Velma and Roxie Rock Manila!

 I was really supposed to watch Chicago the Musical on December 16, but because of some family matters, I got to watch the uber wonderful play last December 12.

Because I am a huge fan of Bebe Neuwirth (who originally played Velma Kelly in the 1996 revival), I was super excited to when I learned that Chicago is in town. I have seen videos of Bebe as Velma on Youtube and I was mega excited to see the choreography of Ann Reinking in person. And when I got there, I know I was in for a wonderful time.

When the curtains raised and one of the members of the ensemble said "Ladies and gentlemen, you are about to see a story of greed, corruption, violence, exploitation, adultery, and treachery... all the things we hold near and dear to our hearts. Thank you," tears welled up in my eyes. When the orchestra started playing the overture of Chicago, was practically crying. And when Velma came up, I was dead.

The ensemble danced so effortlessly that even though I know that the choreography were ultra hard, the ensemble made it look as easy as walking. I was pleased and surprised to learn that after all these years, they retained Ann Reinking's wonderful choreography. Of all the dance numbers, I was really looking in seeing Velma's dancing. One because I have seen Bebe do it in the Youtube videos, and two because I know they were complicated and I want to see them live. However, I was a bit disappointed when I Can't Do It Alone came and the complicated dance steps were replaced with less complex steps.

Bianca Marroquin, the actress playing Roxie was such a good comedienne, all her cracks bite so hard that I was laughing like crazy all throughout the play. I guess Terra MacLeod, the one playing Velma, was good, but sorry I am biased with Bebe Neuwirth's performance. Haha! When I saw online that Bebe played Mama Morton just recently, I was half hoping that she will come to the Philippines and perform, so obviously I was a bit disappointed. But it is okay though, Roz Ryan was good. C. Newcomer, the guy playing Mary Sunshine, yes the GUY, was a great surprise for me. I thought Mary Sunshine is a girl. Jeff McCarthy, the guy who plays Billy Flynn was also good but I think his dancing is a bit awkward, I think I like Richard Gere (the Billy Flynn in the movie) better.  Jacob Keith Watson who plays Amos Hart was so good that I really pity Amos for being married to Roxie and being neglected his whole life. As for the ensemble, well I cannot comment on them because they were just perfect. They danced in seamless synchronicity, they move so effortlessly, and they made me want to learn how to dance jazz.

Though most of the souvenir items sold were quite expensive (for me only though), I was very lucky that my mother lent me some money and I got to buy a souvenir program which has Bebe Neuwirth's pictures! Yey!!

Guys, you still have several shows to watch. Chicago the Musical is up in Solaire Restort & Casino until December 21, 2014 from Tuesdays to Sundays. Just go to the website of TicketWorld.

Grease is BACK!

9 Works Theatrical's rerun of Grease is probably the best thing that ever happen in the history of my theater life. Grease is a play really close to my heart.

Back when I was in second year high school, my English teacher required our class to do Grease for finals with the other sections she was teaching. I was lucky enough to lip-sync Betty Rizzo's There are Worse Things I Could Do (since we didn't have lapel mics to do the actual singing). And besides that, I also choreographed Grease (the opening number), Greased Lightnin', and You're the One That I Want. That wonderful experience made me want to pursue a theater career after college.

And last year, since I had (and still have) a crush on one of the cast members (who will remain nameless for my sake), I watched 9 Works' run of Grease, where I only sat at the Balcony since I didn't have much money then (until now, actually LOL). I thought that the show was soooooooooo wonderful that I even blogged it here. Upon seeing how wonderful the production was, I felt the urge of wanting to belong in their theater company so when my OJT season came, I applied for internship at 9 Works and lucky enough, I got in! That brought me to my ushering experience for 9 Works' sister theater company, Sandbox Collective's Dani Girl and 9 Works' The Last 5 Years as well as Grease.

