Laughter for (showbiz) longevity

MANILA, Philippines - Live acts, at least in the Philippine setting, is like a cycle. What seems like new trends are fresh takes on an old theme.

Take it from Nanette Inventor, someone who’s been there, done that.

“Today’s performers must be multi-taskers. That’s what the reality shows tell us. Reality show bets convert their body parts into musical instruments. They walk on charcoal, juggle, recite the balagtasan,” she observes.

Most people may not know it. But Nanette assures you our forefathers have seen these kinds of performances in the well-loved karnabal they used to watch.

It’s just that television was not yet the household fixture it is today. So the performers back then got limited exposure.

They cannot prolong their character’s shelf life the way Nanette’s Doña Buding stayed on TV. Why, the pleasantly plump nouveau riche even gave birth to a girl named Strawberry, remember?

Nanette herself is a product of multi-tasking even before the word became part of today’s lingo.

She was a singer in UP Concert Chorus before Joey Reyes, Doña Buding creator, decided to try her out for the role in an edition of Penthouse Live!

The happy accident almost three decades ago has given way to a career that continues to thrive even in the face of stiff competition.

Nanette knows times have changed. Today, she’s up against younger comediennes. And she can’t afford to be as snobbish as Doña Buding was at her heyday.

“I have no reservations,” Nanette says. “As long as it’s a nice role and I learn something new, as long as it’s challenging, I will take it.”

Thus, televiewers get to see Nanette in GMA 7’s new fantaserye Panday Kids. She also starred in the defunct Dyesebel.

Nanette joins Mitch Valdes and Pilita Corrales for the comedy-and-musical-revue The Juicy Cat Dolls — No Preservatives Added on Friday, Feb. 12, 8:30 p.m. at SM Megamall Cinema 9. The show then goes to Onstage Greenbelt 1 — Ayala Center Makati on March 5, 8:30 p.m. Its nationwide tour starts on April 17, 7:30 p.m. at the CAP Grand Auditorium in Davao City. Other stops will be Cebu, Cagayan de Oro, Bacolod, Iloilo, Zamboanga and Pampanga.

The Juicy Cat Dolls will tour the US and Canada in October.

The show’s title reflects the mature woman’s answer to people who think she’s past her prime.

“We’re out to prove na may asim pa kami, that we still have a lot of fluids in us,” says the naughty Mitch.

“Tataas namin ang bandera ng mga babaeng ka-edad namin,” Nanette chimes in.

She will impersonate a woman forever trying to lose weight. Mitch will spoof a querida and a political wife.

Pilita takes a breather from her concerts to ham it up with the seasoned comediennes. Cynthia Patag emerges from “hibernation” by playing a guest role as Cougar, the older woman with a taste for younger men.

 These character sketches, Nanette tells you, will again be the trend of Philippine comedy. The signs are all over.

“Pooh has his take on Manny Pacquiao. Look at Jon Santos, at Willie Nepomuceno. Chokoleit is now doing his own characters,” Nanette points out.

She herself is developing a brand-new character that she hopes will last longer than the rest the way Doña Buding has. Nanette refuses to say exactly what it is, for now, though.

“I have to register it first,” she explains cryptically.

That’s good news for us who crave for something new to amuse us.

(The Juicy Cat Dolls — No Preservatives Added is presented by Maxi-Music with The Philippine STAR and Manila Bulletin as sponsors. Tickets are priced at P875 and P1,390 with limited sponsor seats at P1,895, reserved seats in all sections. For details, e-mail [email protected]).