Webber casts 'musical magic' spell at the CCP

Outside, the weather was bad, very bad. Inside the CCP, the Webber was good, very good!

Typhoon Falcon was punishing Metro Manila with floods, but Bum Tenorio and I braved the traffic and the rain, and, thank heavens, we made it whole and “un-wet” to the CCP in time for the gala premiere of The Music of Andrew Lloyd Webber last Friday (June 24) night.

It was an enchanted albeit stormy evening. For two hours, we forgot the nastiness outside and sat enraptured by the niceness of Webber’s “magic music” inside  and what a spell the Magician of Musicals cast on the well-heeled audience (some of them pictured in on this and the “jump” page)!

Shame on you, Falcon! You failed miserably in dampening our spirit!

Left (from left): Rowell Santiago, Inquirer Lifestyle editor Thelma Sioson-San Juan, Swatch Lady Virgie Ramos, Susan Joven and Maurice Arcache.

Not being a Baby Orosa, I won’t go into the “technicalities” or the “vocal range” of the eight performers that included a half-Singaporean. All I knew was that I enjoyed every minute of the show, just like my seatmates Isabel Rivas and Cory Quirino (who didn’t only sing and hum along with every number but shouted “Bravo!” while clapping).

I’m not ashamed to admit that I’m not familiar with most of the songs but I did enjoy listening to them while at the same time I was thankful that the repertoire included most of my favorites. I missed though Starlight Express (from the musical with the same title) which stunned my cousin Dennis So and I in London where we watched it, our necks almost twisted as we followed the act in and out of the rink that occupied a good part of the theater.

Don’t Cry For Me Argentina (from Evita), sung by Delia Hannah, was a show-stopper, delivered with more passion than it was in the movie version by Madonna (as Eva Peron, with Antonio Banderas as Juan Peron).

In fact, as far as this non-critic and simply-a-music-lover was concerned, the other familiar songs were, for want of another superlative, show-stoppers.

All I Ask Of You (by Andrew Conaghan and Trisha Crowe) from The Phantom Of The Opera was moving, and so was Memory (by Delia Hannah) from Cats, the same song performed by Lea Salonga in the staging of the musical at the CCP last year in her role as has-been cat Grizabella.

I Don’t Know How To Love Him (by Alinta Chidzey) from Jesus Christ Superstar brought back beautiful memories weaved by the movie version shown in Manila at the height of The Age of Aquarius (or First Quarter Storm as student activist would refer to that era). The song was sung by Yvonne Elliman whom Funfare interviewed early this year, recalling how that song has become associated with her “for life.”

When Michael Cormick and Trisha Crowe did The Phantom Of The Opera/The Music Of The Night, I thought that the CCP shook a bit. Oh no, not an earthquake amidst the music of the night! No. It was just the powerful voices of the duo that was giving the theater a good shake.

Towards the end when the whole cast performed Superstar, I was convinced that it was worth defying the fury of Falcon that night.

Incidentally, the little “surprise” of the evening was the inclusion in the repertoire of No Matter What (by Blake Bowden, Shaun Rennie and Andrew Conaghan). Is it a Webber? Nope! It’s by Stephen Gately, the Boyzone member who died in his sleep while vacationing with his partner in Spain. I guess it was meant to be a “breather,” nonetheless a real delight.

(Note: You shouldn’t miss the show. It’s guaranteed, as a reviewer puts it, “magnificent music with a contemporary twist.” Performances are until Sunday, July 3, at the CCP, presented by Lunchbox Theatrical Productions, David Atkins Enterprises, Hi Definition Radio, Inc. and Concertus, in association with The Really Useful Company Asia Pacific, with The Philippine STAR among the media partners. For tickets, call Ticketworld at 891-9999; for corporate hospitality packages, call 403-8646 or 706-1580.)

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