Sunday, March 25, 2012

Jekyll and Hyde


One of my much-awaited musicals to watch this year is Jekyll & Hyde and I couldn't contain my excitement when preview time finally arrived. I was looking forward to watching veteran thespian and director Michael Williams and famous singer and stage actor Jett Pangan, who both alternate as Jekyll/Hyde.



The classic tale of the epic battle between good and evil, Robert Louis Stevenson's Jekyll & Hyde is about Henry Jekyll, a brilliant doctor whose experiments on human personality, in the hopes of finding a cure for his father's illness, led him to create his murderous alter ego Edward Hyde.



The dimly-lit stage and the clever play lights immediately set the tone of the play -- light and shadow, good and evil. The Victorian operating theater, which served as the stage itself for the characters, and the Greek chorus were innovations that Repertory Philippines' associate artistic director Menchu Lauchengco-Yulo brought onto the production and this she shared in the press preview, "The show was not written like that but I have an amazing cast. I took a lot of risks and had lots of sleepless night because I am answerable to the board for the outcome of the production." Ms. Yulo couldn't help but cry when the audience applauded her brilliance and efforts that she had to go backstage for a few seconds to calm herself.


The "amazing cast" with director Menchu Lauchengco-Yulo
(middle, standing behind Jett Pangan) and
assistant director Rem Zamora (extreme left, standing)


An overwhelmed and teary-eyed Yulo
at the press conference after the preview

The "amazing cast" that Ms. Yulo refered to are: Michael Williams and Jett Pangan who alternates as Dr. Henry Jekyll/Mr. Edward Hyde; Kalila Aguilos as Lucy Harris; Cris Villonco as Emma Carew; Junix Inocian as lawyer Gabriel John Utterson; Steve Cadd as Sir Danvers Carew; Jack Salud as Simon Stride; Red Nuestro as Bishop of Basingstoke; Mayen Bustamante-Cadd as Lady Beaconsfield; Oliver Usison as General Lord Glossop; Reuben Uy as Lord Savage; Jamie Inocian as Sir Archibald Proops; Jamie Wilson as Spider; James Stacey as Poole; Natalie Everett as Nellie; Hans Eckstein as Bisset; and the awesome Ensemble are Cara Barredo, Teenee Chan, Tricia Amper-Jimenez (who is understudy for Emma Crew), Liza Infante-Robinson, Giannina Ocampo, Edu Briones, Topper Fabregas, David Fabros and Gary Junsay.


Jett Pangan's Jekyll to Hyde moment while singing
"This Is The Moment"

I watched Jett Pangan in last year's run of Next to Normal (where he played opposite Menchu Lauchengco-Yulo and from which he garnered a Best Actor nomination) and I must say that he was indeed very good in theater. But his role here as Jekyll/Hyde is a real revelation. He performed with such passion and energy that the audience felt it from start to finish, not to mention the highlight scene where he sang "This Is The Moment" before transforming himself from the gentle doctor Jekyll to the monstrous Hyde. There may be no costume or make-up change to mark the transition (they intentionally veered away from that) but the great lighting effects sure did the job very well. I must say, Mr. Pangan looked really sinister and menacing when bathed with the red and blue lights.


Cris Villonco and Michael Williams:
Emma Carew and Henry Jekyll's tender scene

I have yet to watch Michael Williams essay the role but I'm sure his version will be totally different but equally effective. I saw him do the Jekyll role with Cris Villonco for one brief number at the press call and they do have the chemistry. Met him for the first time after the press preview and he was such a warm person. He even gladly took a photo of me and some friends on the set's risers as a souvenir.

Cris Villonco is really a good match for sweet roles and her singing is consistently par excellence with the other plays she has done the past years which I was able to watch.


Kalila Aguilos shone bright as ill-fated Lucy Harris

Another great performance was delivered by Kalila Aguilos as the prostitute Lucy who fell in love with Jekyll but was desired by Hyde. Her acting and singing prowess are impeccable so much so that I felt the emotions that her character was conveying, be it love, pain or fear. I last saw her as Queen Femina Suarestellar Baroux (villain to Eula Valdez' heroine role) in Zsazsa Zaturnnah last year and even then, her brilliance was evident.


