Fans eagerly await Apr. 12 AlDub concert: ‘It’s about time’

AlDub and The Lolas: The Kalyeserye comes to America

I can just imagine fans across the Northeast snapping up tickets, gathering friends, and planning a schlep to Brooklyn on April 12. It’s been announced that Alden Richards and Maine Mendoza – known throughout their enamored universe as the AlDub love team – will be in NYC for performances.

“Super excited na kami sa concert! We’ll be wearing our AlDub jackets and shirts,” said members of the AlDub-Maiden Nation NY/NJ Chapter who celebrated the birthday of Maine Mendoza on March 3. “Our group will be cheering for them and will take pictures all throughout the show!”

Fans Izabel Perez, Loy Edirose Lapid, Lelit Hepiga and Joy Marundan have their front-row tickets.

The very popular AlDub will be joined in their ‘Kalyeserye sa US’ concert by the very funny The Lolas, a trio of hilarious, cross-dressing ‘grandmas.’ The concert will be held at the Kings Theatre in Brooklyn, the once-upon-a-time vaudeville stage in the 1930s that was recently restored to become Flatbush’s foremost cultural arts center.

Marketing Director Grace Labaguis of Synergy Productions & Marketing, said she has never seen anything quite like this.

“After word got out that AlDub is coming to New York, my phone never stopped ringing – fans asking about tickets, group rates, where they are performing, etc.,” she said. “The fans are very excited to see them live.”

The box office is reporting rapid ticket sales, she added, suggesting that fans get their tickets early. The concert is produced by Happy Box in association with Great Smile Production and Synergy Production.

Here’s a little bit of background to this sensational tandem.

The AlDub team came into being in July 2015 as part of the Kalyeserye series of the long-running noontime variety show “Eat Bulaga!” The duo’s online flirtation – leading to a full-blown romance, then marriage — has caught the attention of the entire Philippines and of legions of Filipinos around the world who are regular viewers of GMA Pinoy TV. In New York and New Jersey are numerous AlDub fans clubs that are connecting with one another on social media for this towering event.

Alden Richards is a multi-awardee actor, a popular TV host, model and recording artist. He has appeared in films, such as “The Road” (2011), “My Bebe Love: #KiligPaMore” (2015) and “Imagine You And Me” (2016), alongside Maine Mendoza. He is also a regular host of “Eat Bulaga!”

Maine Mendoza is known for her wacky lip-sync videos via “DubSmash.” Her debut in “Eat Bulaga!” was an instant hit.

While each of them is popular in their own right, the AlDub craze has boosted their career as a pair, fielding numerous public appearances, media interviews and product endorsements. Maine and Alden headline the GMA ‘teleserye’ ‘Destined To Be Yours,’ which premiered worldwide on Feb. 27th. This is their first ‘teleserye’ together. BBC writer Heather Chen says “this phenomenon called AlDub is a surreal and wildly popular show which has smashed global social media records” and yet very few outside of the Philippines know about them.

On the show, she writes, “their romance is conducted via a split screen and as it developed, obstacle after obstacle cropped up to prevent the onscreen duo from meeting.”

The fans, eager to fast-forward the romance, were asking when a wedding would take place. The producers obliged. The two became man and wife on October 24, a year after they met. The TV wedding generated record-breaking viewership for GMA, and a reported 41 million tweets. They now have two kids.

On their NYC performance, Alden and Maine will be joined by The Lolas a popular comedy trio with Jose Manalo, Wally Bayola and Paolo Ballesteros. They are the grandmothers or “lolas” to AlDub. Jose, Wally and Paolo are regular co-hosts of “Eat Bulaga!” They have done successful shows in the U.S. and Canada.

“Ticket buyers from the Tri-State and from DC, Maryland, and Virginia and as far as Chicago, Georgia, and Canada are counting the days,” said Grace. “These two amazing stars have captured the hearts of many.”

AlDub-Maiden Nation NY-NJ Fans Club celebrates Maine Mendoza’s birthday on March 3. Members come from a diverse background that includes nurses, office managers, physical therapists, caregivers and students. Photos by Grace Labaguis

A sweet shrine from adoring Maine Mendoza fans.