Archive Page 2

16
Mar

H-E-L-P. I need help…

By sinigang 0 Comments
Categories: Current Affairs

THIS is a letter of appeal to all my ka-friendster, dear friends and acquaintances all over the world. Late January of this year, Inah was nominated to join the People to People Student Ambassador Program. Up til then, we’ve never heard of such program. We learned that it’s an annual summer event for the youth of America initiated by the late Pres. Dwight D. Eisenshower some 50 years ago to promote peace and camaraderie among countries where the young people visited. Inah is one of the only 2 candidates in her entire school admitted to People to People (P2P) this year. This is such an enormous feat for Inah in all her 16 years and we couldn’t be any prouder!

Hundreds of youth all across America are going to different parts of the world covering largely the 7 continents in June and July 2007. There are kids going to South Pacific, Europe, United Kingdom and Ireland, North America and Asia. These youths are divided further into groups of 30 to 40 for each area covered for easy manageability. They are to stay in the country of their choice for an activity-filled trip for 20 days. They will immerse in the country’s culture and people and learn about its history and traditions. The result- lasting friendships among groups, gain confidence and self-esteem, get college credits and gain advantage for college admissions and most importantly come back with a better perspective of the world.

NOW comes the difficult part. The trip is not funded by the program. The total expenses is a little over $6,000.00 for the 20 day trip to Australia. THis includes airfare, food, zone fare fees, travel insurance, australian visa and a little pocket money.

People to People has authorized families of student ambassadors to use the People to People name to raise funds for their sons and daughters. They encourage any form of solicitation and fund-raising projects to help in any way for the trip. I am asking for your kind help on this. Every dollar and every peso counts!! To help us, kindly click on this link: Inah Needs Our Help or to http://inahneedsus.bravehost.com.

I wouldn’t ask for your help if my family can afford ALL of the amount. It is BIG and we have no means to come up with the money where the deadline is on the first week of May 2007. We hope to hear from you. Thank you so much.

love, mae

09
Jan

Tragic or Not?

By sinigang 6 Comments
Categories: Current Affairs

Filipino Doc Picks Life As Nurse in U.S.

it’s sad how we are judged by what we decide to do with our lives. even more tragic when your life becomes a national event for media and even the government to feast on… tsk, tsk, tsk.

of course it’s the government’s fault- when health care providers, doctors and nurses start running as far away as possible from the philippines, for not delivering a stable and secure environment for them to work at! when you are given a choice between suffering with a bright future in america and suffering with a bleak future in the philippines, what would you choose?!

hey, there are success stories here in america in as much as there are bad experiences, and that goes for anywhere you might be in the globe. but your bad experiences here is nothing with what you may go through back home trying to stretch your $300.00 monthly salary working in a rural area. heck, the lowest earner in america earns at least a thousand dollars a month!

i salute all those who are left behind. i’m sure you are there for your own personal reasons, selfish or not. i admire that. you are there because you have no choice or you love your family or you can’t leave your loved ones or you’re stuck at the moment, or you can’t leave just because… BUT nobody, nobody in its sound judgment would say, they chose to stay because they love the philippines! that’s crap! i challenge anyone to comment on this blog, to those left behind in the philippines- you’re not there because of nationalistic pride and patriotic love of country, are you?! ARE YOU?!! really?! which philippines do you live at? you mean that philippines?! are you out of your freakin’ mind or something?!

i rest my case.

23
Dec

Maligayang Pasko at Maligo kayo sa Bagong Taon!

By sinigang 0 Comments
Categories: Current Affairs

oh, how does that go again?! Maligayang pasko at manigong bagong taon! there. i thought the first one sounded better!

i didn’t send any christmas cards this year netiher did last year. in fact, i’ve never sent any christmas cards or holiday greetings at all in the last number of years. i am a huge fan of this holiday but i’ll admit i am lazy when it comes to writing holiday cards. so thank God for email and blog. no need to buy greeting cards, no stamps to buy, no writing on the envelopes, no going to the post office to mail your thing and best of all, no trees were cut upon writing this email and blog.

to all of you my friends and loved ones, i wish you all the best for 2007! i wish i did great this year BUT i know i could do better next year!! there’s always room for improvements. there’s always tomorrow…there’s always room for procrastination… har har.

i know we are all busy especially at this time of year, so i’ll understand if i don’t hear from you either. i love you all and i miss you all terribly, that’s for sure BUT you know i’m not the type to wallow and sulk and cry.

i am very much alive and well. don’t get worried when you don’t hear from me. it just means i am busy trying to make some sense in my life and put some direction to it. at 32, you’d think i would have deciphered that by now BUT nope, i am still a work in progress.

keep the faith! long live the queen! take it, take it! walang himala! mabuhay kayong lahat!