Junix Inocian as Utterson, friend to Pangan's Dr. Jekyll

The respectable Junix Inocian was meant to give life to the role of Utterson, Dr. Jekyll's trusted and loyal friend. He has long been in theater and was a part of the original cast of London's Miss Saigon and played the coveted role of the Engineer. But I must say, my most vivid memory of him was his role as Kuya Mario in Batibot, a children's television show that I used to watch when I was younger.


Taking a bow to the applause and standing ovation

Suffice to say, I loved Repertory Philippines' production of Jekyll & Hyde. It had the same feel as their previous staging of Sweeney Todd and I'm a sucker for the dark and strange. Enough said.


(l-r) Cris Villonco, Kalila Aguilos and Jett Pangan
are all smiles during the Q&A

(l-r) Michael Williams, Junix Inocian and Steve Cadd

Directed by Mechu Lauchengco-Yulo, the rest of the artistic and production team behind the second offering of Repertory Philippines' 75th season are: Baby Barredo, artistic director; Rem Zamora, assistant director; Onyl Torres, musical director; Natalie Everett, choreographer; John Batalla, lighting designer; Joey Gonzalez-Mendoza, set designer; Raven Ong, costume designer; Rosa Lumagbas, assistant to the costume designer; Gidget Tolentino, production manager and sound engineer; Ayam Barredo, company manager; Perky Parong, stage manager; Pol Roxas, sound technician; Pablito Salvador, lighting technician; and Adul Lasin, set execution and scenic artist.


The cast on the operating theater set
at the Jekyll & Hyde preview's press conference

Jekyll & Hyde will be shown at Onstage Greenbelt until April 22 with the following show schedules: 8 pm shows on Fridays and Saturdays on March 30 & 31, April 13, 14, 20, 21 & 22; 3:30 pm shows on Saturdays and Sundays on March 31, April 1, 14, 15, 21 & 22. Tickets at P1,500 (Orchestra Center), P1,000 (Orchestra Side) and P800 (Balcony). Call 571-6926 or log on to Ticketworld to inquire and reserve tickets.


Filed under SHOWS


Friday, March 23, 2012

HerWord.com's Hunger Games Promo



Promo alert! Comment on any HerWord story from March 22 to 27 and be one of five (5) winners of a movie poster and keychain or one of the five (5) winners of a movie poster from 'The Hunger Games'. Log on now to www.herword.com!





Filed under PROMOS


Wednesday, March 21, 2012

HerWord.com's Mirror Mirror Promo


Promo alert! Comment on any HerWord story from March 21 to 22 and be one of five (5) winners of a movie pass for two to the movie Mirror Mirror which stars Julia Roberts and Lily Collins. Log on now to www.herword.com!




Filed under PROMOS


Monday, March 19, 2012

Gastronomic Adventure, Day 2


For day 2 of our Venice Piazza Food Adventure, we continued the game plan and started with appetizers, had our fill of the main courses, and ended with dessert. From the original 14 restaurants/establishments, we were down to half or 7 yummy treats to complete the challenge.



KBOP, a Korean fast food, offered a choice of either ChapChae (Glass Noodles) or Seafood & Vegetable Pancake. Both were delicious but I preferred the glass noodles.


ChapChae


Seafood & Vegetable Pancake



Little Asia Symphony of Flavors served a choice of either battered Shrimp Curls with Mango Dip or Vietnamese Spring Rolls with ground pork and sotanghon noodles which are both winners.


Shrimp Curls with Mango Dip


Vietnamese Spring Rolls



Old Vine Grille (which I wrote about here previously) had as front runners for the Food Adventure their Grilled Fish Fillet with Lemon Butter Sauce, served with garlic rice and a side salad, and Chicken Barbecue with Fries and Red Beans.


Grilled Fish Fillet with Lemon Butter Sauce


Chicken Barbecue with Fries and Red Beans



As a breather, we claimed from The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf our 8 oz. Hot Chai Tea Latte. Other flavors to choose from are English Breakfast, Tropical Passion, Moroccan Mint, Matcha Green Tea and Apple Pie.



Ramen Bar offered an uber-filling dish composed of Karaage and Kakuni Buns. The Karaage is fried chicken cuts while the Kakuni Buns is Japanese braised pork belly in white buns similar to pork asado siopao.


