Manila Gay Guy

Pang-ilang beses ko ng excited, pang-ilang beses na akong manonood ng musical na ito pero ewan ko ba kumbakit love na love ko itong teatrong ito. Una, obviously, nakakatawa siya. As in. Pangalawa, napakatotoo niya, walang pag-iimbot, walang pagpapanggap, fresh and raw kumbaga. At pangatlo, kaganda ng musika. Lalo na ang paborito kong “Nakikita Ko Na Ang Nakakasilaw Na Ilaw” at “Ikaw ang Superhero ko ikaw.” Nanunuot sa puso ang lyrics. Tumatagos sa bawat hibla ng kalamnan. Galing.

Kahit pa bisi-bisihan ka bakla, karayin mo ang barkada mo at manood kayo nito. Mas mainam kung maaya mo na rin ang nanay mo, pati ang paborito mong sister. Tiyak tatalembong sila sa katatawa. At ikaw? Sikretong iiyak. O, pustahan?

Trip mong manood? Heto ang sched at kung paano bumili ng ticket. Sa TicketWorld din yata puwede bumili (sa mga piling National Bookstore), check ninyo na lang.

Two nights ago, someone asked me, “ano favorite song mo?” I answered tentatively, “marami eh, nothing in particular, basta marami…” But the inquirer was not just about to give up, “isa lang, bilis, ano na nga ang favorite song mo?” Then without much thinking I burst into song…

Ikaw ang superhero ng buhay ko, ikaw…
Naliligaw ka man ngayon, ikaw naman ay aking natagpuan
Halika na sa piling ko, kita’y iuuwi
Dito sa bisig ko ika’y mahimbing

Ikaw ang ang superhero ng buhay ko, ikaw
Pag-ibig mo’t pagmamahal walang kinikilalang kulay o pangalan
Nais kong matutong magmahal ng tulad mo
Turuan mo ako, turuan mo ako…

Yes people, that’s Vince de Jesus’ signature song, integrally part of the box-office hit “Zsazsa Zaturnnah Ze Muzikal.” It was sung by the provinciano leading man, Dodong. Incidentally, Zaturnnah the musical is the latest offering from Tanghalang Pilipino, opening on February 6, 2009 at the CCP Little Theater. And because I’m such a big fan of this funny yet poignant theater piece, I will be once again watching it — on opening night! (I’ve watched it 3 times already yet I’m still excited to be part of the Zaturnnah Ze Muzikal experience. Ganon siya kaganda mga teh!)

Most of the past cast members will be reprising their roles. For this run though, there will be someone new. A new “Dodong” will alternate with Dodong-veterans Arnold Reyes and Lauren Novero. His name? Red Anderson.

Born in the Year of the Ox, Red Anderson, 23 years old (birthday July 13, 1985), lives in Quezon City and is a commercial and ramp model handled by Mercator. Prior to his modelling career, he was studying at Baguio City’s St. Louis University taking up Mass Communication.

His very first stage experience was in PETA’s 40th Anniversary offering, the musical “Skin Deep”. The summer following that, he went through and graduated from PETA’s Creative Musical Theater Workshop (Summer 2008). I saw their class presentation and I would say it’s impressive, given the amount of time they had to write the songs, weave the story, and stage the play. Galing! Red has natural comic timing, of course aside from his towering presence on stage, and good looks that slowly grow on you.

I was able to talk to Red on the phone briefly. I asked him if he was currently in a relationship. He answered, “single for 2 months already. Kaka-break ko lang.” Awww…. And my last question, “are you comfortable with gay men around?” He was beaming, “oo naman! I have lots of gay friends! In this industry, mapapaligiran ka talaga, pero ok lang sa akin yun. I enjoy their company, at di talaga ako mapili sa kaibigan. Basta ok ka, mabait ka sa akin, may respeto, dodoblehin ko pa yun pabalik sa iyo.”

Hmmm… what an interesting guy. In my brief talk with him, I somehow felt that among all the Dodongs I know (I’ve met them all personally — Arnold Reyes, Lauren Novero, and Janvier Daily) — this Dodong, this Red Anderson, despite the foreign-sounding name, fits the personality of Dodong the character the best. Promising. Very promising indeed.

So, tara na mga teh. Gorah watch Zaturnnah!

By the way, here are Red’s photos:

Zsazsa Zaturnnah Ze Muzikal, the greatest Pinoy gay musical ever staged, would once again be running, with shows on the following dates and times:

Feb 6, 13 (Fri) 8PM;
Feb 7, 14 (Sat) 3PM & 8PM;
Feb 8, 15 (Sun) 3PM & 8PM;

Mar 6 (Fri) 8PM;
Mar 7 (Sat) 3PM & 8PM;
Mar 8 (Sun) 3PM & 8PM;

Eula Valdes is reportedly doing all the shows as Zsazsa Zaturnnah. Tuxqs Rutaquio, Joey Paras and Kalila Aguilos will reprise their roles as Ada, Didi, and Queen Femina, respectively. Who will be the Dodongs? I heard Arnold Reyes and Lauren Novero are alternating as the yummy probinsiyano, Dodong.

Venue will be the 400+ seater CCP Little Theater along Roxas Boulevard.

To reserve your tickets, you can call Lorelei or Paolo at Tanghalang Pilipino:

832-1125 loc. 1620 to 1621
Direct Line 832-3661

Or you can contact Lorelei through 0928-5518645.

Kitakits!

