January 24, 2012. What a night!!
You know when you really had a bad day, you just want to wish your life story is on DVD and grab the remote to hit the fast forward button, just to get it over and done with?
Yeah, exactly like that!
But we're not talking about that here. Probably some other time. If you get lucky.
Just so you know, I just got home from a really spazzy night at the Cultural Center of the Philippines, where, several hours ago, Mamma Mia! had its season premiere here in the country. The mere thought of it right now gives me a really huge smile. So wide it hurts. Until this part. Okay, I stop it. Pain!! I had to. No choice. Then, smile..again.
How do I even begin? It just feels so surreal to me because one of the dreams on my 'Yeah right, dream on' list had just come true. In fact, I want to get the pad where I wrote this list and cross out this goal. Right now. This moment right here. But if I do, I won't finish this because that list is probably out there in... a pile of...stuff, as what Miranda Priestly in The Devil Wears Prada would say.
I feel so elated. Wait, is that even a right word? Goodness, I can't even pick the appropriate word for this moment. Surely, it wouldn't be speechless as I would
Yeah, I just ran out of words there.
Wait, it has been a long journey, and I'm trying my best to drive my train of thought right now.
It was a spazzy night mainly because I shared the Mamma Mia! experience with, what-can-I-say, fabulous ladies! Who were undoubtedly, Mamma Mia! fans as well.
We sang along with the cast. We stomped our feet to the beat. We danced on our seats. And dot dot dot.
Pretty much what fan girls would do when they watch their favorite shows, or with their favorites, period.
Wait, did I just say we were Mamma Mia! fans?
For many, we were crazy ladies screaming our lungs out in... well, each production number, where singing was involved. Which by the way happens a lot in musicals, like Mamma Mia! Oh gosh, you didn't know?!
In fact, if I can just guess what people were thinking when they saw us like that, I'm pretty sure, I could list several, no, countless, hypotheses: they're insane! Exagge! OA! So noisy!
If looks could kill, we would have been brutally murdered right now.
But what the hell, go on and wallow in your killjoy misery. While we go on and on and on. 'Til you actually join us. Cheers!
Would have wanted to post a review about the musical but I think I just have to let this story go on while it's still fresh.
We actually didn't pay anything for this. We got our tickets for free! Thanks to Ayala Malls by the way! You're our hero! Our lifesaver! Coatsaver- the Miracle! Okay, enough.
Our complimentary tickets were worth around P3,000.00 each. That's not that cheap. So we were seated on the balcony. Frankly, not the best view out there but not bad. As long as you can see what the actors are doing, and hear what they're talking about, you are fine. We were. Certainly, we did not die. But it can give you anxiety attack if you're afraid of height. That I am sure of.
So we were up there, waiting for it to happen. You tell yourself, you better capture the moment, figuratively and literally. To fulfill the latter, you reach for your camera, oh damn, darn it, the marshals took it before you entered the theater because it's not allowed. Boo, you say.
But hey, at least you get to focus, 100% on what you're watching. Unless of course, you have Melissa McCarthy's character in Bridesmaids, beside you, annoying you with all her glory.
I tried taking snaps shots, especially during the encore. But I was easily spotted. So I had to stop, wait, it didn't even start!, filming. And danced.
I love it when Sara 'Donna' Poyzer says, "Gusto niyo pa?" (Do you want another one?)
I am a spoiler? Oh too bad. You just read it right there! Try thinking you did not just read it. But wait, you just did!
In the movie, it was that moment where you can see the greatest living American actress today (who by the way just scored her record-breaking 17th Oscar nomination tonight), Meryl Streep, dancing, uhm, wildly? In Abba's Waterloo. Shaking her... Oh okay, you gotta see the movie. You have? You bet!
Filipinos, were, initially shy when it came to the dancing during the encore part. Goodness, others just preferred to sit there for what it seemed like an hour! Give your butt a break! Make it eat kitkat. It was wild... For others, like us, we opted to stand up, dance, sing, enjoy the moment. Seriously, every time this moment comes, I think of Thank You For The Music. Why? If you know the lyrics, you know what I'm talking about.
"And I've often wondered, how did it all start?//
Who found out that nothing can capture a heart//
Like a melody can//
Well whoever it was//
I'm a fan//
So I say, thank you for the music...//
The songs I'm singing..."
Yeah, just like that. Wait, did you just sing it? I can hear you. Not bad. I thought I heard a bear being tickled.
I think it's the first time that Mamma Mia! included our country for its international tour. That, yes, I have yet to verify. Admittedly, I have seen the Mamma Mia! the movie first, before seeing this.
