Limelight

An evening of world-class theater and shared commitment to the arts marked the gala premiere of “A Chorus Line,” a production of Theatre Group Asia and presented by the Asian Cultural Council Philippines Foundation (ACC Philippines). The special fundraising event gathered artists, cultural leaders, partners, and supporters whose generosity will help sustain the ACC Fellowship Program, providing Filipino artists, scholars, …

This one solid week in the Lent season which starts Holy Monday to Easter Sunday not only signifies summer but the holiest moments in every Christian life or any religious person. Show people also observe Holy Week which overlaps summer vacation as a customary devotion. In the case of Barbie Forteza, she just stays sweet with family at home or …

For the past two weeks, I had a blurred vision. I underwent two separate, one-week apart surgeries, of both my right and left eyes for cataract. After my online interviews with Marie Cusu, a certified Nora Aunor fan who talked about her fellow Noranians’ plan for the first-year death anniversary of the Superstar; Russell Siayangco, a celebrated Pinoy actor in …

Philippine cinema continues to evolve with milestones happening every day. One such milestone is the celebration of the 8th Sinag Maynila Film Festival, a major annual film event currently showing in cinemas like Gateway in Cubao. In this year’s race among six (6) feature films and a bevy of short and documentary films, a Visayan film triumphed in the main …

by Boy Villasanta This is a personal news story. I have just written a libretto about Vicente Salumbides. Vicente Salumbides who? Vicente Salumbides, the Philippine film pioneer in 1924 right after the so-called Father of Philippine Movies Jose Nepomuceno’s film laboratory in San Juan was razed to the ground. I asked Celeste if I could pitch the project to her. …

by Boy Villasanta This early, family members of the Villamayor and de Leon clans are prepping up for the commemoration of the first death anniversary of their beloved Nora Aunor, Nora Cabaltera Villamayor in real life. It is Ian de Leon, Nora’s eldest son and biological unico hijo with ex-husband Christopher de Leon, who is on top of the preparation. Ian intends …

Despite Vilma Santos’ admission that she plans to stop making movies, she still has the time and energy to grace public appearances. Vilma was last seen in person during the screening at the Metropolitan Theater last week of a retrospective of her film “Ekstra,” a collaboration between Quantum Films and Cinemalaya in 2013. “Ekstra,” directed by maverick filmmaker Jeffrey Jeturian …

What’s a Gen Z crooner doing, singing covers of Greatest Generation’s Elvis Presley, Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin’s hits? And then sharing them to Baby Boomers and Gen X in the crowd who get to their feet and dance to the mood of him either interpreting Michael Buble or Martin’s “Sway.” To think this is only a part of the …

There are not a few myths or false beliefs that show business (or even in daily quotidian) has made up and concoct that have passed on from generation to the next that have influenced the thinking of many people, in and out of the industry. Are they boon or bane? To do or undo? Take note of these: Nega as …

“Acting is my passion,” said Russell Siayngco, a Filipino living in New Zealand. “God knows my heart,” he quipped. When Russell was still in the Philippines, he had a local showbiz stint particularly on television. Together with one-time actor Marlon Mance, Russell was part of the stable of talents of the late TV and movie director Rusty Sangalang. Because of …