Bituin Escalante dazzles in sound check video gone viral

The magnificent, effervescent, heaven-sent and now viral BITUIN Escalante. INQUIRER file

All great things must come to an end, but a superstar and her talent will always shine bright.

As “50 Shades! The Musical Parody” approaches its final weekend, footage of award-winning performer Bituin Escalante taken during a recent sound check has gone viral.

Escalante, who plays Carol in the hilariously naughty satire of “Fifty Shades of Grey,” stars in an online video posted on Facebook by the show’s pianist, Daphne Cabaguio Jocson. In the three-minute clipping, Bituin belts out a powerful rendition of “Minsan ang Minahal ay Ako” from the local stage play “Katy”, originally sung by OPM legend Celeste Legaspi. Since it was posted last March 13, the clip has garnered more than 102,000 views and more than 1000 shares on social media, with the numbers growing by the minute.

“Everyone was just dumbfounded,” writes Jocson. “Even our American cast who couldn’t understand a single word were just in awe and some were even in tears.”

Escalante is no stranger to the limelight. She is best known for her rendition of “Kung Ako Nalang Sana,” which won the ABS-CBN Himig Handog Love Songs Competition in 2002 and earned her a Best Interpreter award. As a stage performer, she has been nominated several times for Best Featured Actress in a Musical, and recently won as Outstanding Female Featured Performance in a Musical for “Priscilla Queen of the Desert” at the Philstage’s Gawad Buhay Awards.

As one of the book club ladies in “50 Shades! The Musical Parody,” she is able to bring the house down in uproarious laughter night after night while keeping fans and critics alike in sheer awe or her majestic voice and acting talent. Fred Hawson, a member of the Gawad Buhay Award Jury, describes her as a scene-stealer.

Bituin Escalante singing “Minsan ang Minahal Ay Ako” from the musical “Katy” in a video that has gone viral. Bituin sang it during a sound check of the ongoing “50 Shades! The Musical Parody” in which she is part of the main cast.

“As the depressed and repressed housewife Carol, Escalante would delight us with her comic antics,” describes Hawson. “Especially when Carol “blooms” towards the end, aggressively engaging a young guy from the audience.”

Don’t miss Escalante, truly one of the best theater actresses today, as the Manila leg of “50 Shades! The Musical Parody” wraps up production at the Carlos P. Romulo Auditorium of RCBC Plaza in Makati City. The final performance schedule is as follows:

• Friday, March 18 at 8 p.m.
• Saturday, March 19 at 5 p.m. and 8 p.m.
• Sunday, March 20 at p.m., 5 p.m., and 8 p.m.

Tickets for “50 Shades! The Musical Parody” are available from Ticketworld, TicketNet, and SM Tickets. For more information on the show, visit www.50shadesmanila.com or call (02) 470 6956. This show is not associated with, endorsed, or authorized by E.L. James or Vintage Books. It is recommended for mature audiences only, ages 18 and above.

“50 Shades! The Musical Parody” is presented by Vivre Fort Entertainment and 9 Works Theatrical in cooperation with Star World, FOX, FOX Filipino, ePLUS Tap to Pay, David’s Salon, Fitness First, Victoria Court, MAC Cosmetics, ABS-CBN, MYX, Lifestyle Channel, Jeepney TV, Cinema One, Philippine Daily Inquirer, Home Radio 97.9, Mellow 94.7, 106.7 Energy FM, Luna Films, Felicity Images, and Philippine Entertainment Portal.