Relaunch of Lito Casaje's MGA PREMYADONG DULA

The Philippine Center of the International PEN (Poets & Playwrights, Essayists, Novelists) held a book-club discussion on writer-director Lito Casaje’s collection of stage plays, “Mga Premyadong Dula,” yesterday, October 26, 2013, at 5 p.m.  This was held in the Solidaridad Bookstore, along Padre Faura St. in Ermita, Manila. It was also a re-launching of sorts for this award-winning book of award-winning scripts for the theater.

“Mga Premyadong Dula” was first published by De La Salle University Press back in 2006.  Five of Casaje’s award-winning plays are featured in this book.  These are:

1.  “Juan de la Cruz, New York” - This play is about Filipino living in New York, amid the HIV-AIDS outbreak and rallies against Marcos in 1984.  This play won Second Prize in the Don Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards for Literature in 1986. This is first play Casaje wrote.

2. “Editoryal” - This play is set in Tagum, Davao in 1985. It dealt with crusading journalists and their fate during the Martial Law era. It also won Second Prize in the Cultural Center of the Philippines’ Playwriting Contest in 1986.

3. “Separasyon” - This is a feminist play.  Its original production starred Eugene Domingo. It won First Prize in the  Don Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards for Literature in 1993.

4.  “Matrimonyal” - This play is about an estranged married couple. This also won the First Prize in the Don Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards for Literature in 1995.

5. “Padre de Familia” - This was an experimental play within a play.  This won the Third Prize in the Don Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards for Literature in 1998.

This published anthology itself won the National Book Award in 2007.  This award is given every year by the National Book Development Board (NBDB) and the Manila Critics Circle (MCC) to the best books written, designed, and published in the Philippines.

This is the first time I have attended an event like this. I have been inside the Solidaridad Bookstore before, but I never knew that they had a meeting room on the third floor where the country's premiere organization of writers, the Philippine PEN meets regularly.  This group was born in 1958, founded by F. Sionil Jose, who later became a National Artist for Literature. Other PEN members who also became National artists were Francisco Arcellana, N.V.M. Gonzalez, Bienvenido Lumbera, Alejandro Roces and Edith Tiempo. It was heartening to be in the same room with Sionil Jose and Lumbera, who were actually in attendance at the event yesterday.

During the event, Lito Casaje talked about himself and his brush with Stage 4 Burkitt's Lymphoma this year, recently just receiving his last dose of chemotherapy.  He looked very good yesterday, his body not showing evidence of his ordeal, except maybe for the bald pate. He talked about his fascination about the relationships between men and women.  He talked about his favorite playwrights, especially Strindberg.  He talked about his forte, that of writing realistic dialogues.

Of course, he talked about his book and the plays therein.  He invited some young actor friends and students to read selected excerpts from these plays.  Here are a couple of readings which I was able to record:

This is a monologue from "Juan de la Cruz: New York":





This is an impromptu reading of a scene from "Matrimonyal":



This was a new experience for me, to be watching actors read plays and listening to the playwright himself discuss his work.  I was also happy to be seated with Lito Casaje's father, Dr. Louie Casaje, during this occasion.  

Listening to the plays yesterday, they are as vital and pertinent now as they were back when they were first staged.  I think it is high time for the new generation to rediscover the work of Mr. Lito Casaje.

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Review of Red Turnip's CLOSER: Love in the Form of a Square

October 7, 2013

I had seen a stage production of "Closer" (I actually found the ticket!) back  in December 1, 2001, staged by the Actor's Actors, Inc. at the Republic of Malate.  I do not recall who were the actors anymore ( I hope someone can remind me) but I recall that it had an innovative presentation.  There was a square stage in the middle of the room.  At each corner stood the four actors, delivering their lines facing outwards towards the audience, even if they were talking to one another. 

There was also a movie version of "Closer" shown in 2004 with a stellar cast which includes Julia Roberts, Clive Owen, Jude Law and Natalie Portman.  This was directed by no less than Mike Nichols, who won the Oscar for Best Director for "The Graduate".  He was also nominated by the Academy for his direction of "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf," "Silkwood," and "Working Girl". His direction of "Closer" was nominated by the Golden Globes. I have not yet seen this film version of "Closer" yet, but it does have a creditable rating according to critics and fans.  

