MiG wows crowd in Broadway debut

A few issues ago, Funfare reported the “scoop” that MiG Ayesa, the Fil-Aussie who finished among the Top 3 in the CBS search for INXS vocalist, was making his Broadway debut in the musical Burn The Floor.

“MiG delivered a splendid performance Tuesday night (Jan. 5) as the musical’s lead male vocalist,” wrote Funfare’s Big Apple correspondent Edmund Silvestre in his follow-up report.

An SRO audience at the Longacre Theatre on 48th Street and Broadway gave MiG a roar of approval.

Added Edmund, “MiG, who has appeared in numerous musicals in London and Australia, performed major solo numbers (Magalena, I’m a Ding Dong Daddy, Si tu Supieras, etc.), and two duets (Proud Mary, Turn the Beat Around) with female vocalist Rebecca Tapia, as a dozen pairs of world champs and superstar dancers from around the globe set the stage on fire for over two hours with their sweaty, sensual and visually thrilling exhibition of cha-cha, rumba, swing, salsa, samba, paso doble and tango.”

“MiG simply shone everytime he was onstage,” Edmund quoted MiG’s friend Suzanne Gallagher as saying. “I didn’t know he’s also a great dancer.”   

Among those who lent support to MiG was Oscar-winner Matt Damon, a friend of MiG and MiG’s wife Simone De La Rue.

“The dashing and buffed-up Hollywood leading man came incognito wearing eyeglasses and a headgear to avoid stealing the thunder from MiG and the rest of the cast that included Maksim Chmerkovskiy, Kym Johnson, and Mary Murphy.” 

Matt and his wife Luciana joined the awestruck crowd in extending MiG and the dazzling performers more than five minutes of standing ovation during the curtain call.

“MiG was superb and the show spectacular,” Matt was quoted as saying.

The Bourne Identity and Departed star and his wife were seated with Simone in the same row with MiG’s supportive aunt, Dr. Ching Legarda, a US concert producer. Recently seen in Invictus, Matt won an Academy Award for original screenplay with friend Ben Affleck for the film Good Will Hunting.

MiG’s Broadway appearance was a limited engagement only, from Jan. 5 to 10, for the final week of the show’s New York run, as it embarks on a world tour in countries like Australia, Japan, Korea, Canada and then back to the US.

According to Edmund, Burn the Floor director Jason Gilkison and producer Harley Medcalf formally announced that the show was MiG’s Broadway debut. After his week-long Great White Way gig, MiG will be joining the show’s national and international tours, with fellow vocalist Rebecca Tapia, a Pinay-looking Australian Idol finalist who is of Ecuadorean descent.

MiG is in the middle of recording his follow-up CD, due for release in the first half of 2010. Earlier, he released a stunning composition called United As One (Kasama Mo Ako) as a tribute to the Filipino nation following the massive destruction wrought by typhoons Ondoy and Pepeng. The must-see music video is available on YouTube (Visit www.mig-music.com <http://www.mig-music.com/>).  

Jinkee now knows how

In case you haven’t noticed, Jinkee Pacquiao is now a polished player in dealing with the persistent tsismis linking her husband, Manny “Pacman” Pacquiao, to Krista Ranillo (who brazenly continues to evade the issue that will surely haunt her for as long as she doesn’t tell the truth, even if it hurts).

Asked in last Saturday’s edition of Startalk how she reacted to rumors that Manny had given Krista (and her family) a big amount to put up a restaurant in California, Jinkee smiled. “Kunin na niya kung ano ang gusto niya basta huwag lang ang asawa ko. Hindi ko ipinamimigay ang asawa ko.”

Ouch, ouch, ouch!!!

Of course, it helps that Jinkee has been “reinvented” by Dr. Vicki Belo’s clinic. She has probably gained even more confidence after her successful treatments including a Smart-lipo procedure that “re-shaped” her after four pregnancies and Belo Diet Injections for speedy weight loss (after giving birth recently). Now, she’s in fighting form.

How she has changed!

From living an ordinary life, she became known as “Pacman’s wife,” but not for long. She has built a name for herself, appearing on magazine covers, getting her own endorsement deals and even being named as one of People Asia’s “Women of Style and Substance.” Jinkee is her own person now.

A complete turn-around from the life she was used to, Jinkee is getting the hang of being in the public eye. Pressure comes from every angle — the lifestyle, the publicity, the controversies. Especially the controversies.

Hidden behind her demure exterior is a woman who speaks out to protect the family that she has built and nurtured. Jinkee remains collected and responds to questions thrown her way in a dignified manner. She handles matters admirably. Calmly, but not in silence. 

She admitted that the recent controversy she faced was one of the biggest storms in their marriage.

“Pero tapos na ‘yun. Wala na kaming problema ni Manny. Lahat naayos na. Hindi pwedeng may mabigat kaming problema kasi maaapektuhan ang mga anak namin. Lagi kaming nag-uusap ngayon tungkol sa lahat ng bagay.”

Eat your heart out, Krista!

And what makes Pacman ‘The Lord of the Ring’?

Just got a copy of the latest issue of The Ring with Manny “Pacman” Pacquiao on the cover, with the inside story titled The Secret of Manny’s Magic.

Used to Pacman being around, we Filipinos presume that we know him very well. But how do foreigners look at Pacman?

Here are excerpts from the The Ring story written by Nigel Collins:

...Manny’s sunny disposition and humble demeanor, which contrast so vividly with his merciless ferocity inside the ring, is also a product of his roots. Among Filipinos, humility and hospitality are the most admired traits, and when Pacquiao told reporters at the post-fight press conference that he thought of himself as an “ordinary fighter” he wasn’t kidding...

...That Pacquiao is eager to share his success with his people, while remaining one of them, is an essential ingredient in the mix that creates the magic. When he says he wants to put on a good fight to “make the people happy,” it sets him apart from so many sporting prima donnas who typically have more selfish motives behind their striving...

...Many people who care about him wish that Pacquiao would slow down, stop spreading himself so thin, and abandon his political aspirations. But that’s not about to happen, not yet anyway. Right now, the Pacman Express is going so fast, he couldn’t get off if he wanted...

The Ring story failed to mention what magic Pacman has with women, unlike the Vanity Fair cover story on Tiger Woods which spares nothing. The two champions have a lot in common: They are involved in steamy controversies and their wives have twin sisters. The only difference is that, while Manny seems to have easily wrestled himself free, thanks to his wife Jinkee who stands by him by hook or by crook, Woods is unable to crawl out of the quagmire, dropped like a hot potato by his wife Elin.

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