I remember seeing Robbie Guevara after watching Grease last year and I was like "Oh my gosh! The director is just few inches from me! Should I get his autograph? Should I have my picture taken with him? How should I approach him? Nah, nevermind I'm too shy to go near him (yeah, sometimes only sometimes, I get shy)." Then when I had my OJT, I was like "Oh my! The director of Grease is actually my boss! I wonder if I can have his autograph now. What will I say to him IF I approach him? Should I say, 'Hi Sir Rob, can I have a selfie with you?" And I remember him telling me "Don't call me 'Sir'." But now, I am like "Oh, hi Rob!" What is even more wonderful is that I am practically a part of Grease! Yey! Thank you Ms. Camille :D

Anyway, going back to Grease, I felt really honored to be able to usher for the show. And last night, during their opening night, I was allowed by the ever so cute and wonderful director Robbie Guevara to take pictures of the show and I will share them to you.

So, how different is this rerun from the first run? Well first, there are new cast members. Tippy Dos Santos now plays the role of Sandy, Guji Lorenzana is the new Danny, Antoinette Taus plays Rizzo, Steven Silva as Johnny Casino, Gab Pangilinan plays ChaCha, Alex Godinez is Marty, Nelsito Gomez as Sonny, and Marvin Ong alternates with Vincent Lim for the role of Doody. Second, personally I think this cast is better than the original run. I cannot pin point the specifics but I think part of the reason why is that this cast seem more energetic and more playful. I also think this is because the old cast members are more comfortable playing their roles and they helped the new cast members feel at home.

I must say I used to have reservations with the new cast, specifically Guji because I thought he was too boy-next-door type of guy, too sweet and too charming to play Danny, but upon seeing him onstage twice, I admit I was wrong. Guji may not be the bad-boy Danny, but he certainly is cool-guy Danny. I also thought Tippy was too nice and cute to play the transformed Sandy, but again, I was proven wrong. She is very versatile, kind of like Natalie Portman in Black Swan. She was able to transform from innocently sweet Sandy to very hot and cool Sandy.

I can also say that Rafa was a lot better this year than last year. I am not saying he was bad last year because he is not, he was good. But a lot better this year. His characterization of Kenickey became more bad-ass, quite like the original film of Grease. Antoinette Taus is also sooo good, she is just perfect for Rizzo. She was a big bitch, but you can see the vulnerability in her eyes when she sang There are Worse Things I Could Do.

Peachy Atilano and Sarah Facuri, whom I cannot stop calling Teacher Peachy and Teacher Sarah (from the summer workshop), are also so much better this year. Reb Atadero and Sab Jose are practically the clowns of the show, nuff said. Of course the other old cast members Harold Cruz (or Teacher Howie for me), Vince Lim, Angela Padilla, and James Stacey are also better this year.

The Teen Angel of Grease is also like last year's - different actors to play the role every show, so you better watch out for that! During the Press Preview, JM Rodriguez played the Teen Angel while last night, Franco Laurel was the Teen Angel.

However, a personal favorite of mine is Angela Padilla. I don't know why, but she's the one I keep on watching intently everytime I watch the show, especially when she is Ms. Lynch and the scene is when Sandy sings Hopelessly Devote to You.

You guys still have eleven shows to catch! Order your tickets now at Ticket World, or you can call or text 0917-554-5560. See you there!

GREASE!

Pink Ladies having some fun sleepover

T-Birds singing (and dancing) Greased Lightnin'

Sab Jose as Patty Simcox, pining for Danny

Sarah Facuri and Reb Atadero as Jan and Roger

A wop bop a lu bop a wop bam boom!

Tippy Dos Santos as Sandy Dumbrowsky

Peachy Atilano as Frenchy

 Franco Laurel, one of the Teen Angels, with Peachy Atilano who plays Frenchy

OJ Mariano, one of the other Teen Angels

Guji Lorenzana as Danny Zuko

Sandy, Roger, and Doody

Antoinette Taus as Betty Rizzo

Meet the Pink Ladies - Jan, Rizzo, Frenchy, and Marty

You're the one that I want!