 "Closer" is the story of four people. Danny is a frustrated novelist, now wallowing as a writer of obituaries. Alice is a young free-spirited stripper. Anna is a successful professional photographer. Larry is a lonely dermatologist who visits sex sites on the Internet. Their lives are intertwined in this story of love and deception, told in two acts by playwright Patrick Marber.  

The set in this current Red Turnip production is quite spare, just a rectangular floor with a map of the London subway system, as the audience is close by, around the stage on three sides. The backdrop is a white wall where photos were projected to suggest the setting, like an emergency room or the aquarium.

The play started with light and funny "getting to know you" scenarios. There was even a whole silent scene that simulated a chat session on a sex website, with the hilarious conversation flashed on the wall, as the actors were typing on their laptops.

But of course, it would not all be about the pleasantries of romance. In fact, Act 1 ended with major explosive scenes occurring alternating with each other. Act 2 is a series of big confrontation scenes after the other involving one character individually with each other.

Heavily loaded words are dropped every so often by all four characters as they discuss and argue about their relationships with each other: jealousy, boredom, disappointment, mercy, selfishness, revenge, guilt, compromise, cowardice, etc.

The four actors did their best to flesh out their characters.

Bart Guingona is perfectly cast as Larry, the doctor. You can really see that he is the veteran player in this quartet. His character had the wittiest lines in the play and Bart's delivery was so good. He manages to be likable and sympathetic despite the sleazy nature of his character.

Angel Aquino was gorgeous as Anna. She was simply a riveting presence every time she was on stage. She embodied this perfect specimen of womanhood most irresistible to men. I can totally see how and why men fall obsessively in love with her. Angel in that black and white long gown during Anna's photo exhibit was an angelic vision. She was truly mesmerizing.

Cris Villonco is quite a revelation as the frank and daring stripper Alice. We know her more for her wholesome roles in various musicals, but here she had had no qualms baring some skin and spouting foul language. For sure this was the ingenue role of this show which Cris is expected to play.  But this Alice was definitely no typical ingenue, and Cris nails it nevertheless.

Now about Marc Abaya in the central role of Dan. It was this character that messed up the lives of the other three, but as embodied by Abaya, his Dan was not convincing as a jerk who could literally sweep girls off their feet. Abaya did not have the right look and swagger for the part, and his benign performance could not completely overcome that deficiency.  In this film, this role was played by Jude Law, so you can imagine how that would look.  The performance was not bad, it just felt lacking.

Overall though, "Closer" remains to be an excellent intimate theater experience.  The script by Patrick Marber is crisp and frank, with words as real as it could sound when such situations occur in actuality. The talented Filipino cast as usual transcends the cultural context of the play, and they thankfully do not need to affect fake British accents.

Kudos to director Ana Abad Santos and the rest of Red Turnip Theater crew for this brave debut production.  The meet and greet after the show is also a nice touch.  I must say though that the venue Whitespace is not exactly the easiest place to reach and find.  I hope they can find a more accessible theater for their future productions which promise to be avant garde and edgy.   I am definitely looking forward to watching more of this progressive theater group.


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"Closer" runs on October 4 to 27.  Fridays at 9 pm,  Saturdays at 3 and 8 pm [except for October 12 - no shows], and Sundays at 3 pm, with 8 pm shows for the last 2 Sundays

Whitespace is located at 2314 Chino Roces Ave. Extension, Makati.

Tickets are available at TicketWorld [891-9999 or www.ticketworld.com.ph] and also at 215-0788 / 0917-537-8313.

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Epilogue: Oct. 9, 2013

I have just finished watching the 2004 film version of "Closer" now.  Since the screenplay was also written by Patrick Marber, it pretty much follows the play, almost word for word.  I still freshly remember the words I just heard last Sunday in Whitespace as I was watching the video. Words do take on another meaning when someone else delivers them in their own way.  It was fascinating to compare.  A main difference only lay in the ending.  The epilogue sequence in the play was rendered as a dramatic montage of scenes in the film, which I thought was neater. While I thought Jude Law was a better Dan than Mark Abaya, Bart Guingona was actually a better Larry than Clive Owen. Natalie Portman stood out in her role as Alice, but Cris Villonco gives the role an extra dose of vulnerability.  Angel Aquino is more beautiful than Julia Roberts.

