Erik Santos – Prince of Pop

Last night’s PowER IKons The Repeat was a blast, when we arrived at the venue, madami ng naghihintay, nakakatuwa kasi kahit Wednesday sya, holiday nga pero may pasok naman kinabukasan, ang dami pa ring taong nandun to watch Erik. The show was opened by two front acts, Miguel yung first act, then si Thor. Pareho sila magaling especially Thor, a new RnB artist na aabangan.

Erik opened once again with his cover of The Climb, the same intensity as the two other previous PowER IKons, walang bakas ng pagod sa boses nya to think na may Little Mermaid pa sya every weekends. The same power na inaasahan from him. The next song Larger Than Life, he rocked it kahit walang backup dancers, he didn’t even do his choreography. I love the next medley of hits from the future icons, from the likes of John Legend, Britney, Beyonce, Usher, Rihanna…pero syempre grabe na naman kami tinamaan sa version nya ng Seperated by Usher. Another memorable song sa repertoire is the song of his Ninang Barbara daw (hahaha) Evergreen.

Then guest Bugoy Drilon made a sign of the cross when it’s his turn to sing, we felt how nervous he is but still did a good job, he sang I’ll Make Love To You and a Brian McKnight song. After he sang, lumabas si Erik to thank him, Bugoy called Erik Kuya. Erik joked, kung makakuya naman si Bugoy parang ang tanda ko na. Well, I think di yun dahil sa age, he has that much respect for you to call you Kuya.

Another medley of songs from Celine, Mariah and Whitney. I can’t think of anyone, ibang male singers that can belt out these three makagasgas lalamunan na kanta and owned it, All By Myself, On My Own and Butterfly. Only Erik can do that.

He acknowledge Christian Bautista and his family for coming, and later he called Christian to do an impromptu duet, Martin and Gary hits medley. Nahawa na rin si Christian ng sense of humor kay Erik, while singing How Did You Know, they’re doing Gary V. trademark antics hahaha…sabi pa ni Christian he’s not prepared, nakapangbahay nga lang daw sya. Well applauded din yung impromptu duet nila.

Next guest is Nikki Gil, nakakatuwa kasi you can see how really close they are, isa si Nikki sa mga friends talaga ni Erik sa showbiz. Napagusapan daw nila na kailangan magbolahan sila sa stage by giving each other compliments. Nikki said ang gwapo daw ni Erik kagabi, sagot ni Erik, yan naman gusto ko sa yo. They sang Memories/To Where You Are mash-up. Nikki even joked na nakalimutan nya na daw yata kumanta kasi panay talking na lang daw ginagawa nya nowadays. But in fairness, she did well din naman sa duet nila. Then she sang her solo, Million Miles Away. Nikki starred in two musicals, Legally Blonde and Sweet Charity. Speaking of musicals, Erik’s Little Mermaid family was there to support. Sabi nya sino pa di nakakapanuod ng Little Mermaid manuod na kasi kakaibang Erik ang mapapanuod nyo, English speaking.

Isa pang favorite medley ko is The Pinay Diva medley, Zsa Zsa’s Kahit Na, Pop’s Don’t Say Goodbye, Regine’s Dadalhin, Sharon’s Sanay Wala Ng Wakas.

Sobrang feel good din ng I Can’t Smile Without You, wherein pinakanta nya ang mga audience, daming magagandang boses sa audience. Sinunod nya yung all time favorite namin na Barry Manilow Medley nya.

When it’s Rachelle Ann Go’s turn, we were blown away paglabas nya pa lang, I love the outfit, georgous!! She belted Etta James’ At Last..oh my tao ba kayo ni Erik, walang kapaguran sa pagkanta. Then they did the Tribute to Superstar Nora Aunor medley, funny kasi Rachelle was anticipating na gagawin ni Erik ang kanyang Nora impersonation sa It’s My Life (hahaha), bentang benta pa rin sa min kahit pangatlong beses na. They sang People, What Kind of Fool I Am, sabi nga ni Erik, tanggalan ng ngala-ngala. We can’t help but look on Christian’s direction, I wonder what’s on his mind that time, ganda kaya ni Rachelle Ann that night. Nag invite sila again to watch The Little Mermaid.

