who tells your story?

Watching Hamilton in West End is definitely one of my highlights of 2018. Since I’m a musical geek, I already told my friend that we have to watch a show – any show – in West End during our UK trip. 

At first, I’m not that interested in Hamilton (!!!) despite its popularity in Broadway (and despite the ball of positivity that is Lin Manuel Miranda). Watched their performance in the White House and I’m like, uhm, ok, not too drawn to the songs (I’m gonna regret that months later).

But then I found out that there is already a London run for Hamilton in time for our UK trip and I thought that maybe we should try watching the 2016 hit since we’re there anyway. Seats were sold out (as expected). Fortunately, my friend went to England around July and told me about the line beside the theater for the return tickets. Basically, they’re tickets that were already bought prior but are returned on the day because they won’t be used. The seller gives it to the staff and the staff will go to the line and sell it to the one in front at face value (which was lucky for us coz reselling prices in the US are insane).

And so come Monday afternoon, October 21, we went to Victoria Palace Theater. I inquired the staff, who showed us where the chance ticket line is. We were the first there (around 4:30pm) and I told my friend that we can afford to have early dinner at a nearby Shake Shack. Don’t want to get take out ‘cause it’s really cold and we need the toilet before our vigil lol. By the time we got back, we’re already eighth in line. I was already nervous that our decision to stay in the restaurant cost us our chance to watch the show. But it all paid off well – because when my turn came, the guy (I didn’t get to meet him though T__T) just wanted to give his ticket away! FOR FREE!

I got in first and I’m literally shaking from excitement to the point that I don’t care if the show was crap. I’M IN VICTORIA PALACE THEATER! I’M IN WEST END! I’M IN LONDON WTF! My 16-year-old-self-watching-Miss-Saigon-in-CCP would cry at this point. The 34 year old self just planted her chin against the railing like a kid, eyes misty while waiting for the show to start (and waiting for my friend to message me and confirm if she got in – which she did 😊 )

Mind you, my only exposure to Hamilton at that point was watching “Alexander Hamilton” being performed at the White House, and a recording of “Helpless” by The Regrettes (from the Hamilton Mix-tape). Which was a good thing because OMG THIS MUSICAL IS AMAZING! No elaborate sets, no fancy production numbers. Just these talented people and the songs. My god the songs – perfectly written. Came close to crying (my friend bawled a couple of times apparently hehe) during the second half. Usually I struggle in the post-intermission portion of musicals – they’re usually less interesting than the first half. But Hamilton didn’t disappoint.

I just love the whole theme of trying to make your mark – being a part of history, making a legacy – and the danger of losing sight of what essentially matters. To those having an identity crisis, this is the perfect musical for it. And you get a fascinating exposition of American history (most likely not entirely accurate). If I listened to the entire Hamilton OST before the show, I probably won’t get to appreciate this musical as much as I did. So everything paved well in the end.

So well in fact that we watched Hamilton AGAIN three nights later. Thanks to being eighth in line, we just split the cost of my friend’s ticket and we can afford to go on another round. Also managed to buy merchandise (because I was stupid and didn’t buy the first time around). This time we got the producer’s seats, which are the fancy boxes at the back and we get a butler! Surreal!

I hope that Hamilton makes its way to Manila at some point (maybe in a decade…?) so that more people will get to watch it. And we have two Filipinos already in the London main cast so this should be a no brainer.

I cannot expound on the show anymore ‘cause I’m running out of creative words now haha. Anyway, it’s amazing. I’m floored.

“And when my time is up, have I done enough? Will they tell my story? Who lives, who dies, who tells your story?”

"i have dreamed"

I was browsing in the record bar this afternoon and I happened to come across a copy of The American President. I remembered loving this movie n years ago because, well, it's a romantic and classy movie (how can you go wrong with Annette Bening?). Given that, I suddenly remembered that iconic scene of the state dinner wherein Michael Douglas and Annette Bening danced and LOVING whatever song that is being played in the background. N months (or years?) later, I watched The King and I in HBO and I heard that song again! Since this was in the '90s, I can't remember using the internet to find out what the song is (I remembered having sucky search engines then).

So, thank you Google, YouTube, and that serendipitous trip in Music One (which jogged my memory), I finally found that song after a decade...it's entitled "I Have Dreamed" from the musical King and I. Too bad I can't find the exact cut of the animated version for the song, but here is part of the animated feature which has the song starting at 5:31...


And here's the score played in The American President (I think this could also be a fitting music for a wedding, hehe)

Von Trapp family revisited

my cousin sent me a picture of the Von Trapp children 40 years later...this made me reminisce about my (and our family's?) obsession with The Sound of Music YEARS ago LOL...use the numbers as reference :D

i really love Angela Cartwright's eyes...can't get over it hehehe

Cinderella Overload!!!

The past two weeks have been Cinderella-filled: first, I FINALLY found online videos of Cinderella (Cinderella Monogatari), the animated series I first saw over a decade ago in ABS-CBN, and second, watched Rodger’s and Hammerstein’s Cinderella at CCP.