(i’m not sure if i’m making sense at all. must be my convoluted mind getting to me again!)

love,

mae.

17
Jul

Time off

By sinigang 3 Comments
Categories: Weblogs

Ilnet_mayburnedout

I think I’m burning out… Between my younger sister’s coming for a full month’s vacation here in Boston, some important personal commitments to finish for my gensan friends and everything else that I do offline- am taking a break from blogging for a little while… Be back with my stories! Any suggestions on time management?! No matter how I try, I couldn’t seem to manage my 24/7! There should be 48 hours in one day! Geez!!

06
Jul

Happy Birthday, America!

By sinigang 1 Comment
Categories: Culture

Boston_popsJULY 4TH MARKS AMERICA’S DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE from Britain in 1776. This is perhaps their second most important holiday, next to Thanksgiving so they really celebrate this day with a bang! As early as the 1800s the long traditions of parades, family gathering, barbecue, fireworks, and picnics has become a way to honour America’s birthday. I feel in a way fortunate to be here in Massachusetts- a State regarded by many as the place in US’ history where it all began, because with that, historic Boston has grown to become the country’s premier place to be every July 4th. For 32 years, the Boston Pops Fireworks Spectacular July 4 Concert in the Esplanade, Cambridge has attracted more than Esplanade500,000 people each year, with one-third of visitors coming in from all across the nation and I didn’t have to travel!! Its live broadcast on national TV also gets the highest rating as the most viewed July 4 event in America.

This is my second year to attend the free concert and I loved every minute of it! The thing is, it isn’t so much watching the concert itself or the fireworks but the camaraderie you feel among these thousands of people who come together in peace and harmony. The feeling of being totally free in a free nation. They have plenty of reasons to love and to be proud of their country and I am envious of the patriotism these people have.

The concert starts at 8:30 at night but people started coming as early as 9:00am. More than attending the evening concert, it was really a day of get together of friends and family, hanging out in the sun, setting up blankets and foldable chairs, eating pizza and sandwiches, playing cards and frisbee, talking, just enjoying the day. My friend and I arrived around 3:15, with our foldable chairs, ipods and food and drinks. They we’re handing out souvenir programs, flags and liberty hatsProject11 all courtesy of one major sponsor, Liberty Mutual. All I could think was, "my, you buy these things back home!" What’s amazing about attending national shows such as this, is that it’s free of cluttering and annoying billboards, posters and huge tarpolin displays from sponsors. Even the major sponsor didn’t have anything displayed in the venue. That’s how it should be! In the Philippines, you get a huge crowd like this- boy, the sponsors are all over the place; onstage, on the sides, on the railings, on the barricades, on trees, any place they could get their commercials on. Not to mention constant voice over of ‘thanking’ the sponsors for making the show possible! Jeez, we get the point. You sponsored a show, that’s not going to make me buy your product!