Erik’s rendition of Freddie Aguilar’s classic, Anak is superb. I can see him record this song for a teleserye or movie. Pwede…

Syempre kailangan mas itaas pa ang level ng energy…Erik did his Basil Valdez medley, hindi exaggeration but I’m sure, even Basil himself mapapa-standing ovation and will be very happy to hear Erik’s cover of his songs. That was awesome..yung akala mo tapos na, then may kasunod pa pala na song..I hope marami pang tao ang makarinig kay Erik singing this medley. Nakakaproud talaga.

And di makukumpleto ang gabi ng kahit na anong concert ni Erik without his trademark song This Is The Moment and I Believe I Can Fly. Kanyang kanya na talaga ang This is The Moment, synonymous na sa pangalan nya and no one can argue, he gave life to this song.

Erik Santos’ concert is alway equal to Standing Ovation. Kahit ilang concert yata ang mapanuod namin, di kami magsasawa. Sarap kasi ng feeling na after every concert, nandun yung feeling na proud kami na si Erik ang napili naming hangaan. So, see you again next time, Music Museum is too small of a venue for someone with too big of a voice.

Prince of Pop @realeriksantos Erik Santos reveals has no plans of settling down. The full story and more in our December 2011/January 2012 issue, available this month! —

MANILA, Philippines — Gossip Girl just heard from a fish in the sea that lead star of Little Mermaid Rachelle Ann Go is healing a broken heart. According to my sea urchin (did I say fish a while ago?), Rachelle Anne who happens to be a kapuso star was dating a kapamilya TV host just about the same size and age as she. But her broken heart did not at all affect her acting and musical performance as Ariel in Atlantis Productions of “The Little Mermaid.”

As I quote Ursula, her “vibrato, her legato, and even her belt” was impeccable! Even her eyes, which supposedly mirrors what a person really feels, were bright and gleaming with happiness and bubbliness just like Ariel in the Disney movie. I can say that she can be the next Lea Salonga. Even Lea Salonga herself said, “I don’t know that the superlatives in my vocabulary could cover just how wonderful I thought she was (Rachelle Ann Go).”

Erik Santos was grand and regal, very princely indeed. From our trip two years ago in Santorini, his diction in English has vastly improved and I was impressed.

Of course his voice is forever enchanting and powerful which is the reason why he was the grand champion of the very first “Star in A Million” in ABS-CBN. He is also very handsome so I am just counting the days when Rachelle Ann gets smitten by his gentleness and charming looks.

My daughter and I who both watched their performance actually got “kilig” on their kissing scenes when both their lips pressed. Erik and Rachelle Ann have a loving chemistry onstage that I am hoping can develop offstage.

And if it won’t, something in the universe must be wrong for these two perfect beings not to fall in love with each other!

As for the other characters, my hands and knees are bent to venerate your flawless performances. Directors Bobby Garcia and Chari Arespacochaga did a very good job blocking and directing the cast.

Jinky Llamanzares who portrayed Ursula blew my mind, body and soul! I have always wanted to do Ursula, that’s my dream role! So I have already plotted every step that Ursula will make. Every note and lyric that Ursula will belt or growl is already directed in my mind.
And so if the actress does not even come close to the Ursula in my mind, she will definitely have a bad review from me. Jinky Llamanzares freakin’ beat the actress in my mind in voice, action, diction and song! Fantastic!

I can definitely say that OJ Mariano, who portrayed the role of Sebastian, is a very good actor and a fabulous singer. He can actually belt high notes a la Earth, Wind and Fire style then go down on the other side of the scale showing his grand vocal range. However OJ was more concerned on his acting and vocal technique that he tends to forget to be loose and comedic which is what Sebastian is all about.
There was a moment in the play, though, that I caught the real Sebastian in him. It was the scene where he was teaching Ariel to pucker her lips so that she can kiss the prince and get her voice back.
Knowing OJ, once he reads this article, he can definitely adjust and just enjoy his role because Sebastian is the vital key for laughter in the “Little Mermaid.”

