back then.  Oh well, as the Apocalypse did not occur tonight (as was hyped ad nauseam in the past few days), my own chance to be a member of a serious choir may yet come by in the coming years.

Congratulations to the UCC for their 50 years past and 50 and more years to come!

Camp Rock the Musical (Repertory Philippines)

December 8, 2012

By some freak streak of luck, I once again won tickets to go see "Camp Rock the Musical" today from herworld.com (the same website from which I won the "Rama Hari" tickets just last week). This show produced by Repertory Philippines had been showing since November 16, 2012, under the direction of Mr. Audie Gemora.  Strangely though unlike other Rep productions in the past, I felt no compulsion to watch this show at all, and neither did my kids.  Maybe it is because we know the story already, or maybe it is because my own daughter played the character of Caitlin in their musical theater workshop production of "Camp Rock" just last summer.  But hey, a free ticket is a free ticket!

The generally young (supposedly "teenage") cast was basically unknown to me and the general public.  Of course, I recognize Markki Stroem, who is a familiar name and face from his joining "Pilipinas Got Talent" on TV.  He already had his stage debut on "Next to Normal" (Atlantis). I also recognize Cara Barredo, who had a charming turn as Beth in Rep's "Little Women" a few Decembers back, there playing a minor role as Caitlyn.  The rest of the young actors were yet untried, so I was a bit apprehensive that it would feel like a high school production, as early reviews seemed to suggest.

Anyway, arrived late again but only for maybe less than ten minutes, but seating was not difficult.  Since we had watched the two Original Disney Movies of the same title, getting into the story was not difficult.  The first number I caught was the reprise of the hit song from the first movie "This is Me" by Mitchie Torres, just as her beau Shane Gray and his brothers arrived in camp. After a few more scenes, it was clear that this musical play would be following the story of the second Camp Rock movie, which was subtitled "The Final Jam."  (This is not the same play as the summer production of my daughter, which was based on the first movie.)

As with Camp Rock 2, the story is about how a flashier rival summer talent camp called Camp Star threatens the very existence of Camp Rock.  Mitchie rallies her friends together to try and beat Camp Star in a televised Final Jam face-off.  However, in her obsession for performance perfection, her relationship with Shane gets strained.  Can these young romance problems be solved?  Which camp will win Final Jam?  Since this is a Disney script, I guess you can pretty much guess the answers to these questions.

The stand-out in the newbie cast is clearly the actress who played Mitchie, Morrissette Amon.  Amon simply dominated every song she sang because of her powerful vocals.  We are witnessing a debut performance of a future star.   Even in a big group numbers, her vocal chops rose above everyone else.  Her chemistry with Stroem though was not too good in the first act.  I don't the problem is with Amon though.  Maybe Stroem is too mature, too tall or too mestizo for her, I don't know, but there seemed to be no connection between the two.  Fortunately, it did get better in the second half though.

There was a side story where the youngest Gray brother Nate (Nacho Tambunting) is attracted to pretty Dana (Justine Pena).  However, she was unfortunately was from Camp Star, and he becomes dorkishly tongue-tied around her.  Their scenes were more charming than those of the leads as their chemistry was more palpable.  Their seemingly-Jason Mraz-"I'm Yours"-inspired duet song number entitled "Introducing Me" was quite endearingly performed.

The girl who portrayed the snooty Tess Tyler (Cheska Ortega) and the guy who played the star performer of Camp Star Luke Williams (Nelsito Gomez) also had good voices, stage presence and dance moves, as did the guy who played Barron James (Justin Valiente).  They can certainly stand out from the rest of the crowd on stage.

For me, the action and songs of Act I was rather dull and forgettable.  However, Act II really did a good job to pick up the pace of the story as well as the catchiness of the songs and energy of the choreography.  this is most evident in the climactic numbers of Final Jam which were "Tear it Down" (by Camp Star) and "What We Came Here For" (by Camp Rock), right up to "We Rock" at the end.  Overall though, "Camp Rock the Musical" was actually fun and entertaining.  The songs were so Disney-catchy and the humor was oh-so-wholesome.  It will lighten you mood and make you smile.  It will definitely make you feel young again.  I did.  I'm glad I got to watch it.