Aylabrown The concert was great as expected! Ayla Brown (who hails from Massachusetts), American Idol’s Top 13th opened the show singing the American anthem "Star Spangled Banner." The Boston Pops Orchestra who has been performing every Independence day concert since 1929 was a total sight and sound spectacle especially watching the young Keith Lockhart, the most popular conductor in the US lead Drphil the orchestra! The Orchestra’s popularity has grown dramatically over the last 50 years. In fact initially, they were the only performers during the concert and people from all over come to Boston to see them play every July 4th. Their most popular masterpiece is "Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture." Of recent, because of the concert’s massive appeal, the organizers have invited big names in the music industry to grace the show. Last year, they invited country music stars like Gretchen Wilson but I’m not a country music fan so I had more fun watching the Boston Pops and the fireworks display! This year, whoa! They actually had one of the best rock bands of all time come to perform!! Aerosmith’s Steven Tyler and Joe Perry were on the show!! It was awesome! The members of the band weren’t originally all from Boston but they decided to create the band and start their career iAerosmithn Boston in the 70’s. To this day, they proudly say that they’re a Boston, Massachusetts band! I’m no rock fan either but Aerosmith is Aerosmith and Steven Tyler and Joe Perry are like the biggest Rock stars of all time. They performed three of their classics- Oscar nominated song "I don’t Want to Miss a Thing," platinum hits "Dream On" and "Walk This Way." It was an awesome performance! The only weird thing about the whole event was having the renowned self-help guru Dr. Phil and his equally popular wife, Robin host the affair. I think they are a great couple but seeing them in juxtaposition with the Aerosmith guys were like watching the Pope (the image of good) and Joe_stevenBin Laden (the face of evil) in one interview. I don’t Finale_1mean that one is good and the other bad, it’s simply out of place, that’s all. Plain weird.

The pyromusical finale was worth waiting for. The fireworks display that ran for 30 minutes, lit up the Boston night sky with choiced music reverberating throughout the venue. Sheryl Crow’s "Soak Up the Sun," The Jamies’ "Summertime, Summertime," Shaiman’s "American President" (the theme from the movie of the same title), The Boston Pops’ "76 Trombones" and "Liberty Bell March," Neil Diamond’s "America" and James Blunt’s "You’re Beautiful" were among the songs played as the fireworks wowed the huge crowd. What a Night!!

Boston_pops_1 "Every day thousands leave their homeland to come to the "land of the free and the home of the brave" so they can begin their American Dream. The United States is truly a diverse nation made up of dynamic people." (http://www.usacitylink.com/usa/) Each year on July 4, Americans celebrate that freedom and independence as some parts of the world can only dream of it. With all your glory, power and success, Happy 230th Birthday, America!

28
Jun

Pinoy at Heart. Are You?

By sinigang 1 Comment
Categories: Culture

Project1You know you’re STILL a Filipino at heart living abroad when:

