The Rent is back

In February of this year, the Filipino stood tall and proud when Bobby Garcia brought his production of award-winning musical Rent to Singapore for a month run at the Victoria Theater. There, in the Lion City, 13 Pinoys took their bows eight times a week as an international audience leapt to its feet to cheer them on. The snobbish Singapore Straits Times raved, "This production of Jonathan Larson’s award-winning Broadway smash rocks the house with heart, attitude and vocal pyrotechnics to die for. This cast goes one further than the Broadway cast - it has heart!" Indeed, Rent left an indelible mark on the Singapore theater scene.

Now, seven months after, Rent finally returns with a powerhouse cast opening on Oct. 5 at the GSIS Theater. Reprising their performances in Singapore are Calvin Millado, JM Rodriguez, Michael de Mesa, Rachel Alejandro, Jake Macapagal, Joel Trinidad, Beatrice Gomez, Boyd Tinio, Glory Sicam, Carlo Ledesma and ManMan Angsico. Joining them are Bituin Escalante, who was the original Season of Love soloist in Manila, Lana Jalosjos, Lee Robin Salazar, Arnold Reyes and Agnes Barredo.

Judging from the publicity photos Raymund Isaac took, this is the sexiest cast of Rent we have seen so far. Once again, Bobby Garcia has assembled an exciting cast of new faces and veterans of the stage and screen. We all remember how Bituin and JM, virtual unknowns in 1999, shone in the first Rent and now they are regular faces we see in the entertainment scene. We also remember how Calvin Millado’s talent was finally put to good use as he triumphed in the demanding role of Roger, earning reviews in Singapore that preferred his performance to his New York counterpart. I have also been told how close these people have become to each other. How much of a family these artists have become constantly looking out and protecting each other. It is inspiring and heart warming to hear them speak about each other with so much love and affection.

Rent has become one of the most successful foreign musicals to have been performed in Asia. For those who still don’t know what it is about, Rent tells the story of eight modern day bohemians as they try to cope with life in New York City. It has a fantastic score and some of the most life-affirming lyrics by the late Jonathan Larson, who died of an aortic aneurysm before the show opened in New York. Atlantis Productions has a brand new license with the Larson family that runs up to 2003.

I remember seeing the show in 1999 and being moved to tears. I remember valuing my family, my friends and my life even more so because of the message that rang in my ear at the end of the evening, "No day but today!" I try to remember that message everyday and often find myself quoting it. Like the many people eager to see Rent again, or the others who will be seeing it for the first time, I can’t wait for the Filipino performers of Rent to dazzle me once more. Like it was in Manila and in Singapore last February, Rent is a theatrical event not to be missed.

For ticket information, call Atlantis Productions at 892-7078 or Ticket World at 891 5610. Hurry because we hear tickets are going fast!

So sorry, Douglas

I would like to apologize to my good friend Douglas Nierras, founder, artistic-director and choreographer of Douglas Nierras’ Powerdance because I missed a large part of Turn Up The Quiet. . . Just Dance! at the CCP a couple of weeks ago.

But I must admit that it was my big loss – and I only blame my lousy sense of time for arriving late at the dance concert. You see, I have stopped blaming the traffic. It doesn’t answer back. It just gets worse, anyway.

But whatever I saw stunned me. Douglas never fails to hypnotize me with his work. Everytime I manage to see any of his works, I remember that I have a soul – and there is a God.

In this particular opus, Douglas premises his show around the need for quiet by acknowledging how noisy this world has become. The noise is all over – in the Senate, in the streets, in the courts of law and inside all of us.

But there is a time when we need to run to a place where there is enough quiet that would allow us to talk to ourselves and to our God. And for Douglas, this is what dance is all about. He says that "for one only dances if there is truth in his heart."

Let me also congratulate the Powerdance, the Bayanihan Philippine National Folk Dance Company and the Philippine Madrigal Singers.

Bravo Douglas! And it’s not a quiet applause! It’s a thunderous one in appreciation for reminding all of us about the beauty of silence – in dance and in our lives.