Ryan Cayabyab: Who’s afraid of foreign shows?
Mounting a foreign show these days seem to be as easy as counting 1-2-3. Next month, Kylie Minogue will be here to do a Miley Cyrus and Justin Bieber -- perform for the first time in the country, that is.
Ryan Cayabyab thinks this "foreign invasion" should not faze local performers.
"Kailangan lumaban ang OPM," he says. "We should not cower in fear and complain. We have to do something."
Neither is he complaining.
"Nasa radar na tayo. Dati hindi tayo pinupuntahan. I must say this is because there are Filipinos who work hard to getting these people (foreign acts) in."
That's why he's looking forward to new legislation proposing the removal of the amusement tax.
"It augurs well for all of us, especially (concert) producers. They no longer want to produce shows because doing so is expensive."
Cayabyab adds that producers deal with the amusement tax by increasing the ticket prices for their show.
"They have to earn, after all," he explains.
Cayabyab said all these at the presscon of his show, "Ryan Cayabyab and Friends at the Newport Performing Arts Theater" slated on Tuesday, June 28, 8 p.m.
The show marks a number of firsts for the top composer.
It will be his first time to work with Dulce and Jett Pangan, two of the performers in the show along with Bituin Escalante and The Ryan Cayabyab Singers.
It will also be Cayabyab's first time to work with the said group of artists.
"When the producers (Ultimate Entertainment Inc.) asked me who I want for the show, I didn't get Basil (Valdez) and Celeste (Legaspi), who I grew up with, career-wise and who I usually perform with," he says. "Basil just had a show at the same venue while Celeste is retired."
Instead, he came up with a new set of artists for the show.
"They're singers in the true sense of the word. These are people who love their craft. They won't do things just for the sake of doing it. They don't demand that they include a song in the repertoire because they're promoting it or it's in their new album," he explains.
This willingness to go all out for the craft inspired Cayabyab to dig up his old arrangements for the show. He has prepared a Gershwin and Willy Cruz medleys and some standards.
Dulce will perform the Willy Cruz songs while Bituin will scat. As for Jett, Cayabyab promised to emphasize the singer in the rocker who made a mark as lead vocalist of top `80s band The Dawn.
The overall look of the show, Cayabyab goes on, will be that of "a Broadway musical using Asian settings."
It's a blend of East and West — something he — and his co-performers — can't wait to present to those who love to reward themselves with music for relaxing after a hard day's work.
