Meeting the Altar Boyz

"So, do you always go to bloggers' events?"
"Not really, no. I'm more inclined to theater events."

I got to attend the Altar Boyz press conference yesterday at Greenbelt 3's MyCinema, thanks to Gibbs Cadiz. I was running a little late, but by the time I got there, nothing had started yet.

The first familiar face I saw the moment I stepped into the venue was AJ! Haha, yay, thank goodness I have a friend there as well. As it turned out, not only was he invited by Gibbs like I was, but he was also invited by Lorna as well. As it turned out, most of these people were regular bloggers who regularly attend these events. I was one of the newbies, hahaha. But fortunately for me, I'm no stranger to theater (duh).

Thank goodness there was complimentary coffee and food. I was in such a rush to get to the venue that I had forgotten to eat.

After a while, the 5 Altar Boyz emerged and mingled with us. A whole bunch got to talk with them regarding the show, trying their best to answer everyone's questions as they laughed and joked around.

On Chevy's first theater stint...
Chevy: Who here has seen The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe?
*insert sound of crickets*
Me: (*head appearing behind AJ*) Uhm... I did.
Chevy: You... You actually saw lots of it... in 2002.

Hahaha! He just had to say that. What I actually meant was that I first got to watch him in the show's run back in 1998, when he had played Edmund. Then I got an OJT during its 2002 run, when he played a Tree Spirit, the Blue Squirrel, and of course, a very remarkable Peter.

After more talk and photo ops, we all filed inside the theater for the press conference. The 5 boys performed 2 songs from the show, then there was an open forum where anyone can ask them and Chari some questions about the show.

When asked by one audience member about their own [spiritual] insight on the play, everyone had their own say.

Red Concepcion (Mark, the "sensitive" guy)
- Praising God in any way you can.
- It's also about acceptance.

Reb Atadero (Juan, the Latino lover)
- Faith can go a long way.
- At the end of the day, it can be a fulfilling experience.

Reuben Uy, AKA Ryu (Luke, the bad boy)
- We need others in order to nurture us.

PJ Valerio (Matthew, the "leader")
- While you're young, you should already learn about God.

Chevy Mercado (Abraham, the lone Jew)
- We have to stick together, be a team.
- There are no solo artists; we have to support each other.
- It's pretty much a family; you can't go through it yourself.

Chari Arespacochaga
- It's a musical comedy.
- It brings you to a place where you can delight in your faith.
- It's about faith and friendship, but nothing heavy and preachy about it.
- There's no branding [on people,] whatsoever
- Being instruments of God's work.

Joy Virata
- It's a light-hearted look at religion.

After the open forum, we all headed out of the theater again. Even though the event was sort of over, we still got to manage to mingle with the cast.

When most of the people were leaving, I decided to leave as well along with AJ, Gibbs, and a bunch of other bloggers. Abby, one of the bloggers that I had met, ended up at the rear of the crowd along with me. As it turned out, she had no idea what the bloggers do after an event, like I did, hahaha. We decided to tag along at first, but we got shy at the same time when we all arrived at Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf. She said that she had to go home, so after saying goodbye to Gibbs and the gang, I left as well, heading back to school in a rush. It was great to meet all of them, though. Hope I get to hang out with them another time. I was quite the wallflower the whole time we were at MyCinema.

By the way, Rem Zamora had also said that Repertory Philippines have the rights to Altar Boyz for a year. Huwaw. So I guess they're planning to tour it all over the country if they can. Coolness.

Another plug, hahaha. Lorna Lopez is selling tickets to the show's 3:30pm show on April 26th (Saturday). You can contact her through the following details:
Globe: 0917-9256505
Sun Cellular: 0922-3875729
Email: cranegoddesscorp@gmail.com

Still interested? Altar Boyz will run from April 4 - 27, 2008, every Friday at 8pm, Saturday at 3:30pm and 8pm, and Sunday at 3:30pm, at OnStage Theater, Greenbelt 1, Makati.
Ticket prices are P550 (Gold), P350 (Silver) and P250 (Balcony).