Concert Recap: LADY GAGA LIVE IN MANILA (08-11-2009)

August 11, 2009

The Araneta Coliseum was filled all the way up to the rafters of the General Admissions section tonight. It was standing room only in the upper sections as all seats were sold out. The concert started past 9pm already. The crowd grew wild as the lights dimmed and an introductory movie clip was being projected on the big white sheet covering the stage. The cheers grew louder as Lady GaGa's face appeared onscreen. When she said, "I am Lady GaGa, and this is my house!", the sheet was drawn down, and the real Lady GaGa was seen on stage surrounded by black-colored boards with mirrors glued on them held by her three male dancers. It was an electrifying first appearance of the dance diva, promising an extraordinary night ahead.

The audience immediately recognized the first notes of "Paparazzi", her opening song. She was wearing a gray shiny outfit adorned with a huge triangle on the breast part. She then segued to her second hit "Love Game". She had these really weird almost aimless dance steps that only she can pull off and not look stupid. In her spiel, she revealed that her best friend back in New York was from the Philippines, which of course elicited a lot of cheers of approval. She ended her first set with her breakthrough US club hit "Beautiful Dirty Rich".

She re-entered standing on a motorbike pushed onstage by her dancers, wearing a shiny black outfit. In this second set, she sang "The Fame," then "Money Honey", ending with "Boys Boys Boys". These are all very catchy dance tracks from her debut album which were very well received even though they have not yet hit the radio airwaves.

As she entered for her third set, she was wearing a white outfit with shades. The crowd went ballistic as the intro to her first big Number 1 hit "Just Dance" were played. That was an excellent performance, as expected. This was a followed by a sweet rendition of her reggae-ish track "Eh Eh (Nothing Else I Can Say)". I liked this set the best, and GaGa herself did not look too strange here.

Her next outfit was greeted by loud cheers when she walked onstage. It was a bizarre coat covered with clear balloons over a nude total body suit. She sat down in front of her clear plastic (?) piano, also bedecked with shiny Christmas balls. She struck several weird piano playing antics as she sang her ballad "Brown Eyes". These antics include squatting on the piano bench or putting her high-heeled feet on the keyboard! Quite funny as it was avant garde, as expected of her. She had a short spiel where she shared that she was just asked a very strange question, "Lady GaGa, do you have a d**k?" referring to the internet story that she was an hermaphrodite! That was a LOL moment! Haha! Too bad her answer was lost in the loud screams.

As we recognized the next ballad to actually be a slowed down version of her second Number 1 hit "Poker Face," she was already thanking the audience and blowing kisses to the crowd. She suddenly shifted gears to sing this song in the dance version that the audience again wildly savored. After an extended coda, this was indeed the last number of the concert. She did not come out anymore even as the crowd clamored for more. The whole concert lasted for more or less an hour only.

So there it was. Have we just seen the next Madonna, as Lady GaGa is usually billed? The thing about GaGa though, for me, without all her props, she is nondescript with a common indistinct face, unrecognizable on the streets. In this concert, her general look with the tousled platinum blond locks made her look like Marilyn Monroe, or Christina Aguilera, or Annie Lennox, or, yes, Madonna. That is why she has the need to create a persona with her outlandish hair and costumes. Her voice is really very strong though despite her very energetic dancing, and her piano playing and composing skills are there. Only the future can tell what her next incarnation will be, but we are very much satisfied with what we had seen in her live concert tonight, no matter how short it was.

Review of PETA's RATED PG (2010)

July 10, 2010

The first show of this year's season of the PETA is a show dedicated to the use of theater as a medium of education. "Rated PG" is a play written by Liza Magtoto, with music by Vincent de Jesus (same award-winning composer who put "Juan Tamad" into music). It is directed by Mae Quesada-Medina. This musical play is about the Filipino family, specifically the tenuous relationship of parents and children. It focused on problems of communication, on discipline and imparting lessons.

