All in the extended show biz family

Eddie Mesa —photo by Mark Nicdao

We’ve missed seeing or at least just hearing about Eddie Mesa and Rosemarie Gil for a long time now, so we were gratified to learn recently that Eddie will be coming out of retirement to do a musical show.

Talk about a should-see biz event, Eddie’s “reminder” and revival show is a must for nostalgia buffs, who still remember that, in the ’70s and ’80s, Eddie was a fave singer and actor, when his now-“stellar in their own right” progeny, Cherie, Michael and the late Mark, were still cute and frisky kids.

As for Rosemarie, she was one of the most beautiful leading ladies on the silver screen, with her debut appearance in “Santa Rita De Cascia.”

But, let’s keep the focus of our recollections on Eddie, because it’s his time to shine (again) this season. He fully deserves to get back into the swim of the entertainment scene by way of his Sept. 23 show at Meralco Theater, produced by his doting daughter, Cherie, because his is the sort of talent that doesn’t diminish in value, but in fact is enriched by the passage of time.

Coincidentally or not, 2017 is the best time for Eddie to sing in public again, because we’re marking the 40th anniversary of Elvis Presley’s demise, and Eddie was one of The King’s prime local exponents and impersonators on the local entertainment scene. We can therefore expect that his Sept. 23 show will include a Presley tune or three, just for old times’ sake?

Eddie was also a fine and versatile actor, so we trust that his show will similarly allude to this. And it could feature guest appearances from his children and grandchildren (Sid, Andi, Geoff, Max, Ryan, Gabby, etc.)—all in the extended and very gifted family!

But, the firm focus should still remain on Eddie Mesa, because his past achievements and abiding talent merit the stellar emphasis. So, support his comeback bid by watching his Meralco show on Sept. 23—and let the musical fun rock and roll again!

From left: Mark Gil, Eddie Mesa, Cherie Gil, Rosemarie Gil and Michael de Mesa

Poppert’s exceptional musical gift

Also creating a show biz stir this month is rising singing star Poppert Bernadas, who’s released two singles that attest to his exceptional musical gift.

The first is his original composition, “Go With the Flow,” while the second is “Diri,” an original Visayan song penned by Jeremy Sarmiento.

We can vouch for Poppert’s standout musical gift and promise, because we worked with him in the original Filipino musical, “Katy!,” where we assigned him a range of characters to portray, in cognizance of his versatility. And, aside from Aicelle Santos, Poppert was the only new talent we gave additional mentoring to, because we believed in his potential.

True enough, Sarah Geronimo subsequently tapped Poppert as one of her best bets on “The Voice of the Philippines”—and the Ryan Cayabyab cast him in the title role of the original Filipino musical, “Lorenzo,” directed by (another the) Nonon Padilla.

These days, Poppert is kept busy as a member of The Ryan Cayabyab Singers, which performs not just locally, but internationally as well. But, to keep stretching his limits, he should make it a point to perform in another original Filipino musical in 2018!