My Simple Life

footloose - the musical

for the second time around... i watched it in manila last year and last week here in belfast!

i watched it last August 2005 in Meralco Theater with my lady friend. it was my fourth experience in watching musical after Lea Salonga's 'they are playing our songs' in Camp Aguinaldo years ago.

i loved 'footloose' very much... maybe because the lead character shown some of my traits ... a happy-go-lucky person, adventurous, with full of determination to do things worth pursuing, and love to dance!

the second time gave me the chance to have another closer look of the different characters and how each one of them act to make the production interesting, dynamic and lively...the orchestra made the musical more breathtaking and made every song wonderful to hear as you feel you are part of the cast singing on stage!

footloose is about our failures and successes in life. these are the keys to make our lives interesting and meaningful. failures make us strong to move on and be more confident to face another hurdle and use it to achieve a higher level of living; while successes give us the adrenalin to continue with our dreams and share whatever rewards from it to other people...

footloose is about our past, present and the future... the past is the shadow of what we are now, the present is the reflection of our hopes and dreams; and the future is the culmination of the past and the present...

our kababayan in MiSS SAIGON

watching this musical for the 3rd time is worth sharing - from downtown newyork, to ccp (manila) and now in the opera house of belfast...

Watching the musical for the 3rd time is making an affirmation that i am really proud to be a Filipino. Truly indeed Pinoys are talented people with international caliber in the music scene. Watching our local talents (in lead roles) at the opera house of belfast northern Ireland was awesome. I was only the Filipino who watched it on that night!

The first time I watched Miss Saigon was in 1997 during my short business visit in the US. Luckily, my friend was able to buy two front row tickets. It was really a wonderful experience to watched it in broadway and got the chance to witness the musical that made Lea salonga an international star. Lea was not playing Kim when I watched it, so when the Cameron production decided to bring it to Manila , I did not hesitate to buy two tickets for myself and my Auntie (Malou) for the second week of the run! Overall, I liked the production in CCP compared it in New York and in Belfast, except that life-size helicopter was used in broadway! The orchestra in the opera house was more clearer and louder which gave you the feeling of not only watching it but being part of the musical.

On the downside, however, the musical reminded me of Pinoys who desperately wanted to visit the US. Having the difficulties of securing the visa, our kababayan are pushing themselves to the fullest despite of several denials, and so determined to do whatever they can just to get visa approval to visit the US or even in the UK and Europe or Canada. I don’t blame them in leaving the country, however, we have to understand that we have to protect our citizenship, and whatever opportunities that will come along our way, we should not attempt to do things that will affect the reputation of our country. In spite of our recognition as talented people, we have also the reputation of being illegitimate residents around the world! That is why, i will always maintain my travel documents in good standing, not even thinking of becoming a ‘TNT (tago ng tago) in one of the cities I visited especially in the US.

Having that, it is easy for me to apply for visas anywhere in the world! It is also a good feeling to get remarks from the immigration officers for being a frequent flyer!