The day we were asked..deal or no deal?

My celebrity batch mate Jon Santos invited me and several of our batchmates to be his "kapamilya" (members of his family) as he joins the US syndicated show Deal or No Deal hosted by Kris Aquino on ABS-CBN.

Everyone was excited because we will get a look at how a game show is put together and of course, we were excited that Jon will play and hopefully win. I was especially excited because it was going to be my TV debut. LOL!

So one afternoon in late October, we all gathered at our famous doctor batchmate's clinic Faces and Curves (http://facesandcurves.com/) and headed out to ABS-CBN. It was such a big production determining who rides with who and who will bring which car as there were like 20 of us including a couple of spouses and children! So we took a few seconds to take pictures. Of course I was in full purple glory for my tv debut. =)

So there we were at the ABS-CBN compound. While waiting for our turn to do the "taping", Jon treated the whole tribe to Starbucks. It gave us the chance to chat up a storm and catch up on each other's lives. We also spoke about what Jon's threshold of happiness would be if faced with the question of whether to deal or not to deal.


After a couple of hours, we were finally ushered inside the studio and into Jon's dressing room where we waited for another half hour. This TV business (and I guess the whole entertainment business) consists of a whole lot of waiting. =)


So while the celebrity contestant figured out his outfit and puts on make-up, we his cheering squad continued to chat and laugh and well, did some make-up retouching as well for what are those big lighted mirrors for?

And after a nerve-wracking 30 minute show where thankfully I did not have to give a number, the batch celebrated Jon's win with this photo in the main stage.

And Jon's generosity yielded our batch fund a good amount of money which we can use for our next charity activity. We capped the day with a sumptous dinner at Little Asia in Greenhills - yum!

Thank you Jon for another unforgettable experience. And thank you for your generosity!

You may still catch Jon together with Candy Pangilinan and John Lapuz at their "Spooftacular Showdown" at the Music Museum on November 28 and 29, 8pm.

Local Celebrity Sightings @ Dogeaters

Reverting back to my normal fangirl mode, inside Carlos P. Romulo theater last Saturday were a bunch of local celebrities in the audience. Sighted were good-looking actors TJ Trinidad and Rafael Rosel. The Eigenmans were in almost full force from Rosemarie Gil, Eddie Mesa, Mark Gil and Ryan Eigenmann.

I laugh reallly loud but that evening, Ms. Leah Salonga was laughing louder than me! She was across the aisle from us sitting with the play's director Bobby Garcia.

During the break, we also spotted Boy Abunda who was sitting at the last row in the orchestra section. Bembol Roco was also in attendance as well as Vangie Labalan, a well reputed voice talent and theater actress as well. Denise Laurel was with the Eigenmanns.

One thing I realized is that though there was this desire to ask for photos, the atmosphere was very intimate that NO ONE was taking photos with the celebrities! And I wasn't that desperate. Now if those were Takuya Kimura or any of the F4 boys....the story will be very, very different.

The only photo that I have the desire to have is with batchmate and friend Jon Santos who by the way performed so well as "Perlita", the gay owner of Studio 54 in the play. After all, I am his # 1 Fan...hahaha!

Note to self: I should get myself more of that purple knitted blouse on this coming Hongkong trip. I found that in a mall somewhere in Jordan, Kowloon side.

DOGEATERS, A Play About the Philippines

Last night my husband and I watched DOGEATERS (http://www.amazon.com/Dogeaters-Contemporary-American-Fiction-Hagedorn/dp/014014904X), a play about the Philippines written by celebrated Filipino-American writer Jessica Hagedorn at the Carlos P. Romulo theater in RCBC Plaza. I figured it was time to take a break from the fun but occasionally shallow world of fandom.

Dogeaters has had several showings in the US over the past 10 years but never in the subject country- the Philippines! So Atlantis Productions finally brought the play to Philippine shores and it opened for a limited run last November 16th.

I expected it to be a heavy drama since the book's background is the tumultuous time of the Marcoses leading to the 1985 Edsa Revolution. What I did not expect though is that oftentimes I would be dying of laughter.

