***** June 13, 2007 Opening Night Update *****
Carla’s performance was really something else on opening night. It is indeed like watching an entirely new show. We are glad to introduce the show to people who never watched it before. Every Filipino in Makati should be watching this world-class show. If US has Broadway in New York and Europe has West End in London, Asia has Manila as the capital of world-class musical theater shows. I am so proud of our theater guys!
The show only runs until June 22 Sunday. So don’t miss it! This is the finale run and you won’t see it in Manila ever again.
Here are the contact numbers where you can buy your tickets:
June 13 Friday 8pm Joelle Horca +63920-9010863
June 14 Saturday 2pm Lorna Lopez +63917-9256505
June 14 Saturday 8pm Joelle Horca +63920-9010863
June 15 Sunday 3pm Pamela Cruz +63906-3414545
June 15 Sunday 8pm Theody Demaisip +63920-9326067
June 17 Tuesday 8pm Women of Aleitheia +63915-9263965
June 18 Wednesday 8pm Alexandra Orosa +63917-8432252
June 19 Thursday 8pm Ticketworld +632 891-9999
June 20 Friday 8pm Ticketworld +632 891-9999
June 21 Saturday 2pm Jay Duran +63917-5366832
June 21 Saturday 8pm Lorna Lopez +63917-9256505
June 22 Sunday 3pm Theody Demaisip +63920-9326067
June 22 Sunday 8pm Mae Castro +63906-3414559
June 12, Original Post
Great Job, Carla! Most of the audience, who attended Avenue Q’s technical dress rehearsal last night, would agree that Atlantis made a great decision in selecting Carla Guevarra to play the leading female role, replacing Rachel Alejandro.
Carla did it! She was able to perform Kate Monster very well and delivered a seamless switching of character as Kate and Lucy T. Slut.
As I watched the show, I realized that she was more beautiful than Rachel Alejandro (my personal opinion). Carla was able to convincingly portray the seductiveness of Lucy The Slut better than Rachel. You shouldn’t miss this! You’ve got to watch the show to see how a puppet can be as seductive as a real female thru Carla’s right combination of voice and movement.
I also liked the pa-tweetums effect of Kate Monster and the romantic chemistry she had with Princeton. The courting scenes between Kate and Princeton were more alive than I remembered it from the previous Avenue Q shows I’ve watched.
Since it was a technical dress rehearsal, I could see Carla‘s nervousness at the start but her acting performance slowly transformed with confidence as the show went on. Towards the middle of the show, Carla got that puppet magic where you won’t notice her as a person anymore because she was able to mirror her facial expression through the puppet. At the end, you’ll just noticed that you were already watching the puppet’s act and forgot that Carla was even there.
I honestly thought that Rachel Alejandro’s performance as Kate Monster cannot be replaced but Carla elevated the sweet and seductive roles of Kate Monster and Lucy the Slut into a different level. Although, I must admit that Rachel’s version of “There’s A Fine, Fine Line…” cannot be matched and will forever be remembered to those who have watched Avenue Q several times.
I would commend Aiza Seguerra as she portrayed the role of Gary Coleman, Joel Trinidad as Trekkie Monster, and Frenchie Dy as Christmas Eve for their great performance. They have mastered it and are ready for their Singapore stint!
Thanks to Atlantis Productions and Lorna, the Bachelor Girl, for inviting me to this technical dress rehearsal! Lorna is selling tickets for the 21 June, Saturday, 8pm show of Avenue Q.
Avenue Q – The Farewell Run:
13-22 June 2008 at
Carlos P. Romulo Auditorium, RCBC Plaza.
All tickets may be bought from Atlantis Productions (www.atlantisproductionsinc.com, 892-7078)
Ticketworld (www.ticketworld.com.ph, 891-9999).
Some Final Reminders and Tips for those watching Avenue Q on its Finale Run:
1. Casual Chic dress code. Wearing jeans is perfectly OK.
2. Given Carla‘s exceptional performance of Lucy T. Slut and the sex scene of Kate Monster, you might need to talk to your kids about the adult content of the show before it starts.
