The Sound of Music Press Preview at Resorts World Manila

As mentioned before, "The Sound of Music" was the go-to movie of my childhood. Well, the musical is finally here in Metro Manila, showing at the Newport Performing Arts Theater in Resorts World starting today, October 15, 2011, and running until December.

I was lucky enough to get tickets to the Press Preview last night from my aunt Joanna Ampil, who is playing Maria Rainer in the musical, and I brought Ana from The Fashionista Commuter with me. :)

Starbucks before the show!

After Ana arrived, we decided to grab a bite at Kopi Roti and make chika before heading over to the theater for some photos like bloggers do. :p

(left) Ana doing what bloggers do. (right) French toast and coffee - breakfast time? Haha. It was actually really good, though.

Swanky decor and life-sized cut outs of my Tita and Audie Gemora.

Proud niece!

(Outfit post another time.)

Ana and me.

I was actually very pleasantly surprised to be seated in the second row - we were so close! In fact, I didn't even need my glasses, but I was so excited about everything, I just realized before going home that I was wearing them in all of my pictures... Gross. So, please bare with me, look at the pictures, and then forget they ever existed afterwards. Lol.

We weren't allowed to take pictures because we weren't technically "press", but the show itself was mind-blowing. There is no other word for it. Aside from the heartwarming and childhood memory-inducing songs, the musical was a real visual treat with the video animation scenes done on a NPAT's LED screen, known to be the biggest in Southeast Asia. I had never seen anything like it before and it really amped up the experience big time.

As for the singers, they were impeccably cast. My aunt Joanna never fails to enthrall me when she's on-stage and she wasn't any different this time around. So inspiring!

The ones that really stood out for me, though, were Audie Gemora as Captain Georg von Trapp and Pinky Amador as Baroness Elsa Schraeder. When I first saw the cut-outs, I must admit that Audie didn't look very scary or authoritative, but I stand corrected. He did the Captain real justice - and so did Pinky for the Baroness.

Everyone else did their role justice, too, including the Von Trapp kids. Look out for Atasha Muhlach as Brigitta, though, and Alexa Villaroel as Gretl - she was just adorable.

Of course, my review wouldn't be complete without mentioning my favorite scene from the movie. The scene that, to this very day, makes me want to get married in a gazebo:

Sixteen Going on Seventeen. ♥

I remember, as a kid, I wouldn't watch past the first VHS (yes, we had VHS tapes when I was a kid), so that my heart wouldn't break when Rolf ratted on the Captain. But the musical version? Oh, the musical version... ♥

I'll stop there, but let me just say... I practically ran backstage after the show to find Marvin Ong who played Rolf. And then it took me about fifteen more minutes to ask for a picture. And now I have one, but I'm wearing my glasses. Fail. We need a new picture!!! :p

But still. ♥

Jose Rizal/Hitler hair FTW. Haha.

Since we couldn't take pictures of the show, here are some backstage shots instead:

Dedication to the art.

How cute are they? Seriously.

(right) Anton Posadas as Kurt, Paula Zamesa(?) as Marta, Alexa Villaroel as Gretl and Atasha Muhlach as Brigitta.

Thank you so much, Tita Joanna! :) I enjoyed it immensely. Might even go back for seconds... or thirds. Who wants to join me?

The Sound of Music starts showing today and runs Wednesdays to Saturdays at 8pm along with matinee performances at 3pm on Saturdays and Sundays. The prices are as follows: VIP (P2000), Premiere (P1700), Deluxe (P1300), and Balcony (P1000).

Naturally, I'd recommend you to watch the shows where my Tita Joanna plays Maria. :) So, to find out her show schedules, subscribe to her newsletter here.