‘Kilig’nation
WE’RE beyond “kilig” age, my maid and I, so the reason we follow AlDub is neither Alden (Al Dente, according to one of the two lolas) nor Yaya Maine; we are fans of Wally Bayola as Nidora and Jose Manalo as Tinidora. After watching last Saturday’s telecast of the show at Philippine Arena, my guess is that this KalyeSerye episode will be the toughest live act to follow in showbiz, forevermore.
If we are ever going to war, I want to be on those production people’s side. They know logistics and tactics, they have the weapons and tools, maps and blueprints, the foot soldiers and generals. The show, a harebrained idea until it became more doable the more expensive it looked until two weeks ago, was staged for a live audience of 55,000 from seven stages jutting out to the audience. Two days previously, the anchors announced where ticketholders would board a fleet of 80 buses, they rattled off a list of what not to bring into the theater, such as babies and pregnant women, demonstrating with dead-serious humor that they meant business.
Using 15 cameras – comparable to a typical Oscar night? – plus three more mounted on two helicopters and a drone to capture every moment of what would turn out to be a five-hour extravaganza, the crew rolled out a stainless steel-plated jeepney and a white sedan to mark the entrance of the main characters, plus three motorcycles with riding-in-tandem riders to add a new mysterious element. Dancers in all sorts of costumes, from flappers to cheerleaders, kept the stage busy as singers came and went, Alden being one of them though not the most musical.
What happens now that Alden and Yaya are allowed to hold hands, hug and almost kiss? With the suspense gone and Nidora entangled in her own problem with her diary and its secrets, will the TV audience “from Batanes to Jolo” care to follow what is about to develop into a typical rom-com? A total of P14 million in ticket sales was collected, 100 percent committed to building libraries outside Manila. At five minutes to 3, Joey de Leon reported 23 million tweets. It was only the beginning, for by midnight the count would hit 39.4 million –- all in good time, “sa tamang panahon.”