3. Parking at RCBC Plaza is P40 for 2 hours and visitor’s parking is on the Basement 5.
4. You can eat at Piquant, Kangaroo Jack (for free Wifi), located at the 3rd floor or Hexagon Lounge at 4th floor. There are a lot of fast food outlet in the third floor (Starbucks, Olivers, Subway, Mexicali, etc.) for those who only have a few minutes left before the show starts.
5. Show starts and ends on time with a 15-minute intermission in between sets.
6. After the intermission, there is a scene in the second act where they will ask the audience for donation for the Monterssori school. Be prepared to give money when they pass around the hat.
7. Throughout the entire show, you might be tempted to sing and dance but you have to control yourself and respect the people beside you.
8. Expect the show to end on or before 10:30pm. If you brought and parked your car at the RCBC parking lot, expect that there would be people traffic going to the basement via the elevator after the show.
9. Balcony and Orchestra Center seats are almost sold out in most of the shows but there are still available Orchestra Sides and Loge tickets. For last minute buyers, you can still buy tickets on the night of the show.
10. If you have friends who never watched it before, invite them to watch one of the awesome musical broadway show in the Philippines since The Rent days. They only have until this and next weekend to watch it before it goes to SIngapore. Matinee Show starts at 2pm while evening show starts at 8pm.
Text and Photos by Anton Diaz. Copyright 2008.
Carla more beautiful than Rachel A…..????
HERESY!! 😀
pwede ba dslr camera sa show?
Unfortunately bawal because of copyright restrictions.
thanks a lot for the heads up info, Anton! especially about the dress code. see u and rache tomorrow!
Saw it last night…I agree regarding Carla — I actually like her poignant rendition of It’s a Fine Fine Line better. =)
Felix was great! What a difference 9 months will do!
OMG.. I saw Avenue Q last night and Carla Guevarra was AWESOME!!!! SHe was waaaaay better than Rachel.. she was more alive and real! Her acting was excellent… her singing superb!!! Her fine fine line rendition was sung straight from the heart! And her Lucy the slut was jaw dropping! I was on the floor laughing!!! Wonderful decision for the directors to get Carla to replace Carla. Bravo!
i sure hope that the passing around of the donation “hat” would be done during a lull or a break.. coz it would be VERY distracting if they do it while the show is ongoing.. just my 2 cents..
but will gladly donate more than 2 centavos. 🙂
are they all going to do the show in singapore? would really love to see it here.
Rachel Alejandro did a pretty good job. I hope will do it justice! 😀 More power to her!
Hi Anton and Rache! Just got home from the show 1st night of the show! hahaha.. (talk about being sooo excited!) The show was SO GREAT! The actors were SOOO GOOD!! and i’d like to thank the both of you for your recommendation to watch the show via your blog. i sooooooo loved it! ’twas nice meeting you both even if i didn’t really get a chance to chat with you that much. thanks for the umbrella! and rache, hope you liked the bag hook! 🙂 i want to watch the show again! 🙂 too bad naubusan sila ng “it sucks to be me” shirt na small size.. i was so excited to buy one pa naman.. 🙁 i’ll buy nalang next week sa ibang show. hehehe.. thanks again! 🙂
Carla Guevara rocked as Kate and Lucy T Slut!!! Ive seen the show 3 times and this is the first time I laughed and cried at the same time! The Princeton and Kate scenes had more “kilig” moments, and Lucy T Slut’s “Special” song was HILARIOUS!!! Kate’s “fine fine line” was heartbreaking. Carla’s presence really made a difference to the show! The old cast members had new things to offer too so it seemed like I was watching it for the first time. Great Job you guys!!!
Saw you and Rache at Friday’s run. Dyahe lang bumati, and late na kami for the show, pero next time I’ll say hi and shake hands with you both.
Anyways — great, great show! Can’t wait for West Side Story!!!