The play introduces us to the lower middle class family of enterprising Joselle (May Bayot) who has a "conveniens" (sic) store in the form of a big biyahera's bag, a store she opens at her convenience, selling bras and slippers. She has two kids: a feisty teenager Rosalie (Joan Bugcat) and a hyperactive little boy Tonton (a very cute Arthur Castro). Her hard-working husband Romy (Jack Yabut) is a deliveryman (I think). We also get to meet Joselle's mother as well her colorful neighbors. Also playing a big part is the teen gang of Rosalie (or Ozie), the Jejesters.

One day, Joselle gets an offer to work in Barcelona, Spain, and this situation sets the whole play into motion. As time constraints with her visa and working papers set in, she vents off her frustrations against her kids and husband either in straight dramatic scenes, or in seriously dramatic songs. We effectively see realistic family conflicts portrayed onstage as the script tries to touch on every major issue about family dynamics in our local setting. We see everyone doing their own things, yet these activities can result in much tension when it comes to the homefront.

Throughout the play, parents receive tips on how to deal with our kids. Listen to each other. Set and agree on a daily schedule. Discuss and explain plans and problems. Show your love. Set and obey house rules. No spanking. No cursing. No scare tactics. Be ready to say you are sorry. Set a good example. We learn these lessons in nice little song production numbers which the cast does with gusto. In its last song, this play tells us that children are already whole human beings when they were born. While we should give them the freedom to fly on their own, they also need us, our guidance and our love.

The actors who play the central family of Joselle were all pretty solid in their acting. I have heard of May Bayot before, and this is the first time I have seen her in action. She plays a very strong Joselle. I am glad that the dad Romy was not written as a useless bum, like most Filipino shows tended to portray the father character. The teenager Ozie was very realistically written and portrayed, in all her teen angst. The young kid who played Tonton was very cute and malikot. The way Ms. Bayot and company lived the roles onstage, it was like looking into a mirror at certain home situations we are all too familiar with.

The script is very sharp, yet it has the requisite humor and pop references to appeal to the younger audience. The use of a projection screen as backdrop with colorful animated images was also very imaginative. The moving set pieces which was composed of two big wooden boxes and stairs were very well used and re-arranged to represent different venues. The props were very imaginative too, like using rubber bands to represent pansit.

I do have some comment about the songs. The tunes were not really too memorable for me, but they were appropriate to the mood and story. The singing was quite uneven also. The acting was better than the singing. But more importantly, some singers were chewing the lyrics. I felt a lot of vital messages are lost to the audience if the lyrics were not enunciated very clearly, and the cast should take more care in this aspect in future stagings.

Meann Espinosa of PETA's Marketing Office is right, it is encouraged that parents watch this play with their kids. But for me, especially if the kids are already in or nearing their teens. This could effectively serve a springboard for a good family discussion about the issues brought up in the play.

I thought a lot of the play's messages may have been lost to the very young members of the audience that afternoon. The little ones were only reacting when they see the funny antics of the naughty Tonton and his playmate Macmac, as well as various displays of affection seen on stage. But the rest of the play had them quite antsy in my observation. Some were even going around, in and out of the room. The play may be quite long for very young kids (almost two hours), and it had a ten minute intermission! Not generalizing though, depends on the kid, of course.

And so, for yet another timely, educational and socially-relevant stage production, a hearty Congratulations again to PETA!

P.S.: I learned that the kids in the audience this afternoon were from neighboring Barangay Kalusugan and Kristong Hari, as well as from M.H. del Pilar Public School. I wouldn't be surprised if this was all shouldered by PETA and its sponsors, in the spirit of community service and fostering the art of theater in the young. Kudos PETA!

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The show opens on July 9, 6 p.m., at the PETA Theater Center, 5 Eymard Drive New Manila, Quezon City (behind QC Sports Club). Other performance dates are as follows: July 10, 11, 17 and 18 (10 a.m. and 3 p.m.).