  1. the only carb that matters to you is RICE.
  2. you eat the only carb that matters at least twice if not thrice a day!
  3. you eat at breakfast buffet, gulping your all you can eat bacon, sausage, corned beef and eggs with toast AND ALL YOU CAN THINK of is "damn, this is really great with rice!!"
  4. you have Silver Swan soy sauce, Rufina Patis condiments in your shelves.
  5. you use Ginisa Mix, Sinigang Mix, Palabok Mix and any other Mama Sita or Knorr Mix as part of your cooking.
  6. you fry salted dried fish in your backyard or outside your home for all to smell, ignoring even the snare of your neighbor!
  7. you have sky flakes as your saltine crackers of choice.
  8. you drink and or have your kids drink Milo and Ovaltine as ‘energy drink.’
  9. you crave for bagoong (shrimp paste) and would get it no matter the cost!
  10. at your extreme anger, you blurt out expletives in Tagalog!! Leche! Gago ka! P***ng Ina mo! Bwisit! Bastos!!
  11. you don’t trust your postman. you’re afraid to leave a stamped mail in your box thinking it might be stolen or the postman will not deliver your mail.
  12. you have Johnson’s Baby Powder in your purse.
  13. your cellphone is Nokia, the cellphone of choice in the Philippines.
  14. you know all the SALE and you frequent in outlet stores.
  15. you keep two cellphone lines. One for sending and recieving text messages to/from the Philippines and the other for local calls in the country where you are.
  16. you can’t avoid saying OA (over-acting, corny), KSP (Kulang sa Pansin-lacks attention), TNT (Tago ng Tago-in hiding), KJ (kill joy), CR (comfort room), TAN-G-A (Stupid), GF/BF (/girlfriend/boyfriend)
  17. you send balikbayan boxes instead of money or often on top of the money!
  18. you carry a calculator to convert local currency to philippine peso.
  19. all you can think about when shopping for yourself is your loved ones back home and end up shopping for your pamangkins (nieces and nephews), kuyas and ates (brothers and sisters), nanay at tatay (mom and dad) and other relatives.
  20. you don’t care about your cholesterol level and binge on Lechon (Roasted Pig) and Chicharon (Deep fried Pork Skin) any chance you get.
  21. you look for a friend or relative and beg to give you free haircut!
  22. you’re always late and blame the traffic!
  23. you have a Friendster account instead of Myspace.
  24. you save every stamp you receive from the mail and keep it even though you’re not a stamp collector or you look for someone to give it to.
  25. you own a videoke/karaoke system with the ultra watchmacallit with everything on it microphone.
  26. you put ketchup in your rice when eating spam or hotdog.
  27. you have a CD from any of these artists: Gary Valenciano, Martin Nieverra, Sharon Cuneta, Apo Hiking Society, Yoyoy Villame, April Boy Regino, Pilita Corales, Hadji Alejandro, Basil Valdez
  28. you have The Filipino Channel (TFC)!
  29. you’re still a Vilma Santos, or Nora Aunor, or Sharon Cuneta, or Tito, Vic and Joey fan.
  30. you gotta have pansit (noodles) on your birthday for long life.
  31. you teach po and opo to your kids and never allow them to call you by your first name.
  32. your eyes lit up when you go to a Filipino party and find Kare-kare with bagoong, adobo, Palabok, lumpia shanghai and barbecue on stick!
  33. you can’t read maps and would rather ask a police officer or passerby for directions.
  34. your conversations include "actually" on it! Actually!
  35. you see a kababayan, exchange numbers and become friends! (as opposed to "westernized" ways where a Filipino would completely ignore another Filipino or simply give a hi and dismiss the conversation).
  36. you can’t help but say overtaking instead of passing, overspeeding (which is redundant) instead of speeding and for a while instead of hold on when putting someone on hold on the phone.
  37. you bring pack lunch to work.
  38. you have all your family, friends and relatives’ vital statistics including waist line, shoe size, shirt size, favorite color and wish lists.
  39. you love taking pictures and you’ll pose for any monument, any art form, any bridge, any mascot, any landmark you see when travelling.
  40. you frequent at thrifty stores, second-hand stores, vintage (used) clothing stores BUT won’t admit to it!
  41. you eat with your hands with one leg up on a chair, your hand resting on your knee. And when you’re not eating with your hands, you eat with spoon and fork instead of fork and knife and when in a restaurant, insists on a spoon!
  42. you make it a point to send something to your loved ones through a balikbayan who will hand deliver the package when he/she returns to the Phils.
  43. you have your sense of humor intact and still laugh at yourself.

This is obviously inspired by the comically true, "You know You’re a Filipino" list that’s been going around in print and on the net for years. But that’s a general description. This is my version for Filipinos living abroad who STILL very much are Filipinos at heart. I compiled them from Filipinos I encountered and met here. Some and if not most, apply to me!! I know this is but a partial list of a true blue Filipino’s funny yet endearing qualities while living abroad. I invite you all to add more… :-)

22
Jun

Hooked on Broadway!

By sinigang 2 Comments
Categories: On Musicals/Plays

THIS IS WHAT I LEARNED FROM "Three Days of Rain" and Broadway shows in general. This doesn’t make me an expert but I sure do know some stuff on how to get cheaper tickets, be ahead of everybody else and more! Hope you find it useful for your next New York trip.

Newyork_june2006_143 1. There is such a thing as Standing Only tickets for $26.25 for same-day show. You have to ask at the ticket box to know the time they’re selling the tickets and show up at least 3 or 4 hours before the show and fall in line.

2. If you’re a student, you’re in even great luck! You can buy Student Rush tickets for only $25.00-26.25 and get assured seats in the front row!! Bring your student ID of course and a secondary ID. But again you really have to be early in the theater hours before the show and say you’re there for the "Student Rush" tickets.

3. Bring binoculars! It works wonders! The first four rows are the only best seats in the house and they’re expensive (well the very front is reserved for students!) Even if you buy seated seats, you’re lucky to even notice if the actors are wearing blue or black suits let alone see their faces. With the binoculars, you can see the tension in the characters faces, their shaky hands, their pimples if you will!!

4. Cameras are never allowed and don’t even attempt to shoot while the play is going on because that is sooo uncool. Respect the theater and the actors. Besides, it’s a criminal offense and you could get fines or even go to jail- that’s embarrassing!