Review of Atlantis' CARRIE: Poignant Nightmare

October 7, 2013

The Atlantis production of "Carrie" opened to great acclaim on September 20, 2013.  However, the very next day, the four shows that weekend were cancelled due to "an illness in the company."  I was one of those who had tickets to that unprecedented "postponement" (which also had an unprecedented sudden change in the lead role).  Being in conflict with previous travel plans, I had no choice but to reserve tickets for the very last show, an additional 8 pm show on October 6.  

Carrie White is a bullied high school girl who was over-protected by her religious zealot mother. When Carrie discovers that she has telekinetic powers, she defies her mother and goes with popular jock Tommy Ross to the prom. I think most of us have already read Stephen King's book or watched the 1976 film starring Sissy Spacek to have an idea of how that prom went.

Mikkie Bradshaw is such a precious discovery as Carrie White. Her voice is very strong with great range. Her acting is also quite impressive as the timid, tormented and eventually very angry young girl. It was revealed tonight that it was Mikkie who fell ill after her triumphant opening night.  But what started with Mikkie ended with Mikkie again tonight, who again had a phenomenal performance on this final show.  K-La Rivera learned the role and songs in an incredible six days in order to fill in for the succeeding play dates. We were lucky to witness and hear the two Carries sing a duet version of "You Shine" after the curtain call in this final show.

Menchu Lauchengco-Yulo as expected delivers with all her heart, soul and misguided religious fanaticism as Carrie's mother, Margaret White.  Her range is really pushed to its upper limits with her punishing songs she had to sing, especially "And Eve Was Weak" and ""I Remember How Those Boys Could Dance".  She never fails to enthrall her audience even with the most off-beat of roles, and this certainly counts as one of her strangest roles (after Mrs. Lovett in Sweeney Todd").

Sue Snell, the popular classmate who was stricken with guilt, was played by the pretty Yanah Laurel.  I have only seen her perform previously in a minor role in "Nine," but this show showed us more of what she is capable of doing.  She had her own featured moments in songs like "Once You See" and "You Shine." Markki Stroem played Sue's sensitive jock boyfriend Tommy Ross like it was written for him. He had his moment to shine in his solo "Tommy's Song" and his duet with Sue in "You Shine". 

Jill Pena was amazingly effective in her major antagonistic role of the hateful Chris Hargensen.  The degree by which we sympathize with Carrie's plight depended so much on how cruel Chris was, and Ms. Pena certainly played the perfect bully we all want to turn the tables on.  Mako Alonzo was also seethed with evil intentions in his role of Billy Nolan, Chris' brutish boyfriend and accomplice in her terrible prom prank.

Sheila Valderrama-Martinez does well in her role as the supportive gym teacher Ms. Gardner.  Her duet with Carrie on the song "Unsuspecting Hearts" was magical.  Jamie Wilson had smaller role as another teacher Mr. Stephens, but he also took on the role of Rev. Bliss, the host of a gospel radio show Margaret listens to.  His was the welcome humor midst the maudlin plot.

The set design and lighting design were very effective to create that creepy horrific atmosphere in which this musical thrives.  The special telekinetic effects were amazing.  That scene where Menchu levitates in her chair is a must-see. I thought the climactic conflagration scene could have used more orange light and better fire effects than what they used now. 

The book written by Lawrence D. Cohen had many uncomfortable scenes which may not be for everyone. The excessive religious zealotry and the relentless abuse and bullying were very difficult to watch.  However, the songs written by Dean Pitchford (lyrics) and Michael Gore (music) were unexpectedly very good with that gritty rock edge in a lot of them.  

However, once again, Filipino artistic talent is the main reason to watch this production.  The performers, veteran and new alike, nailed each and every one of those challenging songs to bring to life this unconventional musical.  The enthusiastic audience response after each emotionally and vocally brutal song number was a testament to this tremendous trove of talent.

Congratulations to Director Bobby Garcia and the rest of the Atlantis cast and crew of Carrie for its memorably dramatic and courageous run.  A future re-run will be very welcome!

Trumpets' THE BLUEBIRD OF HAPPINESS: First-Rate, World-Class Local Production!

September 25, 2013

My daughter and I were fortunate enough to have been able to watch the final Technical Dress Rehearsal of the comeback production of Trumpets entitled "The Bluebird of Happiness."  I will not be able watch during the regular run because of prior travel plans, so it was indeed lucky that the stars aligned for me to be able to see and write about this musical before I leave.  I am very happy because this play is one of the most beautiful original Filipino theater presentations I have ever seen, both musically and technically.

