Philippine Showbiz Today
April 22 - May 7, 2017
19
3 Pinoys join Miss Saigon
Congratulations to the three
Pinoy artists who have been
formally recruited to be part of
the UK and Ireland tour of the
acclaimed musical, “Miss Saigon.”
These are Gerald Santos, Red
Concepcion and Joreen Bautista.
The show will first be staged at
Curve Leicester in England where
it will run from July 1 to July 22
then will tour other parts of the
U.K.
Gerald Santos will be playing
the pivotal role of Thuy. He was
the grand winner in GMA-7’s
former talent search “Pinoy Pop
Superstar,” season 2. He has done
stage plays like “Sino Ka Ba, Jose
Rizal” and “Pedro Calungsod.” He
has won two Aliw Awards for his
concerts.
Red Concepcion is a theater
actor who has been acting for
more than ten years and has won
best actor awards from the Aliw
and Gawad Buhay for his role
in 2015’s staging of the musical
“Priscilla, Queen of the Desert.”
He is tapped to play the lead
role of The Engineer, previously
interpreted by other Pinoy singer-
actors like Leo Valdez and the
late Junix Inocian and currently
by Jon Jon Briones. He has also
appeared in other acclaimed
stage plays like “Equus,” “The
Normal Heart,” “West Side Story”
and “Hairspray.” He has done TV
work in Singapore with the series
Cruz is a contract star of “The Boston: Kitchen Musical”
ABS-CBN and a mainstay of and also appeared in the Cinema
the Sunday noontime program One movie, “The Violator.”
“ASAP.” He was once linked to
Sarah Geronimo.
Janine is currently busy
with GMA’s afternoon series,
“Legally Blind,” where she plays
a blind lawyer who wants justice
after being a victim of a horrible
crime.
Lotlot, on the other hand, is
the lead actress of “1st Sem,” a
coming-of-age dramedy.
“Baguhan
ang
gumaganap na tatlong
anak ko, but, thank God,
magagaling silang lahat,”
she said.
The three boys are
Darwin Yu, 17; Miguel
Bagtas, 15; and Sebastian
Vargas, 10.
The directors of
“1st Sem” are also
first
timers:
Dexter
Pa g l i n a w a n - H e m e d e z
and Allan Michael Ibañez.
“Mga workshoppers sila
ni Ricky Lee,” Lotlot
volunteered.
Ricky Lee, of course,
is a popular and award-
winning
story
and
screenplay writer..●
Lotlot de Leon is okay
with Rayver
Although Lotlot de Leon
would rather that Janine Gutierrez
not rush into another relationship
after breaking up with Elmo
Magalona, the veteran actress is
not preventing her eldest daughter
from entertaining suitors either.
“Well, if it’s true that Rayver
(Cruz) is courting her, okay lang
sa akin. I know Rayver and his
family,” said Lotlot. “Pero si
Janine ang magde-decide in the
end kung magugustuhan niya si
Rayver.”
- E. Ramos, Malaya
Lotlot de Leon
Joreen is playing the
coveted role of Kim and she’s
very much surprised that she
qualified as she has very little
exposure in theatre. She trained
with Trumpets and played roles
in musicals like “Pippin,” “Into
the Woods” and “Once on this
Island.” “Miss Saigon” will be
the 17-year-old Kapampangan’s
first
major
production.
Here’s wishing all of them that
their exposure in “Miss Saigon”
will eventually open new doors for
them in the international theater
scene the way it did for the likes
of Lea Salonga and Rachelle Ann
Go.●
Rayver Cruz with Lotlot’s daughter Janine Gutierrez
- M. Bautista, Malaya