It is always understood that musicales in the Philippines can never beat the Broadway musicales funded by the Jews in New York. And so I call our productions a miracle and the people behind it, wizards!
Wizards because they can actually transform a meager budget into a fantabulous production. It was obvious that the production design had a working budget but they were able to transform Meralco into a visual feast for the audience.

Even the cheap animation and puppet effect actually worked and served its purpose! The costumes were fantabulous especially Ursula’s, although I kinda thought Flounder was a sultan prince of the Alladin musicale lost at sea.

The mermaid fins were a little disturbing at first. It made me hungry because it reminded me of giant prawns in my surf and turf dinner plate. But when Ariel would lie down or lounge in a certain angle, the fins actually work.

Of course we cannot expect a Filipino production to have everybody in harnesses floating onstage all the time. It would be a nightmare for the mermaids to be belting while being constricted with harnesses.
Thank you, Atlantis Productions, for making us children again. Thank you, Ceejay Javier, because your musical direction made me high the entire play.

I wish we could have more musicales like this in the Philippines. And once the Jews see the talents of the Filipinos and start investing in musicales in the Philippines, count me in! Plan to be the next Ursula.
“The Little Mermaid” runs in Meralco Theater till Dec. 11.

Giselle Sanchez is a singer, stand-up comedienne and corporate host. She will have a concert with the Acafellas on Dec. 9 at The Philippine Heart Center. For tickets please call Dr. Jhulliet at 09175070560. Follow her on Twitter (@GiselleXanchez) and Facebook (gossipgirlgiselle@gmail.com). Her Bohol Beachfront hostel will officially open to guests on January 2012, go towww.gisellesanchez.com for details.

Manila Bullettin

After a hectic week visiting doctors, I welcome a chance last Sunday to go to the Meralco Theater to see The Little Mermaid, a production by Atlantis Productions, its last one for 2011. I was a few minutes late, thus had to see the play from the front row of the orchestra right section where the sound quality was erratic.
The visual presentation was first-class. It overwhelmed me. The sets, costumes, other visual effects were invigorating.

Fortunately, I saw the second half of the musical in my correct seat, 4th row center orchestra left aisle. Viewing was superior when compared with my first seat. I could understand the words of the songs and dialog. However, it was played far too loud. In some ways this drowned the noise made by the multitudes of very young children present.

Once again I witnessed how people believe the announcements warning people not to take pictures of the show do not apply to them. The lady seated in front of me took quite a few pictures before an usher asked her to stop. In my opinion, the usher should have made the woman delete the pictures from her camera.

The costumes and sets deserve special mention, as well as the light design. They were breathtaking. The credit goes to Messrs. Lex Marcos, Eric Pineda and Jay Aranda. The fun choreography was done by Cecile Martinez. The orchestra was conducted by Ceejay Javier.

Bobby Garcia and Chari Arespacochaga, the directors of this musical, chose a very good cast. Congratulations are in order. CONGRATS!!!!

The most applauded performer was Jinky Llamanzares as Ursula. She literally squeezed the juice out of her role and the audience showed their approval with loud applause at the end of her numbers.

Rachelle Ann Go made a pretty Little Mermaid. She has a good set of vocal pipes, is very pretty to watch and convincing as an actress. What more can you ask for? Erik Santos as Prince Eric had a very pleasant singing voice. We should see more of him in future productions. Chris Millado was imposing as King Triton. He possesses a good singing voice and was most convincing.

Another actor who almost stole the show was OJ Mariano as Sebastian. The same can be said of Lee Viloria as Flounder and Felix Rivera and Jaime Barcelon as Flotsam and Jetsam.

Julienne Mendoza was a riot in the kitchen and dinner scenes. I couldn’t help but laugh out loud. He will go places in the future in musical theater. Carlos Canlas in the ensemble stood out in moments when he had solos.

The audience liked the show very much and gave the cast a standing ovation. Congratulations to all the cast and crew for a job well-done.

During the musical, some of the melodies made me think about The Little Shop of Horrors. I wondered why and found out only when I read the program notes during the intermission that Alan Menken, had composed the music for both shows.

