Bituin continues to shine

She is, of course, one of the most powerful voices in the music scene today. She sizzles onstage with exotic, earthy sexiness and a saucy attitude that is utterly engaging. And then, of course that voice – a husky alto that reminds one of smoky bars. It starts at the lower register, rising to a song’s melodic highs with both bravura and grace.

So thrilling a music artist is Bituin Escalante that it comes as no surprise to her growing public that she is often in demand by radio broadcast companies to headline the regular concerts they put together for their sponsors and listeners. These, on top of a seemingly never-ending stream of shows in music lounges and halls.

What is surprising is that despite the increasing demands in her career in mainstream entertainment, she never fails to make time for theater – and never mind if the pay for doing an entire run is considerably less than what she could make in one concert appearance.

"But there is nothing quite like doing theater," says Bituin, who has done Rent – both the original and the recent restaging – and Jesus Christ Superstar. "The atmosphere is totally different: your proximity to the audience, the long rehearsal hours that spawn relationships, working on great materials, the opportunity for instant gratification or, conversely, mortification if you’re having a particularly bad night – all these make theater so thrilling to do. And that’s why I keep coming back to theater even with my busy schedule."

Indeed, that is what Bituin will be doing in July, when she joins Michael de Mesa and Jett Pangan of the rock-music legend The Dawn to bring to Manila tick tick...BOOM!, the final musical in the brief but dazzling theatrical career of Rent author Jonathan Larson.

Atlantis Productions will premiere the highly-acclaimed musical at the Carlos P. Romulo Theater in RCBC Plaza, Makati City, under the direction of Bobby Garcia. Recalling much of the comical but searing anguish of the Pulitzer Prize-winning Rent, the posthumous Larson musical is a three-character meditation on life and failure – and man’s struggle to overcome it.

"It has Larson written all over it. It poses the choice: ‘Compromise or Persevere,’ something that we continually struggle with," says Bituin of the musical. Of course, with her star in an inexorable upward trajectory, it may be a bit difficult to imagine this dazzling gifted artist still dealing with such issues, but as she maintains, "No one ever stops having feelings of inadequacy. I have those feelings constantly. I guess the best way to deal with it is use it as motivation to just get better and better. At least you never get complacent. I guess I just have to learn not to let it get the better of me."

Given the acclaim that she continues to reap as a much sought-after music artist, Bituin Escalante is definitely not allowing feeling of inadequacy overcome her.

Tick tick...BOOM!, a musical by Jonathan Larson with Proof’s David Auburn as script consultant, is produced by Atlantis Productions and directed by Bobby Garcia. It opens at the Carlos P. Romulo Theater in RCBC Plaza, Makati City on July. Call tel. no. 8927078 for more details.

Glad tidings

Good news deserves space. And good news came to me in the middle of traffic in EDSA. President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo was on air in her radio program. She was talking about more than 800,000 jobs created in the agriculture sector within 12 months. In the President’s radio program, Panawagan ng Pangulo, she also talked about the Malmar Dam in Cotabato City being used as main source of irrigation for 5,000 hectares of land. She also talked about over a thousand rolling stores rolling around the country, selling basic commodities at lower prices. More housing lands according to her are being distributed to the poor. I just hope she meets her targets which are attainable according to Housing czar Mike Defensor, whom I had a private conversation with a couple of weeks ago. The cars in EDSA were moving like an endless line of tubercular snails and the President was now talking about health insurance and free medical and health services available to more people today. Paloma, my highly- politicized manicurist just recently reported to me that for the first time in her life, she’s been able to avail of free medicines in their barangay. Paloma, who was a rabid Erap supporter has already defected to the administration. The President also talked about the government’s anti-jueteng campaign, emphasizing that jueteng must be eradicated eventually. I was listening to the President and it was around 7:30 a.m. last Monday over DZRB, on my way to Lipa for my weekly trip to my simple, quiet sanctuary where there are no cameras and lights – only flowers, bamboos and my Sto. Niño smiling, always!