Trysts with Zsa Zsa Zaturnnah

Weeks after seeing the musical and I'm still obsessing over the latest Filipino superhero icon to grace the modern pop culture.

Ze Moveeh
I actually first heard of the musical but didn't get to see the 1st run at the CCP nor the succeeding run at PETA. The complexities of my life at the time won't allow me. And so when Regal Films announced that they're shooting the movie for the 2006 Metro Manila Film Festival, I went to see it for the sake of finally seeing ZZZ.

I didn't have high expectations as movies never really give justice to the original form a material was produced for. So overall, I'll say Ze Moveeh was generally entertaining.
Oh, I do have some complaints... er constructive criticisms:

1. The opening sequence pertaining to the rain and its reference to the general situation of lead character, Ada, felt weak and was rather an uncompelling proposition to open the movie. It felt like a typical gay story. It didn't present anything new.

2. I think Mother Lily just came up with the bright idea that Zsa Zsa Padilla should play the role given her name-sake with the heroine. She tried to give her best but she just didn't fit the role. I thought she was a little bit over-acting and simply didn't understand that her role is that of a gay in a woman's body.

3. The musical numbers lacked energy. The opening rain dance was ho-hum. Zsa Zsa's Babae Na Ako didn't really shout with gay glee. Pops's performance whether singing or acting has never really made an impact for me. The transmorphication number lacked the potential of what movie special effects can do to a scene of alien amazonistas gathering power from the universe. The CG frog was so CG unlike the one in the Pinky Montilla version of my youth which was a REAL frog.

4. A lot of irrelevant characters not to mention miscast. Fine, so they felt they needed a love team for the teen audience but then I'm not sure if Pauleen Luna and her partner (who I don't recognize) really had any teen pull. I've already mentioned Zsa Zsa Padilla as a miscast. Christian Vasquez had more 'noodles' than Alfred Vergara but I guess the moreno Alfred would make the girls and gays swoon more.

And while the movie was generally faithful to the graphic novel, it lacked the intensity of the issues of women and homosexuals. And each person's general longing for love and understanding.

After all these, I'd still give credit where credit is due.

Rustom Padilla as Ada was a revelation to me. Others didn't like his portrayal but I think he was consistent with what he wanted to do with the character. His version of Ada was his own. It was similar to the character in the novel but was still distinct from Tuxqs Rutaquio's Ada. He was a natural. Yes I know he's really gay but he's still not a parlorista.

Ze Graphic Novel
I didn't know ZZZ was originally a graphic novel. I only heard of it from an officemate. It was sold out from all the bookstores when I started looking for a copy. I wanted to enjoy it on its original form before catching Ze Moveeh. Obssessing over it, I got to read the first five pages from the Alamat Comics website after much surfing on the net.

I was immediately drawn in to Ada's seemingly solitary existence and search for true happiness. I readily gave out a snort-kind-of-laugh with Didi's funny quips. I could actually borrow a copy from my officemate but I just had to get my own copy.

Finally, I got my copy fresh from Power Books and dug my nose into it. It was a quick read. Funny, incredulous and nostalgic at the same time. It brought me back to the black & white movie of Pinky Montilla's Supergirl and her fight against the giant frog made by mad scientist played by the late Vic Diaz (or am I mixing movies here?). And as Zsa Zsa Zaturnnah fought off the zombies, I picture in my head the floating coffins on the river amidst the walking dead in probably the same Supergirl movie if my memory serves me right. Not to mention the parody or what you may want to refer to as modern adaptation of Darna's Planet Women in the form of the english speaking Amazonistas was equally witty.

But ZZZ remains to be Carlo Vergara very own with content that may have been very personal or just something he felt strongly about.

My only wish is that they should have released it in color.