I can summarize this by saying that you should NOT miss this fantastic musical but sit not closer than the 10th row of the orchestra section. Bring the entire family to this one. The play will be showing until Dec. 11 at the Meralco Theater.

For seats or reservations, call 889-7078 or TicketWorld at 891-9999.

After the play ended, I felt hungry and decided to try a new restaurant, Cuisenier Brasserie located at 102 Timog Ave. in front of the Caltex Gasoline Station. I highly recommend this restaurant. The place is clean, the staff is very friendly, the food is good, and the prices are not bad at all. Try their clam chowder soup, seafood risotto, appetizer of callos/tripe with a cream sauce, and, for dessert, do try their trifle of peach or strawberry or the panna cotta. The coffee is also very good. The owner/manager Erwin is very charming and most informative in regard to their food. It is open all days of the week. You can call 426-5872 or 586-8798.

BusinessWorld

Erik Santos, the human Prince named Eric

MANILA, Philippines – Despite having grown up with Disney characters Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Mickey Mouse, Alice in Wonderland, Peter Pan, Winnie the Pooh, Lion King, the Princess and the Frog all associated with Disney in one way or another, we had by some quirk of fate never been exposed to the delightful story of Disney’s The Little Mermaid. We were, therefore, entering an unfamiliar territory watching Atlantis Productions’ version of it at the Meralco Theatre until Dec. 11.

Directed by Bobby Garcia and Chari Arespacochaga, the production is said to be among the first stagings of the musical since its Broadway run in 2008. Bobby says they decided to stage The Little Mermaid over a year ago when informed that rights would be made available to Atlantis. Based on Disney’s animated film, in turn based on Hans Christian Andersen’s fairy tale, it tells of mermaid Rachelle Ann Go as Ariel willing to give up her life under the sea to gain the love of a human Prince Eric played by Erik Santos. The Atlantis version has utilized traditional Asian design elements in the Undersea, and Western design in the World Above.

The musical opens with Prince Eric on a ship, and Mermaid Rachelle Ann spending time in (The World Above) instead of the undersea celebration of dad Calvin Millado as King Triton who had defeated evil sister Ursula, amazingly played by Jinky Llamanzares.

Act 1 deals with Rachelle’s fascination with the human world (Part of your World), as she falls for Erik whom she saves after his ship crashes, and gives up her voice to Jinky (Poor Unfortunate Souls) for three days as a human. In Act 2, Rachelle is palace guest of Erik (Beyond my Wildest Dreams) but he must kiss her before she regains her voice. Erik is attracted to this mute girl and teaches her to dance (One Step Closer), but haunted by the voice he heard after his shipwreck and swears he must find her. In the end, they rediscover each other, Jinky is destroyed after Calvin offers himself in Rachelle’s place, and Calvin lets his daughter go to her new life as a human (Finale).

Calvin Millado and Rachelle Ann Go as King Triton and Little Mermaid
The musical is most engaging and while Jinky is the crowd favorite, the kids in the audience love the puppets and undersea creatures (Under the Sea), and one of our favorites is Chef Louis portrayed by Julienne Mendoza (Les Poissons).

We are especially interested in the character of Calvin as the King of the Undersea. He mentions something about remembering her mother to Rachelle when speaking of his distrust of humans. We searched for explanations on the Internet and found it in a prequel released by Disney in 2008 titled The Little Mermaid: Ariel’s Beginning when Ariel, the Mermaid spent happy times with her mom Queen Athena who was kidnapped by pirates, after which the King banned all music or mention of humans from his kingdom. We would have wanted a song from Calvin reminiscing happy times. That would explain his bitterness and strictness with his daughter. It would make his sacrifice of taking Rachelle’s place even more admirable, and his love for his daughter priceless when he gives permission for her to marry a human.

We think of Erik and Rachelle Ann, champions in mainstream music competitions, who are into their first theatrical roles. We admire their guts and gumption as well as that of producer director Bobby Garcia for putting his reputation on the line. “No problem at all with schedules,” Bobby clarifies. “We made it clear from the beginning that we don’t allow absences or tardiness. Both Rachelle Ann and Erik have been real pros. They are always early. Never missed a rehearsal. And always prepared. They have worked so hard on the show and I am so proud of their performances.”

