Frannywanny

Just a few months ago, I was inspired to look for copies of old movies. By old, I'm referring to movies created during the 80s to the early 90s. These were the ones that came out when I was still too young to comprehend things or for some, I wasn't allowed to watch them yet (PG-13/R-18). One of the movies that I recently watched was Dirty Dancing . I've been hearing a lot of raves that this is the best dance movie of all time and since I love dance/musicals then I was really excited to see this! photo from Amazon.com True enough, I enjoyed the movie very much! I loved the songs and how simple yet beautiful the story between Johnny Castle and Frances "Baby" Houseman was. It's also so cool that I share the same name with the lead actress ( hihi! ). Sadly, the lead actor Patrick Swayze has passed away a few years ago but his legacy lives on as the spirit of Dirty Dancing is so much alive and kicking dancing. From the soundtrack to a musical producti...

I grew up in a very musically-inclined family. Aside from our shared love for food, cooking and eating, my relatives are also music lovers and its either one can sing, can play an instrument, or can at least appreciate good music. A proof of this was during our wedding reception where not only one, not two but FIVE family members performed and there were actually still more who wanted to do a song number or two. It can truly be a concert when you put my entire family together. Given that, my sister and I grew up watching musicals and listening to music that my parents would play on their cassette player. Imagine, the first movie that I watched was Sound of Music and I think I watched this over and over again until our Betamax tape gave up on me. My parents are fans of The Carpenters, Beegees, The Platters and ABBA so it's no surprise that my sister and I are very familiar with their songs... some we even memorize by heart. This is one reason why I was so excited when Mommy ...

It has been a while since I've watched a musical play. It has been more than 2 years ago to be exact. I fell in love with watching theater acts way back when I was still in high school. I'm lucky that my school (an exclusive all-girls school) and our neighboring school (an exclusive all-boys school) have combined to create an organization called Stage FX where a number of amazing production numbers have been staged featuring, of course, the talented students of both schools. Okay, because anyone jumps into the conclusion that this is where I have honed my drama queen skills, well I was a part of the production crew thus I work behind the scenes...far far away from the limelight. Still, I enjoy listening to the cast rehearse and I never miss a play night. That's how much I love watching plays. For those who feels the same way towards watching musical plays, well here's one show you shouldn't miss -- Sweet Charity ! This will open on August 5, 2011 at the C...

It has been a while since Paul and I went to watch a stage play. The last was the 25th Annual Putnam Spelling Bee which happened more than a year ago. Oh I can't wait to go and watch another stage play again in order for us to enrich ourselves culturally and musically! Valentine's Day is just around the corner and one good way to spend this red-letter day is by watching one of the multi-awarded theater productions that's coming back to Manila this February! Presenting RENT -- a musical production that is based on Giacomo Puccini's La Boheme . The story revolves around a group of impoverished young artists and musicians living in New York's Lower East Side while dealing with their personal issues and for three of them, as they battle HIV/AIDS. While I have not watched the play myself, but I am familiar with one famous song that I truly love -- Seasons of Love Five hundred twenty-five thousand six hundred minutes Five hundred twenty-five thousand moments s...

Here's something you and your kids can do at home to liven up your day. Try the OREO online game which you can access at www.shareoreo.com . Here are the two games that you can play: Twist, Lick and Dunk! The challenge is to drag the corresponding blocks to the correct empty box labeled with a "?" This is a perfect hand and eye coordination game where you have to make sure you can easily navigate your mouse around the screen. OREO bonding puzzle Given various items found on the screen, you have to be able to click on the corresponding pieces following the conversation between the mom and her child. The goal is to get both mom and child on the table to enjoy their pack of OREO as they Twist, Lick and Dunk! This game may be a bit tricky but as soon as you get the pattern, it is very fun and interesting to play. This is actually my favorite game in the site! Check out these fun online OREO games over at www.shareoreo.com !

From the group that brought us Avenue Q and Hairspray , comes another interesting musical production that is sure to tickle our funny bone as we watch six young individuals in the midst of puberty battling each other out in a spelling bee that will teach them that winning isn't everything and that losing doesn't necessarily make you a loser . The 25th Annual Putnam Spelling Bee will run from July 3 to 12, 2009 at the Carlos P. Romulo Theater in the RCBC Tower, Makati. Here's the list of ticket sellers according to the official website of the Atlantis Productions : Additional info: July 4, 8pm show: contact Spotlight Manila

This is a story about a young 16-year old girl named Tracy Turnblad who dreams of being part of The Corny Collins Show, the coolest dance program on TV. Luckily, she finally got her chance and became a teen celebrity overnight. Of course, just like every story, Tracy finds herself with a dilemma as she competes against the show's reigning princess for the title Miss Teenage Hairspray 1962. Will she eventually succeed? Based on the movie that stars Nikki Blonsky, John Travolta, Michelle Pfeiffer, Amanda Bynes, Atlantis Production is staging this fun, musical story right here in Manila! Featuring the very talented, Madel Ching as Tracy Turnblad, she will be joined by renowned actor Michael de Mesa as Edna, Dulce as Motormouth Maybelle, Menchu Lauchengco-Yulo as Velma Von Tussle, Nyoy Volante as Seaweed J. Stubbs and a lot more. I am so excited to watch Madel as this will be her professional theater debut and I'm sure she'll definitely impress everyone with her talent! ...