Grease is the world!

We go together!

Always be together!

The wonderful music behind (or should I say above?) Grease

PUSO (Heart)

I would just like to promote the film my group mates and I (under the production name of Virtuoso Films) made.

The film is titled Puso (Heart) and it is about an aswang (a local folklore in the Philippines).

Please like and support our fan page! And the teaser and official trailer of Puso is available on Youtube, just click the link.

Thank you guys!

A Walk with Love and Death

I won't pretend as if I am an expert in critiquing, but I have my own take on the films and shows I have seen. And as a fan of Anjelica Huston, I believe that the actress I am idolizing aren't as bad as critiques think she is. Just like in this film that I am going to review, in which Anjelica was badly reviewed by many critics, I believe that Anjelica's performance wasn't THAT bad. The film I am talking about is A Walk with Love and Death, which is Anjelica's debut as an actress and was directed by her late father, John Huston.

In A Walk with Love and Death, critics said that Anjelica cannot act, which led to the failure of the film. However, I believe otherwise. Not because she is my favorite actress and my claim is biased (it may be but I am doing my best to lessen if not eradicate my subjective point of view), but because I saw that Anjelica can act, though I know she could have done better.

I was really excited when Anjelica Huston Fan Page shared that A Walk with Love and Death is already available in Youtube. So I immediately watched it and I actually expected the worst since it was critically panned when it was shown. At first, I could not concentrate because Anjelica was super duper cute! But I told myself that I need to concentrate so that I can prove the critics wrong. And I was able to do so, if not fully, at least partially.

The first thing I noticed about Anjelica's acting was her eyes were blank in some of the scenes like that when Heron and other soldiers were fighting with the peasants. Another thing I noticed was that Anjelica was not able to show the feeling of being scared just like in the scene where Claudia said "Heron, I'm afraid!", when Claudia had a nightmare of what the peasants did to her father, and during the last scene where Claudia and Heron were waiting for their deaths.

During those said scenes, she was just scrunching up her face and closing her eyes tightly. I see this as a sign that Anjelica knows how to act. I think what only hindered her to giving out more for the role was her reluctance to work with her father.

Anjelica's good points in the film were:

1. Her eyes suggested innocence. That's what made her look even more angelic, besides her cute features.
2. Though at some scenes her eyes look blank, it gave the impression that Claudia was very reserved.
3. Although her eyes sometimes look blank, Anjelica knew how to utilize other parts of her face such as her eyebrows and her lips. I noticed this from the garden scene at the first part of the film where Claudia and Heron first had a conversation.
4. Anjelica can cry and it touches me, really. The scene where Heron found Claudia in a convent and she was narrating what happened the day the peasants attacked their home, really moved me. The way she looked so devastated and broken made me sad and sympathize with the character.
5. During the scene where Claudia and Heron were selling the candlesticks she stole from the convent, I saw Rodmilla de Ghent (a character Anjelica portrayed in the film Ever After). The way Claudia spoke in such demeanor, the way she raised her eyebrow, and the way she carried herself was exactly the same manner Anjelica did Rodmilla.
6. Lastly, Anjelica already established a signature movements like the eyebrow movements, the leaning-forward-when-angry motion, and her loving look to her on-screen partner.

I think it is wrong to say that the film failed solely because of Anjelica's acting. I think the film failed also because of the screenplay. The film was written with too many things happening that the film seemed to be too short for all the things that were happening. Also, since there seemed to be too many things happening in the film, it seemed to be dragging and you get bored of waiting for the next thing to happen.

In totality, I think that the critics were too hard on Anjelica. Yes, her performance was not as good as her next films but it wasn't that bad, considering the factors that affected Anjelica's performance. I know Anjelica could've done better but I think the film helped Anjel grow as both a person and an actress.

