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14 Filipino Musicians Featured in ‘Chicago’ Orchestra

It only took four masterful hours for 14 Filipino musicians to get “All That Jazz” together and come out sounding like a well-acclaimed “Chicago” stage orchestra, at the Theatre – Solaire.

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“A four-hour rehearsal, yeah, that’s all we were allowed. I knew from the very beginning [that we’re well covered with the Filipino talents we found] as soon as we played the overture. We met for four hours together on Tuesday (Dec. 2) and that was it! We did the dress rehearsal the following day and the opening that night (Dec. 3). So they came a long way in two days, pulling this show together,” said Robert Billig, the musical’s conductor who joined “Chicago” three months into its original run in 1975.

Billig performed with 14 Filipino musicians he selected from 25 submitted video auditions prior to “Chicago’s” Manila debut. Unlike other musicals, “Chicago” weaves its band into the story and Billig gets to be part of the performance alongside its touring cast led by Terra MacLeod (Velma Kelly) and Bianca Marroquin (Roxie Hart) who have performed for Manila media and members of Smart Infinity since the start of the musical’s Manila run last December 3.

Billig was sure he would find the kind of musicians he was looking for in the Philippines. It took only a few notes for him to get this affirmation during the one and only rehearsal the band had before show time. “Our associate general manager from the show who is from New York was there and she was standing in the back of the room when we started orchestra rehearsal. So when we started playing, I looked at her and she looked at me and we knew! Sounds like Chicago! Yes! It truly sounds like the show.”

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He added, “This is what the show is supposed to sound like. I was very pleased that they did their homework. You know they did their preparation. We sent them music in advance; we sent them CDs of the show so that they know what Chicago sounds like and everybody rose to the occasion. So on that day, when we have only that four hours, it was just me guiding them and working on the little details.”

The theater veteran said he knew he was in good company even before he searched for musicians in Manila because he worked with Lea Salonga and the Broadway cast of “Miss Saigon.” “I had a sense [that Filipinos are good musicians] because I know that there is a strong tradition of musical theater here. I’ve worked with Lea Salonga. I did ‘Miss Saigon’ with her on Broadway so I know her background that she worked with some of the best musicians here. I mean a lot of my friends now from all of the different companies of ‘Saigon’ are Filipinos. I knew I was in good hands. I knew we would find great players here.”

Among the Filipino musicians jazzing it all up on stage are Lester Dematillo (banjo, mandolin) and Jayson Rivera (ukulele, woodwind). Dematillo said it wasn’t easy at all rushing into rehearsals. “For us it was really hard. Last time, I also performed with the Manila staging of ‘Phantom of the Opera’ and ‘Wicked’ and we did at least 10 rehearsals to tackle everything. So for this one, you can just imagine because it’s just one big rehearsal and only for four hours. Also I play classical music most of the time. This is my first time to play more modern, jazz type of music.”

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Worth the rush

It was however worth all the trouble because the band and the All-American cast have been earning standing ovations in almost every performance from the audience, some of whom are Smart Infinity members who are able to watch “Chicago” because of complimentary VIP tickets, discounts and privileges received through Smart Infinity, co-presenter of “Chicago” alongside Visa.

Billig said the standing ovations are “great because it’s hard to know during the running of the show how the audience is reacting and we don’t get a lot of sound on stage and I’m facing the band so I can’t see what goes on behind me but when we finally played the exit music and all the people are still there and you can feel the energy.”

Rivera gauges audience reaction through “the clap after every number, because it more or less provides a ‘thermometer’ that tells us if it’s going well.”

For Infinity subscribers who watched the show, it was nothing short of a year-end highlight. One Infinity subscriber, Hector Fajardo raved over the “Chicago” treat. He won the tickets through Infinity Rewards and was able to give them to his daughter, Christian Lauren Strasser Fajardo. The younger Fajardo said, “It was a privilege being able to watch the show as an Infinity VIP. Having no line [to wait in], a lounge for waiting, freebies and food! The staff was very much accommodating as well. And yes, ‘Chicago’ was as good as I expected it to be. Actually, it was even better than my expectations.”

“Just like the successful local runs of other world-class stage spectacles like ‘Cats,’ ‘Mamma Mia,’ ‘The Phantom of the Opera,’ and ‘Wicked,’ bringing ‘Chicago’ to the Philippines is again a very special treat for our subscribers,” said Julie Carceller, Department Head of the Smart Infinity Business Group at Smart.

“The ongoing run of ‘Chicago’ is part of the realization of the premium mobile lifestyle that complements the experience our members get from Smart Infinity. The experience of seeing the longest-running Broadway musical in Manila is really a big takeaway for our members,” said James Chi, marketing manager at Smart Infinity.

For details on the “Chicago” run, visit www.ticketworld.com and www1.smart.com.ph/infinity/Chicago.

Smart Infinity is also the first to launch iPhone 6 and iPhone6 plus last November 14. New Infinity subscribers have the option to get the iPhone 6 (64GB) or the iPhone 6 Plus (16GB) with an additional P5,000 worth of GCs or bill rebates compliments of Smart Infinity starting on their fully consumable Prestige Plan 5000. On the brand’s fully consumable Premium Plan 8000, new subscribers can choose to receive two 16GB units of the iPhone 6, or an iPhone 6 16GB plus a MacBook Air. New sign-ups at P3500 per month, or the Aspire Plan come with a 16GB iPhone 6.

2 Comments on 14 Filipino Musicians Featured in ‘Chicago’ Orchestra

  1. proud to be pinoy!

  2. uulan nanaman ng proud to be pinoy… oh brother…

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