For inquiries, contact PETA’s Marketing and Public Relations Office at 7256244, 4100821 to 22 or SMS 0917-8044428, e-mail petampro@yahoo.com.

Concert Recap and Videos: TEARS FOR FEARS Live in Manila (May 2, 2010)

May 3, 2010

Tears for Fears was set to perform in Manila in February 28, 2010.  I was already eagerly awaiting this much-anticipated concert since then.  The date was later moved to May 2, 2010, which was last night.  Seats for this concert were sold out several days before.  My cousin Jerry and I arrived in Cubao around 6 pm and there was already a crowd around the entrances of the Araneta Coliseum.  After a quick dinner at KFC, we immediately went back to enter the venue.

Wow, the "first come first served" areas were already practically full!  The central General Admission area (which was not utilized in the Kelly Clarkson concert the previous night) was also filled with people already.  The last time I saw the Coliseum this full was for the Lady GaGa concert.  This early in the night, it was already fulfilling its promise to be the biggest concert event of this year.

Before 8 pm, the first front act Sandwich took the stage with four songs.  This is one of the rare times that the front act already brought fans to mill around in front of the stage. This was especially true when they announced that they will have a guest "classmate" for their last number -- which turned out to be the great Ely Buendia!  He sang "Alapaap" of the Eraserheads.  Fantastic!  Too bad my camera was not ready yet at that time.  Mr. Buendia then took on his other persona as lead singer of the band Pupil, the second front act.  They sang "Disconnection Notice" and three more unfamiliar songs.  But people were definitely riveted to this Filipino rock icon.

During the lull before the concert proper, every possible space in the Coliseum was fully occupied.  The Gen Ad and the Upper Box areas were filled up up to the edges beside the stage.  Standing room already!  The moment the stage light dimmed and strains of "Mad World" started, there was pandemonium!  There they were, Curt Smith and Roland Orzabal in the flesh on stage!  They immediately sang "Everybody Wants to Rule the World" to start things up and everyone was out of their seats, singing along and dancing!

This wild phenomenon would happen every time they would sing a hit, like "Sowing the Seeds of Love", then "Mad World", "Pale Shelter", "Break It Down Again" and the last song of their regular set, "Head Over Heels".  You practically do not hear Curt and Roland sing anymore, only the voices of the Filipino audience heartily singing along with them on these well-loved songs. 

Roland unexpectedly sang an emo-style cover version of Michael Jackson's "Billie Jean".  Admittedly, there was a rather long stretch in the middle of the show when they sang about five or even six unfamiliar songs in a row like "Closest Thing to Heaven" (VIDEO), which was a bit boring.  However the energy level of the audience remained on the up as their applause was more than polite even in these numbers.

After "Head Over Heels" and the band left the stage, the audience did not sit down anymore.  They continually clapped and shouted for more, more, more!  After a few minutes of this, they re-entered the stage to thunderous applause and hooting.  Roland was telling us that their next song was "Woman in Chains", but we were puzzled because they had no female backup singer. Turned out that the Oleta Adams part was to be sung by their bald MALE back-up singer Micheal Wainwright, who looked like Phil Collins! 

After that, they finally closed their show with their other Number 1 hit, "Shout", and people were singing along like there's no tomorrow.  And then that was it, the loudest and best-selling concert of the year was over.  People were all stunned and did not file out at once, hoping that they would still come out to play "Change" or "Mothers Talk", but that was not to be.  It was truly over.

Before going out, we looked at the merchandise in the lobby, and they were selling autographed posters of Curt and Roland.  These were at a hefty P1,800 apiece and there were actually people buying them!  Even the tour t-shirts were at P1,800 each, and I thought the P1,000 Kelly Clarkson t-shirts the other night was already exorbitant.  Haha!  This was really a concert to remember.  Talk of a return engagement in response to the massive clamor are already out there.

