A dual role for Carla
Posted By www.BoyAbunda.net on April 1, 2008
Carla Guevarra-Laforteza, one of the country’s talented and versatile musicale theater stars, joins the cast of the hit Tony Award winning musical Avenue Q when it plays its farewell run in Manila in June.
Carla who has begun her puppetry training for the show says, “It is a great pleasure for me to join the cast of Atlantis’ Productions Avenue Q and to finally work with Bobby Garcia and Chari Arespacochaga. I am very grateful to have been given this wonderful opportunity to be part of this award winning production and to work with such a talented cast. She will be playing the dual role of Kate Monster and Lucy the Slut.
After playing two sold out runs last year, Atlantis Productions brings back Avenue Q one final time for those who still haven’t seen it and those who want to see it again. Avenue Q is the smash hit Broadway musical about real life in New York City as told by a cast of people and puppets through a hilariously irreverent Tony Award winning book and score. Returning to the show are original cast members Aiza Seguerra, Frenchie Dy, Felix Rivera, Rycharde Everley, Teenee Chan and Joel Trinidad.
Directed by Garcia and Arespacochaga, Atlantis Productions’ staging of Avenue Q will also open in Singapore in late October at the Esplanade Theater for a three-week run produced by The Singapore Repertory Theater. Avenue Q has set and costume design by Mio Infante, lighting design by Jay Aranda, musical direction by Jojo Malferari and vocal coaching by Man Man Angsico. Avenue Q The Farewell Run runs from June 13 to 22, 2009 at the Carlos P. Romulo Auditorium, RCBC Plaza. Tickets are on sale now. Call Ticketworld at 891-999 or Atlantis Productions at 892-7078 or 840-1187.
Places to relax and reflect
It was always Boracay for Holy Week vacation in the last five years or so. And, maybe in the future again. Boracay is truly paradise for overworked, stressed out disciples of money and love who jostle their way around the labyrinth in the wild concrete jungles of the Metro, to make a living, to survive, to steal or borrow happiness and end up at the eternal gardens and marbled columbaries. Boracay heals tired bones and weary spirits. But on Holy Week, it has become too crowded. The best time to go to Boracay is during the lean season, when there are more locals than tourists on the beach. I also enjoy rainy days in Boracay. Weird it may sound, but I love the hissing sound of the wind against bamboo windbreakers and the waves lashing at the shores. It’s so breathtaking watching the white sand adamantly holding its fort that after the waves attack the pale sand, it’s left wet but even whiter. Watching the beach of Boracay on a rainy afternoon is exhilarating. Boracay is also home to me because of a friend, Boy So who owns La Carmela de Boracay. He always makes sure that our short trips to Boracay are full of sybaritic memories of delectable lobsters and crabs and prawns and the most sinful clam soup in the island.
Last Holy Week, Bong Quintana my partner, had other plans. When he told me we would go white water rafting in Cagayan de Oro, I acquiesced but not without some secret objections. I thought of Meryll Streep in the movie River Wild being pursued by some assassins. My instincts also told me that my assistant Philip Rojas didn’t like water sports much less, white water rafting. Nevertheless, I was excited with the idea of doing something different.
It was a one hour and 20-minute plane ride from Manila to Cagayan de Oro. The weather was good, the plane ride was smooth and soon after landing at Cagayan de Oro airport we went to Pryce Hotel where we were billeted. The following day, we did what we came for — white water rafting. Macahambos River is quite intimidating. And if I would assume macahambos as a Visayan word, with hambos as the root word, macahambos would mean to be thrown at, or being thrown away. Yes, the river would literally sweep you away. We — Bong, myself, Lance, Andy, Philip and two guides occupied a yellow water raft. We wore life jackets and helmets like Cavalli models for the wet Fall/Winter collection. These were necessary tools aside from the paddle. I used the paddle as a scepter like a fidgety, nervous, newly crowned beauty queen. The guide briefed us on what to do like we were in an army — synchronized paddling, team work, paddle forward, paddle easy, etc. We were in the beginners route, a low class category for white water rafting as there are for the experts, advance and extreme. Our guide told us we had 14 rapids to enjoy and conquer and each time we would approach a rapid he would shout “paddle forward” or “paddle easy” and I would make my paddle sashay in the rapids. We would paddle with all our might until we were past the rapids then we would throw our paddles in high fives to express jubilation. Starting at 1 p.m., it was almost 3 p.m. when we finished our 12-kilometer water rafting.
Also in Cagayan we experienced the canopy walk — a winding hanging bridge about a foot in diameter and 150 feet from the ground, the zip line where you are like being transported in a bucket in a tramline in 14 seconds all of 150 meters. These are hip, fun ways of crossing a jungle when before canopy walks and zip lines, you only had to use baging to travel from one end of the forest to another.
From Cagayan, we went on a road trip to Bukidnon where we visited Del Monte pineapple plantation. We also took a boat ride to Camiguin Island where we did our Station of the Cross and where we visited the famous Underwater Cemetery, the Katibawasan Falls, the soda pool, the hot springs.
Boracay will always have a special place in my heart but I will always look forward to visiting Cagayan de Oro and Camiguin again and again and again.
Source: DIRECTLINE By Boy Abunda
Wednesday, April 2, 2008
The Philippine Star
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