5. After the curtain call, IF you want the actor’s picture or authograph- head to the exit door at once with your camera and souvenir copy! Bring a pen in case they don’t have one. Don’t delay so you will be among the first in line because the actors seldom stay for long. They’re tired and they’d rather be resting at those times. If you don’t care about those things good for you! But there are people like me who care about theater actors- they’re the real actors!!

6. Some theaters don’t sell ‘Standing Only’ tickets so you have to ask first. Also, ask how many they’re selling for that day so you don’t waste your time.

7. Some theaters instead of falling in line for ‘Standing Only’ tickets would raffle your names and pick them out. They’re only available for 10 or 20 people.

8. Don’t do the above if it’s your first time in New York! It’s time consuming. Unless all you came for was to watch shows then I highly recommend this! Like me, that’s all I wanted to do there! I only paid about $110.00 bucks for three BIG broadway shows in New York! That’s a steal. If you buy regular tickets, you’d spend about $250 to 300 for the three BIG shows!

9. There is one option but also entails waiting in line only shorter. TKTS ticket booth sells same-day discount for up to half the price of the original ticket price. There is one catch, they only sell not so popular shows and those that’s been running for awhile in Broadway. You can not buy Jersey Boys, The Color Purple or The Drowsy Chaperone there. You have to buy them at their own theaters. Tickets available at TKTS are Chicago, The Producers, Beauty and the Beast, Tarzan and the like. TKTS booth is located temporarily just outside the New York Marriott Marquis on West 46th St. (between Broadway and 8th Avenue) while they create a major permanent home for them right in the middle of times square. Construction is on-going and from what I read should be finished by early winter this year, probably December.

10. You can buy online. But I swore I’d never buy online tickets again after discovering the "standing Only" deal! Check out tickets onnline for Jersey boys or The Color Purple, you’ll be surprised of the ticket costs plus service fee!! My friend bought the only tickets available online for "The Producers" at $36.25 plus $7.75 online handling fee! Bad move. They were balcony seats and we were seated at the highest area of the theater, so high you’d feel nauseated if you look down! We found out you can buy walk-in tickets since "The Producers" aren’t as popular as it used to anymore. Plenty of seats available and you don’t have to pay online fees!! We could have saved or have chosen better seats right at the theater!

11. IF YOU WANT ASSURED TICKETS because that’s all you came for in New York, go ahead- buy online. No more worry if you’ll get tickets or not. I’m just saying that Jersey Boys is THE HOTTEST show in Broadway right now but we still got tickets for it buying them on the same day. It’s worth taking chances considering that Jersey Boys is sold out for the entire summer already! Chances are you won’t get it anywhere, even online without paying the high price. The best deal is still to stick it out there in the theater and fall in line!

12. There are plenty of cheap tickets available but as I mentioned, for the not so popular shows or those that’s been running in Broadway for ages. They’re also very good shows and worth watching. However, I suggest you watch them after you’ve watched bigger shows because nothing quite come close to watching the BIG ones and get the real Broadway experience.

22
Jun

Meeting Julia Roberts And John Lloyd Young Up Close (OR How To Watch Broadway Shows The Smarter Way)

By sinigang 1 Comment
Categories: On Musicals/Plays

3dayslineSO I WAS IN NEW YORK with a friend over the weekend. We got tickets to see the Mel Brooks hit musical "The Producers" (That’s another review). We arrived in NYC pretty early on Saturday after a three and a half hours car ride from Boston. We figured we’d check out other theaters and see if we can get good enough rates to watch more shows. Summer has officially started and NY has more visitors these days than any other season, tickets are hard to come by unless you’re willing to pay premier seats that could go as high as $400.00 per person for a show (or scalped tickets at even ridiculously higher price for good shows). Since the shows we were interested in were all blocks away from each other, we decided to split and just call if there are seats left on the particular theaters we were at. First stop for me was of course "Three Days of Rain," which will play only until Sunday, June 18. As expected tickets we’re sold out (unless I was willing to pay for premier seats!!). But I kept pressing for cheaper seats, until the ticket guy said- "here’s the deal, we’re selling ‘Standing Only’ tickets two hours before the show on a first come first serve basis. If you want it, you have to be in line way ahead of the two hours." Those words sounded music to my ears and I was excited. "How much?" I asked. I was calculating, if orchestra tickets are at $112.00. Standing tickets must cost half of that! Shoot, $60 bucks! But what the heck, I’d take my chance. I want to see Julia Roberts in flesh! And then the guy answered, "$26.25." Holy Molly!! For a fraction of the seated seat, I get to watch the show! You bet I’ll wait in line!! I called my friend. It was 10am. I said I’m waiting in line until they open the sale at noon time for the matinee at 2pm. And so after 2 hours of waiting I got our tickets to watch Julia Roberts! That’s only the icing on the cake as I later find out. We had lunch and then it was time to see the play.