Of course, the two newcomers have much to learn from their co-stars. They obviously have the vocal instruments for theater and initial feedback from co-workers indicate that they are fast learners with the interest and humility to work on in-depth understanding of their roles.

In 1989, the Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale was adapted into an animated film by the Walt Disney studio called The Little Mermaid. The film is credited for breathing life back into animated feature films, and marked the start of an era known as the Disney Renaissance. Meantime, Beauty and the Beast, another animated Disney film was released in 1991 based on a French fairy tale of a prince transformed into a Beast who must win the love of a Beauty named Belle, or will remain a Beast forever. The music of the film was composed by Alan Menken and Howard Ashman, both of whom had written the music and songs for Disney’s The Little Mermaid.

Later, Disney experienced the difficulty of having had to open these two commercial and critical Disney properties on Broadway at the same time that would divide audiences and cause competition between the two shows. They solved it by officially opening running Beauty and the Beast from 1994 and 2007 for 5,464 performances to become Broadway’s eighth-longest running production in history. The Little Mermaid subsequently opened on Broadway January 2008 closing August 2009 after 685 performances and 50 previews.

The Little Mermaid is one of the most popular stories transposed into various forms. Among them are an opera with music by Dvorak performed in Prague; a French three-act opera version called La Petite Sirene; an American Classics Illustrated Junior comic book series published in 1950; a TV version starring Shirley Temple as the Mermaid; a 1966 animated movie with Hans Christian Andersen played by Paul O’Keefe, and the voices of Burl Ives as Father Neptune, Hayley Mills as The Little Mermaid and Tallulah Bankhead as the Sea Witch; even a song called Little Mermaid in the repertoire of the Japanese Jazz-Fusion Band The Square. Animé adaptations are also found in Russia, Japan and the NHK 1991 TV series Saban’s Adventures of the Little Mermaid.

As The Little Mermaid continues its conquest of different mediums, we are most certain it will have more lives to live.
(E-mail your comments to bibsy_2011@yahoo.com.)

Philippine Star

KUNG TAYO AY naaliw noon sa mga pelikula at teleserye tungkol sa mga mermaids gaya ng Dyesebel, Marina, at Mutya ay muli na naman tayong mag-e-enjoy dahil sa isang kakaibang experience na hatid ng Atlantis Productions at Metrobank as they present Disney’s The Little Mermaid at the Meralco Theatre from November 18 to December 11.

Ang Disney’s The Little Mermaid ay tungkol kay Ariel, isang magandang mermaid na nakatira sa magical kingdom sa ilalim ng dagat. Ariel longs to leave her ocean home to live in the world above. Pero bago niya ito magawa, she has to defy first her father – the king of the sea – to escape the clutches of an evil sea witch at kumbinsihin ang isang prinsipe that she’s the girl with the perfect voice.

Based on one of the most beloved Disney films of all time and the classic Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale, Disney’s The Little Mermaid is the sparkling new Disney musical that made a splash on Broadway. Tiyak nang mapapakanta ang mga manonood dahil sa mga sikat na awitin nito tulad ng Part of Your World, Kiss the Girl, and Under the Sea which is an Academy Award-winning Best Original Song and written by the songwriting team of eight-time Academy winner Alan Menken and Howard Ashman.

Rachelle Ann Go plays Ariel while Erik Santos is her Prince in the musical. Kung parehong champions ang mga lead stars ay dapat lang na champions din at batikan sa larangan ng musical ang mga direktor nito tulad nina Boby Garcia (In the Heights, Next to Normal, A Little Night Music, Xanadu, Avenue Q, Spelling Bee, at Cinderella) at Chari Arespacochaga (Aida, Legally Blonde, Spring Awakening, Avenue Q, at Doubt).