All I can say is, I love Anjelica Huston, no matter what. :D

7 is the Perfect Number

They say seven is a lucky number. Some even says that seven is the perfect number. I usually do not agree since I never liked the look of number seven, especially if that is how my grade starts. But I guess, there is always an exemption to the rule. Just like this year, I am celebrating my seventh year of becoming an Anjelicaholic.

Photo credits to Ana Flavia Francesconi

Seven years ago, I never liked watching films. I never even thought of having a job in the industry of acting and production. All I thought was that I want to become a teacher, period. But on September 5 of 2007, I saw The Addams Family of 1991 and unwillingly fell in love with the Addams matriarch - the ever so wonderful Morticia Addams.

The first character of Anjelica I ever saw which remained a favorite of mine

I remembered praying before I sleep that hopefully the woman who played Mrs. Addams is still alive. And thank goodness, Anjelica Huston is still very much alive until now.

I remember clearly how I got to watch The Addams Family, as if it was just yesterday. Seven years ago, my Filipino teacher asked us to do a movie review of a recent film. Since I was no film buff, I have to rent from a local video store. So my mom, my sister, and I went to the mall carrying my sister's membership card. When we got there, we got into a fight with the staff there because they said that my sister was not registered and we cannot rent unless we are members. We argued that how could it be possible that my sister is not a member when she has a membership card. It took several phone calls, further arguments, and confirmations until the staff, with their manager, decided that to shut us up, they will give us free membership despite that I was a minor and my sister and I do not have valid IDs in hand. And so I rented the film I wanted to review and reviewed it. I passed my paper and probably got a good score.

Having that membership card entitled me to rent movies, as long as it will be three films per week (as per my mom). And the first movie I rented after the movie review was The Addams Family VCD because I remembered seeing it as a child and being scared of them (I do not know exactly why but probably it was because they were wearing black). Anyway, I rented it on a Tuesday and I had five days before having to return it.

My all time favorite movie

 
When I got home, I immediately watched it in our desktop computer (we did not have a television set that time). The next day, my sister invited me to watch the film again and I obliged, not telling her I already watched it the day before. Since we did not have speakers for our computer, we had to rely on the CPU's built-in speakers which were not that loud. We already finished the first disk when my sister realized that we can watch with the earplugs on so we can understand the lines. Hence, we watched the first disc for the second time. The next day, a Thursday, I was not able to watch The Addams Family because my mom was already home before I was and she knew I already seen the film and watching it again would not make sense (to her). And then on Friday, I watched The Addams Family again. That was when I realized how beautiful Morticia was.

That started my addiction to Morticia Addams, which led to my addiction to Anjelica Huston. I remember saving up for the VCD of The Addams Family and Addams Family Values. I also remember keeping my VCD of Addams Family Values under my clothes because I was not allowed to buy consecutively. During those hype moments, I would go to the internet shop before going home from school and download loads of Anjelica's pictures and printing them. I would also print fan fictions about The Addams Family and keeping those, together with the pictures, in a clear book which is already thick. I would even print Anjelica's pictures in wallet-size photo paper and just keep them. And funny enough, I still have them at home.

Reading Addams Family fan fictions caused me to write fan fictions as well. And idolizing Anjelica made me want to become an actress as well.

Anjelica Huston has been my inspiration for the past seven years (and plus two other wonderful actresses as well). And I am so thankful to my Filipino for having us make a film review, without of which wouldn't make me know Anjelica Huston.

The magnificent ANJELICA HUSTON!

And I guess, all I want to say is... HAPPY SEVENTH ANJELICAHOLIC ANNIVERSARY TO ME!



Photo credits to Anjelica Huston Fan Page.

The Last 5 Years - and My First Year

The Last 5 Years starring Nikki Gil and Joaquin Valdez

This August, 9 Works Theatrical staged The Last 5 Years to celebrate its 5 years and I am so thankful to be part of it. To those who missed L5Y, you missed a wonderful show, just make sure to watch the rerun of Grease this November and La Cage this February.

