The Carver's House

Haven't blogged because my mind has gone sluggish, making it hard to work. Plus I've been feeling quite irritable. I attribute these to the nicotine withdrawal--already on my 22nd day--but I've been pushing to keep myself perky and positive. Anyway, the last movie I saw was Ang Tanging Ina Ninyong Lahat , a flick I expected to enjoy because I adored Ang Tanging Ina . The new Ai-Ai delas Alas starrer was entertaining enough, and its dramatic moments did well to avoid the histrionics. The overall film, however, didn't match the sincerity I felt with the first film. Still worth a watch, though. I'm excited to see Thank You Girls . And has anyone seen Love Me Again ? - - - - - - - - - I went to a feng shui event last Saturday. The coming Chinese New Year is the year of the Earth Ox. Lucky number is nine. Lucky colors are purple and green. Keep the north part of the house quiet and the south part of the house active. Monkeys will have a fanastic year. The publishing indu...

Ohhh-kay... here's the first round of info that has yet to be confirmed about the February 2009 run of the Zaturnnah musical. Again, I'm still awaiting the final confirmation, though these dates are almost good to go. Feb 6, 13 (Fri) 8PM Feb 7, 14 (Sat) 3PM & 8PM Feb 8, 15 (Sun) 3PM & 8PM Mar 6 (Fri) 8PM Mar 7 (Sat) 3PM & 8PM Mar 8 (Sun) 3PM & 8PM That's a total of 15 shows. Ticket prices will be at P500, P600 and P700. (Still pretty reasonable, if you compare them with the ticket prices of other professional theater companies.) More to come as new info rolls in, particularly that important bit about getting tickets.

Had a meeting over the weekend with Tanghalang Pilipino (TP) and, yes, curtains will rise for the 6th run of the "Zsazsa Zaturnnah Ze Muzikal" in February 2009 for 15 shows. Auditions have taken place to fill in slots for the chorus, as well as a new Dodong (again!) to alternate with Arnold Reyes. Eula Valdes will reportedly do all the shows barring any schedule conflicts. Tuxqs Rutaquio, Joey Paras and Kalila Aguilos will reprise their roles as Ada, Didi, and Queen Femina, respectively. Sounds like a great Valentine's date, don'cha think? This latest staging of TP's song-and-dance extravaganza will have the 400+ seater CCP Little Theater as its venue. More details over the next few weeks. (Oh, and forgive the shameless plug, but the book is still available in bookstores... in case you're searching for a last-minute Christmas gift. Heehee) - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - I'll be signing off from the blog for now unless announcements have to be made. Thank ...

I've never had a strong interest for kundiman or the sarsuela , so I watched Dulaang UP's Atang just for the performances. But when my tears started to fall during the latter part of the second act, I knew this was one for the blog. I don't remember the time when a stage production moved me so much to the point of a hangover. Directed by Alex Cortez with script by Floy Quintos and music by Von de Guzman, Atang is a story of love, sacrifice, artistic integrity, and finding one's place in the world. Young film actress Guia Almonte interviews the venerable Atang de la Rama in the latter's Tondo home. Since Guia had been given the chance to play the title role in an Atang biofilm, what better way to do research than to talk to the "Queen of Kundiman" herself? During the course of the musical, we not only celebrate the triumphs of Atang as an entertainment superstar during pre-War Philippines, we also learn of the hardships she endured during her marriage to...

Looks like the Broadway musical adaptation of Spiderman is becoming spectacular even in production cost. News all over the web is pinning the warbling webslinger's stage debut at $30 to $40 million, the highest bank breaker in Broadway so far. Just to give you an idea of how expensive that is, the films Cloverfield , The Sixth Sense , and Chicago had production budgets hovering around that amount. (I couldn't find resources on Broadway musical budgets.) Superman had his try at a stage musical over 40 years ago, when "It's A Bird, It's A Plane, It's Superman" debuted on Broadway. The musical was later adapted into a television special. And, yes, Tanghalang Pilipino had already asked me about adapting the Zaturnnah sequel for the stage. I naturally agreed, but I'll have to get the book out first. (shiver)