Bongga ang ginawang paghahanda nina Direk Bobby at Chari para sa musical na ito. Nagpunta pa sila sa Hawaii noong isang taon para sa Asian Puppetry workshops that will help them create much of the underwater world. At kitang-kita naman ang kanilang effort para sa musical because Disney’s The Little Mermaid will be created with a fusion of East meets West elements. The underwater kingdom will be completely Asian in theme and the above water world will be Western, representing two different worlds. Gagamit din sila ng mga traditional forms of Asian and Western puppetry gaya ng Wayang shadow play, bunraku, nang kaloung at western hand and walking puppetry.

What makes the musical even more exciting is that the Manila production features over 150 costumes and numerous puppets of all shapes and sizes created by Liz and Benny Batoctoy.

Kasama rin sa cast sina Jinky Llamanzares as Ursula, OJ Mariano as Sebastian, Calvin Millado as King Triton, Lee Viloria as Flounder, Ikey Canoy as Scuttle, Felix Rivera as Flotsam, Jamie Barcelon as Jetsam and Raymond Concepcion as Grimsby. The Manila production also features a full orchestra using the original Broadway arrangements.

Disney’s The Little Mermaid has Choreography by Cecile Martinez, Set Design by Lex Marcos, Costume Design by Erik Pineda, Lighting Design by Jay Aranda, Music Direction by Ceejay Javier, Puppetry Design and Execution by Liz and Benny Batoctoy and Sam Fuentes, Projection Design by G.A. Fallarme and Vocal Coaching by ManMan Angsico. Tickets are now on sale. For more information, call Atlantis Productions at 892-7078 or 840-1187 or visit www.atlantisproductionsinc.com

Kaibigan, usap tayo muli!
Points of Boy
by Boy Abunda

PinoyParazzi

Theater
The Little Mermaid
Nov. 18 to Dec. 11
Meralco Theatre, Ortigas Ave.,
Pasig City

The tricky part of staging a Disney cartoon — any cartoon, really — is translating memorable scenes, which were created by the boundless imagination of animators, into live theater. The task becomes doubly hard if you choose a story that takes place under the sea.

The Little Mermaid is widely acknowledged as the beginning of the so-called Disney Renaissance, a period that saw the animation studio releasing a string of critical and box-office hits based on fairy tales. The image of Ariel perched on a rock, waves crashing around her, as she sings her little heart out in the reprise of “Part of Your World” has been burned into millions of retinas. How does one recreate that on stage? And what of gliding piscine movement that has no need for — what do you call them? — oh, feet.

“There really are iconic visuals associated with The Little Mermaid and they are presented with a twist for live theater,” explained Chari Arespacochaga, who is co-directing this offering from Atlantis Productions with Bobby Garcia. “This is part of the joy, the thrill and the challenge of mounting the musical version of these animated films. — The production is massive. It is taking literally hundreds of people to put on this show.”

To differentiate between the underwater world of Ariel, the titular mermaid played by Rachelle Ann Go, and the world of her human prince, Eric (Erik Santos), the directors decided to use contrasting visual cues. Triton’s kingdom beneath the waves has Asian elements, while the land above is rife with “Western” fairy tale references.

Both directors were in Hawaii last year to participate in Asian puppetry workshops, which influenced the design of Ariel’s marine home. The Little Mermaid features wayang shadow play from Indonesia; bunraku puppet theater from Japan; nang kaloung from Cambodia (similar to nang talung, southern Thai shadow play); as well as Western hand and walking puppetry.

According to Ms. Arespacochaga, even the materials used to build these puppets, which were made by prosthetics wizards Liz and Benny Batoctoy, stay true to these references. “It is amazing how banigs [hand-woven mats], when put together, can become a sea creature,” she said, adding that this combination of back-to-basics theatricality and technology “results in magic.”

Aside from puppets, The Little Mermaid includes over 150 costumes: among them, the suckered tentacles (more accurately, arms) of Ursula the Sea Witch (Jinky Llamanzares) and the red pincered getup of Horatio Thelonious Ignacious Crustaceous Sebastian (OJ Mariano).

Given the technical difficulties and the “bigness” of the production, it’s surprising that two theater neophytes were chosen as leads. Ms. Go is a singing champion who is part of GMA-7’s Party Pilipinas variety show while Mr. Santos, dubbed “the Prince of Pop in Philippine Entertainment,” is a multi-awarded recording and concert artist. Both are making their theatrical debuts.

