Mother to you and me

She is not your mother and you are not her child. But for the past 42 years, she has been mother to you and me who have seen the movies she has produced for Regal Films. Mother Lily is the undisputed Empress of Philippine movies–more famous, more fascinating than her stars. Unlike her stars, she doesn’t do lengthy TV interviews. Not until last Saturday at the Centennial Airport (an hour before she took off for Shanghai with 50 actors, artistic and production staff of Mano Po 2 and friends like the elegant Manay Ichu Maceda) where Kris Aquino literally hostaged her for a Buzz exclusive. Days earlier, Mother agreed to an interview. She even requested for sample questions so she could rehearse because "I’m not used to this." Saturday came, I woke up at 8 a.m., crawled out of bed like a narcoleptic midnight dancer, and sleepwalked to the car that brought me to the airport for the appointment with Mother at 10 a.m. After hitting C-5, Katipunan, I got a message from Mother saying she was deeply sorry that she could not do the interview and suggested instead that we do the stars of Mano Po. After a couple of minutes, I received the same message. I told Kris about Mother Lily’s predicament. I also called George, Buzz’s associate producer, about Mother’s message. I proceeded to the airport, met Kris at the entrance, sashayed confidently to the lobby of the PAL International Airport, where at the center was the imperious Mother Lily looking young, fresh and fabulous. Using her powers, Kris got her to walk with us to the Buzz set up at the other side of the lobby as if she had not begged off from the interview just minutes before. She kept on saying that she was not really comfortable doing interviews, while Kris assured her "Mother, parang nagku-kuwentuhan lang tayo."

Mother is a lovely woman. She is also regal and has a sense of humor that refreshes and the power to gather some of the biggest names in one trip to do a pictorial and an MTV for Mano Po 2, this time directed by Erick Matti. "But I spoke to Joel Lamangan (the original director of Mano Po) but by then he was committed to Viva Films." The movie, according to Mother, is not a sequel. It’s a new story about Fil-Chinese relationships. "Who among the three wives is Mother Lily?" Kris asked. "All three," she quipped. There’s a Mother Lily in all the characters; martyr wife, ambitious and hardworking.

Mother recalled the very first movie venture she got into. With $100 she bought the lachrymal All Mine To Give which became a blockbuster that earned for her half a million pesos. "I had to borrow capital from my brother," she chuckled. "Who were your first Regal babies?" "Elizabeth Oropesa, Gina Pareño," she enumerated. Of course, since All Mine To Give in 1961, Mother Lily has made showbiz history. And showbiz has never been the same with Mother Lily Monteverde who happens to be the most fascinating Regal baby!

Thank you Mother.

Urinetown, anyone?

My good friend Bobby Garcia recently announced that shows for the much-anticipated Urinetown: The Musical are now available to interested block buyers and organizations for a unique fundraising opportunity.

Atlantis Productions is offering various block-buying packages that organizations or schools can avail for their fund-raising events. Also, in an effort to create a more affordable evening at the theatre, Atlantis Productions has scaled down prices of Urinetown.

Urinetown: The Musical is a hot ticket in Broadway. It is the story of two kids who fall in love in a city in the middle of a water shortage. A terrible drought has crippled the Gotham-like town where a corrupt corporation owns all the toilets. The citizenry must use public, pay-for-use amenities – a privilege that is expensive, draining and dangerous.

A comic tale of greed, corruption, love and revolution in a time where water is worth its weight in gold, Urinetown: The Musical has been hailed by the New York Times as "Extraordinarily hilarious and entirely original... simply the most galvanizing theatre experience in town. Fresh, witty and endlessly entertaining, Urinetown is exactly what you’ve been waiting for."

Urinetown is also the 2002 Tony Triple Crown winner, meaning it won Best Musicale, Best Music and Lyrics and Best Book of a Musical. It is written by Greg Kotis and Mark Hollman.