Forbidden Broadway returns (Just accept it)

August 24, 2012, 8:00 PM

August 25, 2012, 3:00 & 8:00 PM

Carlos P. Romulo Auditorium

RCBC Plaza, Makati

Who knew that spoofing Broadway musicals and personalities would become a hit in a country that is actually half a world away from Broadway itself? Well, that was what exactly happened when Upstart Productions presented Forbidden Broadway in Manila last May. Now, the wacky crew of Liesl Batucan, Caisa Borromeo, OJ Mariano and Lorenz Martinez along with pianist Dingdong Fiel return to the hilarity that is Forbidden Broadway for a very limited, three performance run happening on August 24-25, 2012 at the Carlos P. Romulo Auditorium at RCBC Plaza.

For those who still don’t know what this show is all about, Forbidden Broadway, written by Gerard Alessandrini, is New York’s longest running musical comedy revue. This show debuted back in 1982 and has spawned numerous versions including the newer productions that have lit up the lights on Broadway. The version that Upstart Productions presents in here is Forbidden Broadway’s Greatest Hits which is what the title exactly suggests. Expect a whirlwind of around 30 musical numbers from 20 shows complete with numerous costume changes and hilarious character impressions.

OJ Mariano, Cathy Azanza-Dy, Caisa Borromeo, Liesl Batucan, Lorenz Martinez
and Onyl Torres

Another highlight of the previous run were the guest stars who appeared one per show that had people guessing. For this run, guest stars include Michael de Mesa and Nikki Gil. The third guest star still remains a mystery. But no longer a mystery are the production team led by director Joel Trinidad now joined by assistant director Cathy Azanza-Dy, light designer Martin Esteva, sound designer Sheryl Polancos, production designer Lawyn Cruz and musical director/vocal coach Onyl Torres. The production staff is composed of production manager Mariko Yasuda and stage manager Lani Tapia  The marketing, sales and publicity team of is led by PR and publicist Toots Tolentino with marketing manager Daphne Kimberly Uy and photographer Stanley Ong.

Forbidden Broadway is sponsored by Outback Steakhouse, Kashmir Restaurant, Stanley Ong Photography, Orange Segment, and our media sponsors BusinessWorld, HerWord.com, Sunday Inquirer Magazine, taxi.com.ph and Philippine Paradise Pages. Ticket buyers may avail of a 30% discount upon presentation of their ticket at the Outback Steakhouse Glorietta 4 branch from August 24 to September 8, 2012.

Ticket prices:

P1100 Orchestra Center

P1000 Loge Center

P900 Orchestra Side

P800 Loge Side

P700 Loge Rear

P600 Balcony

For inquiries:

Upstart Productions (0920) 941-6695, upstarttickets@gmail.com

2011 NAMCYA Champions to perform with the PPO

August 2, 2012, 8:00 PM

Tanghalang Nicanor Abelardo (CCP Main Theater)

CCP Complex

Pasay, Metro Manila

Featuring:

Maria Jeline Oliva, violin

Jimmy Tagala Jr., violin

Gabriel Allan Paguirigan, piano

Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra

Olivier Ochanine, conductor

Programme:

Alexander Borodin In the Steppes of Central Asia

Henryk Wieniawski Violin Concerto No. 2 in D minor, Op. 22

Camille Saint-Saëns Piano Concerto No. 2 in G minor, Op. 22
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 35

One of the coolest prizes of being a National Music Competitions for Young Artists (NAMCYA) 1st prize winner is being able to perform as the featured soloist at a concert with the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra at the Cultural Center of the Philippines. Three of the 2011 NAMCYA winners, Jeline Oliva (Violin Category B), Jimmy Tagala (Violin Category C) and Gabriel Paguirigan (Piano Category B) will do just that at the concert Classical Champs: The Young Music Idols when they perform with the PPO conducted by Olivier Ochanine this August 2, 2012, 8:00 PM.at the Tanghalang Nicanor Abelardo (CCP Main Theater).

I’ve seen these three perform before but never with an orchestra. I've seen Jimmy Tagala and Jeline Oliva compete during the finals of the NAMCYA last year. I also saw Jimmy took a masterclass with Ray Chen a few weeks before he competed. I last saw Gabriel Paguirigan as one of the three recitalists from the Philippine High School for the Arts some months ago. All of their previous performances that I've seen were either solo or chamber performances so it will be very interesting to see and hear them take the spotlight performing their winning concertos in full with an actual orchestra. Jeline performs Henryk Wieniawski's Violin Concerto No. 2 in D minor, Op. 22 while Jimmy performs the popular Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky's Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 35. Gabriel performs Camille Saint-Saëns Piano Concerto No. 2 in G minor, Op. 22. But before that, the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra led by Olivier Ochanine will play Alexander Borodin's In the Steppes of Central Asia.