Update: Yes, the March playdates are a go. Here are the cast members on the following playdates:

Feb 13- Tuxqs, Joey, Red, Meliza 8pm
Feb 14- Vince, Nar, Lauren, Meliza 3pm
Tuqxs, Joey, Arnold, Kalila 8pm
Feb 15- Tuxqs, Joey, Lauren, Kalila 3pm
Tuxqs, Joey, Arnold, Meliza 8pm

Mar 6- Vince, Nar, Arnold, Kalila 8pm
Mar 7- Vince, Joey, Red, Meliza 3pm
Tuxqs, Joey, Red, Kalila 8pm
Mar 8- Tuxqs, Nar, Red, Kalila 3pm
Tuxqs, Joey, Arnold, Meliza 8pm

From Carlo Vergara’s blog:

Had a meeting over the weekend with Tanghalang Pilipino (TP) and, yes, curtains will rise for the 6th run of the “Zsazsa Zaturnnah Ze Muzikal” in February 2009 for 15 shows. Auditions have taken place to fill in slots for the chorus, as well as a new Dodong (again!) to alternate with Arnold Reyes. Eula Valdes will reportedly do all the shows barring any schedule conflicts. Tuxqs Rutaquio, Joey Paras and Kalila Aguilos will reprise their roles as Ada, Didi, and Queen Femina, respectively.

Watta great news for us all PLUs! Nood tayo mga kapatid! And by the way, Merry Christmas y’all! World Peace!

The Fabcasters are back, and this time, with the Chris Martinez, director/writer/producer of “100″ — the indie movie starring Mylene Dizon, Tessie Tomas, and Eugene Domingo. Chris is also the screenplay writer of Bridal Shower, Bikini Open, Sukob, and Caregiver. He was also the playwright of the fabulous musical play “Zsazsa Zaturnnah.”

The movie, Cinemalaya 2008’s most-awarded entry and rated “A” by the Cinema Evaluation Board, talks about the unfabulous topic of death, and an OC woman’s (Mylene Dizon) 100 raging things to do before kicking the bucket. The fabcast mostly talks about Chris’s experience in making movies (both writing and directing), in the indie scene and mainstream.

So I thought you guys would like a feature on an icon of success for us PLUs — here you go then, listen and learn, mga ‘teh! (more…)

While the world is rejoicing with the victory of Barack Obama, the first US President of African-American descent, I was silently monitoring the gay-related Ballot Measures. In Arizona, Proposition 102 (Ban on Gay Marriage) was being decided on. The measure would amend the state constitution so that only a union between one man and one woman would be valid or recognized as a marriage in the state. In California, a similar measure was also being decided on, called Proposition 8. In Florida too, there was something similar, Amendment 2. All these states were voting Yes or No to Ban Gay Marriage. In all these three states, as of writing, the Yes’s are winning. In Arkansas, people were voting Yes or No to another gay-related issue: Arkansas Initiative 1– Ban on Gay Couples Adopting Children. Again, the Yes’s are winning. (more…)

If you’ve been following this blog for sometime now, I’m pretty sure you know him. He’s a special person for me — that I can’t deny — if only for the great times we’ve spent together. For the fun times, the emo times, the wacky times, the serious times,… this guy will always be a friend to me. Most of my long-time readers already know who I’m talking about… Zaturnnah’s Dodong… Here’s Janvier Daily, making a comeback here at MGG!
(more…)

For the uninitiated, Zsazsa Zaturnnah is Carlo Vergara’s new Filipino superhero — who, sans the magical “bato,” is an ordinary barrio lass, este, gay parlorista. In the upcoming sequel, Ada (Zaturnnah’s alter ego) goes to Manila (thus the title, “Zsazsa Zaturnnah sa Kalakhang Maynila.”) While it is set as a superhero story, I maintain that Zsazsa Zaturnnah is more of a story of love and identity. It has touched me in many ways that’s why I make it a point to feature every bit of development of Zaturnnah’s story here in MGG.

Carlo Vergara has released the first “patikim” of the sequel by publishing the first 6 pages in his blog. Go read! And, Carlo, thanks! Many thanks!

Carlo Vergara, creator of gay superhero Zsazsa Zaturnnah, is blessed with divine generosity and will be presenting the first few chapters of his new Zaturnnah book (“Zsazsa Zaturnnah sa Kalakhang Maynila”) as weekly online installments starting May 26, 2008. Watch out for it in Carlo Vergara’s blog!

Excited na akez!

My gay idol Vince de Jesus is the musical mind behind the Zaturnnah songs that made me laugh and cry when I watched the musical last year. On Monday, May 12, he will be the Featured Composer in Mag:net Cafe’s (Bonifacio High Street) “Monday Nights, New Voices” performance series. Five young musical theater performers will sing select songs from de Jesus’ obra, including Himala, Zsazsa Zaturnnah ze Muzical, ASL Please, Kelly Kelly, Silent Soprano, and Skin Deep. Musical theater-goers should not miss this as real musical and acting talents (di lang pa-kyut) will be showcased. The show will be hosted by Bituin Escalante and Rem Zamora. (Entrance is Php150.) Come watch — kitakits tayo dun!

Mag:net Cafe Bonifacio High Street is at 2/F B3, Bonifacio High Street, Bonifacio Global City, Taguig Metro Manila. It’s in the building across Krispy Kreme, right beside the Nike Store.

For more information, call 856-3400 or 0920-9793400.