Set on Christmas eve in a village somewhere while neighbors are fussing around with their gifts, little Mytyl and her younger brother Tyltyl were feeling miserable inside their poor little hut.  They have no tree, and no gifts, their dad's still out working and their mother is about to give birth to a younger sibling they are not looking forward to.

Later that night, an ugly fairy named Berylune tells them that the first step to finding happiness is to find a certain Bluebird of Happiness.  She also turns their pet dog Tylo and pet cat Tylette into human forms to serve as their guides.  Finally, she gives them Light to serve as their illumination during their overnight quest.

Their quest brings them to the Land of Memory (where they meet their dear departed Grandparents), the Land of Night (where they meet the charismatic Night), the Land of the Trees (where they learn some lessons about the environment), the Land of Luxury (where they discover how to set priorities), the Land of the Future (where they meet their future little brother) and the Graveyard (where they face their ultimate fears).  Will the ever-combative siblings ever get along with each other?  Will they ever catch the Bluebird of Happiness before daybreak and live happily ever after?

As the lead characters, Chimmi Kohchet-Chua (playing bossy Mytyl) and Anton Posadas (playing the mischievous Tyltyl) had perfect chemistry with each other as siblings who cannot stand each other.  Kohchet-Chua was positively incandescent in her stage debut, especially in her remarkable solo rendition of the title song in Act 2.  Despite a lapel microphone glitch for a number of scenes in Act 1, Posadas, a stage veteran already at his tender age, was unfazed, singing and delivering his lines with confidence like a true professional. Their awesome talents in singing and acting are proof that there IS a bright future to Philippine musical theater. Their alternates in these central roles are the team of Alessa Zialcita and Guido Gatmaytan.

The characters the kids interact with were all played by seasoned professionals.  Jennifer Villegas-dela Cruz has such a clear singing voice as Berylune.  A luminous Carla Guevarra-Laforteza illuminates the stage with her beauty and lilting soprano as Light.  Robie Zialcita plays the loyal dog Tylo very delightfully.  He really shone in "Tylo's Spot", a song and dance number which he performed with the cute "unborn" children.  The slinky cat Tylette was played with feline wiles by Lynn Sherman. Her highlight was her sinister "Tango of Treachery" duet with Night. 

Who best to play Grandma Tyl but the ever-reliable Ms. Joy Virata?  Grandpa Tyl was played by a sprightly Steve Cadd. Night was a dark yet flamboyant character played with aplomb by Joel Trinidad, who was oozing with evil glee.  Raymond Concepcion gets to play three characters, the Oak Tree (with the deep Optimus Prime-like voice), Father Time and the kids' Father.  His reverberating deep baritone voice is strong and masterful. Mayen Bustamante-Cadd lovingly plays their Mother.

The whole production had a vibe that you were not watching a Filipino play.  It had a distinctly foreign flavor, very much like a Disney production.  While the story was based on a Belgian play by Maurice Maeterlinck, this production is proudly all-Filipino.  The music was composed by Rony Fortich, now on his seventh year as Musical Director of Hongkong Disneyland.  The sweeping musical arrangements were care of Mon Faustino. The book and libretto by Director Jaime del Mundo was so witty and insightful, such a joy.  

The stage design was a magical work of art in itself.  No expense had been spared for the elaborate set pieces and colorful costumes by Mio Infante. As with the music, you can see influences of Walt Disney films, like "Beauty and the Beast", "Hercules" and "Princess and the Frog".  The opening of Act 2 alone in the lavish Land of Luxury with a huge real chandelier as its backdrop is a prime example of the opulence of the sets.  The intense scene with the giant trees in the Enchanted Forest was very imaginatively staged. The amazing lighting effects by John Batalla impressively create illusions of three-dimensionality and drama. 

Sweet Plantado's expert voice coaching was very much evident in the vocal interpretation of the songs, especially by the kids.  She will also be playing Light in some shows.  The other members of the crew were: GA Fallarme for the Video Projection Designs, Myrene Santos for Hair & Make-up Design, and Nancy Crowe for Choreography.

"Bluebird" is a fine example of Filipino talent and ingenuity that is world class and first rate. You will forget that you are in Meralco Theater when you watch this play, because of the magical atmosphere the play creates.  Since Trumpets is the Asia’s first professional gospel theater group, aside from enjoying the show, you and your kids will also pick up valuable life lessons about being happy and content.  