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"Camp Rock the Musical" runs up to December 19, 2012 at Onstage in Greenbelt 1.

Rama Hari (Ballet Philippines)

December 2, 2012

I have long heard about the 1980 theater classic "Rama Hari," who starred Basil Valdez, Leo Valdez and a then relatively unknown singer named Kuh Ledesma.  This epic show was  a collaboration among giants in the theater world.  The choreography was by Alice Reyes, the founder of Ballet Philippines.  The libretto was by Bienvenido Lumbera, a National Artist in Literature, adapting stories from the Indian epic "Ramayana". The music was by Ryan Cayabyab, who was only 26 years old back then when he wrote the score.  The set and costumes were by the late Salvador Bernal, also a National Artist.

                                     

This year, Ballet Philippines (under Ms. Margie Moran) brings all the magic back to the CCP from November 30 to December 9, 2012, with a cast headed by pop stars Christian Bautista and Karylle.  This is must-see theater!

Must see, yes.  But I have not had the time to go buy tickets.  Then just earlier this week, I chanced upon a promo in Facebook for free tickets to Rama Hari from herworld.com.  I just answered the questions and shared their FB status, and did not think much about it anymore.  Then, last Thursday November 29, while doing surgery in the operating room, I unexpectedly get a call from Ms. Kae of herworld.com announcing that I had won THREE free tickets to this show on December 1!  I picked up the tickets that very afternoon.

Being a Saturday, my clinic on December 1 was only supposed to be up to 2 pm. However, it did not end on time.  I saw my last patient by 4 pm.  Without having eaten lunch yet, I immediately went home to pick up my wife and daughter.  We unfortunately reached the CCP Main Theater already past 6:30 pm.  We barely sat down, already regaled by the clean white stage design, and Christian Bautista's amazingly soaring voice that we caught, when after he sang, the intermission was announced!  We barely caught the last 10 minutes of Act 1.  So this article will basically be a review only of Act 2.

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Act 2 tells the story of Rama and Sita encountering the evil brother and sister duo Ravana and Soopranakha.     Sookpranakha lusts after Rama and tries to seduce him.  Sita was deceived, lured and abducted by Ravana.  Rama enlists the help of Monkey King Hanuman to help him get Sita back.  Will the devoted couple ever get back together again?

Wait a minute, isn't that already the whole story we read in all the press releases for this show?  So what on earth happened in Act 1?  Anyway....

It took a while to figure out what was going on onstage.  The conceit here is that the story of Rama and Sita were being simultaneously told in both dance and song!  While Christian and Karylle were playing Rama and Sita as actors and singers, there were Jean Marc Cordero and Katherine Trofeo  playing the same characters Rama and Sita as ballet dancers.  Even the supporting roles of Ravana, Soorpanakha, Hanuman and Rama's loyal brother Lakshmana, have both singers and dancers to represent them.  Your eyes will be very busy following all the action on stage, not to mention the English subtitles they are flashing overhead!

When it reached the Ravana/Soorpranakha episode, I did not expect the language of the play to turn modern, funny and even vulgar!  There were definitely Parental Guidance moments in that part of the play, not only in the dancing, but also in the song lyrics!

                                        

Christian Bautista and Karylle really carried the show very well as Rama and Sita.  They both look regal in stage presence and demeanor.  And their singing is flawless!  Soaring and effortless, this was a vast improvement of my previous viewing experience of their performances in "West Side Story" years back, which was sadly lacking in excitement or power.  But tonight, their performances as Rama and Sita were memorably stellar, though both were a bit stiff in the dancing department but we can overlook that.

As for their ballet counterparts, Katherine Trofeo danced Sita very well indeed.  Very very graceful.  That part where she was being ravished by Ravana was heartbreaking and dramatic.  On the other hand, Jean Marc Cordero, in my opinion, unfortunately did NOT have bearing enough to look like a Rama.  He did not feel credible as the King and Hero.  The male dancers who essayed Lakshmana (Luis Cabrera, Jr.) or Hanuman (Emmanuelle Guillermo) all had better physicality than Jean Marc, so he pales in comparison when he is dancing with these other guys.  His ill-fitting old-rose-colored outfit did not really complement him as well.