Share ko lang AWESOME performance of a kapwa PINOY, Arnel Pineda, Journey’s new lead singer in their Chile concert. I hope you don’t mind.
http://arnelpineda-intlsite.com/videos%20pg3%20-%202008%20feb21%20chile.html
we enjoyed the show so much =), but i thought rachel was better (except for the fine, fine line). carla did a good job though, and other cast members too.
nice seeing you and rache (i remember seeing her around DLSU, we’re both ID 91, and she’s still very pretty huh. so,who’s prettier anton, carla o rache hehehe (nang intriga ba?)
thanks again and for the umbrella too
ave q was very very funny! it is a refreshing change watching to have muppets as lead characters too.i wouldnt bring anybody younger than 16 though because of the x rated scene hahahh
thanks for recommending ave q anton! it was nice meeting you and rache=)
ave q was very very funny! it is a refreshing change from watching normal plays having both humans and muppets on stage. the muppets are also the lead characters in the story not the humans.i wouldnt bring anybody younger than 16 though because of the x rated scene hahahh
thanks for recommending ave q anton! it was nice meeting you and rache=)
i love love love AVENUE Q!!! (http://frannywanny.blogspot.com/2008/06/cant-get-enough-of-avenue-q.html)
it was FINALLY nice to meet you anton! 🙂
Hi Anton! I was really meaning to watch Avenue Q but couldn’t because I’m tied up with commitments. I’m very happy about your support with the theatre industry. It’s great that you appreciate this form of art which really needs to be appreciated more by a bigger audience, theatre needs to be a part of every Pinoy’s culture. Please continue supporting theatre, it already does a lot for practitioners here! Regards to Rache, I’m a constant reader of her blog as well. Ciao!
Hi Anton! Just wanted to thank you and Rache again for facilitating the purchase of the tickets. The Genki umbrella is really icing on the cake for this. Would not have heard about Avenue Q had I not read about it on your original post on your blog. Wishing you continued success on your new career path.
i’m glad we went! the show rocked! we were laughing and laughing!!
we particularly loved carla and joel.
AHLAVEEETTT!!
I want to watch it again…hehehe.
Bad Idea Bears are the best!
Hi Anton,
I have been a reader for quite a while. I’m from The Women of Aleitheia (ateneo law school) and would just like to thank you for the free plug of our playdate 🙂
More power to you and your family 🙂
grabe i love the show lst night.
i almost shed a tear when i heard the song, “There’s a fine, fine line”.
love it! i hope i can still watch it next week!!!
wow!! watching avenue q is money well spent! we had a great time, were laughing so much, and i was felt so, so good after! The cast did a great job especially Joel as Trekkie and Felix as Rod. Carla is in a different league! Her kate was as sweet as her lucy was.. well, slutty! hahahhaha. I was so touched with “There’s a fine, fine line and loved the message of For now.
Thanks for recommending this, Anton. It was great to finally meet and chat with you and Rache. WOW!! Rache is so tall and so pretty. Thanks also for the genki!
anton, thanks for posting contact info 🙂 can’t wait for our wednesday run.
– sanndra orosa
Hi Anton,
just noticed the contact number for the June 22, 8pm show of Avenue Q. It’s 0906-3414559. Thanks for posting this!
One more tip. Do not park at the basement. Best to park nearby. Took us 30 minutes to get out of the basement parking last Sunday.
My whole clan and I (all 27 of us!) watched last sunday to celebrate father’s day and boy did we have the time of our lives! The whole cast did a wonderful job! I must commend the performances of Felix Rivera and Joel Trinidad! They were excellent! But we all agreed that it was Carla Guevara Laforteza who blew us away! She really is a World class performer! We saw her in Song and Dance last year and thought she did a great Job, but her portrayal of Kate and Lucy was outstanding! Her rendition of Fine Fine line was flawless, her voice crystal clear, and her emotions were so real, it gave me goosebumps! Avenue Q Farewell Run is a must see!
Thank you Anton for recommending Avenue Q. My sister and I had a blast. We were laughing so hard! I always look at your site for your recommendations. 🙂
I was expecting a seamless flow in the puppet and the person behind it. But I guess in Carla’s case, she was pretty new on this so I can still see the misses – more glaringly if I see how Felix handles the puppet almost flawlessly. But I like Carla’s everything – minus the puppet – the voice and body language (being Slut) were amazing! 🙂
….carla’s avenue q was an awesome performances from people’s comments we hear read here so surely we wouldnt mind knowing about the world’s legendary ‘new journey band’ with new lead rock pinoy singer name pineda lol….just like carla avenue q i also pay attention on new journey’s rock band performances around the world and i saw heard their concerts in spain germany and waiting for england loading the ‘fun filled’ journey concerts there….charice pempengco’s jaw dropping stage presence and those thunderous clappings ‘standing ovations’ performance in manadalay bay here in united states are still a ‘hot’ topic among all color americans from top levels to no levels lol….was i never wrong about ‘filipinos’ being talented fun filled loving creative & count them as ‘super’ hilarious when you hear their ‘off’ the wall comments anywhere they find-meet each other to chat lol! lol!….