Review of NEXT TO NORMAL (Broadway)

December 12, 2010

I watched this musical based on good reputation alone (multiple Tony nominations in 2009, 2 wins). I had no idea who the actors were. I had no idea what the music sounded like. I had a very vague idea about the story. I recall reading an article written by Ms. Lea Salonga about how this play tackled some psychological disorder like that, and that was it. Alright in all honesty, and the relatively inexpensive orchestra seats were a big come-on for me.

So finally, on the night of October 5, 2010, after a very full day on the Statue of Liberty (to the crown!), followed by a tour of Brooklyn, my wife and I watched "Next to Normal" at the Booth Theater on West 45th St.

While we were watching the play, I just could not believe how well the story was told. I could not describe it without spoiling it so I wouldn't. Suffice it to say here that this has quite an unusual theme for a musical. It tackles a dysfunctional family in which the mother was in the course of suffering a psychotic meltdown. Its brave book won a Pulitzer Prize for Drama earlier this year.

There is a consciously serious effort to put realism into the medical course and management of psychosis. There is a lot of talk about multiple drug therapy (there's a song called "My Psychotherapist and I"). There is even a 'shocking' scene of electro-convulsive therapy, and its aftermath ("Song of Forgetting"). Who would have thought we would witness a musical that did that! This downbeat topic was buoyed by a driving rock musical score (the score by Tom Kitt and Brian Yorkey won the Tony), scathingly witty dialog (book by Brian Yorkey), amazing lighting displays and a very imaginative set construction.

The unfortunate mother Diana Goodman was played by Marin Mazzie. She was truly electrifying in her portrayal of the mental and emotional breakdown. Her pivotal scene about preparing sandwiches one morning was amazingly portrayed with heart-breaking impact. She has such a strong solid voice that effectively conveyed the rough psychological roller-coaster that her character was going through. It's hard to believe that Ms. Mazzie was not the actress who originated this complex role. (The original actress Ms. Alice Ripley won the Tony and other accolades for this role.)

Diana's husband Dan was played by Marin Mazzie's real-life husband Jason Danieley. Of course, their chemistry as the troubled couple was very palpable and real. Their son Gabe was portrayed by Kyle Dean Massey. This guy had great stage-presence and a very strong tenor, especially in the song "I'm Alive". Their daughter Natalie was played by pretty Meghann Fahy. She was also very good, but her performance was just ok when compared to the rest of the very talented main cast.

This was an excellent musical and is definitely a must-watch on Broadway. I was thinking if it would be possible to stage this play in Manila. I had no doubts about the acting and musical talent of a Filipino cast. But it might be the stage design that would be the challenge. 

When we came back, I found out that Atlantis would be staging this one next year, with no less than Menchu Lauchengco-Yulo and Jett Pangan as the doomed Mr. and Mrs. Goodman. Now, that is one play I would be watching for sure! (Next to Normal runs from March 11 to 27, 2011 at the Carlos P. Romulo Auditorium, RCBC Plaza, Makati. For details, call Atlantis Productions at 892-7078 or 840-1187.)

Review of Repertory Phil's SWEENEY TODD

December 5, 2009

We attended this tale of Sweeney Todd last night at the Onstage in Greenbelt 1, as rendered by the Repertory Philippines. Admittedly, I was there to hear the great music and songs of Stephen Sondheim again (of which I was a fan since the 1980s). I was not really looking forward to a great production. But boy, was I SO WRONG! 

They had succeeded in transporting us to seamy old London where this grisly tale was set. The set of Sweeney's tonsorial parlor cum Mrs. Lovett's meat pie shop were ingeniously created and set up. The costumes were appropriately of the period and fashionably ragged to fit the storyline. The actor ensemble was very well directed and blocked to recreate the somber mood. The fantastically staged "Pirelli's Miracle Elixir" scene when the crowd was pushing poor Toby around WAS SO REALISTIC. 