                                     

The singer who played Ravana (Christian Rey Marbella) had a fantastically high voice.  His songs were reminiscent of those of Judas in "Jesus Christ Superstar."  The more famous Ravana may have been Robert Sena, but Mr. Marbella did not disappoint.  The dancer who played Ravana (Timothy Cabrera) similarly had that appropriate sinister look, presence and dancing skill.  The singer who played Soorpranakha (Amparo Sietereales)  had a lot of fun with her naughty role and sang powerfully with evil glee, and so did her ballet counterpart (Rita Angela Winder) match this with lustful dance moves.  The singer who belted the songs of Hanuman (Breznev Larlar) had a strong voice to match his sense of humor, as did the dancing counterpart of this simian role (Guillermo) with his physical comedy.

"Rama Hari" was really a stage experience of a different sort we rarely encounter now.  The live music played by the Manila Symphony Orchestra, with the amazing vocal stylings of the UP Concert Chorus, was perfectly rendered and in sync with the busy stage action. It is indeed must-see theater.  Go catch it as it runs only up to December 9, 2012.

*****

UPDATE: September 23, 2023

The classic ballet rock musical "Rama, Hari" is being restaged this year, 44 years after its original staging at the CCP in 1980.  Since then up to now, five of its creators have been named National Artists -- choreographer Alice Reyes, composer Ryan Cayabyab, writer Bienvenido Lumbera and Rolando Tinio, and production designer Salvador Bernal. This is the first time the show was performed again since 2012, which is the show that I described above. 

Because of the renovations being done at the CCP, the venues were this time around were the Metropolitan Theater (September 15 and 16) and the Samsung Performing Arts Theater (September 22 to 24). The featured dance company this time around is the Alice Reyes Dance Philippines, on its third year of existence. The live music for selected performances will be performed by the Orchestra of the Filipino Youth, under the baton of Toma Cayabyab. 

Playing Sita again after a little more than a decade, Karylle Tatlonghari has matured as a singer and a stage actress, yet still without any visible signs of those additional ten years when you see her on stage. As Rama, Arman Ferrer's command of his vocal instrument continues to gain more and more strength and confidence, befitting of the titular hero he is playing. Their dance counterparts in the show I watched were Katrene San Miguel and Ejay Arisola.

I did not remember that the other singers in the cast were actually playing more than one character, which can be confusing. Aside from the villain Ravana in Act 2, Poppert Bernadas had the role of a court minister (?) in Act 1, singing "Awit ng Pagsinta." Audie Gemora mainly sang the role of Rama's father King Dasaratha, but a little earlier he also sang the role of Sita's father King Janaka.  Jon Abella sang both the roles of Rama's loyal brother Lakhsmana and the monkey king Hanuman. 

So far from her ingenue role in "The Kundiman Party" where I first saw her, Miah Canton's vocal prowess has grown so much as heard in two villainess roles here. In Act 1, she played Kooni (the witchy adviser to Kaikeyi, the king's third wife), and in Act 2, she played Soorpanakha, Ravana's demon sister.  Katrine Sunga sang two roles -- Kaikeyi in Act 1 singing "Ika'y May Pangako" with her impressively strong stratospheric cries of "Itaas! Itaas!", and the Golden Deer in Act 2. 

Among the dancers, the standouts for me were Renzen Arboleda (as Lakshmana), Danilo Dayo (as Hanuman), Tim Cabrera (as Ravana) and Sarah Alejandro (as Soorpanakha). 

Act 1, which I was not able to see back in 2012, told the story of how Rama won the competition to earn the right to marry Sita, and how his father King Dasaratha, owing to an old promise he made, was coerced by his third wife Kaikeyi to name her teenage son Bharata as the rightful heir and send Rama into a 14-year exile in the wilderness. 

Now finally, I can say that I have seen the complete show.  

JLo Dance Again World Tour Live in Manila!