i so love avenue q! got to watch it last night (and eat at piquant too!) i enjoyed every minute of the show. everyone in the cast was great… i am amazed by their voice and acting, specially those handling 2 puppets. my fiance liked it too. it was good that they had this final run.
just wondering, was the band live? or was it recorded?
next… cinderella. =)
it’s a live band. they showed their pics at the end… they were at the back stage. 🙂
i watched avenue q matinee last saturday. at least hindi pa masyadong bagyo non 😀 i thoroughly enjoyed the performance, and i’ll watch it again if i could. good luck to the castmembers going to singapore!
how about carla’s avenue q ‘like’ stage or philippines broadway perfromance REGARDING OR TITLED:PHILIPPINES AMERICA WHITE HOUSE VISIT 2008
LOL!….OMG….have you read all those bashing insults from ’embarrassed’ professional americans and foreigners around the world when american president cannot ‘remember’ his own presidential executive CHEF’s name lol!….lots of americans felt he’s degrading his own presidential executive chef who gets way ‘higher’ salaries than all majorities of white house employees when referring to the executive chef as simply just ‘cook’ lol!…..anywhere in internet news even television entertainment industries calling their own american prsident as unprofessional insensitive stupid undignitary undiplomatic baffoon moron some says children knows better
how to behave speak understand or communicate better than the present american white house ‘occupant’lol!…..some gave notions that he is pretentious coz he is a rich kid so he sees only the contributions of the philippines in cookings like how he sees the mexican ‘greening’ the WH or his lawns or remembering his drivers and maids as blacks according to websites comments from past gbush historical comments lol!….people should calm down relax give him a break give gbush the benefit of the doubt at the least since he has only 6 months to serve left lol!….i think he can also be really nice he is just VERY ‘different’ lol! lol….
how about carla’s avenue q ‘like’ stage or philippines broadway perfromance REGARDING OR TITLED:PHILIPPINES AMERICA WHITE HOUSE VISIT 2008
LOL!….OMG….have you read all those bashing insults from ’embarrassed’ professional americans and foreigners around the world when american president cannot ‘remember’ his own presidential executive CHEF’s name lol!….lots of americans felt he’s degrading his own presidential executive chef who gets way ‘higher’ salaries than all majorities of white house employees when referring to the executive chef as simply just ‘cook’ lol!…..anywhere in internet news even television entertainment industries calling their own american prsident as unprofessional insensitive stupid undignitary undiplomatic baffoon moron some says children knows better
how to behave speak understand or communicate better than the present american white house ‘occupant’lol!…..some gave notions that he is pretentious coz he is a rich kid so he sees only the contributions of the philippines in cookings like how he sees the mexican ‘greening’ the WH or his lawns or remembering his drivers and maids as blacks according to websites comments from past gbush historical comments lol!….people should calm down relax give him a break give gbush the benefit of the doubt at the least since he has only 6 months to serve left lol!….i think he can also be really nice he is just VERY ‘different’ lol! lol….
philippines avenue q should invite another GIFTED very young filipino-swiss{switzerland}born name lica de guzman who is just a few inches behind CHARICE PEMPENGCO the difference is lica has an ‘angelic’ voice and she sings in 3 languages so ‘beautifully’ in french check youtube under: lica de guzman – ratm59 she also sings ‘heavenly’ in english language check her ‘what a wonderful world’ at she also sings in tagalog and a dialect visayan-davao lica is definitely a natural gifted child she had been in bantay bata davao i believe as guest she is active as united nation cultural participant but she should be singing more ‘internationally besides her national FAME in switzerland and european countries like america and all of asia thank you..