The Music of Andrew Lloyd Webber and the Rain

Falcon must have been the most annoying storm after Ondoy. It has been raining relentlessly for a week and I was getting sick of hearing the constant sound of rain falling on the roof. Eventually just after writing a post about Habagat I experienced everything I hate about the rainy season in one day. On Friday I had to sleep in a coffee shop and report to work at 4AM because I wasn't able to go home the previous night due to the flood and horrible traffic.

Rain or shine, deluge or not, I was determined to go to the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical revue I booked weeks ago. I wouldn't really want to miss it since I got front row seating at the CCP. (Front row in the upper box seats that is, which gives a really awkward view of the stage.) Thankfully the rain subdued just a few hours before the show started.

After-storm Manila Bay area feels like quiet and cozy place. 

I love the smell of thunderstorms and brine in the cool breeze
mixing up with the smell of cooking food in the nearby restaurants.

It was a nice surprise to bump into Nadine, whom I wouldn't have known to be in the theater too if she didn't GM text about her being in the theater just before the show. A few days ago we were talking about how we dig the Cardigans and the Cranberries and other grunge stuff, I wouldn't expect we would see each other in a hoity-toity musical show later.

More than half of the songs that were performed are from Webber musicals I've never heard before, which is nice to know and all but unfortunately I found most of these to be terribly boring. During the boring parts, I would find my mind wandering off to my office cubicle worrying about the shitload of work I would have to finish on Monday, which totally sucked. The sequence of the songs were weird too, with sleepy songs sandwiched between lively performances and vice-versa, resulting to an emotional rollercoaster.

But all in all, I think the ticket price is worth it even if just for the performances of Pie Jesu and the Phantom of the Opera alone, which for me were both stand-up-ovation-worthy. Even without the trappings of costume and set design, the performances manage to bring the audience into suspending disbelief. All of the eight casts have really got some serious pipes, especially Trish Crowe who did the soprano for the above-mentioned songs. Michael Cormick, being at his age, looked awkward and funny swinging his booty around as Rum Tum Tugger, but was quite spectacular as the Phantom. It was also nice to know that one of the casts, Shaun, was  actually last year's Munkustrap in Cats in the Manila run.

In the end I enjoyed the show quite well. It may not be entirely Broadway, but what's great is seeing world-class performances of the great Webber songs in just one seating.

Thank you Sir Andrew for gracing our world with your music.

Basbasan Nawa!

Posted in: earthly pleasures, leisure