Rarin’ for the reruns

If this had been a movie shoot, you wouldn’t hear the director screaming, "Cut!" Nor would you expect a second take, since the lead performer and her cohorts always deliver a surefooted, spellbinding act.

But this isn’t a movie.

It’s Regine Velasquez’s pre-holiday concert series, the Maxi-Media produced Regine At The Movies, currently alternating weekends at Onstage in Greenbelt and at the Music Museum until the end of this month.

Aptly enough, the show started off pretty much like a normal movie, complete with the customary ten-second tick-off down to a quick rundown of the entire cast – band members, musical director, and technical crew all included.

White was clearly the motif of the night, as the entire rhythm section was outfitted in crisp, cotton ensembles that matched the immaculately-decked stage.

After her opening salvo, Regine, clad in a white blazer over light denim pants, and sporting cornrow braids (Doesn’t she look like a familiar diva with this hairstyle?), warmly greeted that Friday night’s crowd.

"Since this is called Regine At The Movies," she explained, "most of you are probably saying, ‘Ay, sana she sings this . . . or that.’ But I must warn you not to expect your usual crop of favorite soundtracks. We’re throwing in the element of surprise here," she teased.

True enough, after her third number (the theme song from a recent Zorro flick) Regine put the audience in "game show mode," challenging everyone to guess as many familiar songs as she and the band breezed through a medley of not-too-old soundtrack classics.

As soon as her band broke into that familiar, pseudo-classical string arrangement, faint whispers could be heard from the crowd. "St. Elmo’s Fire," someone hushed. Though the tell-tale signs proved her right, that theme was just a cleverly-guised intro for yet another ’80s classic, Can You Read My Mind?

And when lead guitarist Noel Mendez strummed the syncopated chord intro to the second song, my companion thought she nailed it down too ("More Than Words," she buzzed) – except that it was another smartly-crafted alternative intro to the Tootsie theme song, It Might Be You. Clever, very clever!

Of course, these sparse but effective arrangements are the handiwork of musical director Raul Mitra (Cacai Velasquez’s better half, for those who don’t know. Now if you don’t know who Cacai is, you’re the weakest link).

While not exactly deviating from the typical "after-dinner" concert set-up, Regine At The Movies was made more intimate with the addition of cello, violin and sax. In addition, Raul did away with the electric guitars for this one. Instead, two acoustics in the hands of virtuosos Rudy Lozano and Noel Mendez amply provided subtle counterpoint to Regine’s effusive vocal meanderings.

How much more acclaim can one bestow on a singer of Regine’s stature? Of course, everyone knows how she has always turned out mesmerizing, jaw-dropping performances both here and abroad. As sure as night turns to day, expect Regine to live up to the title she has worked so hard for over the years.

But more than the accolades heaped upon the solo player alone, Regine’s Onstage gig reaffirmed the virtually forgotten fact that a performer is only as good as the people backing her up. And in this case, much credit also goes to the Opera Band (composed of Manolo, Cecille, Sushi and Zebedee Zuñiga) whose outstanding back-up vocal work has earned them the music industry’s nod (and a virtual monopoly of the live concert circuit to boot, perhaps). That night, Zebedee was a clear stand-out during his duet with Regine in a Moulin Rouge selection.

Regine’s special guest, Gabby Eigenmann, did his own version of the James Ingram classic, She Loves Me, after which Regine went back onstage donning a stunning, white backless gown. After plugging Gabby’s new album, the duo sang Cruising Together.

There are a lot of nostalgic ditties here that would definitely warm any movie lover’s heart. Foolish Heart (which was actually the theme song from an early Phoebe Cates movie); Theme From Mahogany; Arthur’s Theme; Gotta Believe In Magic; a Celine Dion medley; a medley of love songs such as Your Song; One Day I’ll Fly Away; and of course, Regine’s familiar originals Kailangan Ko’y Ikaw, Pangako, and Ikaw.

Too bad this isn’t a movie, because we’ll surely look forward to watching the reruns!