Why laugh so hard when the play's subject matter is very serious? Several things but first and foremost is the story-telling of an era that I can so relate to - the 80's, 1982 to be exact.

I graduated from high school in 1982 and the background of the dramatic sketches brought me back to the past big time. The fashion, the music, the products that I remember using/consuming and the technology of the times or lack of. The play's director Bobby Garcia, would lead us to a depth of emotion with the tragic stories of characters like Daisy Avila, Senator Avila's daughter who fell in love with a member of the New People's Army, considered insurgents by the Philippine government. Also of Joey, the often drugged DJ/manwhore who witnessed the assasination of Sen. Avila and Trining, the girl from the province who saw her lover slain for being a suspected but unsuspecting assasin.

Whenever, we are all about to cry or wallow in depression, the era made us all remember life back then and the play would make us all laugh. Laugh at how we remember the days of Studio 54 (the replica of New York's..), the people watching at the Jeepney Bar in Intercon (which by the way is still there but not as illustrious as it was in the 80's) and how the movies including the "bomba" movies would serve as our only form of entertainment.

I remembered myself, my family and how we coped with life back then. And though our life was not as tragic and megalomaniac as the characters in the play, we were all survivors of an era when the country was awakened from its stupor. That we were all part of the montage that was the political turmoil. It made me remember why I love this country and why I am still here despite all the rage of migrating and going overseas.

The Filipinos are not just "dogeaters" to the western world, we are a people that are maturing in our belief, battling through the confusion that was brought to us by our colonizers and so-called friends from the west. We are a forgiving nation sometimes to a fault. And we are passionate about love - kahit na mali ang mahal natin.

Catch Dogeaters. It will run until December 1. You can buy tickets online at Ticketworld (https://www.ticketworld.com.ph/onlineticketworld/default.asp).

BENEFETE - Jon Santos Live and In Person(s)

Jon Santos, stand-up comedian par excellence said that comedy is the sum of tragedy plus time.

On the date of the bombing at Glorietta Mall in Makati City, Philippines, high school class of '82 held a fundraising show starring one of our best products Jon Santos. With a hope of raising money for our homecoming and our charity, the batch bravely faced the thought that no one would watch our October 19 show because of the bombing. Who would want to laugh at a time like this?

However, as they say, the show must go one and with a 3/4 full house, Jon set to entertain his audience and promptly made all of us forget our worries for a couple of hours.

I found his Armida Siguion-Makareyna character absolutely hilarious. His parody of comparing the olden days of kundiman (which the real Armida Siguion-Reyna has popularized) and the modern sound of rock brought the house down especially when he sang the rock song lyrics to the medley of popular kundimans. Jon brought tears in my eyes when he pretended to teach one of the audience kundiman and segued smoothly to the mandarin theme song of Meteor Garden Ni Yao De Ai. He knew I am an avid fan of the drama's stars F4.

Jon's other popular character, Ate Vi also showed up. And tons of political characters from former presidents Erap, Cory and Fidel to Imelda Marcos presented in the funny guise of running for the barangay elections.

Overall everyone had a total "blast" as in I went to the mall and had a blast kind. Jon only joked about the bombing during the Saturday show. It gave all of us an insight to the intelligent kind of humor this person has..of his sensitivity. My 14-year old niece Ysabela summed up nicely what Jon personify as a comedian - that humor need not be "bastos" or slapstick and green.

For that Jon should be proud of his craft. For us his classmates in highschool, this event generated a new brand of respect for a certain Mr. Santos, who claimed not the richest in class nor the most successful in their careers but the most flawless. Absolutely right, flawless humor.

p.s.

Lest I forget, musical entertainment was provided by Kinki Hooters and The Dawn, who gave a good cover of one of my favorite songs of all time, U2's With or Without You. It was nostalgia baby when they sang Envelope Ideas during the Saturday show.

Credits: To professional photographer Buddy Manaois of Batch '82 (badong@rocketmail.com)