The pomp & pageantry of Club Mwah

Easily one of the most successful partnerships in the entertainment business is that of Pocholo Malillin and Cris Nicolas. Their tandem produced Club Mwah, the hip theater club that offers shows at par with that in Las Vegas, Paris and New York. Club Mwah’s shows are Broadway type with influences from popular movie musicals that represent Indian, Arabian, French, Spanish, Japanese, Thai, Korean and Chinese cultures. 

Cris and Pocholo have put in a lot of hard work to make Club Mwah a must-see destination for tourists. This is not to say that only tourists flock to the theater. In fact, Club Mwah has earned loyal followers from all sectors of society — Manila’s glittering high society, the culturati, connoisseurs of art and beauty, showbiz luminaries, diplomats, businessmen, fashionistas and even the techies.

 Club Mwah is celebrating its fifth year as an entertainment haven. In its five years, Club Mwah has earned various awards and recognition from different award-giving bodies here and abroad. These awards are affirmation of the excellence and artistry of Club Mwah. It is also accredited by Department of Tourism as a must-see tourist stop-over.

Pocholo and Cris receive letters of appreciation from people who are more than entertained after watching a Club Mwah show. “Thank you for putting up such a good performance last March 12, 2009. I received many favorable feedback that I need to let you know. We are indeed very happy with the turn-out. In this particular event it’s a win-win scenario. We look forward to someday we can work together again,” wrote Mary Chua, M.D. of the Department of Pediatrics, Cardinal Santos Memorial Hospital.

“We try to live up to our guests expectations. It is no joke to maintain an artistic pursuit such as Club Mwah,” explains Pocholo. Pocholo also enthused that they don’t sacrifice the quality and authenticity of their shows for the sake of cost cutting. It is their commitment, he said to give their patrons only the very best. 

“As the curtain rises at Club Mwah, you will witness a dazzling dance show ala Las Vegas, Moulin Rouge and Broadway with a twist of comedy. The costumes are a synchronization of feathers, rhinestones and silk. The performers though born male, look like beautiful show girls. They also do complex choreography with ease. And each performance is a full production number with lights, props and special effects,” said Pocholo. 

Pocholo also noted that Club Mwah strives to come up with three shows every weekend and each show is different from the rest. Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays, audiences are in for a different kind of entertainment inspired from Vegas and Broadway musicals.

One of the hit performances of Club Mwah was the Bedazzled series. The Bedazzled shows were creations of Cris Nicolas who was called a “genius” by PR man Reli German after watching Bedazzled 6.

 “Cris is a genius who made the ordinary extraordinary. Bedazzled 6 was some sort of an Asian celebration — there was a number from Thailand, a Korean flower festival dance, and a spoof of Ms. Saigon,” said Reli. The Bedazzled presentation is performed by Club Mwah’s beautiful dancers called Follies de Mwah.

Every night during the anniversary month Club Mwah’s Follies de Mwah dancers will perform reinvented versions of past production numbers like the Egyptian Tableu, Show Girl, African Dance, Sakura Glower Festival, Miss Saigon, Diamonds Are Girls Best Friend, Phantom of the Opera, Titanic, Masquerade, Little Mermaid, Madam Butterfly, and a segment from Cats.

Club Mwah is not only a theater bar. It has also evolved into a venue for parties, weddings, debuts, product launches, awards ceremonies, fund-raising shows, etc. It boasts state-of-the-art technical facilities and equipment that is at par with other established venues and at very affordable prices.

Susan Roces, Charo Santos, German Moreno, Pilita Corrales, Vina Morales, Aga Muhlach, Ogie Alcasid, Dina Bonnevie, Carmi Martin, Edu Manzano, Marikina City Mayor Marides Fernando, Sen. Bong Revilla, Giselle Sanchez, Sen. Jinggoy Estrada, Richard Gomez, Sen. Mar Roxas, Manny Villar, Ping Lacson, Karen Davila, Ces Drilon and Korina Sanchez were among those who have witnessed spectacular performances at Club Mwah.

For reservations, call 532-2826 or 535-7943 or visit Third Floor The Venue Tower, 652 Boni Ave., Mandaluyong City or log on to http://www.clubmwah.com.