Congratulations to Director Jaime del Mundo and the rest of the cast and crew of Trumpets, led by its president, Mr. Audie Gemora for this highly entertaining and deeply meaningful production!  This promises to be a future Christmas season staple for years to come. 

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"The Bluebird of Happiness" runs weekends from September 27 – October 20, 2013 at the Meralco Theater with shows at 8 pm on Fridays, 3 pm and 8 pm on Saturdays and Sundays. Ticket inquiries can be coursed through 901-4364, 891-9999 or www.ticketworld.com.ph. 

Dulaang UP's THE DUCHESS OF MALFI: Madness and Murder

September 22, 2013

I was not entirely sure what to expect from "The Duchess of Malfi".  This was a play written by John Webster and first performed in 1614, billed as a "supreme tragedy of blood."  It has had several stagings through the years, with stars like Peggy Ashcroft, Judy Dench, and Helen Mirren all having a turn with the title role.  With a tagline as intriguing as "A poetry of evil, violence and death wish," how can I resist?

The story is about the Duchess of Malfi, a young widow who falls in love with and secretly marries a commoner named Antonio, against the extreme objections of her two brothers, her twin Ferdinand and the Cardinal.  The brothers hire an ex-convict named Borsola to spy on her, make her mad and eventually to execute her.  Will their evil plot proceed as planned?

I have to admit the story of the play was not too easy to get into in the first scenes because of the language used.  I did not really know what was going on exactly until the scene where Borsola gives the Duchess the plums.  The English used was rather archaic in phrasing and the actors were over-enunciating their lines.  That said, I am really impressed though with the perfect memorization of those wordy lines by the whole cast!  Despite the kilometric dialogues, I could not recall anyone with a significant buckle.

The best performance in the whole show is by Richard Cunanan, hands down.  His character might have been the anti-hero, but ironically, it was the one we can relate to the most.  This is because Borsola appeared to be the only sane character in the midst of this madhouse. Cunanan is cool.  He is witty.  He did not attempt a strange accent.  His subtlety sets him apart. I could not imagine how his alternates Neil Ryan Sese or George de Jesus III can do this role any better.

Also standing out was Martha Comia as the lustful Julia. She is pretty and delightful in this role that got better with every scene she was in.  Comia's acting was very natural and refreshing, despite being a very daring role.  Alternates for this role are Issa Litton and Christelle Manuel.

Adriana Agcaoili had a physical disconnect with how I imagined the Duchess of Malfi would look like, despite her beautiful costumes.  She was able to transcend that uneven first half with a stronger, more stirring performance in the second half.  Banaue Miclat and Liza Dino also alternate in this central role.

Menggie Cobarrubias was strangely stiff as the Cardinal.  I was expecting more from him since he is the only actor I know in the cast.  But that maybe because of the way the character was written, or maybe the red robes did not fit him too well.  Brian Tibayan alternates in this role.

Jacques Borlaza really goes over-the-top with his acting here.  You really cannot understand his character and why Borlaza was overacting that way, until the character totally goes bonkers later in the show.  The abrupt way his character developed negatively affected my appreciation for his acting, and that is not his fault.  Amazing that he appears to have no alternate for the Filipino version.

Carlo Tarobal did not strike me as the correct choice for the role of Antonio.  He had no chemistry with Agcaoili.  It was not clear why she likes him and would fight for her love of him despite family resistance.  Curious how his alternate Dax Alejandro will tackle this role.

Arvin Trinidad tended to overact as Antonio's friend Delio.  At times, the way he delivers his dialogue is not too clear. His character ended the whole play with a short monologue and I think he did not pull it off too well.  He was even upstaged by the little boy he shared that final scene with. Delio alternates are Brian Arda and Mark Dalacat.

Despite all these little comments about acting, overall, the play was quite compelling, especially the second half. Since it deals with madness and death, there are many disturbing and unsettling images on that stage which will shock the audience.  The costumes and production design look very good.  For me though, it was the really the nuanced performance of Richard Cunanan as Borsola that bound this whole show together and carried it to its ultimate success.

"The Duchess of Malfi" is the second offering of Dulaang UP's 38th Theater Season. It is being staged both in the original English, as well as in Tagalog as translated by Allan Palileo (who also translated past Dulaang UP hits "Mary Stuart" and "The Seagull".  Congratulations to the cast and crew of Dulaang UP and revered Director Tony Mabesa for yet another success!

