MANILA, Philippines?Some of the people behind Stages? staging of the hit musical ?West Side Story? (at Meralco Theater this September), have a sweetly nostalgic story to tell: The musical was first mounted in Manila back in 1982, with Audie Gemora as Riff and Menchu Lauchengco as Maria. This time around, Audie is the show?s executive producer, and Menchu is the production?s director.
Since they?ve had first-hand experience acting in the musical, we can expect Audie and Menchu to expertly guide the new staging?s young leads?Christian Bautista, Karylle, Joanna Ampil, Gian Magdangal, Rowena Vilar, Pam G, etc.?to come up with felt performances in Stages? new production.
Even better, they can infuse the young stars with the love for musical performance that has enabled them to enjoy long-running careers in theater.
Stages? ?West Side Story? is also a nostalgic trip of sorts for Joanna Ampil, because the West End star (Miss Saigon,? ?Jesus Christ Superstar,? etc.) will be coming home to touch base with her
musical roots here. Now, audiences here will see for themselves what has made Joanna such a big deal in England.
Perhaps she can also be persuaded to do a Filipino musical while she?s here on extended leave. Her good friend and West end performing colleague, Robert Seña, would be the best person to clue Joanna in on the vibrant OPM (Original Pinoy Musical) scene here.
Also waxing nostalgic these days is Eddie Murphy, the star of ?Meet Dave,? his latest comedy-fantasy-sci fi outing, in which he plays?a spaceship! That?s right, his character?s body is an intergalactic starship piloted through space by many miniature aliens.
While promoting his new movie, Murphy recently looked back on his film career, which spans 30 years and a total of 40 movies, He shared that it was an exceptionally gratifying experience, since his movies enable him to play multiple characters, thus stretching his thespic muscles.
The breaking news: Murphy upped and announced that, when he turns 50 less than three years from now, he fully intends to stop acting in films and go back to the live performance scene.
Until that moment of truth comes, however, Murphy has signed up to make more movies?one of which, he hopes, will fulfill his dream of working with Steven Spielberg.
Back on the local show biz scene, Laurice Guillen returns to the teleserye scene after many years, as a continuing character on ABS-CBN?s new soap. ?Iisa Pa Lamang.?
TV soap
Younger televiewers may not know it, but Laurice played one of the lead characters in the quintessential, pioneering TV soap, ?Flordeluna,? along with Dindo Fernando and the then adolescent Janice de Belen.
The TV scene has changed a lot since ?Flordeluna? days, so Laurice?s nostalgia for the good, old days is tempered by today?s realities as far as TV production is concerned.
Still, her return to regular TV acting is a boon for people who admire her as a thespian, because it can give her a chance to show others how even ?just? a mother role in a ?commercial? soap can be occasionally transformed into something special through sheer dint of talent, insight and creativity.