Anyway, L5Y is about the roller coaster love story of Cathy, a struggling theater actress, and her beau-turned-husband Jamie, a rising novelist. Cathy tells her story from end to beginning, while Jamie tells her story from beginning until end, both way saying two things - it was a hopeful relationship but crashes harshly down.

Mio Infante's wonderful set

A first look at Mio Infante's set is already a sign that the audiences are up for an unusual play. The stage was not made to face the center of the audience area but to the right side of the audience area. The platform was uneven with five pillars/frames and scattered chairs attached all over it, which I heard many people interpret as the last five years of the couple and how unstable the relationship was. However, personally I interpret the set as frames (like those in photographs) which symbolized the memories of the couple's last five years. A key set piece in the play was the bed which served as indicator of the mood of the scene, as well as how long time had passed.

Nikki Gil as Cathy Hyatt, a struggling actress

Joaquin Valdez as Jamie Wellerstein, a rising writer

The lights and projections were another story. Each sequence in the play has their own special lighting and projections which, together with the music, helps deliver the love story. A personal favorite of mine was during the boat scene, in which the lights were blue and made to look like the flowing river in New York as well as the projections of the sights in New York.

Cathy and Jamie during their wedding, featuring 9PO :)

The pivotal part of the play, which I think made the audience realize how the story flows, was Jamie and Cathy's wedding. The wedding was the only part of the play in which Jamie and Cathy were physically together and the only song where they sing the same song.

 

Watching L5Y once is not enough for the audience to fully understand and appreciate the play. Structurally, L5Y was written to be watched twice - or even more, making the first viewing have the purpose of understanding the story, while the succeeding viewings have the purpose of appreciating Robbie Guevara's direction, as well as Nikki Gil's unbelievably wonderful voice and Joaquin Valdez's unnaturally long-ranged voice.

Goodbye...

My personal take on L5Y is that Cathy and Jamie's relationship did not prosper because Jamie was too busy managing his fame that even though he loves Cathy so much, he somehow neglects her sadness for not being able to be as successful as he was, as well as his tendencies to look, and eventually sleep with, other women. But I am not saying that the failure of their relationship was exactly all Jaime's fault, actually, I believe that it was otherwise. I believe that Cathy was very ambitious that her inability to level with Jaime's fame and success was a huge blow to her that it made her pity herself so much. And through Cathy's songs, I can say that she is also too self-centered, most of her songs were about her and her dreams, while Jamie's were about his dreams which were to be happy with Cathy, and how he wants Cathy to be happy too.

I would like to thank Ms. Camille Santos for giving me the opportunity to usher for The Last 5 Years. Without her, I wouldn't be able to have this wonderful theater experience which I will treasure for the rest of my life. I'd also like to thank Rob, Ms. Anna, Sir Santi, Sir JonJon, and the whole 9 Works family for being so friendly and nice to me. I'd also like to thank my co-ushers and FOH guys, Ate Claui, Ate Gabby, Ate Ann, Ate Shirl, Ate JB, Ate Karyl, Karl, Nico, Nica, Teena, Marj, and Erik - I hope to see you and work with you again! And lastly, I would like to thank my friend, Kat, who I feel is my long lost theater buddy :D

with my long lost theater buddy, Kat

with Cathy

and Jamie

and the man behind this great show, Rob

Congratulations again to everyone who made The Last 5 Years possible! See you guys in Grease!

There is No Place Like Home

I have five words that encapsulate how I feel for the past few weeks:

I WANT TO GO HOME!

Sorry. I just feel the need of 'saying' that out loud.

Convo with a Stranger

On my way home last night, a guy passenger sat beside me in the bus and he was engaging me in a conversation...

GUY: Buendia ka rin?
ME: Hindi ho.
GUY: Saan? Baclaran? Leveriza?
ME: DTI ho (Whut #1).
GUY: Ah. Nag-aaral ka pa?
ME: Oho.
GUY: Saan?
ME: UE ho (Whut #2).
GUY: Ah. Anong course mo?
ME: Accounting ho (Whut #3).
GUY: Ah. (Extends a hand.) Jeff nga pala.
ME: (Nods 'politely' and smiles 'serenely'.)
GUY: Ikaw?
ME: Mary (Whut #4).