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"The Duchess of Malfi" opened last September 11, and runs at the Wilfrido Ma. Guerrero Theater at the Palma Hall, for one more week.  English version will be staged on September 24, 25, 26 and 27, all at 7 pm.  Filipino version will be staged on September 28 and 29, shows at 10 am and 3 pm.  Tickets at P350.  For information, the Dulaang UP Office numbers are 9261349 and 4337840.

RIHANNA Diamonds World Tour Manila 2013: Concert Recap and Videos

September 20, 2013

The concert time on the ticket was 8 pm, but it was only at around 8:30 that a pair of DJ's calling themselves GTA started to mix some house music.  That was OK, mostly driving beats with occasional mixes of popular songs like "Better Off Alone", "Smells Like Teen Spirit" and "Otherside."  But when it was going on and on for more than 40 minutes, it got too repetitive and boring already.  They ended around 9:15 pm.

There was still no Rihanna for another hour after that.  Even by that time, there were still a lot of expensive seats in the Patron and Lower Box still unoccupied.  The Upper Box and General Admission though were pretty much full.  The house lights of the MOA Arena were finally dimmed at around 10:15 pm.  Honestly my daughter and I were pretty tired and sleepy already by that time. But when the crowd went wild with Rihanna's entrance and greeting, so did we get our energy back.



Her first few songs were only moderate hits like "Phresh Out the Runway",  "Birthday Cake" (a controversial 2012 collaboration with Chris Brown, after their violent breakup),  "Talk That Talk" (a 2012 collaboration with Jay-Z), "Pour It Up" (a recent Top 20 hit) and  "Numb" (her 2011 collaboration with Eminem).  The songs sounded familiar but we weren't really feeling the excitement.   When she sang "You da One", the energy of the crowd picked up.  This was followed by "Man Down" and the lively hit "Rude Boy." "What's My Name?", her duet with Drake, followed to the delight of the crowd.  

The next bunch of songs were again not too familiar to me, "Jump," "Rockstar 101" and  the ballad "What Now".  Luckily her giant old hit "Umbrella" (VIDEO) was there for us to sing along to.  The interpretation of "Umbrella" though felt lazy with hardly no choreography.  That rendition was rather disappointing. 



When she came out to sing a medley of the mid-tempo songs "Take a Bow / Cold Case Love", followed by "Hate That I Love You", the crowd again got excited.  When the strains of the next song "We Found Love" the crowd went absolutely wild.  That number alone made up for the lackluster first hour of the concert for me.  From that time on, Rihanna never looked back. She launched into a series of big hits,  "S&M" (VIDEO), "Only Girl (In the World)" , "Don't Stop the Music" and a very rousing "Where Have You Been" to end the main set.

The audience clamored for more.  For her encores, she sang two big ballads, both recent big hits: the melodic "Stay" and then as the final song of the whole show, the song from where the tour got its name,  "Diamonds." The whole show ended at about 11:30 pm or so, just about an hour and a half all in all.  



Her dancing was just a lot of slinky moves with crotch grabs and other suggestive moves. She did not elaborate costume changes. She started in an all-white outfit, unbuttoned blouse top, inner tank top, culottes and sneakers. Then she would just vary this same ensemble around, until she just ended in a white tanga during her encore. 

She did not sing her first hit song "Pon de Replay", her first Number 1 song "SOS", nor some of her memorable hits like "Unfaithful", Disturbia", "Rehab", "California King Bed" or even her latest single "Right Now."  This lady really has a lot of hit singles in her career, it is not possible to perform them all in a concert.  

It was also obvious when you look at the big screens that Rihanna was not really singing the whole time, as the singing continues even when she is not holding the microphone to her mouth. She must have been singing over a recording or a back-up singer that sounds exactly like her. For me the show was quite lukewarm for the first hour, until that fantastic final half hour that saved the whole concert from being one big expensive disappointment.  

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Postscript:  I learned an important lesson about SM Tickets with this Rihanna concert.  I bought these tickets on the very first day they were released by in April in order to get excellent seats, and we did.  I made the mistake though of having the tickets printed out by SM Tickets back in late April when I had my Aerosmith tickets printed out for their May 2 concert.  It turned out to be a mistake because the ink they used to print the tickets was already fading when I checked them out four months later. 

