Peabo Bryson, romantic balladeer for Valentine

The Valentine’s Day celebration is never complete without romantic sounds and nothing is more romantic for Pinoys than love duets. More so if it happens to be the incomparable Peabo Bryson singing. Dubbed the King of Romantic Balladeers, Bryson has enthralled lovers for decades with his sweet, effortless vocals and his songs have given us love sounds to last several lifetimes.

Proof of what an ideal leading man for music Bryson is are the duets he has done and popularized with some of the greatest female singers of all time. Note that when the producers of the The King and I album starring Julie Andrews and Ben Kingsley were looking for a suitable Lun Tha to Lea Salonga’s Tuptim, it was Bryson whom they chose. The result was the No. 1 classical crossover hit We Kiss In A Shadow.  This one is gorgeous. Glad that it is now available online.

And more. The guy has two Grammy Awards and these are for the Disney theme songs that he did with Celine Dion, Beauty And The Beast and Regina Belle, A Whole New World from Aladdin. He also did Lovers After All with Melissa Manchester and What You Won’t Do For Love with Natalie Cole. And what can you say about Tonight I Celebrate My Love For You with Roberta Flack? That monster continues to reverberate from our radio stations all the time. And unavoidably, it goes into heavy rotation every Valentine Season.

Bryson also does very well on his own. The Pavarotti of soul singers has big solo hits with Can You Stop The Rain, I Can’t Imagine, Lost In The Night, Show And Tell, Closer Than Close, I’m So Into You, By The Time This Night Is Over with Kenny G on the sax, show-stopping covers of Through The Fire and Soul Provider plus another one of his monsters, If Ever You’re In My Arms Again.

I do not think it takes much to sell Bryson. If celebrating Valentine means a quiet romantic evening of beautiful sounds then a Peabo show is all you need. He will be back in town for one night only at Love Rocks! at the Newport Performing Arts Theater of Resorts World Manila on Feb. 13 at 8 p.m.

Jenine Desiderio, one of our Miss Saigons will be guesting and they will be performing accompanied by the J Michaels Orchestra. Watch out for their special tribute to the music of Burt Bacharach in the show.

Led by the Manila-born J. Michaels, the band does more than play the music. In fact, it has already acquired the reputation of being one of the best showbands around. J. Michaels himself is more than the man behind the Love Rocks! series. He is also a mean performer who wows with tunes like Wildflower, I Just Can’t Help Believing, Smoke From A Distant Fire and others.

Love Rocks! is presented in cooperation with Grand Leisure Corp. by WEG, Inc. Tickets are available at all TicketWorld outlets and at the Resorts World box office.

Still at the Newport Performing Arts Theater of Resorts World. Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (CCBB), the live theater version of the beloved family musical that captivated local audiences last year, is due for a return run. The show will open on Feb. 22 and will play all weekends until March 25.

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang is based on a 1968 film that starred Dick Van Dyke. Set in early 20th century England, CCBB is about the adventures of the poor and nutty inventor Caractacus Potts and his two children. Potts has invented a car that swims and flies named Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and the toy-greedy Baron Bomburst of Vulgaria wants it for himself.

So Bomburst kidnaps Grandpa thinking that it was the old man who invented Chitty. To rescue him, Potts and his kids go up against the Baron. In the process they also get to free the children hiding from the Baron’s kid-hating wife.  Oh and Potts gets to find romance with a pretty candy factory heiress named Truly Scrumptious.

If I am not mistaken, the same talented cast of Filipino actors will be reprising their roles: Gian Magdangal is Caractacus Potts; Yanah Laurel is Truly Scrumptious; Noel Comia Jr., alternates with Albert Silos as Jeremy Potts; Isabeli Araneta-Elizalde and Zoey Alvarade are Jemina Potts. Plus, of course, the flying and swimming car that plays Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.

For tickets, check out TicketWorld and the Resorts World Box Office.