‘Ultimate Broadway’ in Shanghai
I received an invitation to perform in China’s Shanghai Culture Square, a new entertainment complex in the city.
It has an outdoor and indoor performance venue, constructed to state-of-the-art specifications.
Jaw-dropping
At the final dress rehearsal for the show we’re doing, “Ultimate Broadway,” the front floor “sang” to the bottom, while the orchestra, on its own platform, complete with a red staircase and special lighting, “traveled” to the front. My jaw was on the floor the first time I saw this, and wondered when we would enjoy such technological advances on our shores.
“Ultimate Broadway” is currently enjoying a two-week long run at the Shanghai Culture Square theater, which has a seating capacity of just below 2,000. It stars Kevin Kern, Brad Little, Eden Espinosa and Ria Jones.
I had only met Eden in passing at an event in New York a few years ago (she was in “Brooklyn: The Musical” at the time; she was also an Elphaba in the Broadway production of “Wicked”), and Ria as well (the first Grizabella I ever saw in “Cats”).
Kevin was a memorable Marius when I saw “Les Miz” on its final year on Broadway.
The Phantom
I never saw Brad perform, but he’ll be playing the Phantom when “Phantom of the Opera” comes to the Philippines.
For “Ultimate Broadway” they are backed by an ensemble from the United Kingdom and a performing arts troupe from Shanghai. I sang a few solo numbers, as well as participated in the finale.
The show incorporates numbers from “My Fair Lady,” “Mamma Mia,” “Les Miserables,” “Phantom of the Opera,” “Chicago” and even the coming-soon-to-Broadway “Ghost” —now running in the West End.
Of course everyone sang the songs for which they have made their mark: Kevin with “Empty Chairs at Empty Tables,” Ria with “Memory,” Brad with “Music of the Night,” and finally Eden with “Defying Gravity.” They were all awesome.
I’m hoping “Ultimate Broadway” travels to the Philippines, if only to kind of give a course in Musical Theater 101. Although our own musical theater tradition is healthy and thriving, there is still much we can all learn.
Which brings me to another point altogether. Whenever I am asked to perform in a theater venue outside our shores, especially in Asia, I am always inclined to say yes. My reasons are a mix of opportunity and curiosity—I want to show, in my own way, what the Filipino artist is capable of, and I always want to see what kind of facilities, amenities and other creature comforts they have abroad.
At the Seoul Arts Centre, there’s a grand piano in our dressing rooms (Gerard had a Yamaha, I had a Steinway).
At the Esplanade in Singapore, the Mandarin Oriental Hotel furnishes the toiletries, and there is a dedicated green room fitted with free broadband Internet.
At Hong Kong Cultural Centre, the dressing rooms are locked with numerical codes, and the acoustics are just about perfect.
And now, in the star dressing room at the Shanghai Culture Square, the Toto toilet has a built-in electronic bidet (actually, to call it a bidet would be an insult); there is a sauna/steam room in the shower; and the tub is worthy of Marie Antoinette. There’s also a tea kettle, snacks and lots of bottled water.
The question burning in my head is, when is this going to happen at home?
I know, some of those I mentioned border on the outrageous and expensive, but it doesn’t take very much to make an artist feel wanted and needed. A clean dressing room where there isn’t a moldy couch, bed or carpet is a start (mold can harm a singer’s instrument).
Bottled water, or even a water dispenser is welcome, too.
It’s obvious that our artists do and endure what they do because of the deep and passionate love they have for their work. Oh, we won’t mind the occasional ipis, the nonflushing toilet, no water pressure in the shower. We will bring our own amenities to make ourselves feel comfy. We will put up with a rotting floor that places even the lightest jete at risk, and the pay that’s not even equal to a domestic helper’s base salary. All because of love.
‘Broadway of Asia’
However, I am seeing a trend in artists leaving our homeland for better opportunities, both on the financial and the “feeling wanted and needed” side.
Many years ago, the Philippines was touted as the “Broadway of Asia” because of the quality of our artists. Well, (and I hope I am proven wrong) I have a feeling that someone else is going to beat us to it, and very soon. Until we start taking care of our artists, whether it’s with better salaries, creature comforts, and the feeling of actually being important in our society, we will never reach what we have been aspiring to for decades.