I remember it perfectly. It was 4 years ago. It was around July 2008 when the movie was shown here. Being the Meryl Streep fan that I am, I got so excited, my life probably revolved around this thing, at that time. I researched. Of course, Wikipedia was helpful. (Stop Sopa, anyone?) Youtube was my best friend. Downloaded the .mp3 files wherein you can hear James Bond sing. Pierce Brosnan, I mean + Mr. Darcy (that's Colin Firth) + that weird looking guy in the Pirates of the Carribean franchise (but they are all weird!) (Stellan Skarsgaard). It was... incredulous! Add in Julie Walters and Christine Baranski.
These people can actually sing? And wait, no autotune! Hmm. Awesome. But of course, other say they can identify a sound like a cat screeching, or something like that. Go figure.
So, when I watched the stage play for the first time, I was not surprised that there were changes. Under Attack, Knowing Me, Knowing You, Thank you for the Music, parts were not in the movie. And Our Last Summer, in the play, had only Harry Bright on it, as opposed to the film adaptation where all the supposed dads + Sophie were on the boat, gleefully singing... I can still recall Our Last Summer.
Oh there are so many things that will stick in your brain after this. Like gooey stuff that are difficult to get. For instance, wow! That Under Attack scene reminded me of Mars Attacks! Erase. Geez! The Voulez Vous choreography looked effortless! Not?
That moment where you get teary-eyed, okay, admit it, you cried, during Slipping Through My Fingers. That moment when a mother is about to give away her daughter.
"Sometimes I wish that I could freeze the picture...and save it from the funny tricks of time..."
Okay, tears alert!
Or perhaps that moment when Rosie tried to seduce Bill and asks him to, "Take A Chance on Me". See, you tell yourself it's exxagerated. So does our reality, isn't it? I mean, reality can sometimes be more absurd, hilarious, ridiculous than fiction. Who are we to conclude...
Like I said, to conclude...
Wow! Hmm... These are pretty much what I wanted to share right now.
From the bottom... of... my... yes, heart, thank you so much to everyone behind Mamma Mia! Thank you to Abba. Thank you for the music!
And of course, thank you to the ladies, to the wonderful, bloody fantastic and fabulous ladies who shared the Mamma Mia! experience with me! It won't be as fun as it was, if you girls were not around! Streeper hugs as well! Goodness, Meryl, what you do to people! Thank you, Meryl. Wherever you are, whatever you''re doing now.
I just have to write this in:
Point to ponder:
Dreams do come true. Four years ago, I had dreamt of seeing Mamma Mia! here in my country. Many people rolled their eyes and told me to 'dream on' because it certainly was out of reach; it just wouldn't come true. Well, guess what, I just saw Mamma Mia! at CCP last night, on its premiere! Well, if I say, "I will meet Meryl Streep one day, #youbet #alammona! For now, I just have to sleep well and yes, 'dream on'!
Oh dear, Mamma Mia! , how can I resist ya?
:)
You know when you really had a bad day, you just want to wish your life story is on DVD and grab the remote to hit the fast forward button, just to get it over and done with?
Yeah, exactly like that!
But we're not talking about that here. Probably some other time. If you get lucky.
How do I even begin? It just feels so surreal to me because one of the dreams on my 'Yeah right, dream on' list had just come true. In fact, I want to get the pad where I wrote this list and cross out this goal. Right now. This moment right here. But if I do, I won't finish this because that list is probably out there in... a pile of...stuff, as what Miranda Priestly in The Devil Wears Prada would say.
I feel so elated. Wait, is that even a right word? Goodness, I can't even pick the appropriate word for this moment. Surely, it wouldn't be speechless as I would
Yeah, I just ran out of words there.
Wait, it has been a long journey, and I'm trying my best to drive my train of thought right now.
It was a spazzy night mainly because I shared the Mamma Mia! experience with, what-can-I-say, fabulous ladies! Who were undoubtedly, Mamma Mia! fans as well.
 |
| Okay, *cropped someone*... |
Pretty much what fan girls would do when they watch their favorite shows, or with their favorites, period.
Wait, did I just say we were Mamma Mia! fans?
For many, we were crazy ladies screaming our lungs out in... well, each production number, where singing was involved. Which by the way happens a lot in musicals, like Mamma Mia! Oh gosh, you didn't know?!
In fact, if I can just guess what people were thinking when they saw us like that, I'm pretty sure, I could list several, no, countless, hypotheses: they're insane! Exagge! OA! So noisy!
If looks could kill, we would have been brutally murdered right now.
But what the hell, go on and wallow in your killjoy misery. While we go on and on and on. 'Til you actually join us. Cheers!
Would have wanted to post a review about the musical but I think I just have to let this story go on while it's still fresh.
We actually didn't pay anything for this. We got our tickets for free! Thanks to Ayala Malls by the way! You're our hero! Our lifesaver! Coatsaver- the Miracle! Okay, enough.
