Onstage’s ‘revolutionary’ opening - DIRECT LINE by Boy Abunda

I miss the good old days when the Rizal Theater was THE premier entertainment venue in Makati. It was the Rizal theater where I revered the divine talents of Mitch Valdes, Celeste Legaspi and Katy de la Cruz every night for two weeks. Katy! the musicale which was directed by Nestor U. Torre, written by Joey Reyes with music by Ryan Cayabyab remains to be one of the best, if not the best musical theater piece this country has ever produced. I will not also forget the spellbinding performances of Verni Varga and Richard Merck in Roxanne Lapuz’s Sapphire and Steel.

Rizal Theater may be gone but today, I’m excited again because there’s a new theater in Makati.

Seeing the need for an entertainment venue in Makati, Ayala Land has recently opened Onstage located at the Greenbelt Mall. Onstage is an 800-seater world-class theater complete with all the works like an orchestra pit, catwalks and flyers and a stage big enough to accommodate all kinds of productions like recitals, stage plays, concerts and corporate events, among others. What sets it apart from other theaters is its prime location. Because it’s situated at the heart of the Greenbelt Mall, Onstage not only promises to give theater goers the ultimate theater experience but also endless shopping and dining possibilities as well with a wide array of stores, restaurants and bars surrounding the theater.

Onstage was put together by some of the best people in the entertainment and theater industries like technical director Gerry Fernandez, theater actor-director Audie Gemora and acoustic and sounds pioneer Jaime Godinez among others.

Dave Rafael, Ayala Cinema’s gregarious Vice President says that the introduction of a venue to do live shows and concerts in a mall is nothing short of revolutionary, using the Glorietta 4 cinemas as an example. "Medyo radical ang dating namin when we introduced the Glorietta 4 theaters," says Rafael. "We were the first cinema which was small but armed with a lot of amenities such as digital sound, lush seats etc. And now, we would like to do the same thing with Onstage."

Revolutionary is also the word that would describe the opening of Onstage which was mounted recently. The opening started with cocktails cum fashion show at the lobby of Greenbelt. Ayala bigwigs Miriam Katigbak, Rowena Tomeldan, Cathy Bengzon and Dave Rafael were there to welcome their VIP guests which included Ara Mina, Carla Guevarra, Jacob Fernandez, Jessica Rodriguez, Bart Guingona, Freddie Santos, Audie Gemora, Chari Arespacochaga, Ben Thomas Kuan, Maan Villareal and other big names in the corporate, entertainment and theater scenes.

At around 8 p.m., a voice-over announced that it was time to experience the magic of Onstage and we were all ushered in to the venue to witness a spectacular arts-studded and star-studded show.

The show was a heady mix of pop, classical and theater music hosted by maestro Ryan Cayabyab. The show opened with a howling performance from Wolfgang. The CompanY did an exciting a cappella number and a medley of Bacharach songs. Malik stirred up the crowd with an R & B number. Comedian Jon Santos did a spoof on Armida Siguion Reyna which drew laughter and applause from the audience. Ella Mae Saison impressed the crowd with her soaring voice while Asia’s Nightingale Lani Misalucha did a heart-stopping Whitney Houston number. Celeste Legaspi and her daughter Waya Gallardo also rendered a touching number.

Some of the theater acts who performed were the Philippine Opera Company, Neo Classic Ensemble, Kaloob, Gypsies, Playshop Kids, Trumpets, Gantimpala Theater Foundation, Dulaang Talyer, Actors Actors Incorporated, Musikat and the Philippine Ballet Theater.

After the show, guests were treated to sumptuous cocktails provided by the National Sports Grill (located inside Greenbelt).