“I am so excited for Manila to see what these two have created. They have been sheer joy to work with,” said Ms. Arespacochaga, who was impressed by both. She added that Mr. Santos makes for a “dashing and charming” prince while the “luminous” Ms. Go seems to be destined to play Ariel. “I would happily work with these two again and again and again.”

All the popular songs from Disney’s cartoon version The Little Mermaid will be sung on stage. “Part of Your World,” “Kiss the Girl,” and the Academy Award-winning Best Original Song, “Under the Sea” are all there, in addition to new songs such as “Wildest Dreams” and “One Step Closer.”

“It really is a show that is filled with a beautiful score,” said Ms. Arespacochaga. “But more than anything these fairy tales endure through the years and in any form — a story from a book, an animated musical, a live theatrical performance because of their stories, the lessons they impart and the magic they represent. Nothing beats seeing such a magical story unfold right before your eyes. If you love the movie you will love the show. In fact you may want to come back to see it again and again.”

(For more information, call Atlantis Productions at 892-7078 or 840-1187 or visit www.atlantisproductionsinc.com.)

BusinessWorld

MANILA, Philippines — Disney’s “The Little Mermaid” is set to premiere tomorrow night, the first time the well-loved musical is shown outside Broadway. For its Manila run, the cast is led by Erik Santos and Rachelle Ann Go.

Atlantis Productions and Metrobank are presenting the musical based on the 1989 animated film of the same title at the Meralco Theatre from Nov. 18 to Dec. 11.

“The Little Mermaid” features some of Disney’s most popular songs including “Part Of Your World,” “Kiss The Girl” and the Academy Award-winning (Best Original Song) “Under The Sea” by the song-writing team of eight-time Academy Award winner Alan Menken and Howard Ashman. New songs by Menken and Glenn Slater plus a book by Tony Award-winning playwright Dough Wright will also be featured in the stage adaptation of Hans Christian Andersen’s fairy tale.

Rachelle Ann stars as Ariel while Erik plays Prince Eric. This stage version is directed by Bobby Garcia (“In The Heights,” “Next to Normal,” etc.) and Chari Arespacochaga (“Aida,” “Legally Blonde”).

Manila Bulletin

MANILA, Philippines – “We’re so okay now,” Erik Santos described the state of his relationship with former manager, Boy Abunda. Their falling-out was well-publicized in the media in September, although Abunda had confirmed last month on TV that they had patched things up.

“I went to his house, we talked for three hours, and then, we were able to settle whatever had happened,” Erik told The STAR how the reconciliation went, prior to a recent presscon for the play he’s part of, Disney’s The Little Mermaid by Atlantis Productions.

He, however, declined to comment when asked by a movie columnist whether he owned up to talk that he “badmouthed” Backroom Inc., the talent management company that Abunda founded and headed until recently, and of which Erik was a talent for seven years until he was “released” in August.

“Ayoko na po pag-usapan yun,” requested Erik, now co-managed by Star Magic and Cornerstone, only stressing that he wants to put the issue behind him now.

Erik added, “It was hard at first, (but) we were able to clear up a lot of things. He said his piece, I said my piece, so at the end of the conversation, nagkalinawan po kami.”

And his realizations? “I realized that despite what happened, I know that Tito Boy loves me, not because I was his artist, and that he managed me, but bilang anak at bilang kaibigan. And I realized that napakabait and napakabuti po n’yang tao.”

“I’m happy we’re okay,” he said again.

One lesson Erik is taking from this episode is “that if you have a concern with someone, you tell it directly to the person,” then adding, “at the end of the day, alam mo kung sino yung mga totoo mong kaibigan, and Tito Boy is one of them.”

Backroom execs present during the The Little Mermaid presscon held at the Manila Ocean Park also reaffirmed that there’s no bad blood with their former ward; in fact, Erik was seen hugging some of the Backroom staff like long-lost friends reunited.