November 26, 2012

This was a most anticipated concert ever.  Jennifer Lopez, whose music career was revived when she became a judge in the last season of American Idol,  was a well-loved performer in this country, where "Let's Get Loud" is a videoke standard.  It became controversial  when the price list was released, showing probably the most expensive tickets ever sold for a local concert.  P26,000+ for Patron tickets was unprecedented.   Even the General Admission tickets were at P2500+ each.  However, despite this, those incredible P26K tickets quickly sold out, and later so did the rest of the sections.  When we decided to buy in September, there was nothing left but those at the upper and outer edges of the MOA Arena.  And they said, the Philippines was hard up financially!

When we reached our seats, there were some front acts performing, who were unknown to me.  Most of them were dance groups and singers.  I recognized Jay-R dueting with the last female singer.  This is the third time I have seen Jay-R sing front act for a foreign act at the MOA Arena (after Taylor Dayne and the NKOTBSB concerts).  Is he now the Front Act King?

The concert proper started at 9 pm.  There seemed to be a theme of Hollywood-glamour, with her dancers in white fur stoles and top hats and canes.  When she ripped off her white gown, J Lo was wearing a sparkly nude catsuit.as she went into her first song, "Get Right".  After that, she sang "My Love Don't Cost a Thing." (VIDEO) Her local fans were all singing along in that song.  After that was another new song, "I'm Into You," followed by another Filipino fan favorite, "Waiting for Tonight" where J Lo was performing on a moving white stage, which was being pushed around on the stage.

The second set was prefaced by a boxing ring with dancers boxing onstage.  J Lo then stepped into the ring and sang "Goin' In."  (VIDEO) At this point, the people in the P26K area dared to approach the stage already.  J Lo was very generous in reaching out to them and shaking their hands.  I am sure everyone there is getting their money's worth!  She then spoke about her origins from the Bronx, which led to a medley of her songs with rappers, such as "I'm Real" and "Ain't It Funny."  The last song of the medley sounded like "Jenny On the Block" but I could not hear it very well.

In the next section, her male dancers were all wearing glittery blue suits.  When J Lo came out, she was wearing a snazzy blue outfit herself.  The songs in this set were funky, I was not familiar with any of them, but her dancing was really amazing to watch.

The next set was introduced by slow music, so we were expecting her to sing a ballad as she entered in a glamorous flowing green gown (not the one she wore with David Duchovny in that MTV Awards Show).  She sat down beside her guitarist and started to sing a slowed-down acoustic version of her first hit song, "If You Had My Love"  (VIDEO). The audience of course was loudly singing along.  J L decided to stop and call a woman from the audience to sing along with her!  This lucky woman (I hardly though she was young) not only sang with J Lo, but also got to bear hug her for a long time.  She had certainly gotten more than her P26K worth!  After this, as video of her twins played, J Lo sang another ballad "Until It Beats No More."

The next section had J Lo playing the bongo drums at the top of the stairs.  When she stops and dances down the stairs, we hear the recognizable tune of "Let's Get Loud!" (VIDEO)  Of course, everyone was standing up, dancing and singing along!  Toward the end of this song, J Lo was covered by her dancers with big red feather fans.  After a few moments, she burst out from under the fans wearing a fiery red dress and continued her hot dance with her new hotter costume. After that number, she stayed on stage to talk to the audience, nothing of which I understood.  She was given a Philippine flag by someone, and she drapes it around her and takes pictures with it.  I do not know if a conservative nationalist would take offense at this action.

J Lo then sang "Papi" (VIDEO).  This was then followed by a dramatic introduction to the hit that signaled her rebirth into pop world superstardom, "On the Floor." (VIDEO)  At the end of this upbeat song where again everyone was on their feet dancing and jumping, J Lo bade her goodbyes and left the stage.  We knew it was not over yet of course.  The lights did not come back on yet as the audience clamored for more.   A video with quotes about love began on the screens.  Then finally, J Lo appears onscreen and utters the words, "Dance Again." (VIDEO) The audience then got up on their feet and sang and danced along to this most infectious hit song.  When a huge fountain of silver confetti exploded around the stage at the end of this song, we knew this was already truly the end of the show, and it was.

