Nanette Inventor: Doña Buding on the menu

Doña Buding’s outrageous decadence made everybody laugh at her as we laughed at ourselves. Everytime Buding marched onstage, people laughed and rolled in wild abandon. But Buding is not just a noveau riche matron. Inside Buding lurks a diva. Premiere stand-up comedienne Nanette Inventor a.k.a. Doña Buding explores her musical side in her upcoming series of shows billed as Menu at the Republic of Malate on Oct. 5, 12, 19 and 26.

Says Nanette, "Actually this is not the first time that I will be exploring my musical side. For those of you not in the know, I was already part of the UP Concert Chorus even before I started my career in show business. So technically speaking, I am, first and foremost, a singer. Also, I used to do back-up vocals for most of our local singers then. However, my burgeoning singing career was sidetracked by the emergence of Doña Buding, who was formally introduced to the public on Penthouse Live in 1993."

In Menu, Nanette goes back to singing after 18 years of Doña Buding. "I have no regrets in choosing Buding over my singing career. It has helped me a lot in carving my own niche in the industry. However, there are moments when I really would love to be appreciated as a singer. In fact, one of the most unforgettable moments in my career was when I won the Grand Prize in Metropop for the song Salamat Musika. That was really an all-time high for me," adds Nanette. "But I would like to stress that there is no need for our divas to be alarmed because I have no intentions whatsoever of competing with them. Hindi naman ako magaala Lani Misalucha o kaya Zsa Zsa Padilla or Jaya. I just wanna sing and sing I definitely will in Menu.

In the said concert series, expect the irrepressible Nanette to do a hodge-podge of songs from the ‘50’s, ‘60’s, the ‘70’s, and the 80’s, interspersed with vignettes of everyday occurrences that we are so used to that we sometimes tend to overlook them but are really funny if we only pay more attention to them.

Adds Nanette, "I have been paying tribute to some of the most colorful personalities in the country and have been imitating socialites for the longest time. This time, I would like to focus on the plights of the common people without necessarily maligning them, which I’ve noticed is the trend now in the sing-along bars, but don’t get me wrong. I have nothing against the sing-along masters who do this but that just isn’t my style. I believe that people are there to forget their problems and be entertained so why pick on them?"

Will the infamous Doña Buding be there in Menu?"

"No, she won’t be there," says Nanette. "I’ve just finished a series of shows called Buding for Senator so I think she needs to rest for a while but we are cooking something up for Doña Buding so watch out for it. You see, when you portray a role for the longest time, it tends to get into you at times. And some people really believe that it’s not actually a character you are portraying but your real persona. What’s funny is, when I sometimes go to the tiangge in Greenhills and ask for discounts, they tell me na bakit raw ako tumatawad eh Doña ako? And the funniest of all was when I got this letter from someone in the province offering me a parcel of land for P5 million. Imagine, they really think that I am that rich. Di ba that can be quite draining? So rest muna tayo from the elite crowd at medyo pang-masa muna tayo."

So when Menu goes on stage at the Republic of Malate starting Oct. 5, expect nothing but fun and good music from Nanette, who also happens to be the show’s scriptwriter and director.

Menu is a production of the Manila Genesis Entertainment. Tickets to the show, priced at P750 and P500, are available at the Republic of Malate (303-3529 to 30) and at the Manila Genesis Entertainment office (721-4405 loc. 102).