No way to treat Pinoy artists

Last July 30, a rip-roaring show happened in Long Beach, California starring some of the country’s most versatile performers – Malou de Guzman, Eugene Domingo, Chokoleit, John Lapus, DJ Durano – under the direction of Wenn Deramas. According to some people who saw the show, it was Pinoy entertainment at its best. The performers were so funny, people were literally rolling down the aisles of the theater. Music was so great, that when one performer sang a heart-rending song you could hear angels whispering in glee. But where angels are, forces of darkness attack. This has been an age-old conflict in great works of literature.

And something similar happened in Long Beach, California.

Because the show was so successful, one Efren Galang spoke to Arianne Manalo, producer of the show, if the group could perform in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Honolulu and Hawaii. Mr. Galang must have been so taken by the show that he was hallucinating when he closed the deal with Arianne Manalo about the series of shows. When the entourage performed in San Francisco, it was Arianne who paid for the show. And when the group arrived in Las Vegas, Galang issued a check that bounced higher than the replica of the Eiffel Tower in the main boulevard of Las Vegas.

This is no way to treat decent Filipino artists. But charlatans do abound in the US,   preying on honest, brilliant and hardworking Filipino performers like this group. What did Mr. Galang have in mind when he closed the deal with Arianne Manalo? Of course, he knew that he did not have the financial capability to produce the shows. But why fool people?

We got news that the Honolulu show had a lot of people trooping to the venue, excited to watch the show. Of course, the group didn’t fly to Hawaii as they had been duped by this man repeatedly. Why do people do this to Filipino artists abroad? At kapwa nating Pinoy ang mga ito.

We should be extra careful when dealing with producers anywhere in the world, and choose the good ones. In the US we have some excellent producers. And the next time someone by the name of Efren Galang or Butch Aying (who mercilessly fooled us many years ago in Ariel Rivera’s US tour), run for your dear life, remember you are better off without them!

St. Louis Loves Dem at AFP Theater

After the highly-successful performances at the Wilfrido Ma. Guerrero in UP Diliman, St. Louis Loves Dem Filipinos" … the Musical, will run at the AFP Theater in November with a 20-piece orchestra as accompaniment. Some performances in Baguio are also scheduled in December.

The musical play written by the brilliant Floy Quintos is the first serious work for theater, dealing with the infamous exhibition of tribal Filipinos which took place in St. Louis Missouri in 1904. After three successful productions, the material was turned into a musical with original score by Ton Ton Africa and directed by Alexander Cortez.

Arnold Reyes and Miguel Castro alternate as Bulan, the Bagobo prince and warrior who expects a better life abroad. Leo Rialp plays Gustavo Niederlein, a sympathetic anthropologist, the voice of reason and humanism in the play. Richard Cunanan plays domineering Dean C. Worcester, secretary of interior, whose views of tribal Filipinos influenced American opinion. Jim Paolleli is Clarence Edwards, Worcester’s second-in-command. Alternating as Fred Tinawid, the Filipino-American narrator in the play are Jake Macapagal and Irra Cenina. Tanghalang Ateneo’s Ron Capinding plays Gramps, which was originally written for him in 1992 while veteran radio and stage talent Bon Vibar plays President Theodore Roosevelt.

The female leads are sopranos Agnes Barredo and Rina Saporsantos alternating as Maude, the lonely circus fat lady who befriends then betrays Bulan. Mae Ann Valentin plays Momayon, Bulan’s wife.

For details, call Mia at 0922-8321626 or Manny at 0919-8884868.

Badminton for a cause

World Wildlife Fund holds a badminton event on Sept. 18, from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the Kalayaan Badminton Center (78 Kalayaan Ave., Brgy. Central, Diliman, Quezon City).

Dubbed WWF’s Smashing Cause, the event is open to badminton enthusiasts, member and non-member alike, whether professional, intermediate or beginners of the game. It is also a badminton clinic and a play-all-you-can game minus the pressures of winning.

There will also be a discounted sale of sporting goods from several brands of badminton paraphernalia. Proceeds from the sale will benefit WWF’s projects all over the country.

For details, call 9207923/7931/7926.