JCS: Move over, Moffatts?

JCS as in Jesus Christ Superstar?

No, JCS as in John, Carlo and Stefano - that is, John Prats, 16; Carlo Aquino, 14; and Stefano Mori, 15.

Yes, they are a singing trio, with John also doing drums, Carlo the lead guitar and Stefano the rhythm guitar. If they play their cards -- and music -- well, they can be the country's answer to the Moffatts. Or, why not, a threesome version of the late unlamented Puerto Rican group Menudo (where Ricky Martin started his singing career as the youngest member, long before he ever dreamed of living la vida loca).

No, they don't quibble over billing - yet - or professional jealousy or some such pettiness older stars usually bother themselves with. They follow the Three Musketeers' creed: All for one, one for all.

Yes, John, Carlo and Stefano are members of the updated (meaning younger) cast of ABS-CBN's popular show G-Mik, now a year old, along with John's younger sister Camille, Angelica Panganiban and Miko Samson. Last Sunday, April 30, the G-Mik kids started their national tour with a concert at the St. Louis University gym in Baguio City, with more shows scheduled on May 7 at the San Agustin gym in Bacolod City, on May 14 at the Urius gym in Butuan City, June 17 at the CYO gym in Davao City, June 18 at the Parish Center in General Santos City, July 2 in Iloilo City, July 22 at the Don Mariano Marcos gym in Cagayan de Oro City, July 23 in Iligan City, Sept. 3 at the University of Nueva Caceres gym in Naga City and Sept. 17 at the Western Mindanao State University in Zamboanga City.

Now, you wonder: Is the JCS so popular and so in-demand that they have to perform in so many places in such a tight schedule? Ask the pre-teeners and/or the teenagers in your house and they'll answer in chorus, "Yes!!!"

Those of us who got stuck in The Beatles era (ouch!) may never comprehend how the emerging generation of music fans, ages 6 to 16, go gaga over John and Carlo and Stefano who are all talented and gifted with matinee-idol looks - mga bagong mamahalin, as showbiz-watchers call budding showbiz idols, mga crush ng bayan (heartthrobs of the nation).

They're different from one another and yet they blend well together. Nobody steals scenes from the other two; they don't upstage each other. In fact, they treat each other more than showbiz partners, but more as brothers and true friends who don't envy but truly care for each other.

Also last Sunday, the trio's first album (with Nang Makilala as carrier single) was launched on A.S.A.P., with all three doing not only the vocals but also the instrumentals.

John is being groomed as the "new Aga Muhlach," which is cool because Aga happens to be John's idol.

"He's very romantic," said John of Aga, "magaling magpa-kilig. Kahit ako na lalaki, kinikilig ako sa kanya. If I can achieve even only half of what Tito Aga has done, happy na ako."

Like Aga who showed his acting ability early on (he did Miguelito when he was into his pre-teens, impressively acquitting himself beside seasoned actress Nida Blanca who played his mother in the movie directed by Lino Brocka), John at 16 is proving himself not only as a matinee idol reminiscent of Aga's bagets days but also, more so, as an actor, pulling off an absorbing performance as John Regala's battered son in a recent episode of Maalaala Mo Kaya.

"Tito Aga advised me to just be cool and not to rush things," added John. "He told me about the ups and downs in his career and for me to learn from them. Huwag daw akong magmadali."

Carlo at 14 is also an award-winning actor, having proved his mettle in such films as Kahapon, May Dalawang Bata and Bata, Bata, Paano Ka Ginawa. He's being touted as "the new Christopher de Leon, the new Jomari Yllana," something which at once scares Carlo and encourages him to work harder. Will he also go bold a few years from now, maybe when he turns 18, just like Jomari did? "I doubt," said Carlo who, at the time of this interview, was conscious of some adolescent pimples, prompting John and Stefano to tease him that those pimples were the result of Carlo's secret crush on Ara Mina (his co-star in Kahapon).

Stefano, who spent eight years of his life in Italy (his father is Italian and his mother a Filipino), would rather play action-drama roles if he had his way. "But whatever roles the Talent Center gives me," promised Stefano who speaks fluent Italian, "I'll do them with all my best."

He's being built up as "the new Richard Gomez" whom Stefano idolizes not only for his height and looks but also for his talent and involvement in sports and anti-drug campaigns.

"A perfect role-model," said Stefano of Richard.

All three kids are finishing high school at the Talent Learning Center of ABS-CBN, determined to tuck up a college degree.

Meanwhile, here's another interesting letter from Funfare-friendly Paul R. Mortel of MBLA Court, Malanday, Marikina City:

Dear Mr. Lo:

If I were the owner of these giant shopping malls which house various theaters, I will devote one of them to showing old Filipino and American films (those that were shown during the late '40s, the decades of the '50s and '60s). I think this is a viable undertaking because I firmly believe nostalgia is a saleable commodity.

Who could resist seeing old Filipino movies starred in by Nida Blanca, Gloria Romero, Carmen Rosales, Anita Linda, Tessie Quintana, Alicia Vergel, Norma Blancaflor, Nestor de Villa, Ric Rodrigo, Rogelio de la Rosa, Mario Montenegro, Eddie Garcia, Armando Goyena, Leopoldo Salcedo, Jose Padilla and old American movies starred in by Elizabeth Taylor, Grace Kelly, Doris Day, Jennifer Jones, Rita Moreno, Natalie Wood, Deborah Kerr, Ingrid Bergman, Audrey Hepburn, William Holden, Cary Grant, Gregory Peck, Marlon Brando, James Dean, John Wayne, Paul Newman, Spencer Tracy, Humphrey Bogart, Glenn Ford, Frank Sinatra, Gene Kelly, Bob Hope, Yul Bryner, etc.?

Are the owners of these malls listening?