Ze Muzikal
No bad reviews indeed! How can you when the cast especially the leads played their respective roles with utmost gusto and sincerity. Let me applaud them here one more time:


Eula Valdez - I'm officially declaring myself a fan of Philippine telenovela's Amor Powers. She was ZZZ in the flesh! And I never knew, the woman can actually sing. And sing in character at that. She never forgot that she's a gay man trapped --- or more like ecstatically re-born into a woman's body.

Joey Paras - his Didi was not jsut your typical gay persona: funny, witty, brutally frank but fiercely loyal. A wonderful talent indeed. I would want to see him in other roles in the future. (Oh, I would have wanted to see Ricci Chan who played Didi during the first run. I loved him as Angel in the local production of Rent.)



Tuxqs Rutaquio - sensitive and reserved was his portrayal of Ada but brave and resolute at the same time. He may not have the best vocals in the cast but he sung in key nonetheless.



Agot Isidro - I didn't really expect much from her portrayal but she was as fantastic as the rest of the lead cast. With her consistency in character and effective delivery of such tongue-twisting lines, you can't help but be impressed with her performance.



Amazonistas - I think it would have been more fun and funny if they had more physical cues (whether hair, make up or costume) that made them look more like the celebrities they portrayed. Or maybe that was just wasn't the intent. It's a pity I missed Wilma Doesnt as I heard she was a blast.



Chorus - Wonderfully energetic but I'm afraid the size of the stage restricted their movements thus dance choreographies didn't have the vigor and power I usually expect from a musical production. Also the fight scene between ZZZ and the Mumus (zombies) would have had more impact if the punches were in time with corresponding musical score.


Huseng Batute was wonderfully maximized by set designer, Sonny Aniceto, both in terms of the cleverly penis-shaped stage as well as ensuring additional seating capacity to the otherwise smallest CCP theater.

Ze Orginal Zoundtrack

Congratulations to Vincent de Jesus (the lyricist, composer, musical director) for successfully mass producing his masterpiece, the first printing of which has already sold out and now making it available in music stores.

How can the music not be a success when it's wonderfully catchy, lyrically funny and witty and cheesy at the same time. And just when you think you've had enough of listening to it on a daily basis for weeks, it just grabs you once again into the world of ZZZ as soon as you pop it back into your CD player. Vincent also cleverly reuses musical bars from earlier songs to conote triumph and celebration as in the case of "Babae Na Ako", "Panalo na Ako", and "Victoria! Winner!"

My favorite tracks remain to be the danceable tunes "Parlorista ng Bayan" and "Babae na Ako" but I also find the melodramatic "Multo ng Nakaraan" and "Nakikita Ko na ang Nakakasilaw na Ilaw" very memorable.

You can find a complete listing and description of the zoundtrack at this fansite.

And for those like me who just would like more dose of Zsa Zsa Zaturnnah, I heard Tanghalang Pilipino is planning another production run this coming June. For updates you can check out TP's website or the mainpage of the ze fansite.

Basti's Night

Photo borrowed from http://www.pulse.ph/reunion/

Everyone from Wolfgang was in town so a reunion gig seemed like a good idea. And what a GREAT idea it was! If you're a fan, you'd know that Basti is now based in the US, Mon Legaspi is based in HK while Manuel is currently playing for Razorback. Wolf is touring with Lokomotiv and didn't join them for the gig. Now, it wouldn't be a full reunion without their buddy band, Razorback.The reunion concert aptly called Alive 2007 was for only two nights: Jan 6 & 12 at the Music Museum.

Actually I didn't expect to get to see the concert. It was originally set for a one night reunion gig last Jan 6, 2007. We had a Bohol trip set for Jan 4-7! I was asking Mike that if we could get tickets to the concert, would he want to fly back early. But he said, it was just really too much of a hassle since we'd have to rebook everything. As soon as we got back, Mike told me that there was going to be a repeat of the concert due to the overwhelming demand of fans. I called Music Museum to ask about the gig but they said it was still under negotiation. I called again the next couple of days. It was now sold out. Wala, sawi kami talaga. So, I already made plans with some friends to go to a Joey Ayala/Cynthia Alexander gig at Magnet Cafe in Katipunan. Then came the afternoon Jan 12. An officemate informed me that Sabrina Artadi (yes Basti's sister, who happened to be our supplier) was giving 2 passes for our company and if I would be interested to go. Of course I wanted to go, especially since Mike's such a Wolfgang fan but I sort of had the dilema since I've already committed to going out with some friends. But then this concert was most unlikely to happen again anytime soon. Siempre, I chose to go and my friends understood me for ditching them.

