MANILA, Philippines - The plot is somewhat similar to that all-time great comedy from Hollywood starring Marilyn Monroe, Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon, Some Like It Not. It was about two men during the ’30s who witness a Valentine’s Day massacre, and to escape from the mob, they hide and pretend to be female impersonators.
Curtis even wrote about the film in a 2009 memoir titled The Making of Some Like It Not.
Anyway, I’m referring to something rather different because it is very Filipino and brimming with OPM standard hits.
Enter Chuva Choo Choo: The Mr. Kupido Musicale, a Stages Production Specialist musical comedy inspired by the songs of Vehnee Saturno, written and directed by George de Jesus III, and starring Joanna Ampil of Miss Saigon fame and Morisette Amon. It will have four shows (call Cheng at 0917-8596544) at the Power Mac Center spotlight in Circuit Makati on Sept. 25 to 27, followed by a second run in January 2016. This was announced at a recent press conference at My Cinema in Greenbelt 3, Makati City.
The musical tells the story of two sisters Dina (Joanna) and Darla (Morisette) in Pangasinan, who are amateur singing talents and who, of course, long to hit the big time and find true love in the process. In one of their singing contests, they hear an altercation between Major T and a contest judge which ends in a shot being fired.
Thinking they have witnessed a murder, the terrified girls run off to Manila and hide in the house of some relatives. They are pursued by Mayor T and his bodyguard Tonton (with whom Dina is in love with). Dina and Darla become female impersonators. One comic situation leads to another, and there is a TV talent reality show capped by a big night before all ends well.
The show’s appeal lies in the featured songs written by Vehnee and popularized by many name singers like Rachel Alejandro, Jaya, Cris Villonco, Randy Santiago, Martin Nievera, Ariel Rivera, Dingdong Avanzado, Sarah Geronimo and Regine Velasquez. The songs are interpreted in the two acts of the play, and include Be My Lady, Isang Lahi, Para Sa ‘Yo, Sana Kahit Minsan, Follow Your Dreams and Mula sa Puso.
During the press conference, George was asked if the young would be able to relate to the songs, considering they stretch over three decades?
“They’re very relatable,” the writer-director said. “These have been sung through the years, in videokes and karaokes. Different flavor, different approach. The songs are so familiar, time-tested. They (the youth) know the songs even if they don’t know the composer.”
“The show is for the family,” George said. “It will be used if you can’t define something. That’s the reason. You don’t even know how to define it.”
“I don’t even know what it means,” laughed the songwriter. “Then maybe it means talaga? Totoo ba yan (really, is that true?).”
“There’s a surprise element,” the director pointed out. “There’s something different about it, ibang treatment. So even those who popularized the songs should see the show.”