What's in store in tonight's Urian?

The first Gawad Urian of the Manunuri ng Pelikulang Pilipino was staged in late February 1977 at the Little Theater of the Cultural Center of the Philippines. It was said to have been simple, but elegant with the singers of that time  Pilita Corrales, Celeste Legaspi (at her very peak), etc., providing entertainment numbers.

There was no telecast though. In fact, it wasn’t until 1980 that the rites were shown on TV, courtesy of Armida Siguion-Reyna, who bought the rights for the very princely sum then of P25,000.

The role of Urian show producer changed hands the past 34 years. There were grand shows, mostly Filipiniana in theme, but the past three years saw once more simple ceremonies back at the CCP Little Theater. Of course, nothing can beat the 25th Urian Awards at the Araneta Coliseum. Its producer, APT Entertainment (sister company of TAPE, Inc. that produces Eat, Bulaga!) spent  whew!  was it P5M?

Tonight’s Urian program will be mounted for the first time by Cinema One of ABS-CBN. Cinema One chief Ronald Arguelles is head of production and he promises to deliver a quick, fast-paced and entertaining show.

By invitation only, the Urian will be held at the grand ballroom of the Marriott Hotel. The public, however, can catch the proceedings when the program is aired on Cinema One this Sunday, May 22.

Aside from Cinema One, the Manunuri is once more partnering with the Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP), which had been very supportive of projects related to local movies. FDCP head Briccio Santos, however, is in France attending the Cannes Film Festival in his official capacity as representative of the Philippines. Christine Dayrit, chair of the Cinema Evaluation Board (CEB), had promised to grace the event at the Marriott Hotel.

So what’s in store for tonight’s show? Noel Ferrer, one of the geniuses of TV5, who is once more generously helping the Manunuri put the Urian show together, had lined up a number of production numbers and enlisted the following performers: Lea Salonga, Christian Bautista, Nina, Jovit Baldovino, Angeline Quinto, Kean Cipriano of Calla Lily, Tuti Caringal and Ney Dimaculangan.

If I got it right, the last time Lea performed for an Urian show was in 1989  just shortly before she won the plum role as Miss Saigon at the West End in London. She had become an international star and an award-winning performer after that and it had the Manunuri’s dream to see her back on the Urian stage.

She will be there in Marriott, but no longer the teenybopper that was her packaging in her teens (even then she was already brimming with talent). Tonight she will be standing and singing on the Urian stage as a national treasure. The Manunuri can’t thank her enough for finally making time for us (she was away for a long time, remember?)

The Manunuri, obviously, had long recognized and appreciated her talent  even in the field of acting. In 1995, she was nominated as Best Actress in Sana Maulit Muli (her leading man, Aga Muhlach, won Best Actor).

The main course in the show menu surely will be announcement of the winners, especially for Best Picture, Director, Actor, Actress and those in the supporting categories.

It’s difficult to make a guess because it is going to be a tough competition since there were a lot of significant films (particularly in the digital field) released in 2010.

Cherry Pie Picache, Gina Pareño and Coco Martin, however, are already assured of honors as Best Performers of the Decade along with the nine Best Films from 2000 till 2010. The recipient of the Natatanging Gawad Urian is Jose “Pete” Lacaba for his outstanding contributions to local film as screenwriter.

Hosting chores will be handled by the Queen of Comedy Ai-Ai delas Alas, multiple Urian winner Cesar Montano and this writer.