And it was the best decision of the day.

The concert was the best gig ever! We were seated at the 5th row on the right side of the venue. The crowd was just so excited cheering ever so loudly when they announced that the concert was going to start in 10 min. Sabi nga ni Mike, nagsigawan din pati mga tao sa CR nung narinig yung announcement. As each band member came out in the dark to take their post on the stage, people were already shouting with excitement and anticipation. They played a short clip showing old pictures from both bands: old gigs, tours, and just hanging out. It was very nostalgic for everyone there. When Basti came out, the crowd just went crazy. (Actually picture pa lang ni Basti sa clip, nagsisigawan na mga tao). Basti and the band opened the gig with a Wolfgang favorite, Center of the Sun, if I remember correctly. After that Kevin Roy took over the first set. Basti backed him up a bit for one song then left the stage to Razorback. I just realized how small Kevin was and how he sounded a bit like Karl Roy. Well, magkapatid naman sila. Later on they did a song together (siempre hindi ko alam ang title pero sabi ni Mike, Black Sabbath daw yon).

Then it was Basti's turn. And you can see, it was really his night. You'll see in his performance how much he missed performing here. He would also quip "ang saya talaga dito sa Pilipinas" and what a f@#%ing good time he's having. He really commanded the stage and asked the audience to join him in the singing. And pretty much everyone sang with him. I tried to join the chorus of songs I knew pero si Mike talaga yung intro pa lang alam na yung kanta. It was really almost as if the audience was just jamming with him and the band. It felt like a big get together of old friends. Ang saya! While almost everyone in the audience didn't stop from jumping up and down and singing, there were a few girls in our area who obviously just came to accompany their husbands/boyfriends and could hardly bring themselves to enjoy. Buti na lang fan ako kahit papano at mahilig sa rak-rakan. hehe.

Not even Basti's or Manuel's still good looks egged them to enjoy. Nakakatuwa rin makita kung paano nagbago ang mga itsura nila. Basti gained a bit of weight but not what you'd call fat. Mon Legaspi shed some pounds and is sporting short hair now. Manuel seemed to look older the most but it didn't stop girls from screaming, we love you Manuel! Tirso Ripoll has the aura of Miguel Faustman but still rocking cool. Miguel Ortigas no longer has his long locks Razorback and dating Dawn Zulueta days. Kevin Roy is not as stocky as I remember him (akala ko nga matangkad sya dati eh) pero makulit pa rin ang itsura. Yung iba hindi ko natatandaan.

Anyway, Wolfgang and Razorback alternated sets and played a few songs together. Kevin was fun and energetic but I preferred Basti's way of interacting with the audience. Manuel Legarda was really a trooper coz he played for both bands and pretty much the entire 3-hr program. Oh Miguel Ortigas only played one song with Razorback, for old times (me ibang drummer na kase sila).

Later on Wolfgang played a new song (title escapes me) and said that maybe they might come out with a few more. When he mentioned that he's due to fly out to America the next day, the crowd grumbled disapproval to which he said, "well what can you do? gotta work." Yeah he misses the Philippines and the fans but reality is he's now a family man. He hinted that he might come back next year and do this again, who knows. And the fans are hopeful.

Overall it was a great show. They recorded both concerts live and will decide which they'll use for the DVD that will hopefully come out in April. Sayang, hindi kaya ng camera ko yung low lighting at smoke machine kaya wala kaming decent pictures ni Mike. I'm grateful that others did have amazing pictures from the gig.