Prinsipe Leonard!!!

I’ve posted the Japanese opening sequence of Cinderella in my multiply account over a year ago, since I and my college friends suddenly got on reminiscing the old cartoon shows and Cinderella came up. Surprisingly, random people have been commenting on the video, also sharing their love of the series and finally, someone copied the one shown on TV again and I got to watch the whole series. Prinsipe Leonard is LOVE! Got to give credit to ABS-CBN, they dubbed the series pretty well, my mastery of Filipino got challenged and Leonard’s voice is a dream! I love his blue gray eyes (if you wouldn’t have noticed yet, gorgeous 2-D men are my weaknesses). Leonard really has his Edward Cullen moments, as Edell pointed out, “Hindi ka ba nasaktan? Kahit galos wala ka?”

It’s kind of sad that the network skipped a few shows, especially episode 22 where that KISS (or was it an almost kiss? Hard to tell) happened. Argh! But this is better than nothing. I especially love Leonard’s big reveal to that he is a prince, hahaha, with matching slow-mo pa of the swirling cape. Haaayyy…

Are you the sweet invention of a lover’s dream?
Ice and I watched Cinderella starring Lea Salonga last Friday, this is my fourth time watching Lea perform in a musical and I can say that it seems that she’s never changed, her voice still gives me goosebumps. We were bummed out that they ran out of souvenir programs, argh, have to find a way to buy them. I was wondering why the songs were so familiar at first then I remembered that these were also used in that Cinderella adaptation by Brandy and Paolo Montalban, hahaha. Anyway, I LOVE the songs, the actors (especially the stepsisters! I mean I love Lea and all but these girls stole the show for me), the costumes (especially the wedding!!!), and that CARRIAGE! Talk about a WOW factor. My favorite songs (the same ones that got my attention when I watched the Brandy version) was Do I Love You Because You’re Beautiful? (love the line: Are you the sweet invention of a lover’s dream? Or are you really as wonderful as you seem?) and Stepsisters’ Lament (what IS the matter with the men? Ditto, stepsisters!)

I actually found myself in a moment while I was watching the play that I was chuckling over how cheesy Cinderella and the Prince sound like in the garden during the ball. And then a horrifying moment when I thought to myself that I might be becoming a cynical bitch over it, haha. Either way, I got to accept the Prince’s lilting voice (it really sounds like when James Marsden did the prince in Enchanted) and the sweeping lines…and got over the whole thing when the last sequence in the garden (when it was revealed who Cinderella was) showed me a hilarious side to the pairing (panalo yung, “Halt! I command you!” “But why?” “I don’t know”). Also love the way they somehow modernized the tale, with the King talking about interest rates (THAT was good), and the Prince employing the secret service to locate Cinderella.

weird day + wish list

Yesterday was a very weird day…basically because the clock in my parents bedroom (where I stayed the whole day yesterday watching TV) has dying batteries, which I didn’t know. Therefore, when I woke up and asked for breakfast, it was almost lunchtime. That’s why when I went to CETV to watch Mars, the program was almost done. That’s why when I watched American Idol I thought it was an early show since it was 2:30pm in the clock. That’s why I put off taking a bath for a long time even though I felt that most of the day has gone by. By the time I took a bath (accdg to the clock it was only 3:30) I looked at my cellphone and it’s already 5pm! So that’s why I felt so gross…haha. Anyway, yesterday was a very unproductive day since I had no sense of time so all the things that I planned to do is way out of schedule. Btw, here’s one of the things I’ve been waiting to feature here:

Wish List / Things I Want to Do Before I Die:

1. Scuba diving in the Great Barrier Reef
2. Go cherry blossom viewing (o-hanami) during the cherry blossom season in Japan.
3. Meet Oprah
4. Meet Nelson Mandella
5. Have dinner with Johnny Depp
6. Own a Scottish castle (preferrably wid no ghosts)
7. A boat ride in the Amazon river
8. Swim under Angel Falls
9. Ride a motorcycle by myself
10. Dub an anime or an imported telenovela
11. Watch Les Miserables and Cats in Broadway.
12. Jog in Central Park
13. Join the Amazing Race
14. Get all the tulips i can get in Holland.
15. Stroll anywhere in New Zealand.
16. Wear the crown jewels (even for 5 seconds)
17. See the setting of Anne of Green Gables (Prince Edward Island)
18. Perform in a rock concert, preferrably wid L'arc en ciel or Ricard Samborra (Bon Jovi guitarist, tapos kakanta kami ng Livin on a prayer hehe)
19. Tour Ireland and Scotland
20. Sing with Clay Aiken
21. Meet Won Bin and Vic Zhou
22. Ride a horse ala Marlboro commercial
23. Own a deserted beach cove
24. Use different colored contact lenses (although I don't need them) every week.
25. Own a Siberian husky

Looking at this list, I know that some could possibly come true while some absolute can’t (like owning a Siberian husky…that means if I want to live here I must delegate a non-stop aircon room for the dog…). And that I have to be rich…or just plain lucky…