The Lettermen: For our next number, we give every one of you … a photo op

The Lettermen

An hour into their recent gig at the Newport Theater in Resorts World Manila, The Lettermen launched into the “Camera Portion,” inviting audience members to the stage for individual photo-ops. Surprise!

Initial reluctance (shyness?) soon melted into audacity. Half the hall, it seemed, took up the challenge (theater capacity is 1,800). Those who were not already onstage in a special section stepped down from their seats lugging cameras, and posed with the guys one by one—they were not in a hurry, either. Tony Butala, Donovan Tea and Bobby Poynton (in blue suits) sang through it all, for the next 40 minutes.

And then, all too suddenly, it was time to resume the music-making in earnest. But not before Butala announced, “We will be outside the theater later to sing to everyone of you who didn’t get up here.” Ovation’s next foreign act would be hard-pressed to upstage these absolute crowd-pleasers.