Alcasids sell out New York’s Town Hall

Several Filipino artists have performed at the Town Hall in New York City but Ogie Alcasid and wife Regine Velasquez were the first Pinoys to ever have a soldout concert there last Nov. 5 as part of their Mr. & Mrs. A in the USA five-city US tour.

Die-hard fans of the couple, many coming from the nearby states, ignored the cold and damp autumn night and waited patiently for hours for their turn to enter the venue. They also bought CDs of both Ogie and Regine.

The show was sponsored by Starmedia Entertainment, Philippine Airlines, the Lewis Law Group and GMA Pinoy TV as the official media partner.

Mountaintop Entertainment, Inc., the New York producer of the show, announced that there were only a hundred tickets left a week before the show. The venue accommodates nearly 1,500 guests.

Fil-Am leaders headed by Consul General Theresa Dizon de Vega and Ambassador Mario Lopez de Leon and wife Eleanor were present to support OPM’s Power Couple.

The most emotional part of the show was when Leila van Eimeren Alcasid and Nate Velasquez Alcasid joined the couple onstage and sang the iconic I Can from the 1996 movie Do Re Mi (which starred Donna Cruz, Regine and Mikee Cojuangco). Many in the audience cried. An old lady behind me whispered how she missed her family in the Philippines. “I hope one day we can be together like them — singing happily together.” Songs from different movies and teleseryes somehow transported the audience home, even for a fleeting moment.

A meet and greet followed shortly after the concert. It is interesting to note that even if the show was on a Sunday evening, people still flocked to see the show. Sunday evening shows have usually lower audience turnout, but Regine and Ogie broke the record.