Momentous, Heartfelt, Long farewell

THREE’S not a crowd for (from left) Dennis Trillo, Carla Abellana and Tom Rodriguez. ARNOLD ALMACEN/INQUIRER

The last time actress Chanda Romero performed at the Smart Araneta Coliseum, iPhones were not yet invented and gay characters on TV were usually cast as comic relief.

CHANDA Romero returns to the Big Dome after three decades. ARNOLD ALMACEN/INQUIRER

“First time I did the Big Dome was in 1980, for the repeat of the revue ‘The Belles are Swinging.’ It was filled to the rafters. I never expected to be on that stage again,” she recounted.

Still, when “One More Try: My Husband’s Lover the Concert” was staged on October 12, Romero experienced total recall.

“When I stepped on that stage again, after 33 years, that old feeling of elephants thumping in my chest and racing to my throat and back again…returned to me,” she confessed.

With the exceptions of Kuh Ledesma and Karel Marquez, most of the cast members of the GMA 7 gay drama series “My Husband’s Lover” were nonsingers and therefore were neophytes on the Araneta stage.

Quite understandably, most of them were nervous wrecks when the concert was held last week.

Dennis Trillo, who played the lover in the show, put it succinctly: “The Araneta is the ultimate entertainment stage…it’s sacred ground. I felt unworthy singing in front of the crowd. I just kept reminding myself to face the fear and trust the magic of ‘MHL.’ It was a different kind of experience.”

ROI VINZON and Kuh Ledesma played Vincent’s parents in the series. ARNOLD ALMACEN/INQUIRER

Tom Rodriguez, the husband in the show’s title, agreed: “It was surreal.”

In spite of the frayed nerves and flat notes, the cast members soared on the wings of the goodwill generated by the show during its five-month run.

“I felt the love and acceptance of the audience at the Araneta,” Rodriguez related. “It was heartwarming.”

If someone told him “MHL” would culminate in a big concert when he auditioned for the show early this year, Rodriguez would have laughed it off. “It’s hard to believe, but I am happy and grateful for this experience. I am thrilled by the people’s support. It’s as if they were hugging my heart that night.”

Trillo concurred: “The finale was beyond my wildest dreams.”

KAREL Marquez proves her versatility on stage

Said Romero, who played Trillo’s pragmatic yet encouraging mom Sol: “The cheers and wild applause came back to me…like an oldie-but-goldie favorite song.”

After the concert, the reality slowly dawned on Trillo.

“When I realized that it was all over, I was baffled by my own emotions,” Trillo admitted. “I wasn’t ready to let go of something this monumental and significant in my career and in my life.”

Rodriguez echoed his screen partner’s sentiments: “It’s bittersweet. A mixture of happiness and sadness. I’m glad that I am now done with Vincent, one of the toughest characters to play on television. He underwent a lot of pain and heartache. But I’m also sad because I will miss our bonding (sessions) on the set.”

Carla Abellana, the show’s put-upon wife, acknowledged that everyone in the show underwent “separation anxiety.”

Romero quipped: “I will miss playing Mommy Sol. I’ll miss our director Dom Zapata who makes each taping day exciting. I will miss (writer) Suzette Doctolero’s beautiful lines…our staff and crew, and all my costars, especially my son, the brilliant Dennis Trillo.”

But Romero would “treasure the most the warm smiles of the ordinary people on the streets” who would often call her Mommy Sol.

“One More Try: My Husband’s Lover the Concert” will be aired on “GMA SNBO” tonight.

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