Our complimentary tickets were worth around P3,000.00 each. That's not that cheap. So we were seated on the balcony. Frankly, not the best view out there but not bad. As long as you can see what the actors are doing, and hear what they're talking about, you are fine. We were. Certainly, we did not die. But it can give you anxiety attack if you're afraid of height. That I am sure of.
So we were up there, waiting for it to happen. You tell yourself, you better capture the moment, figuratively and literally. To fulfill the latter, you reach for your camera, oh damn, darn it, the marshals took it before you entered the theater because it's not allowed. Boo, you say.
But hey, at least you get to focus, 100% on what you're watching. Unless of course, you have Melissa McCarthy's character in Bridesmaids, beside you, annoying you with all her glory.
I tried taking snaps shots, especially during the encore. But I was easily spotted. So I had to stop, wait, it didn't even start!, filming. And danced.
I love it when Sara 'Donna' Poyzer says, "Gusto niyo pa?" (Do you want another one?)
In the movie, it was that moment where you can see the greatest living American actress today (who by the way just scored her record-breaking 17th Oscar nomination tonight), Meryl Streep, dancing, uhm, wildly? In Abba's Waterloo. Shaking her... Oh okay, you gotta see the movie. You have? You bet!
Filipinos, were, initially shy when it came to the dancing during the encore part. Goodness, others just preferred to sit there for what it seemed like an hour! Give your butt a break! Make it eat kitkat. It was wild... For others, like us, we opted to stand up, dance, sing, enjoy the moment. Seriously, every time this moment comes, I think of Thank You For The Music. Why? If you know the lyrics, you know what I'm talking about.
"And I've often wondered, how did it all start?//
Who found out that nothing can capture a heart//
Like a melody can//
Well whoever it was//
I'm a fan//
So I say, thank you for the music...//
The songs I'm singing..."
Yeah, just like that. Wait, did you just sing it? I can hear you. Not bad. I thought I heard a bear being tickled.
I think it's the first time that Mamma Mia! included our country for its international tour. That, yes, I have yet to verify. Admittedly, I have seen the Mamma Mia! the movie first, before seeing this.
I remember it perfectly. It was 4 years ago. It was around July 2008 when the movie was shown here. Being the Meryl Streep fan that I am, I got so excited, my life probably revolved around this thing, at that time. I researched. Of course, Wikipedia was helpful. (Stop Sopa, anyone?) Youtube was my best friend. Downloaded the .mp3 files wherein you can hear James Bond sing. Pierce Brosnan, I mean + Mr. Darcy (that's Colin Firth) + that weird looking guy in the Pirates of the Carribean franchise (but they are all weird!) (Stellan Skarsgaard). It was... incredulous! Add in Julie Walters and Christine Baranski.
So, when I watched the stage play for the first time, I was not surprised that there were changes. Under Attack, Knowing Me, Knowing You, Thank you for the Music, parts were not in the movie. And Our Last Summer, in the play, had only Harry Bright on it, as opposed to the film adaptation where all the supposed dads + Sophie were on the boat, gleefully singing... I can still recall Our Last Summer.
Oh there are so many things that will stick in your brain after this. Like gooey stuff that are difficult to get. For instance, wow! That Under Attack scene reminded me of Mars Attacks! Erase. Geez! The Voulez Vous choreography looked effortless! Not?
That moment where you get teary-eyed, okay, admit it, you cried, during Slipping Through My Fingers. That moment when a mother is about to give away her daughter.
"Sometimes I wish that I could freeze the picture...and save it from the funny tricks of time..."
Okay, tears alert!
Or perhaps that moment when Rosie tried to seduce Bill and asks him to, "Take A Chance on Me". See, you tell yourself it's exxagerated. So does our reality, isn't it? I mean, reality can sometimes be more absurd, hilarious, ridiculous than fiction. Who are we to conclude...
Like I said, to conclude...
Wow! Hmm... These are pretty much what I wanted to share right now.
From the bottom... of... my... yes, heart, thank you so much to everyone behind Mamma Mia! Thank you to Abba. Thank you for the music!
And of course, thank you to the ladies, to the wonderful, bloody fantastic and fabulous ladies who shared the Mamma Mia! experience with me! It won't be as fun as it was, if you girls were not around! Streeper hugs as well! Goodness, Meryl, what you do to people! Thank you, Meryl. Wherever you are, whatever you''re doing now.
I just have to write this in:
Point to ponder:
Dreams do come true. Four years ago, I had dreamt of seeing Mamma Mia! here in my country. Many people rolled their eyes and told me to 'dream on' because it certainly was out of reach; it just wouldn't come true. Well, guess what, I just saw Mamma Mia! at CCP last night, on its premiere! Well, if I say, "I will meet Meryl Streep one day, #youbet #alammona! For now, I just have to sleep well and yes, 'dream on'!
Oh dear, Mamma Mia! , how can I resist ya?