Da moves ni Kuya eh. Di mo malaman kung flirt o maniac eh. Haha! Feeling maganda lang ako. Baka naman 'friendly' lang :)

PETA :D

This post is another delayed post. Sorry! And this is about the two plays I recently watched, both produced by PETA (Philippine Educational Theater Association) - Rak of Aegis and Batang Rizal.

So first, Rak of Aegis...

The moment I entered the theater, all I could think of was WOAH! The set is just so wonderful. Who would have thought that you can put flood and rain in a small place such as a theater? Thanks to the scenographer of Rak of Aegis, Mio Infante. However, the theater of PETA has a downside, since I only purchased a balcony ticket and PETA operates in a first come, first serve manner, it is not easy to secure a good seat (not unless you come extra early). And I think, finding a good seat is also hard even to those who are seated in the orchestra because there are only monoblock chairs and those are not elevated so it is hard to see if you are seated at the back part.

But despite the inconvenience of finding a good seat, the totality of the show was just superb. I was lucky enough to be able to witness Isay Alvarez, Robert Sena, and Kakay Bautista in the production. Them, together with the whole cast were just magnificent. They made me fall in love harder to theater, especially to Filipino made musical theater. Their voices were just AWESOME! They brought the songs of Aegis to a whole new level, making those songs transform from the usual videoke hits to something close to our hearts.

It was actually fun to see Isay and Robert act quite antagonistic with each other, given the fact that they are real life wedded couple. And I guess knowing the fact that they are spouses made their characters more kakilig.

I guess what really made Rak of Aegis patok to its audience is because of the reality shown in the play. It was like seeing the reality we are experiencing but not being part of it. The play showed how optimistic we Filipinos are, despite the calamities we are facing. The play also showed that despite the corruption present in our country, there are still other government officials who really care for the community they are representing. But most of all, Rak of Aegis showed the Filipinos' ability to love unconditionally.

My favorite part of the play were during Tolits and Aileen's duet with all those gigantic bubbles, of course the magnificent rain scene, and most of all, Isay and Robert's snide about each other.

Another remarkable person in Rak of Aegis who I think brought everything to life was the guy playing Jewel who also appears in Batang Rizal, which I am sharing next.

My friend Kat was the one who told our Stick-O tropa about Batang Rizal, and it was me, Kat, and another tropa of us, Florian who watched the show which was held at Star Theater at CCP Complex.

The story of Batang Rizal was about Pepe (the young Jose Rizal) time traveled with Pepito (a modern kid) to our present time. Pepito was the first to time travel to Pepe's time and Pepito brought Pepe to present.

Batang Rizal tackled more than the history of our national hero, the play also discussed the power of friendship and what makes bullying so wrong.

The play was very child friendly, fun to watch, and with wonderful set pieces, good songs, and a very good stage management. However, my friends and I were quite skeptic about Pepe's character. Instead of sounding like an innocent child, he sounded more of like Budoy and Nino. Sorry for this comment but I think if the production team of Batang Rizal reads this, they will be able to enhance Pepe's character and make him sound like a child and not like a special child.

But what made me like Batang Rizal despite my skepticism with Pepe's portrayal, was how the show taught me that performing, specifically theater acting, does not just exist for the purpose of entertainment - theater is there to educate people. It is created to teach people things that are not normally and usually discussed in the four walls of the classroom. The play made me realize the reason why I want to become a theater actor - because I want to perform and I also want to teach, and that teaching and performing are not different things.

  ***

Rak of Aegis is still showing so do not miss your chance! Meet everyone from Barangay Venecia :D And coming this September 2014 is PETA's FnL Pinoy Speaks.

THEATER ROCKS!