It’s been about three months since I last saw the PPO perform onstage and it is still more than a month before their concert season resumes. I also missed seeing last year’s concert that featured NAMCYA winners. I just hope that the weather cooperates this year so that I'll have no problems catching this concert.

Ticket prices:

P900

P700

P500

P200

-50% student discount

-20% senior citizen discount

For inquiries:

CCP Box Office 832-3704

TicketWorld 891-9999

Joe: A Filipino Rock’sical

Patrick Libao as Jose Rizal

I’m still at awe at how the Philippine Stagers Foundation (PSF) and its roster of actors could keep up with such a grueling performance schedule of sometimes having five performances a day. After doing just that for many months during their previous production of Cory ng EDSA, a Filipino Musicale all over the country, the company gears for another monumental run with their newest offering, Joe: A Filipino Rock’sical. And I was once again very fortunate to see this musical production during their press preview performance at the St. Cecilia’s Hall at St. Scholastica’s College.

This musical, written and directed by PSF artistic director Atty. Vince Tañada tackles the story of national hero Jose Rizal and explores his human and vulnerable side rarely touched upon by textbooks. Again, Tañada juxtaposed Rizal, played by Patrick Libao with various characters from the current period acting as foils the life of the Philippines’ national hero. The characters in the present day are Vince Tañada as the playwright Joecas, Cindy Liper as the researcher Joanne, Jordan Ladra as the music director Hunter, Kierwin Larena as choreographer Bimbo, Adelle Ibarrientos as the costume designer Julia and Chin Ortega as the set designer Ambo. These characters were high school friends who met up once again after many years to create  a new musical about Jose Rizal upon Joecas and Joanne’s invitation. In the process of brainstorming, researching and conceptualizing for the musical, friendships are tested, unresolved issues resurface and old love rekindled. These scenes were presented alongside scenes of Rizal at the time when his romance with Josephine Bracken and the fate of the Philippines as well were at a major turning point.

The production of the musical in the story encounters a major hurdle when Joecas strives for artistic freedom and expression much to the chagrin of Joanne who is all for historical accuracy. This in turn made for the pivotal message of the entire play on what one is willing to give up in exchange for a higher ideal or principle. During the production of the musical, several points were raised about who Jose Rizal and Josephine Bracken really are. Questions further came to fore on what was really known about these two, about their actual relationship, about what they did and also in what they did not do. The conflict between Joecas and Joanne in the present time somehow paralleled the dilemma faced by Rizal and Josephine as Rizal had to choose between his love for country and his love for his woman.

One thing that Joe: A Filipino Rock’sical succeeded on was sparking interest in Rizal. Normally, people only know of him through what had been taught to them in school. But this knowledge is severely limited depending only on the textbook that was supplied and the teacher in charge of the subject. This production raised a lot of questions and possibly even courted some controversies especially on the depiction of Josephine Bracken.

On the other hand, there were some things in the production that left me cringing in my seat. I do understand that the core audience of PSF’s productions are students in their teens so there are scenes that were catered to them and their sensibilities. The jokes especially the ones laced with sexual innuendos felt juvenile for me. There were also some scenes that were placed to elicit laughter that I felt didn’t serve to move the plot or provide characterization. But these scenes proved to be a hit among the predominantly high school student audience during the performance that I viewed. So I guess that it's a case of me being too old for their sense of humor.

The cast of Joe: A Filipino Rock'sical

The writing process of Joe: A Filipino Rock’sical was also a major eye opener for me. It was only during the press conference after the show that I learned that the songs (lyrics by Tañada, music by Pipo Cifra) making up the production numbers were the first to be written even before the final script was made. I initially thought that this was just another exception in the company's creative process but I was mistaken since the previous production Cory ng EDSA also went through the same thing. With such a demanding performance schedule, coupled with an unconventional way of writing  musicals and still garnering numerous Awit Awards in the end, it’s truly no wonder that I am still at awe with the Philippine Stagers Foundation (PSF), truly a David among the Goliaths in the Philippine theater scene.