SM Tickets would say they cannot do anything anymore. So today, luckily the bar code could still be read by the scanner at the gate, though it needed to be scanned more than once.  The faded print also made determining our seats difficult, but in brighter light, the usher was able to read the seat numbers.  Lesson is you can buy tickets online early, but only have the actual ticket printed out as the concert date approaches.

TONY BENNETT Live in Manila: Concert Recap and Videos

September 17, 2013

Tony Bennett is already 87 years old, but he is still very actively recording and touring.  In September of 2011, Bennett released Duets II on his 85th birthday, where he sang duets with a diverse list of artists, ranging from Aretha Franklin to Lady Gaga. This album debuted at Number 1 on the Billboard 200, making Bennett the oldest living artist to top that chart.  It was interestingly his first and only Number 1 album.  His duet with the late Amy Winehouse entitled "Body and Soul" made Bennett the oldest living artist on the Billboard Hot 100, with the longest career span on that chart.

Tonight, I brought my parents and my aunt with me to watch Mr. Bennett live in concert, who finally came to sing in Manila live for the first time in his long career. Even if we know his smooth cool voice may not be the same anymore, we did not want to miss this rare, and maybe the only, time for us to see and hear one of the best singers in the world sing live.

And apparently so did a lot of other Filipino fans, mostly senior citizens.  Being a Tuesday evening, the Plenary Hall of the PICC filled up slowly.  But surely, by showtime of 8:30 pm, when the house lights dimmed, the big hall was almost totally filled up.  

On stage was a grand piano, an electric guitar, a double bass and drums.  His band occupied their respective places as a voice-over announced the name of the front act, Ms. Antonia Bennett, the daughter of Tony Bennett.  She sang about six songs, including her version of "Embraceable You" which was most warmly applauded.  She had a unique character to her voice, not too brassy, not too light.

When Ms. Bennett bid farewell, we hear the voice of Frank Sinatra introduce "the greatest singer in the world", and in comes Mr. Tony Bennett himself, dapper in a white coat.  When he started to sing his first song "Watch What Happens", the audience, feeling the excitement of hearing a legendary voice live, burst into loud applause.  He would follow up that song with "They All Laughed" and "Maybe This Time."  The voice was predictably rough already with age, but it was still so strong as he did not avoid belting out seemingly unreachable money notes.



With the next songs, "I Got Rhythm," "Because of Love" (his first Number 1 pop song in 1951) and "Sing You Sinners", he also introduced the talented members of his band.  They were: pianist Lee Musiker, drummer Harold James, bassist Marshall Wood and guitarist Gray Sargent.  Then Antonia came out again to sing a pleasant little duet with her dad, entitled "Old Friend" (VIDEO). Maybe in recognition for his age, every little "daddy-dance" move he did was met with generous applause.

It was amazing how Sir Tony had so much vocal and physical stamina to sing song after song, with nary a sip of water in between.  He sang "Steppin' Out With My Baby", then "But Beautiful."  The next song was a stripped down version of "The Way You Look Tonight."  He also sang his very first recording, the brooding song, "Boulevard of Broken Dreams."  




Together with less familiar (for me) standards like "Just in Time", "The Good Life" and "Once Upon a Time," were familiar ones, like "Shadow of Your Smile" and the song that ended the main set, "One For My Baby (and One More for the Road)".  After toasting the audience, he bid goodbye and left the stage.

Of course, the audience did not let him go just like that and definitely clamored for more.  We knew there was more since the band did not leave the stage.  Mr. Bennett came back onstage in a short while and sang "For Once in My Life" (VIDEO), then "That Old Black Magic." He segued to the song he is most known for "I Left My Heart in San Francisco."  After singing a fourth encore song, "Who Cares?", he tried to leave the stage again.  




And again, the audience did not let him go just yet.  He came back on to sing a beautiful version of "Smile."  Finally, he showed off his vocal power by singing "Fly Me to the Moon" without a microphone!  The audience took the cue and sang the rest of the song with him with perfect knowledge of the lyrics!  That is definitely why foreign artists love to come perform here. We know how to sing our favorite songs by heart.

With that, a historic concert with one of the most respected musical stars has ended.  The audience went home carrying with them the memory of not only Tony Bennett's iconic voice but also his warm heart and smile. This is pure nostalgia.