Awesomeness in New York

Allow me a few moments to catch my breath…

Tonight’s concert at Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully Hall was nothing short of thrilling. More than 60 Filipino performers participated in the show that benefited the Philippine Development Foundation and paid tribute to one of musical theater’s most influential and prolific creative forces, namely Stephen Sondheim.

Rehearsals for the event were smooth sailing for the most part, as study material had been uploaded to a server accessible to the performers months prior—we’re talking major preparedness here. Certain actors would come to their first rehearsals having memorized every song they had been tasked to learn, including the intricate harmonies and counterpoints (some of which could drive one to the brink of madness). After seeing the list of my coperformers— Jose Llana, Paolo Montalban, Deedee Magno, Jennifer Paz, Joan Almedilla, Rona Figueroa, Adam Jacobs and Ali Ewoldt, among others—I knew I couldn’t just walk into rehearsals without having learned my music. At the very least I needed to possess a road map, in order to not look like a fool. Plus, there wasn’t a single TelePrompter in sight.

‘Godspell’

We all rehearsed at Pearl Studios on 8th Avenue… my first day was on Sunday, October 30, with Rona and Joan for our special encore. Then after they left, it was time to rehearse my solo stuff with just Victor Lirio (director) and our stage management in the room. After rehearsals ended, we grabbed some Japanese food across the street from the Circle in Square Theater, as I was scheduled to watch a performance of “Godspell” that night.

Oh, what a fun show it was. I had never seen a performance of “Godspell” anywhere, but I knew a snippet of its story line (it’s based on the Gospel of Matthew), and have heard a little of the music. None of whatever I had seen or heard previously could have prepared me for what I was to see. From a small lake onstage to trampolines, to a hanging cross that slowly revolved to allow the entire audience a view of the dying Christ, “Godspell” required each of its 10 actors to wear their hearts on their sleeves, and every audience member to do the same.

The proverbial fourth wall was, from time to time, broken, as a couple of friends of mine in the cast— Anna Maria Perez de Tagle (granddaughter of famous singer and actress Sylvia La Torre) and Telly Leung—spotted me in the audience and came over for a visit at intermission. The show was a chain of energy explosions one after another, with jokes and gags galore that didn’t seem to stop until the inevitable conclusion. I ended up with tears in my eyes that flowed until curtain call, and felt emotionally spent and spiritually full by the end of the night. If you have the good fortune of visiting New York anytime soon, go see “Godspell.” It may not have huge orchestra or sprawling sets, but it has the hugest heart of all the shows on Broadway now.

Avon Voices

In between rehearsals, I had a session at the Avatar recording studio to sing a couple of verses for a new Avon Voices anthem, “Be What You Believe,” written by Diane Warren. Some members of the Avon Voices panel of judges recorded the song as well. This new theme was performed live at the Avon Voices Finale on November 2.

But first, the actual competition on November 1. There were 10 ladies vying for two spots: winner from the Avon Representative group, and winner from the general public group. I was amazed at the depth of talent picked to represent their countries. It was a difficult competition to judge because, truly, with each lady representing different styles of singing, how does one objectively judge that? I mean, really. How do you pit samba against R&B against musical theater against jazz? I had my hands up. It was way too hard to figure out. All we could do was judge each lady on her individual performance, and hope for the best. And all of them were just wonderful.

Back to Sondheim

After the series of Avon events, it was back to Pearl Studios, and Sondheim.

One of the biggest thrills for me was rehearsing “Sunday” from “Sunday in the Park with George.” Imagine 60 voices… male, female… tenors, baritones, sopranos, altos… all of them unique… all of them Filipino… coming together to sing this one song of harmony, creating a wall of sound. I had goose bumps on several occasions as we learned this song.

Never in my wildest dreams did I even think I’d ever see this day… an all-Filipino concert in Lincoln Center, with so many Filipino performances on one stage. Even more of a thrill was knowing that this wasn’t even the complete roster of performers who have worked or are currently working in a musical theater production. There were those who wished they could be with us, those we wished were with us who couldn’t join us for reasons of conflicting commitments or troublesome geography. If we had the full roster, we probably would’ve had a hundred or so people up there. Talk about a coup!

This night of nights made me feel extremely proud to be a musical theater performer, and a Filipino at that. In my veins runs the blood of a Filipino artist, and seeing all those performers tonight in camaraderie, spirit and voice made my heart and soul full.

To you all at the PhilDev concert, it has been such a privilege. I hope our paths cross again soon.