Being fans of theater and the arts have led both Paul and I to watch a number of stage productions that ranges from serious dramatic plays to fun and lively musicals. From Avenue Q to the West Side Story and to smaller school productions, we are blessed to be given a little piece of upgrade in our play-watching experience as we were invited by a dear friend and fellow blogger last night to catch the first technical rehearsal of the much-awaited Opera entitled La Bohème . Tagged as The Greatest Love Story Ever Sung , I was so intrigued and excited to watch the play myself. Thankfully, the weather cooperated with us making our drive to CCP short and pleasant. Too bad, due to some minor time mixed up, we arrived just as Act III was about to begin. Nonetheless, I was instantly enthralled by the powerful voices of the actors. I realized that one way to fully appreciate an opera especially one that makes use of a different language is to read up . Although Floy Quintos' version of La...

A new take on Shakespeare's classical Romeo and Juliet where it involves two neighborhood gangs that is always at war with one another and two hearts that continues to beat despite the rivalry and forces that keeps them apart. It opened with a fight scene between the Jets (a group of white American boys) and the Sharks (a group of Puerto Rican immigrants) in West Side Manhattan. The story continues when Tony, a former Jets member, saw Maria, the sister of Bernardo who's the head of the Sharks, at a dance. They immediately fell in love despite knowing the possible consequences if ever they would get caught. The rumble between the Jets and the Sharks continues. Maria asked Tony to stop the fight which he promises to do. Unfortunately, the fight turned ugly leaving Riff and Bernardo, both gang heads, dead. This was just the first part of the play. Though the story was pretty interesting, I somehow felt that something was missing. I've always been a fan of musicals but for some...

Disney's Mulan is one of my all-time favorite movie! It's a story of a young Chinese girl who went through the challenges to be a warrior disguised as a man to take the place of her father. It was a difficult feat but eventually Mulan successful was able to lead the fight against the Mongols and saved China from being invaded. Hooray! It's a story that shows the importance of taking care of the family's name, upholding the honor for one's country (China) and going against all odds to protect these. No matter how often I watch the movie, it never fails to bring tears to my eyes whenever the dad would say this line: "The flower which blooms in adversity is the rarest and most beautiful of all." --proverb from "Mulan" I can't wait for the opening of Repertory Philippines' stage version of the movie entitled Disney`s Mulan Jr. ! This is targeted primarily to the kids whom I believe would love the show! Mulan Jr is opening tomorrow and will...

It was just barely six months ago when I finally had my chance to watch the highly-acclaimed Avenue Q in RCBC Plaza. Thanks to a dear friend, I'm back once again with my little sister, this time to catch the final run and the 1st ever Avenue Q performance of Carla Guevarra as Kate Monster and Lucy the Slut. I can just imagine the pressure there is on Carla who now has the role which also garnered a lot of raves and that formerly belongs to Rachel Alejandro. However, she do not have to worry as everyone would probably agree with me in saying that Carla is truly a talented actress creating a clear connection between the audience and her two puppets. We're really amazed how we can flawlessly switch from nicey-nice Kate Monster to seductive Lucy and back again. I love her expressive facial reactions that perfectly brings out the right emotions from her character. "I know we'll never get tired of Avenue Q", whispered my sister who obviously was enjoying the show eve...

Another great Broadway play is coming to town and boy, am I excited to watch it! I was told that this is one of the best musical productions of all time with songs like "Tonight", "Somewhere", "One Hand One heart" and a lot more! West Side Story in Manila will have Christian Bautista as Tony and Joanna Ampil as Maria. I'm sure it will be another great show as it will be directed by Audie Gemora. Buy a ticket, help a kid The show will be on September 5, 2008, 8PM at the Meralco Theater. Ticket rates are as follows: Balcony Side - P500 Balcony Center - P700 Orchestra / Loge Side - P1000 Orchestra / Loge Center - P1200 To make this more meaningful, a portion of the proceeds from this play will be donated to Kythe Foundation , which aims to help uplift the spirits of children with cancer. For more info, you may contact Minnie Fong at 0917-8676332 or minnie.fong@gmail.com Can't make it on the 5th? Don't fret, the show will run from September to Oct...

After a month worth of planning, finally I was able to catch the 2nd to the last run of Avenue Q at the RCBC Auditorium. Gaining a lot of raves from various critics and internet bloggers plus my very own sister who was able to watch it last September, I made sure that I will not let this opportunity pass me by without allowing myself to be bitten by the Avenue Q bug. The verdict? I.Ruv.It.!!!! I love watching plays and this one surely ranks high up in my list of favorites along with Trumpet's The Lion, Witch and the Wardrobe and The Little Mermaid. It amazing to see Rachel Alejandro switch from nicey-nice Kate Monster to sexy Lucy the Slut. It's true that after some time you'd turn your focus away from the actor holding the puppet to the puppet itself. In other words, the talented cast was able to bring all the puppets to life. Felix Rivera ; who, by the way, sang in select Starbucks Coffee stores during my 12 Nights of Christmas project last year, is the lead actor handl...