The Little Mermaid is Erik’s first theatrical foray. He plays the leading man Prince Eric opposite Rachelle Ann Go’s Ariel. He was practically handpicked for the role by Bobby Garcia, one of the two directors (the other is Chari Arespacochaga) of the Little Mermaid, which is a groundbreaking show, so to speak, as it’s the first-ever Asian production of the Broadway musical.

“Direk Bobby has been my director in all of my concerts at the Araneta. Two years ago, sinabihan na ako ni Direk Bobby, you play the role of Prince Eric in Little Mermaid. One year before the rehearsals, the soundtrack was already with me,” he said.

Erik shared that he had apprehensions going into the project, foremost of which was some discomfort with the English language.

“Actually, ang dilemma ko dito ay I have to admit talaga I think in Tagalog, di ako ma-English na tao. I really took speech workshops for this. So ngayon mas naging mas careful ako, mas inaral ko yung correct diction, intonation and enunciation. Speaking in (straight) English is not like second skin to me. From day one, that’s my concern. But I was able to overcome that through the rehearsals, at least.”

He’s also very much aware that the theater-going crowd can be tough to please, and that there’s very little room for mistakes. “For example, gumagawa ako ng concert, nagkamali ako ng lyrics, may teleprompter, or pwede ako mag-adlib. Pero dito sukat lahat at whatever yung nire-rehearse mo, yun dapat ang ibigay mo. You have to rely on muscle memory. It’s very challenging for me.”

But for the 29-year-old Erik, who plans on taking on as many experiences as he can to expand his artist portfolio in the runup to his 10th year in showbiz come 2012, theater has made him more disciplined as a singer and made him more appreciative of his craft. He said, “So, I have to do (major preparation). As much as possible, although you can’t please everybody, I don’t want the reviews to be all negative (laughs). I’ll do my best.”

Also forming the cast are Jinky Llamanzares as Ursula, OJ Mariano as Sebastian, Calvin Millado as King Triton, Lee Viloria as Flounder, Ikey Canoy as Scuttle, Felix Rivera as Flotsam, Jamie Barcelon as Jetsam and Raymond Concepcion as Grimsby. For details, call Ticketworld at 891-9999 or Atlantis Productions at 892-7078 or 840-1187. You can also log on to www.atlantisproductionsinc.com.

Disney’s The Little Mermaid, the musical, runs from Nov. 18 to Dec. 11 at the Meralco Theater.

Philippine Star

‘Basta I realized despite what happened that Tito Boy really loves me not just as a talent manager but as a son, as a friend. – Erik Santos’

SO how did Erik Santos patch things up with ex-manager Boy Abunda who was so mad with him? “I went to his house and we talked for three hours, settled everything. Nagkalinawan kami, okay na uli kami ngayon,” he said at the presscon of “The Little Mermaid” that starts showing at the Meralco Theater starting Nov. 18. “I won’t go into details anymore kung anong napag-usapan namin. Basta I realized despite what happened that Tito Boy really loves me not just as a talent manager but as a son, as a friend. Ganundin naman ako sa kanya, kaya hindi naging mahirap ang pag-uusap namin. I now acknowledge that he’s really a blessing in my life.”
So what did he learn from it?
“Na kung may gusto kang sabihin, diretso mo na lang dun sa tao kaysa padaanin mo pa sa iba. Also, I got to know who my real friends are and Tito Boy is surely one of them.”

And what has he learned starring in his first musical play?
“As a theater artist, iba ‘yung atake at discipline. Dito, walang take 2, hindi ka puede mag-adlib. What you rehearse, dapat ‘yun lang ang gawin mo kasi sukat ang lahat, lalo na when you sing. Walang teleprompter dito so I memorized all the songs by heart. I salute our directors, Bobby Garcia and Chari Arespacochaga, they helped me pati sa dancing, pati ‘yung pagkabulol ko when I speak in English, naalis nila. At saludo rin ako kay Rachelle Ann Go as The Little Mermaid. Sobrang galing niya and she inspires me to also give my best.”
For tickets to “The Little Mermaid,” call Atlantis Productions at 892-7078, 840-1187.

Malaya