Manhattan in Manila

After more than 15 years, West Side Story is again being performed in Manila, staged by a theater group headed by two actors who starred in the 1982 production. The 2008 production stars popular Filipino balladeer Christian Bautista, who became popular in Indonesia and Singapore before he became known here, in the roll of Tony. Maria is being played alternately by pop singer Karylle and Joanna Ampil, a musical theater actress who has been acting in the UK and Australia since the early 1990s. Of course, we were hoping we'd get Joanna. And of course, we got Karylle. For a Philippine production, the stage was pretty elaborate. Here you see the set-up for the opening scene. Each of those structures is on wheels and have rooms on platforms behind them. Pardon the fuzzy picture. I had to take it on the sly, and only one shot because—you guessed it—taking photos was prohibited. Really, one of these days I'm going to get caught and kicked out of a theater. I can just see my husband's newspaper column: "She's not my wife! I don't even know her!"