Friday, October 17, 2008
Who needs a microphone when you're Cherie Gil?

Or Maria Callas, for that matter.

I left the theater so amazed that I considered titling this article "CHERIE GIL IS SO FRICKING COOL." Heh. I don't think I'll ever tire of being too excitable for anything. I'll either love something obsessively (Altar Boyz, Rowena Vilar, Felix Rivera) or hate it with a passion (Mulan, Jr., and one Dogeaters actor that I'm not going to name), but I'm proud to say that I've never felt lukewarm about any show I've seen. My fire burns on strong after seeing, on invitation from Fairy Godmother Lorna Lopez, a dress rehearsal of Terence McNally's Tony award-winning play Master Class, starring the divine Ms. Gil. And I didn't hate it, obviously.

The amount of love a fan has for an artist, in my humbly fangirlish opinion, boils down to two things: talent and personality. (Looks if you're shallow, but I think that would make it different from "love," at that point.) Both are required, certainly, but you could mix them in varying proportions and come out with a different brand of appeal. You've got the Spring Awakening cast, so loved by their fans, who gush about how sweet Jonathan Groff is at stagedoor, et cetera. Then on the other hand, there's Patti LuPone, and when you see a show starring Patti LuPone, you're not really thinking about what she'll be like at stagedoor, you're there to watch Patti fucking LuPone.

Copious amounts of one could cover up a glaring lack of the other. John Gallagher Jr. could hit a flat in the most important part of "Don't Do Sadness," or maybe Matt Doyle might forget a line, but you don't care and you'll still come back to the Eugene O'Neill for the sixteenth time next Saturday because my GOD they're such nice semi-famous people! Patti LuPone could be the biggest asshole you ever met, and you'd still love her because she is LuPWNAGE, baby. (Don't quote me, though, I heard she's actually a nice person offstage. Main point being that it wouldn't matter either way.)

Cherie Gil is a case for the latter, like you haven't guessed that already. After what was supposed to be an hour-long Starbucks chat with an old office friend stretched into a five-hour session, I was already freaking out on the taxi ride to the RCBC Plaza. What I love about theater is that it waits for no one, it's admirably disciplined and has never heard of "Filipino time." Theater willingly waits for Cherie Gil, though.

I showed up at 4:30pm, on the dot, worriedly tapping my Mary Janes as the elevator ascended to the fourth floor. The barely-occupied Carlos P. Romulo auditorium was so quiet you could hear a pin drop. Director Michael Williams, champion of theater in the south metro, is seated front and center, overseeing the image transitions projected onto the wood panels, and giving (or withholding) his approval for various cast members' outfits.

A crew member comes out. "She'll be ready by 5:30."

"What?"

"Even the make-up artist says so. We are starting at 5:30." She retreats.

The guests' consensus to this turn of events?

"That is so Maria Callas of her!" one giggled.

Indeed. And a few minutes after 5:30, she walks onstage, tall and majestic, every click of her high heels resonating against the theater walls. Once you're watching her, you forget that you waited more than an hour to see this.

By the intermission, I squealed, "This is totally worth it!"

Knowing as little about Philippine cinema as I do, I didn't really know what to expect when I found out that the Philippine cinema icon Cherie Gil was starring. The name only registered to me as "Ooh, famous person." So I sing her praises now, and this is exclusively based on her performance, not her name. Theater fans tend to be skeptical when a performer of a different medium attempts to transition into theater. It's usually less than successful, like how pop star Christian Bautista's limitations were highlighted in the recent production of West Side Story, but Ms. Gil more than proved she could rock the stage when she essayed the role of stern Sister Aloysius in Atlantis Productions' 2006 production of Doubt; to quote Gibbs Cadiz, "Gil’s deliciously rococo acting in local movies (Valentina, anyone, opposite a hapless Anjanette Abayari in “Darna: Ang Pagbabalik?”) prepares no one for the extraordinarily subtle work she delivers in Doubt."

The role of La Divina herself, Maria Callas, the larger than life Greek-American opera legend, is more along the lines of what Ms. Gil usually plays in Philippine movies. However, it still requires the same great amount of subtlety and depth as that of Sr. Aloysius. Ms. Gil has big shoes to fill, as this role was originated by the legendary Zoe Caldwell (and, coincidentally, later played by the also legendary Patti LuPone). But, and I've already mentioned like five times now, Ms. Gil knocked it out of the ballpark.