Another one of my worries was the casting of the lead. When it was first announced, Audie Gemora did not really strike me as the correct actor to play Sweeney Todd. He seemed to project a goody-goody image that did not fit the role of the "Demon Barber of Fleet Street". But again, my fear was unfounded. Mr. Gemora more than did justice to this role. He had struck that delicate balance of dignity and madness. I had never heard his baritone as deep and as rich and as menacing as he sang last night. He was mesmerizing.

I did not also see Menchu Lauchengco as Mrs. Lovett at first. But again, she has exceeded my expectations. Her look and attack on this darkly serio-comic character was very accurate. Her Cockney accent was very natural. Her singing was amazing as usual. Her chemistry with Mr. Gemora was electrifying in their scenes and songs together. 

Minor quibbles include how dull Anthony and Joanna looked like, although that was negated by the excellence of their singing. I think the actor who played Pirelli did not look and fit the role, but he was funny. The actor who played the Judge Turpin did not look evil enough, but his baritone voice was also very rich. (But I have to say, Robbie Guevara as the Beadle was perfect casting!) The guy who played Toby looked a bit older than expected, but his acting was very good.

All in all, this is must-see theater. Repertory Philippines has certainly outdone themselves with this one. This is proof that there is still significance for Philippine theater companies to stage foreign musicals. It is because we can do it very well here. We do not really need to go all the way to the West End or Broadway to see the best theater performances. Filipino musical talent will never cease to amaze me. 

Review of RPG METANOIA

December 2, 2010

My boys and I watched "RPG Metanoia" today, which is an entry in the current Metro Manila Film Festival. I found it the best way to introduce the watching of Filipino films to them. This is the first Filipino film they had ever watched in a movie house. They generally enjoyed it for the most part (save for a few fuzzy details), and I was happy for that. I definitely enjoyed it myself.

The story of "RPG Metanoia" is very current and relevant. It tells about Nico and his friends who are computer-game addicts to an RPG called Metanoia. When an evil force that was destroying the world of Metanoia also threatens the real world, they need to forget their personal differences and band together in order to beat the common foe.

I liked the very real Filipino characters. I liked how the relationship of Nico (voiced by Santino himself, Zaijan Jaranilla) and his parents (funny to imagine Aga Muhlach and Eugene Domingo voicing them) was portrayed. The gang of Nico was also very realistically scripted, like how I remember playing with my neighbors back then, with the misunderstandings and getting back together as playmates. I liked how they had a Chinoy (Filipino-Chinese) guy in Nico's gang. I liked how they had a girl character May teach Nico and friends about outdoor activities, as well as play an important role in the RPG conflict.

I liked the characteristically Filipino imagery like Vigan houses used in the virtual world, the Moriones mask as the evil guy's avatar, the Filipino street games like Patintero, Tumbang Preso and Shato, etc. I liked the underlying message of warning to kids about addiction to computer games. (My 7-year old got that lesson!) The Filipino musical score by Ria Osorio and Gerald Salonga is also outstanding.

I also liked the international scope of the story, as we see the involvement of several foreign Metanoia characters in the virtual battles. There appear to be plans to distribute this to foreign countries, as the subtitles for the Korean and Japanese dialog were in English, instead of Filipino (even my 7-year old did find it odd though). I think we can be proud to have this film represent our country in festivals abroad.

OK, first of all, there is no point comparing this film to a Pixar, or even to a Dreamworks film. After all, this only the first full-length 3D computer animated film from the Philippines, so we have to cut it slack for its pioneering efforts. The animation quality is certainly more than passable. While the quality of the color palette, design neatness and the 3D can still be improved further, this is the best of local animation I have seen. 

This is an action film that requires a high level of sophistication in order to pass muster in terms of excitement level, and "RPG Metanoia" does so with flying colors. Kudos to Star Cinema for taking up this challenge, even if it did take five long years to make this one.

Review of Atlantis' SPRING AWAKENING

September 25, 2009

My friends and I went to watch "Spring Awakening" last night at the RCBC Theater. It was Opening Night. We decided to buy tickets to this show quite late already, so only on-stage seats were available from the buyer I contacted. Our seat location was also a matter of great excitement since we will be very close to the action.

