Rock of Ages, The Musical

A few days before gala night, Atlantis Productions' Rock of Ages was already 95% sold out so I was very happy to have secured my tickets ahead of time. It would've broken my heart if I missed this show for three reasons: the songs featured in the musical, Jett Pangan and Migs Ayesa.

Rock of Ages is a musical, with a book by Chris D'Arienzo, that is really not about the life of a rock star (the cool Stacee Jaxx) but rather the lives of ordinary people with dreams -- Drew, Sherrie, Justice, Regina, Lonny and Dennis.   Atlantis put together a talented roster to play the interesting characters of Rock of Ages: Migs Ayesa as Stacee Jaxx, the quintessential rock star in search of a most inspiring song; Nyoy Volante as Drew, a bus boy dreaming of becoming a rock star; Vina Morales as Sherrie, a small town firl dreaming to become an actress; Jett Pangan as Lonny, the wacky narrator who works at the Bourbon Room; Jamie Wilson as Dennis, owner of the Bourbon Room; Aiza Seguerra as Regina,  the bohemian activist; Calvin Millado as Hertz and Bibo Reyes as Franz, the father and son German developers; Jinky Llamanzares as Justice Charlier, the diva owner of the Venus Club; as well as champion singers and theater performers Apple Chiu, Japs Treopaldo, Mikkie Bradshaw, Berl William Angeles and Altaire Alonso.


Built around the classic rock hits of the 80s, in particular the famous glam metal bands Styxx, Journey, Bon Jovi, Pat Benatar, Twisted Sister, Steve Perry, Poison and Europe, among others. I am familiar with most of the songs so I truly enjoyed watching the show and singing along "We Built This City, " "I Wanna Rock," "More Than Word, " "Heaven," "To Be With You, " "Wanted Dead or Alive," "I Wanna Know What Love Is," "Any Way You Want It," "Hit Me With Your Best Shot," "Can't Fight This Feeling," "The Search Is Over," "Don't Stop Believin'" and a lot more.

The two-act show never had a dull moment and there were a lot of surprising elements to watch out for. Migs Ayesa, a Filipino raised in Australia, first came into showbiz radar (or at least, my showbiz radar) when he finished third in Rock Star: INXS, the search for the new lead singer of INXS.  But of course, he was already in performing arts way back.  I first watched him perform during the opening of one of the Philippine Advertising Congresses I attended and his mere presence, even then, was electrifying.  In Rock of Ages, he did not disappoint me.  Having played the role previously in Broadway and the show's US tour, Migs was very much into character and his voice is simply amazing!


Jett Pangan, on the other hand, played the witty Lonny with natural ease.  My first time to watch him in a not-so-serious role (there was Next to Normal, and most recently Jekyll and Hyde) and I loved it!  Having admired him since The Dawn, I've met him once before in Repertory and I must say that I'm still starstruck when I approached him for a photo after the gala of Rock of Ages.


Nyoy and Vina were excellent in playing the young lovers, Jinky was super classy as the diva, Calvin was great as the greedy developer with the soft heart of a father, Bibo was endearing and funny as the son Franz and Aiza was sweet but determined as Regina and...surprise! I just hope you can get to watch it to see what I wanted to talk about without being a spoiler.


Word of advice though, Rock of Ages the musical is interpreted a little differently in Rock of Ages the movie which stars Tom Cruise as Stacee Jaxx, so don't expect all scenes and characters to be exactly the same.  Just sit back, relax and enjoy the musical until the end where everyone, yourself included, will be singing and dancing along "Don't Stop Believin'" and probably experience LSS on your way home. 

Photo and poster from Atlantis Productions

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

What is Normal...Next to Normal?

I have no clue whatsoever on what the play “Next to Normal” was all about. All I know is that: a) it is an award winning rock musical -- winning the Outer Critics' Circle Award for Outstanding Score in 2008; Tony Awards for Best Score and Best Orchestration in 2009; b) it is being staged by Atlantis Production in the Philippines as their 2011 season opener.

The story centers on a mother, Diana (Menchu Lauchengco-Yulo), who struggles with worsening bipolar condition and the effect that her illness has on her family – loyal husband Dan (Jett Pangan), 16-year old daughter Natalie (Bea Garcia) and 18-year old son Gabriel (Felix Rivera). The musical also addressed such issues as accepting and grieving a loss, suicide, drug abuse, and medical ethics. Supporting characters are Henry (Markki Stroem), Natalie’s classmate and love interest, and Dr. Fine/Dr. Madden (Jake Macapagal). Bobby Garcia directed.

The play started light with a bit of happy singing and comedic lines. Then the surprises began to unravel before me as I sat front row at the Carlos P. Romulo Auditorium in RCBC Plaza – I was expecting it to be a comedy but it turned out to be a tearjerker…sniff, sniff! Oh, and Jett Pangan played lead actor! I heard that The Dawn vocalist and front man has been acting/singing on stage but this was the first time I actually witnessed it. No questions on his vocal prowess there but I was amazed by his acting skills in a drama role. “Next to Normal” is a serious play yet something inside me expected him to belt out the signature song “Salamat” at the end of the play.

(L-R) Menchu Lauchengco-Yulo, Jett Pangan, Bea Garcia and Felix Rivera

My admiration for theater actors deepened as I felt their passion and saw their amazing ability to cry (shedding real tears) and sing perfectly at the same time. The feat would have been hard for mere mortals like me. So bravo!

I was touched by the story and felt a connection with the character of Diana, especially on the difficulty of letting go of memories of loved ones who passed away. Sometimes in this crazy world of ours, the only way to cope and remain sane is to hold on to those happy memories and forget the bad ones. If this is not normal…then what is?

“Next to Normal” will run from March 11 to 27, 2011 at the Carlos P. Romulo Auditorium, RCBC Plaza, Makati City. Tickets are available at Atlantis Productions and Ticketworld.

Photos from Atlantis Productions