Ready for the Q&A

Making our entrance on The Buzz every Sunday is always fun and exhilarating. It’s the closest I can get to the Miss Universe Parade of Nations. I walk behind Charlene Gonzalez-Muhlach and in front of Toni Gonzaga and KC Concepcion.

I relish that 30-second walk from the wings to the center stage. Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine making an entrance on national television with three gorgeous girls. And I always imagine that we are in some beauty contest and we’ve reached the Q&A portion for the Top 4. Why not top 5? I have many theories the judges decided just to pick four. The rest were not just at par. So like the Nobel, it simply declared four not five. Or maybe the fifth girl fainted and broke her nose. Or she could have been arrested for drug use. Because of the gargantuan pressure she couldn’t contain herself backstage, she mindlessly sniffed cocaine to get her going. Whatever the story, everytime The Buzz starts, it’s the four of us making our way to the final Q&A.

And I love it when I open the show in Waray, “Maupay ng kulop ha iyo ngatanan.” A friend once told me that he thought I was speaking in tongues. I told him, I am. Waray is a blessed dialect rich in history of courage and survival. Toni is quick and funny and pretty. Kristina is smart, young and funny. Charlene is divine, intelligent and pretty. While I’m ready for the Q&A.

I thank you.

Stomp, a favorite among Hollywood celebs

Did you know that the theatrical razzmatazz, Stomp, has been seen by Hollywood celebrities?

Jodi Foster, Michael Douglas, Quincey Jones, Harrison Ford, Bob Dylan, Jamie Lee Curtis, Steven Spielberg, Isabella Rosellini, Bruce Willis, Demi Moore, Richard Gere, Oprah Winfrey, Dolly Parton, Catherine Deneuve, Susan Sarandon, Liza Minelli, Denzel Washington, Lauren Bacall, Rosanne Barr, Bruce Springsteen, Ben Kingsley, Jim Carrey, Winona Ryder, David Lee Roth, Michael Eisner, Amy Irving, Anne Archer Lynn Redgrave, Angie Dickinson, Woody Harrelson, Candice Bergen, Tim Robbins, John Lithgow, Kate Capshaw, Howard Stern, Andie McDowell, have in different times watched performances of Stomp.

Stomp is the high-energy, percussive symphony, coupled with dance theatrical presentation, and is set to perform in Manila on Oct. 18 to 23 (eight shows only) at the Tanghalang Nicanor Abelardo, CCP.

Stomp is played entirely on non-traditional instruments, such as garbage can lids, buckets, brooms and sticks. Created in 1991, Stomp was the result of 10-year collaboration between its creators, Luke Cresswell and Steve McNicholas. It was previewed at London’s Bloomsbury Theatre and premiered at the Assembly Rooms in Edinburgh, where it became the Guardian’s Critic’s Choice and won the Daily Express’ Best of the Fringe award.

Stomp has toured the globe for 20 years, playing to over 15 million people in 48 countries on five continents. In its lifetime, Stomp has consumed over 50,000 boxes of matches, 30,000 brooms, 20,000 bins, 10,000 drumsticks and 25,000 liters of black paint applied with 737 paint rollers.

Currently, four Stomp companies are performing worldwide, one on tour in North America, another throughout Europe and the rest of the world, one in New York (now on its 18th year) and one in London (soon to enter its 10th year), and there are on occasion up to six companies performing concurrently in the world.

Luke Cresswell, one of the creators and directors, is a self-taught percussionist from Brighton, UK. His session work as a drummer and rhythm programmer includes Beats International, Bette Midler, Elvis Costello and Bryan Ferry. After working for several years as a street musician and performer, he created Stomp in 1991. His work as a performer in Stomp includes the Oscars, the Emmys and Quincy Jones’ album, Q’s Jook Joint. He has directed, with Steve McNicholas, several award-winning commercials and short films. He received an Oscar nomination for the film Brooms, an Emmy nomination for Stomp Out Loud and co-directed the award winning giant-screen films, Pulse: A Stomp Odyssey and Wild Ocean 3D as well as the Stomp-inspired feature Vacuums. He has also received a special achievement award from the Chicago Human Rhythm Project.

Steve also shares directorial credits with Luke on Stomp based films and commercials and their new show, Pandemonium, featuring the Lost and Found Orchestra. Luke and Steve are currently in production for two new 3D movies, The Last Reef and Great White Shark 3d.

Tickets are available at all TicketWorld outlets, with tel. no. 891-9999 or visit TicketWorld’s website at www.ticketworld.com.ph. Senior citizens enjoy a 20 percent discount.