Mixed cast in East Meets West

I love the theater. It was a refuge for the lost boy from Samar, whose body and soul were burning with passion and energy, whose legs were at least capable of "kick, double kick and turn," whose voice could do a mean wallop of Dahil Sa Iyo and whose Waray accent did not get in the way every time he would scream "Mabuhay si Juan Tamad." The theater was a kind and comfortable home where people had not much to eat but had the grandest times of their lives rhapsodizing on how brilliant they were and how lacking in depth the others were. It was always in style to "bitch" in theater. I terribly miss the times I used to protect the props backstage like a doting mama making sure that the headdresses were not lost in Mehan garden where it was Halloween every night.

Well, Tita Conching Sunico dragged me away from the stage (where I must have been an embarrassment) to become the PR of the MET.

And speaking about theater, a new production that is going to be mounted soon caught my interest. No, I am not going to audition for it, but I am truly looking forward to watching it. It’s called East Meets West.

East Meets West is a cross-cultural love story. Two Europeans who are the best of friends meet two Asians, a brother and a sister, at a concert. An instant attraction develops between the European boy and Asian girl. The European girl and Asian boy also feel an attraction toward each other but put their feelings aside, convinced that nothing could ever come of a relationship between people who come from cultures as different as East and West.

Curious as to how her friend and his sister make their relationship work despite coming from different cultures, European girl and Asian boy decide to journey to each other’s world – European girl goes to Asia, while Asian boy sets off for Europe. Experiencing different cultures, beliefs, lifestyles and traditions and meeting new people open their eyes to the reality that two cultures, though different from each other, can meet, and that people can learn to accept each other’s differences and fall in love.

The East Meets West musical concert premiered at the Grand Theatre, Hong Kong Cultural Center last August 2002 with Ken Chan from Hong Kong, Kit Chan from Singapore, Roy van der Akker and Claudia de Graaf, both from the Netherlands, in the roles of the European boy and girl. The production was sung in English and Dutch with Chinese and English subtitles.

On Jan. 24 and 25, East Meets West is coming to the Philippines for two nights of performances at the Tanghalang Nicanor Abelardo (Main Theater) of the Cultural Center of the Philippines. Starring in the musical are our very own Joanna Ampil, Jed Maddela and Piolo Pascual and, in the roles of European boy and girl, Alex Brouwers and Claudia de Graaf.

Alex is a singer, guitarist and songwriter from the Netherlands. He launched his career in 1989 when he recorded his own album under the Stock, Aitken and Waterman label. He toured with various international artists in The Hitman Roadshow, after which he recorded an album with the Metropole Orchestra in the Netherlands. As a solo artist, Alex has performed in Spain, Austria, Mallorca/Ibiza, Hungary, Germany and Las Vegas in the United States.

A looker with a warm baritone voice, Alex is very much in demand for recording for commercials and for studio gigs. He also performs regularly with a group called The Unforgettables and another group called The Elements with Franklin Brown, Alma Nieto and Renate Houtman, all familiar names in the music scene in Holland.

Now, Alex enters the world of musical theater via East Meets West, where he plays the role of the European boy who falls in love with an Asian girl.

Playing the female counterpart to Alex Brouwer is Claudia de Graaf, who was also pat of the cast of the world premiere of East Meets West in Hong Kong. The 30-year-old singer-actress is one of the most in demand musical artists in Europe.

Starting out as a band vocalist at 16, Claudia received her early training at the Conservatory of Alkmaar in the Netherlands. She learned to sing everything, from rock songs to classical soprano pieces, and eventually found her way into musical theater. Her theater credits include Miss Saigon (where she played Ellen, the wife of the GI Chris), Saturday Night Fever (as Annette), Anything Goes (as Hope Harcourt) and Jona S.F. (as Heleen).

East Meets West is a production of ML Artistics International, a company based in the Netherlands whose track records include collaborating with big budget musicals staged in the Netherlands such as Cabaret, Les Miserables, Cats, The Phantom of the Opera and Miss Saigon.

The Manila performances of East Meets West are sponsored by the Westin Philippine Plaza and Hair Asia. There will be a gala performance on Jan. 24 at 8 p.m. On Jan. 25, there will be two shows, a matinee at 3 p.m. and a gala at 8 p.m., all at the CCP Tanghalang Nicanor Abelardo.

Tickets are priced at P3000 (orchestra center), P1500 (orchestra left and right), P500 (balcony I) and P350 (balcony II). For inquiries and reservations, call the CCP Box-Office at 832-1125, 832-0348, or 832-3686.