To my surprise, they do ‘Standing Only’ tickets all the time and we’ve never heard of it. They don’t advertise it of course and tickets we’re very limited to only about 20 people or less! Our tickets were numbered so each ticket had a specific area where you stand, it’s not the "you’re on your own because you’re standing’ type of ticket. It was well organized.

JuliarobertsThe usher was very friendly with us when we were in our place at the back. More than friendly that I was going to tell her to shut up already! She kept telling me what "Three Days of Rain" was all about! In my mind, I was like "look lady, I’ve read all the reviews of it all right and I know the boring story by heart by now, so shut up!" I just smiled and asked, "does Julia sign autographs after the show?" OH boy, was I glad I kept my temper with her- otherwise, I would have never known! She says "yes, Julia is very kind and accommodating, just today she came out to talk with us and have our pictures taken with her and blah, blah…" ("Lady. Tell me what to do!!") Finally after a long talk, she tells me what I wanted to hear. I stood there for the whole first act. A 15-minute Intermission came. That same usher came to us and directed us to 2 empty seats at the near center!! She says, "these seats are available, you can seat here for the remaining act." That lady was surely an angel! We endured the next hour pinching ourselves from sleeping (there were parts in the play that even the three characters looked like they were falling asleep themselves!) As soon as the curtain fell, I was dashing out of the theater to head for the backstage door!!

Outside, there was a barricade in the backstage door near the street and a few people, showed my ticket and I was in! What were we doing there? Waiting for the actors to come out and sign autographs!! It was a rather long wait but nobody seemed to mind! This was the cake! I would have never known where to go for authographs had we been sitting. I would have never talked to the usher at all and by the time we got out of the filled theater, Julia would have left by then or the guards wouldn’t let me in -not a chance for an autograph!!!

Meanwhile, Julia’s bodyguards were making sure everybody were behaved. Only the ones inside the barricade were allowed to hang around the area. They were practically shoving and driving people away. The guy made some funny ground rules like, "Julia has her own pen, do not give her a pen. Don’t ask Julia to smile for you- she’s tired, Don’t ask her any questions- she won’t answer. Don’t ask her Tickets_2to pose for you for a picture, she doesn’t have time. Take as much pictures as you want but don’t push, if this barricade even moves, Julia is out of here!" So when Julia came out, the whole crowd just went silent. I’m not sure if it was because of what the bodyguard said, I think it was more of a shock, mouth agape in a state of amazement that THE Julia Roberts is in fact in our midst! I was star-struck!! To quote Hugh Grant in Notting Hill, "it was surreal but nice!" She looked almost ‘mortal’ in gray shirt and striped gray pants and flipflops! She signed about 5 playbill (the play’s souvenir program) in my side and she was gone! PaulruddJust like that, stayed about a minute on each side to sign autographs! And not even her own signature!! She never signs her own name in autographs, she just scribbles- so we all got different scribbles of Julia but we were happy!! Damn, this stupid phone cameras!! I was fumbling with it and panicking that I won’t get good shots of her. See my friend had to get our digital cameras because we were asked to deposit them before the show. By the time he got it, Julia was gone!! We were only able to get Paul Rudd’s pics in good quality. Bradley Cooper didn’t even show up!!! Paul Rudd actually stopped and smiled for me in my phone camera! He was so nice, stayed and signed (in his own name!) and chatted with the group.