We onstage ticket holders were asked to be there 30 minutes before the start of the show for a short briefing and to get our cellphones to ensure no one forgot to turn it off, or got any unauthorized photos (I guess with the sensitive stuff this show is known for, they need this precaution.) Onstage seats were either on the left or right wings of the stage. Our group was assigned to the left wing. We were asked to wait in a holding area before the show and went in together as a group.

It turned out however that being onstage actually affected our proper appreciation of the play as a whole in a NEGATIVE way. The major issue with me was the sound quality. We could not understand most of the song lyrics being sung. This was especially when handheld mikes were used by the actor. We were just getting the story from the general action and spoken conversations. But the essence and angst of the supposedly sublime songs were lost on us who are not familiar with them before watching the show. I wish they had put speakers at the wings for the benefit of the onstage audience. Now I know why these seats were less expensive than the real seats in the theater.

This problem with the sound served to define and distinguish the true quality of the actors' singing voices. The best singers of the group were definitely Joaquin Valdes among the boys and Bea Garcia among the girls. Joaquin's stage experience was quite evident in his effective acting and strong singing, well required of the main male character, the mature and confident Melchior. Bea's portrayal of the Bohemian girl Ilsa was vibrant and memorable. Her singing voice and enunciation were very clear despite the poor sound we had where we were seated.

On the other hand, the voices of Sitti (Marta) and Miguel Mendoza (Georg) were very weak. What they were singing were barely intelligible. The low registers of their songs did not help. As the lead female character Wendla, I felt that Kelly Lati also had a weak vocal projection and stage presence throughout the show. She was wan and obviously nervous in her first song "Mother Who Bore Me", which gave the show a weak opening.

I also had a problem with the way Moritz was portrayed by the actor Nicco Manalo. In the first part, I felt he acted too effeminately during his scenes with Melchior in the first act, which seemed inappropriate for his character. Manalo was much better in the second act but his way of singing and speaking his lines sounded garbled where I was seated, diminishing my appreciation of his character's tragedy. It was too bad because I found the character of the problem boy Moritz the most interesting in the group.

Jett Pangan and Cheska Inigo were proficient in their portrayal of their multiple adult roles. However, apart from the professors who had on caps, there was nothing to distinguish one character from the other. They could have added an accessory to distinguish one parent from the other. Too bad that Jett Pangan did not have a featured song number. I was expecting to hear him sing something.

As for the much-publicized nude scenes, they actually could have been left out without affecting the story. But of course, they still had to be done as instructed in the script. It happens as the first act closes, and again, strangely, as the second act begins. I could not see Kelly (nor her bosom) very well from where I was seated. The girls beside me were commenting that Joaquin needs butt make-up to improve how he looked back there. I will not make further comment about that. Actually, the scene that elicited a louder scandalized gasp from the audience was actually the seduction scene between Hanschen (JC Santos) and Ernst (Nar Cabico), not really this Melchior-Wendla nude love scene.

The much acclaimed and award-winning Duncan Sheik soundtrack did not really grab me, sorry. I found it maudlin, monotonous and even boring in parts as it wallowed in low notes, as typified by songs like "The Dark I Knew Well". The best song is pretty much "Totally F*cked" as this was the only song that elicited a spontaneous applause because of its lively choreography, bravado and energetic staging. I also enjoyed the duet interaction of Moritz and Ilse on "Don't Do Sadness/Blue Wind". Bea Garcia was positively glowing in that number. The finale song "Song of Purple Summer" was also very imaginatively and dramatically rendered by the whole company.

I feel bad because of my gripes. I so wanted to like this show, but ended up disappointed. But my perspective may not be typical because of where I was seated. Anyway, it only opening night. I hope that Director Chari Arespacochaga, along with the cast and crew of this show, can still make the necessary adjustments in order to improve their production for the rest of their run.