Karaage and Kakuni Buns



Figaro Coffee Company gave a choice of either a 12 oz. Iced Coffee or 8 oz. Brewed Coffee, available in decaf.



To end the night, we savored sweet but healthy treats from YoSwirls by BTC -- Original Mango Yogurt and Vanilla Chocolate Yogurt.


Vanilla Chocolate and Original Mango Yogurt



What an adventure...a real Food Adventure! From now on, we'll keep our eyes peeled for the next run of Venice Piazza Food Adventure.



The Venice Piazza Food Adventure is until March 31. Try this heavenly promo now or wait for next Food Adventure run.


Related Posts:

Gastronomic Adventure, Day 1

My First Time at Old Vine Grille


Filed under FLAVORS


Saturday, March 17, 2012

Gastronomic Adventure, Day 1


My family and I are always looking for good food and exciting adventure that's the Venice Piazza Food Adventure was the perfect deal for us. Friends from Megaworld introduced me to the gastronomic adventure and I, on the other hand, shared it to my family the following weekend. The Food Adventure will let you sample yummy dishes from 14 restaurants/establishments in Venice Piazza, all of which can be availed within two consecutive weekend days from 4 pm - 9 pm, at a super reasonable price of P600 per person. Mechanics are fairly simple -- just wear the Food Adventure band, present the passport to the establishment upon ordering the designated dish/es, and enjoy!


Food Adventure wrist bands and passport

Since this is an adventure, we first studied the featured establishments and devised a game plan that will have the four of us finish everything within two consecutive weekend days, with each day allowing us to try equal number of appetizers, main courses, drinks and desserts. For those restaurants that offered two choices, we agreed that two will order dish #1 and the other two will order dish #2. We started on a Saturday so we continued the following Sunday.


Happy bunch on a food adventure


PHO HOA VIETNAMESE NOODLE HOUSE had their best seller Pomelo Salad -- fresh greens, julienne-cut cucumber, red bell pepper and carrots, pomelo chunks, shrimp and nuts with a generous serving of their sweet-sour vinaigrette -- as front runner for the Food Adventure.


Pomelo Salad



EMPIRE DELI & RESTAURANT offered healthy and delectable salads. The Empire Signature Salad is a simple one made of fresh green, cherry tomato, black olives, boiled egg and slices of grilled chicken. On the other hand, the Grilled Tuna Salad is a refreshing mix of greens, julienne-cut green mango, grilled tuna slices and sesame seeds.


Signature Salad


Grilled Tuna Salad



PINCHOS RESTAURANT & BAR, a fairly new establishment from the same owner as Blackwood Bistro, served a Duo of Buffalo Chicken Fillet with (Nacho) Chips and Salsa, a perfect combination.


Duo of Buffalo Chicken Fillet with Chips and Salsa



BLACKWOOD BISTRO offered their Penne Puttanesca made with tomato sauce, black olives and grated parmesan cheese, a rather heavy dish for an appetizer.


Penne Puttanesca



RED CRAB served specially created dishes for the Food Adventure -- buttery soft Dory Fillet with Honey Mustard Sauce and Fried Stuffed Bean Curd with Crab Relleno served with Garlic Chili Sauce. So yummy! Unfortunately, they're not part of the regular menu.


Dory Fillet with Honey Mustard Sauce


Fried Stuffed Bean Curd with Crab Relleno with Garlic Chili Sauce



KUSE TRADITIONAL FILIPINO CUISINE provided a choice between Lechong Kawali (with plain rice and atchara) and Chicken Relleno (with garlic rice and atchara), two dishes that were so filling that we had to rest for a few minutes before going to our next stop.


Lechon Kawali


Chicken Relleno



SOL GELATO was our sweet ending for day 1 of the Food Adventure and each of us savored a serving of any two Gelato flavors of our choice. Mine was a Ferrero-Coffee Crunch tandem and it left me with a smile on my lips.


Two Gelato Flavors -- Ferrero and Coffee Crunch for me!



Being full from our first day of yummy treats, we spent the rest of the evening strolling around Venice Piazza, burning the calories while relaxing under the stars.



The Venice Piazza Food Adventure is until March 31. Try this heavenly promo now or wait for next Food Adventure run.


Related post: Gastronomic Adventure, Day 2


Filed under FLAVORS


Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...