[L-R: So much legendary-ness that I can't even see straight. Patti LuPone (1996) and Cherie Gil (2008) as Maria Callas.]


With her onstage, one tends to forget that there are other people in this play, too, but they do well with what they are given. Two sopranos and one tenor are the students in the master class: Florence Aguilar as Sophie de Palma, Deeda Barreto as Sharon Graham, and Jack Salud as Anthony Candolino, all accompanied by Ceejay Javier as Manny on the piano. None are as strong as the play's star acting-wise, but more than make up for that in vocal ability. Zobel folk will be amused to find that George Schulze was hilarious as the stage hand, although Michael Williams will be playing the role in the five-show run.

And I must remember that this is supposed to be a review of the Master Class rehearsals, not a love letter to Cherie Gil, awesome though she may be. Her performance alone makes it more than worth the price of admission, but the material itself enhances that five-fold. It's wisdom flavored with humor, served with a wry, biting delivery by the maestra Maria Callas. She doesn't hold back, and she won't let you leave the stage until you've got every note and emotion perfect. Harsh as it may be at times, this only stems from the sort of dedication displayed by somebody who truly loves his or her craft without abandon. Brief flashes of Callas' illustrious life and career trickle through the lessons, though this is still, first and foremost, about the art.

Going into writing this article, I knew that Master Class was going to be a hard sell. My peers and I are more inclined to go for easy, palatable, modern fare like Avenue Q or West Side Story, and the poster and synopsis wouldn't really sway the average 18-year-old to see it. So what's the pitch, then? It may not feature cute leading men or LSS-ready ditties, but it is sharp, witty and most of all, enlightening. I walked in not knowing or liking opera in the least, and I left the theater with a newfound respect for it. Anyone from 9 to 90 can appreciate art, and this is art, performed, discussed, dissected, for the people lucky enough to witness it.

Also: Dudes, it's Cherie Gil. Frickin' go already.

MASTER CLASS will run at the Carlos P. Romulo Theater, RCBC Plaza, Makati on October 17, 18, 23, 24 and 25, 2008 at 8:00 p.m. Directed by Michael Williams.
JC got bored @ 7:26 PM

Monday, October 13, 2008
It's cheese AND magic (I want some Action, bebeh)
I'm more of a Passing Strange kind of person, but I'm not above enjoying the occasional treacle-fest. Two weeks of workplace drama (ay shet, I have my own Officer Krupke) can really wear one down, and where else could I turn to but my favorite form of escapism, the theater?

West Side Story is, to me, the kind of musical that you don't really watch for the story (that's where Passing Strange comes in), or even the music (Spring Awakening, right there), but for the people in it. Blasphemy, I know, but "Tonight" or "Maria" does nothing for me, and I fell asleep thrice on my VCD copy of the 1968 movie version with Natalie Wood, before finally giving up on Disc 3. I still haven't finished the movie.

It's like Mulan, Jr., in that sense -- the material was crap-tastic, but having Cris Villonco, Felix Rivera AND Chevy Mercado in it, reading like my own personal Dream Casting line-up, totally saved it for me. Had the cast list of Mulan been any different that day, I probably would've walked out halfway through, despite the impressive set and special effects. Same goes for WSS: without Joanna Ampil and Rowena Vilar in the same line-up, I'd have enjoyed it much less than I did.

Warning, shameless pluggage ahead: If Red Concepcion hadn't mentioned that he was going to be in this thing, it's likely I wouldn't have seen the show. I'd already written it off as another vehicle for two big-name stars, Christian Bautista and Karylle, and I felt I would rather devote my money to something less popular with the masses. But Red's such a kick-ass actor that I'll watch him in anything, even a ginormous cheese spectacle like West Side Story. Hell, he could play Elle Woods in Legally Blonde: the Musical and I'd still see it (carry mo naman yung blond hair eh, haha!). So, thank God for Songs for a New World serendipity. And after reading on Gibbs Cadiz' blog that the final show featured Joanna and Rowena, I rushed to TicketWorld and snagged the last front row seat available (yeah, I'm still soured on buying tickets for large groups, so I saw this one on my own).

Obviously, Red didn't disappoint as that crazy bitch A-Rab; he possessed the gleeful insanity of a mad dog when he talked, and the precision and grace of a true artist when he danced. And the great thing is that unlike Mulan, this show didn't rely on the strength of just a handful of performers amidst the large cast. In WSS, the entire cast was well-rounded and pitch-perfect.