Satisfied with our first day, my friend and I took an early start Sunday morning to conquer the unconquerable, the most popular show in broadway this season- The Jersey Boys! We went to the theater 3 times on saturday to see if there are available seats for the Sunday show or if somebody cancelled out. The line was always long there and the same answer, "we’re sold out, try tomorrow!" So we did. Crazy as we were, we went to check the theater at 9am! Wow, three people were already in the seemingly abandoned street- sitting by the theater. It is going to be a looong day for us. We talked ourselves in for a quick breakfast near the theater. At 9:30 I asked my friend to go and fall in line while I finisheJerseyboys_2d breakfast. I didn’t want to take any chances, slow eater as I am, that by the time I finish- ten people are already in line! We were 7th and 8th in the line!

  As the time progressed, more and more people were showing up! Around 11am, the ticket guy separated the "Student Rush" and "Standing Only" group. The ticket center was about to open. They accommodated 12 students, no more and seven, SEVEN "standing only" tickets!! We were 2 and 3. We bought our tickets at 1pm!! It was fun, insane and ludicrous! But we got in! We had a fabulous time standing! And did the same thing head for the door as soon as it was over and got myself an autograph and a picture of the BIGGEST MAN IN BROADWAY this year! If you’re a theatre buff like I’m becoming to be, be smart- go for the standing only or student rush tickets. You can stretch your one orchestra ticket easy to watching 3 broadway shows in the end! I can’t wait for my next Broadway experience and you bet, I’ll be waiting in line!

22
Jun

Oh Frankie Valli, You’re Just Too Good Be True!

By sinigang 4 Comments
Categories: On Musicals/Plays

Johnllyod CAN’T TAKE MY EYES OFF YOU. I wanna hold you so much! Where were you all my life? I might just as well be in love with the real Frankie Valli, only he’s 69 years old now. BUT I am currently in love with his music and John Lloyd (no, not cruz!) Young- 2006′ Tony Awards Best Actor in a Broadway Musical.

JERSEY BOYS is Broadway’s newest No.1 musical hit and twentysomething John Lloyd Young is Broadway’s newest musical sensation! To say that the show is phenomenal is simply an understatement! There are no words to describe it. The performers are superb, memorable and perfect in their roles! The story is touching and inspiring! Clever and unbelievable! No question it won this year’s Best Musical, Best Lighting Design, Best Actor and Best Featured Actor in the recently concluded Tony Awards, the highest coveted award in Theater. It is what Oscars is in the movies.

JerseylineJohnJersey Boys is the Story of Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons. This group along with the Beach Boys were perhaps the only American groups to have survived the British Invasion of The Beatles in 1964. They sold over 100 million records worldwide making them the most successful boy band in rock and roll history. In 1990, The Four Seasons are inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. I know you don’t know him and his group if you were born after the 70’s. I didn’t know him or the group either. But you’d be surprised as I am to know that majority of his songs are probably songs you love and listen to all the time. "Oh What a Night," "Big Girls Don’t Cry," "Walk Like a Man," "Dawn (Go Away)," "Stay," "Let’s Hang On to What We’ve Got,""Bye Bye baby," "C’mon Marianne," "Working My Way Back To You," "Who Loves You," "Fallen Angel," "Sherry," "Grease," "Can’t Take My Eyes Off You," "My Eyes Adored You" are just among his and the group’s hits! All those songs powered by a great storyline and magnificent cast make it the best Broadway show to watch this season.  It’s the music industry meeting the Sopranos and Goodfellas or the Godfather, put comedy and drama into it, then you have a sure winner! The Jersey Boys (2005 Original Broadway Cast) CAST RECORDING is a must-have cd to add to your collection even if you haven’t seen the show! But hey, if you happen to be in New York and have only one show to watch, make it this one!