The Philippine Popular Music Festival Experience (PhilPop) Part 4

The Finals Night

PhilPop Grand Prize Winner Karl Villuga

By now, the winners of the first ever Philippine Popular Music Festival (PhilPop) have already made the news all over. The celebrations and hopefully, the conspiracy theories as well have mellowed down a bit. Although I think that the winning composers, grand prize winner Karl Villuga (Bawat Hakbang), and runners up Toto Sorioso (Tayo-Tayo Lang) and Soc Villanueva (Kontrabida) still couldn’t believe that they’ve won and are probably still on a PhilPop high. I was an adjudicator during the earlier rounds and I still feel that high since this has been incredible experience for me as well.

After the announcement of the finalists, what kept me on my toes was the announcement of the interpreters for the compilation album and the performances on finals night that was held at the Philippine International Convention Center (PICC). And when the interpreters were finally announced, I was surprised by the inclusion of some artists like Nyoy Volante for Slowdancing, Sam Concepcion for Kontrabida and Marié Digby for 3 AM. Some interpreters were already expected like Cathy Go for Negastar, Gary Granada for Minsa’y Ibang Bansa and Joey Ayala for Piso.

I awaited the release of the album anxiously since it would be the first time for me to listen to the final songs entirely. During the screening process, we usually proceeded to the next entry by the time a song got into the chorus. And some of the entries were raw demos which aren’t fit for commercial release. Hearing the studio versions of the finalists made me think ahead on how they would fare in the local music industry outside of the competition like if they would gain some radio airplay.

Aside from the compilation album, the most awaited event for PhilPop has got to be the performances during the finals night. Here are my thoughts on the performances of the Top 14 songs that night which was hosted by Ogie Alcasid and Nikki Gil.

Negastar

Music & Lyrics by Mike Villegas

Interpreted by Cathy Go

I guess that this song, tailor made for Cathy Go, was already in the can and Mike Villegas just decided to try his luck and enter it in the competition. Hence, a very comfortable performance by Cathy who had the daunting task of performing first. The song’s title, a play on Megastar and negativity caught my attention during the screening. The rest of the song was strong enough to carry it through the finals.

Dulo ng Dila

Music & Lyrics by Noah Zuñiga

Interpreted by Jay R & Deejay Poblete

I really liked this song when I first heard it during the earlier rounds. The triple meter, the old school vibe and the duet nature of the song appealed to me. I just wish that the chorus was just as strong as the verses.

Slowdancing

Music & Lyrics by Kennard Faraon

Interpreted by Nyoy Volante

This is one of the finalists wherein I liked the submitted entry a lot more than the studio version. No offense to Nyoy but the one that I heard during the screening stood out more and was a lot more memorable with the electronic sound giving it a certain charm. I was not too keen with the live band arrangement during the finals night as well.

Minsa’y Isang Bansa

Music & Lyrics by Gary Granada

Interpreted by Gary Granada

It makes me wonder if people consider a song to be good if it has a moral lesson to it. Does a song become automatically good if it’s talking about a good cause like caring for the environment or being patriotic? These are the questions that came to mind when I heard not just this song but also a lot of songs as well during the screening process.

Tayo-Tayo Lang

Music & Lyrics by Toto Sorioso

Interpreted by Ebe Dancel

Here is a prime example that a song does not need to have a moral lesson in order to be good. Ebe Dancel had some major voice problems during this performance that I initially thought would hurt the chances of this song placing among the top three. Fortunately and a bit eerily, Ebe’s troubles somehow fit with the message of the song.

3 AM

Music & Lyrics by Keiko Necessario

Interpreted by Marié Digby

I remember humming the chorus to this song during the screening process. That is how inescapable this song’s melody is. The band, especially the drums, was off during the performance and I felt that they accelerated too fast to the point that I couldn’t figure out the downbeat during the chorus.

Takusa

Music & Lyrics by Byron Ricamara

Interpreted by Rocksteddy

This was yet another song with an intriguing title that had everyone curious during the earlier screening rounds. I think that the chorus was too repetitive and that there could’ve been more to it lyrically. In the actual performance, the drums section was off again, just like what happened in 3 AM. I don’t know what happened but there could’ve been some problem with the band’s monitor.

Himig ng Panahon

Music & Lyrics by Thyro Alfaro

Interpreted by Duncan Ramos, Luke Mejares, Loonie, Thyro & Yumi

I admit that this song went under my radar. During the performance, I was put off with the sheer number of interpreters on stage. I think that this song could’ve done a lot better performance wise if there were fewer singers on stage. But I like how this song explored rhythms a lot more.

Kontrabida

Music & Lyrics by Soc Villanueva

Interpreted by Sam Concepcion

I wasn’t too keen on this song until I heard Sam Concepcion’s version. This was when I felt that this could be part of his performance repertoire and that it could possibly stand on its own outside the competition.