Gian Magdangal as Riff is my personal Aaron Eckhart for this show. By Aaron Eckhart I mean, his Two-Face was my favorite thing about The Dark Knight, even though everybody else was paying attention to Heath Ledger (deservedly enough). He's got the strong presence to play a gang leader, and the pipes for the songs, and it always impresses me greatly when an actor can do a good accent, like he does.

For my money, there wasn't a single weak link in the ensemble cast, though as you can tell from the blog title, I grew a bit of a crush on the rail-thin, feisty Action from the Jets gang. "Who is this Anthony Tarrosa Ong, and where can I get one?" :)

You'd think everybody in the audience just won the lottery the way they reacted after the voice-over announcement: "This evening, the role of Maria will be performed by Joanna Ampil...the role of Anita will be performed by Rowena Vilar..." But let me tell you, the batshit insane cheering was not an overreaction. Joanna was lovely and flawless as one would expect; Rowena was FRIGGIN' SPECTACULAR and stole every scene she was in. No seriously. You can not take your eyes off her, executing those tricky dance moves with ease, in stiletto heels. She'll break your heart singing about "A Boy Like That." You'll be chilled to the bone, feeling every scratch and tear and push in her scene with the Jets. Ms. Vilar is a triple threat if I ever saw one. They need to manufacture more of these Rowena Vilar things and place them in every single nation across the globe. She'll be Elphaba, and Glinda, and Nessarose. She'll be Mimi, Maureen and Angel. She'll be Cassie and Natalie and every other person in A Chorus Line. She's the entire fucking chorus line. Holy crap this girl rocks.

Now, onto the star of the show: Hot pala si Christian Bautista? Who knew?

It's ironic that the most famous cast member ends up being the most underrated. Not that he was the best performer by any means, but I'd hate to be Christian Bautista after reading the reviews. I don't think anyone's really given him proper due for what he actually does for the show. This show was openly a vehicle for the star, but I think he ended up being the vehicle for the show. It was visible from the moment I walked into the lobby. The Swatch adverts, guest contributors (Lea Salonga, Dingdong Dantes, et al) on the program, posters left and right at any mall you go to, probably wouldn't be there if Christian Bautista was not the star of this show. I'm suppose I'm more pragmatic than the average theatergoer when it comes to things like this. Whatever puts asses in the seats, I always say. Christian Bautista is the MTV's Search for the Next Elle Woods of Philippine theater -- not everyone is going to like it, but commercially, it's heaven-sent.

In terms of actual talent, perhaps he's improved greatly over the run of the show, but I didn't see him as the low-light that every review claims he is. Then again, I walked in expecting a lot less from him than anybody else. Sure, I'd agree that he was too much "puppydog-eyed loverboy" and not nearly enough "American ganster" for the role of Tony, but he sings well, dances well and is a lot prettier than I expected him to be. If he had the comic timing to pull it off, I think he'd actually be a great Fiyero in Wicked.

There, that's about every cast member in the program, but I'd like to talk about one unseen star: "Felix Rivera, vocal coach." SQUEE! Look, his voice knocks it out of the ballpark every time, so he's a beyond perfect vocal coach, but seeing his goofy grin on the insert made me start playing my favorite intermission game, "How much better would this production have been had Felix Rivera starred in it?" Why was Felix not in the cast, damn it?!? He'd be an edgier, more nuanced Tony (who can sing better), Riff with more sex appeal, an Action who looks like he could actually beat somebody up (have you seen those biceps, ohmygolly).

Clearly, I was not impressed with the original WSS storyline, but the brilliant, well-crafted sets and superb acting kept me on the edge of my seat, and in fact, made me want to give the VCD another try. Disc 4 FTW! By the end of the show, I was telling myself, "Do NOT fucking cry, okay, you are so not pulling another Tuesdays with Morrie in the front row!"

So bravo, Stages Productions, Inc, you've won me over as the go-to company for big-budget musicals. West Side Story was more than worth the ticket price, and I went to work an hour later humming "Something's Coming" with a big grin on my face. Can you do Wicked next year? The Meralco theater would be perfect! I'm starting my "Kidnap Cris Villonco from Hong Kong Disneyland so she can play Elphaba" campaign right now!

(...And Rowena Vilar too, of course.)
JC got bored @ 6:12 PM

Get awesome blog templates like this one from BlogSkins.com