Jersey Boys. The Story of Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons
August Wilson Theater
245 West 52nd Street
New York City
http://www.jerseyboysbroadway.com/
http://www.broadway.com/gen/Show.aspx?si=514165
Date opened: November 2005

22
Jun

In Julia Roberts’ Defense: A Fan’s Dissection of “Three Days of Rain”

By sinigang 0 Comments
Categories: On Musicals/Plays

PricelessBY SOME UTTER LUCK, I found myself in Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre at 242 West 45th Street in New York June 17, 2006 for the matinee show of "Three Days of Rain." There are over 40 competing Broadway and off-Broadway performances twice a day in NYC’s Theatre District. Obviously, musicals are more lively and entertaining because of its music, props, costume changes, lights and dances. Plays on the other hand are restricted in one setting with monologues and dialogues. You have to be all ears to understand what is going on in a play. With that, I wouldn’t have chosen to watch a play over a musical. With the exception that it is THE Julia Roberts playing the female lead in the play "Three Days of Rain."

I observed every nook and cranny of the packed imposing theatre. The audience were a mix of young and old, affluent and impoverished like me and the in-betweens! I stood there with eager anticipation, with knots in my stomach, anxious as though I was a relative or a family of one of the performers, praying that he/she may not forget lines or trip on stage. Close. I am a Julia Roberts fan since I was 15, watching her earlier forgettable films Mystic Pizza, Steel Magnolias and Flatliners. Then came Pretty Woman and Dying Young. I was hooked. Then came Stepmom, My Best Friend’s Wedding, Runaway Bride, Notting Hill and Erin Brockovich, at this point I thought she is the ultimate movie star! She is a goddess, perfect in every way, and ought to be named the greatest movie actress of all time!!

I have every reason to be nervous seeing her that afternoon. The snobby critics of Theater weren’t very kind to Ms. Julia Roberts’ performances. They tried to destroy her and I can only hope she will try theatre again someday soon and won’t give up Broadway all together. The perplexity of it all was that, even with the negative comments people were drawn to the show with sold out tickets for the entire 12-week engagement and even the critic of all critic couldn’t help but admire the unique beauty in front of them. They were star-struck like everybody else.

This is her first time. She learns that in this form of acting, it isn’t about star power but it is all about stage presence and connecting with a live audience. Judging from what I actually saw, she has quite a ways to go in stage acting. In this humbling performance, I am awed almost pained to see my Julia Roberts not knowing what to do with her body, so oftentimes she just stands there stiffly. She struggles over her lines with an unsure, uptight posture, twitchy hands, tensed voice that some lines are almost inaudible to hear as she croaks to deliver her lines from memory without intensity and gusto. The only real intensity came not from the ongoing drama on stage but from the bond she has long established with her fans. In that sense, she connected. It wasn’t out of empathy or shame for her from the audience but like family, her fans not only adored her but respected her even more for trying what could be the greatest challenge of her career- performing before a live audience, without room for error- no soft lights to accentuate her face, no take 2 or 3 if she forgets a line, no fancy props or dress change. It was just her natural, beautiful in an uncanny way face and the audience.

I’d like to say that Ms. Robert’s performance isn’t entirely her fault. I’m blaming director Joe Montello who proved that Ms. Roberts is just way too big of a star for him to handle that he doesn’t know how to utilize her talent for her to shine. Also that she is just way too big of an actress for this low-key, shady play of Richard Greenberg. It is a deep, emotional, funny story. I would have enjoyed this better reading not watching it in a play. I can’t imagine now how they could turn this into an exciting, gripping movie as rights for a movie has already been sold by Greenberg. Even Julia Roberts couldn’t save this play and that’s probably how far it would go in terms of Broadway showing.

The two other movie stars having had Broadway experiences in the past came out as the better performers, showing a little bit of confidence onstage and really connected with the audience in a theatrical experience way- not the kind of star-fan connection between Ms. Roberts and me. Paul Rudd and Bradley Cooper shined in a way Julia didn’t in Act I. The very dramatic and realistic rainstorm outshone all three in Act II.

I still have lingering questions for Julia though. Why oh why, did you choose this not-so particularly absorbing play as your Broadway baptism of fire?! What were you thinking? Didn’t you think you’d be better off as a heroine in a light romantic-comedy play than as a nervous-wreck character with complexities in life? As a heroine you’d be memorable and charming and comfortable instead you were this insignificant character in this tangled web of three players. You can get away with that in the movies but being a character in a play asks for much more than you could have given at that time. But I am with you. I will be here for your next Broadway show. Suffice it to say that I am a Julia Roberts fan and will always be a Julia Roberts fan regardless of how she fared in "Three Days of Rain."

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