Bawat Hakbang

Music & Lyrics by Karl Villuga

Interpreted by Mark Bautista and Akafellas

This gave me goosebumps when I first heard it. The refrain with the leaps leading to the chorus gave me chills and right then and there, it became my favorite. Mark Bautista being added with the Akafellas surprised me a bit. I wish that it was just Karl or Mark doing the solos instead of making it a duet.

Kesa

Music & Lyrics by Edwin Marollano

Interpreted by Daniel Grospe

Daniel Grospe was entirely unknown to me before so I had no idea how he looked or sounded like prior to this. His voice sounded odd which suited the song. But the pants he wore during the performance actually stole the show.

Bigtime

Music & Lyrics by Trina Belamide

Interpreted by Baihana

The intro to this song had the adjudicators grinning and nodding their heads to the big band beat. It’s a cute song but for me, it was too old school and lacked that current vibe and feel. It felt too much: the big band arrangement and the jazz trio. It would’ve been a lot more refreshing if current vocal styles were used alongside the big band arrangement or a jazz trio singing alongside current rhythms.

Brown

Music & Lyrics by James Leyte

Interpreted by Brownman Revival & James Leyte

This is another upbeat song with that had adjudicators nodding their heads to the beat during the screening process. But I personally found it hard to connect with this song though. It was a personal song for composer James Leyte which was probably why it didn’t get through to me at all. But it did get through to a lot of people since this song won the Smart People’s Choice Award.

Piso

Music & Lyrics by Krist Melecio

Interpreted by Joey Ayala

This song is another case of too much patriotism and nationalistic for my taste especially when I’ve had my fill during the screenings. But I was pleasantly surprised on how well this song came out during the live performance. The addition of the drum line helped a lot to generate excitement for this song.

Other performances that served as breaks from the competition included an opening song by Ogie Alcasid and the Ryan Cayabyab Singers; Macho Guwapito by the comedy duo Jose and Wally; classic song medley by Christian Bautista, Erik Santos, Regine Velasquez, Basil Valdez and Sharon Cuneta; and a Metropop medley by a bunch load of singers. What made these numbers remarkable was that the network wars were forgotten at this point and all the performers on stage were just Filipino recording artists/musicians uniting to show everybody how awesome OPM is.

Gian Carlo Vizcarra, Sam Concepcion, 2nd Runner Up Soc Villanueva
& Kathleen Dy-Go

I am so glad that I wasn’t under any pressure to judge these entries since my part as an adjudicator was over and done with during the earlier rounds. But I did have my own bet that night which was Bawat Hakbang. And I always told people that I’ve always been behind my PhilPop bet “every step” of the way. Kontrabida was the other song that grew on me because of the studio recording by Sam Concepcion. And by the end of the night, the judges thought that these songs among the 14 are the most awesome:

Grand Prize

Bawat Hakbang by Karl Villuga

1st Runner Up

Tayo-Tayo Lang by Toto Sorioso

2nd Runner Up

Kontrabida by Soc Villanueva

Smart People’s Choice Award

Brown by James Leyte

The winners are definitely happy with their cash prizes, P1 million for Karl Villuga and P500,000 and P250,000 for Toto Sorioso and Soc Villanueva respectively. James Leyte bags P200,000 for garnering the most number of text votes.

The judges for the finals night of the Philippine Popular Music Festival were singer, songwriter, advocate and FILSCAP President Noel Cabangon, radio personality Chico Garcia, Universal Records’ Managing Director Kathleen Dy-Go, PhilPop Treasurer Randy Estrellado, former Eraserheads frontman Ely Buendia, songwriter and music director Louie Ocampo, and APO Hiking Society Member Jim Paredes.

DJ Myke, RAd, Poppert, Krina and Celine during the PhilPop after party

On a personal note, I'd like to thank Mr. Ryan Cayabyab for giving me the opportunity to be an adjudicator for this event. Never had I imagined that I'll be a part of this. Thanks also to Patricia Bermudez-Hizon who worked tirelessly in order to make this a success. Thanks also to Fonz, Kriz, Verna, Vida, Ross-man, Oscar, Vince, Rica, Perry, Jeman and Azrael.

The Philippine Popular Music Festival (PhilPop) Experience Part 1

The Philippine Popular Music Festival (PhilPop) Experience Part 2

The Philippine Popular Music Festival (PhilPop) Experience Part 3
The Philippine Popular Music Festival (PhilPop) Experience Part 5
The Philippine Popular Music Festival (PhilPop) Experience Part 6