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It was obvious from the start that, as expected, this show is more about the dancing and performing, rather than the singing.  J Lo is truly a fantastic performer as she really gives it her all throughout her show.  She can connect to the audience and she seemed genuinely friendly.  Watching her shake her famous bootie in the flesh (so to speak) is certainly a surreal experience.

I also made the conclusion tonight that the acoustics of the MOA Arena really leaves a lot to be desired. My companions and I could barely make out anything anyone onstage was saying.  Even the lyrics of J Lo's songs are unrecognizable and we merely relied on the tune to identify the songs.  For the MOA Arena, I had been in the Patron area for the Taylor Dayne concert, Upper Box in the NKOTBSB concert, and Lower Box in the Icons concert, and now Gen Ad for this J Lo concert, the sound was not really perfect in ANY section.  I would say so far, it was when I was at the Lower Box that I had heard the best sound quality.

The Book of Mormon (Pantages, Los Angeles)

October 21, 2012

I knew this musical was going to be a satire about the religion of the Mormons.  Knowing that this was written by the makers of "South Park" already prepares you somehow how scandalous the material is going to be.  I knew the subject matter of the play will make it difficult to for it to see the light in very conservative and onion-skinned Manila.  I felt sure that if I wanted to see it (this is after all a multiple Tony Award-winning musical), the only way that I was going to see would be it in the States.  

It was lucky that this show is having a run at the historic Pantages Theater just when I was going to Los Angeles for a high school reunion. Schedules were not so clear yet so we could not buy tickets in advance.  On the only possible day I could watch which was October 13, the matinee show was at 2 pm.  My cousins brought me to the Pantages Theater about 2 hours before the show to join the lottery for which we could buy tickets for the show for only $25 each, compared to the expensive $120-$180 original prices.  As luck would have it, my cousin Ted was one of the 13 lucky ballots drawn!  When we got to enter the theater at 2pm, we discovered that the seats raffled out were actually on the very front row!  It was very exciting as I have never seen a musical from the very front row, much less in a famous theater like the Pantages.

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The show itself started nicely enough, with a clean catchy tune called "Hello" where the new Mormon missionaries were introducing themselves.  The lead character is the ambitious over-achiever Elder Kevin Price (Gavin Creel), who was disappointed that he was paired with the incompetent nerd and uncontrollable liar Elder Arnold Cunningham (Jon Bass).  Price was even more shocked when they get assigned to far-off Uganda, instead of his original choice of Orlando, Florida.

When the two reach Uganda and see the sorry state of the people there, living under the constant persecution of a General Butt-F*****-Naked (Derrick Williams), Price gets more and more disillusioned with his mission, eventually requesting for a transfer.  While the idealistic Cunningham, inspired by the lovely Nabulungi (Samantha Marie Ware), had to resort to unconventional means to get his message of conversion across, especially since he has not even read the "Book of Mormon" himself!  

From this simple premise arises one of the most politically-incorrect yet optimistic and fun musicals ever written.  There was something said or done in each scene which can offend in either religious or racial contexts.  The name of the general alone lets you know that this show will be peppered by frank profanity and sexual references.  

However, the music is so easily accessible, catchy and even vaguely familiar so that all of the very naughty references could actually be excused somehow (by most people, that is).  As cute as the "Hakuna Matata"-like song "Hasa Diga Eebowai" sounds, its English translation is blasphemous, and can really be offensive to less tolerant people.  My personal favorite part of the show was the "Uncle Tom's Cabin"-like presentation by the Ugandan tribesmen of the Mormon teachings as taught to them by Elder Arnold Cunningham.  Very silly and outright hilarious!

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A very controversial show like this can only be conceived, produced, performed and succeed in the USA, it seems.  The totally irreverent sense of humor may not be taken well anywhere else.  Remember, this is a product of Trey Parker, Matt Stone and their gang.  You expect them to push the boundaries of comedy musical theater, and "The Book of Mormon" definitely does.  Take the whole experience as good-natured friendly ribbing only, and you will certainly have a LOL-rollicking good time!  This is NOT something to take too seriously.  Even the Mormon Church itself did not, even taking out ads in the Playbill, declaring "the book is always better."  Now that is what I call positive action, taking full advantage of this show's immense popularity to promote their religion further, and that is playing it smart.