From subways, skyscrapers and Shake Shack, ASAP stars savor the Big Apple
Kim Chiu gets into a yellow cab. Photos: ASAP Live in New York
Gary Valenciano, Martin Nievera and Zsa Zsa Padilla explore the Public Library at Bryant Park.
By Cristina DC Pastor
“I enjoyed the subway,” blurted singer-actress Maja Salvador to reporters curious about what the top entertainers of ASAP Live in New York find delightful in the city.
Actress Jolina Magdangal said the Empire State Building was a thrill. Singer Gary Valenciano thought revisiting Grand Central and Rockefeller Center never gets old. For actor-host Luis Manzano, Shake Shack provided some unforgettable chow moments, just as Emilio’s Pizza in the Bronx became a favorite of actress-model Liza Soberano. Actor Eric Santos found fascination in Manhattan’s skyscrapers, while actor-model Piolo Pascual summed it up, saying he loved everything about New York.
No matter how often one has been to the city, noted Valenciano, a frequent visitor of 33 years, “It is never the same experience. You will always experience New York in a fresh way.” Fellow singer Martin Nievera said he wished there was enough time to visit the Filipinos in Queens, or those who have lived in NYC for a long time, to find out “how they live and what they’re doing.”
The TV stars obviously enjoyed the anonymity a foreign city like New York provides, and as Salvador admitted while raving about her subway rides, “We can’t do LRT” in the Philippines.
Consul General Mario de Leon Jr. welcomed to NYC the entertainers of broadcast giant ABS-CBN whose Sunday variety show, ASAP, is the country’s “longest running” at 23 years.
He said the network’s programs have been bringing entertainment to Filipino American homes for years and “lightening the homesickness of our kababayan in the Northeast.”
ABS-CBN has transported ASAP to Dubai, Singapore and London, connecting the variety show with global Filipinos, their staunchest audience.
ASAP Live in New York, which will be presented September 3 at the Barclays Center, is being touted as a “history-making musical extravaganza.” The concert hall of the Barclays Center in Prospect Park can accommodate up to 19K, which is said to be near capacity as of September 1 with avid fans coming from Alabama, Wisconsin, Canada and Hawaii eager to show their solidarity with their favorite stars.
The massive production was a challenge in the beginning, revealed ABS-CBN executives.
“New York is a tough nut to crack,” Ricky Resurreccion, head of Ad Sales, Trade & Events of ABS-CBN North America, told a press conference at the Marriott Hotel in Brooklyn. “Ang hirap pumunta sa New York.”
Olivia de Jesus, managing director for North America, said New York is the “toughest market and is the toughest audience to please.” However, the network is confident that NYC’s Filipino community is “primed to appreciate” Filipino talent. This gave the decision a push.
Resurreccion said the network is “on the cusp of making history” as the first Filipino production to play at Barclays. “It doesn’t get any bigger than this.”
Joyce Liquicia, Business Unit head in Manila, said the planning took six months, from the time a team did an ocular inspection of Barclays in February up until the actual concert date of September 3. She revealed the network will fly to NYC more than a hundred people including the stars and the ABC-CBN Philharmonic Orchestra led by Gerald Salonga, brother of Tony Award winning actress Lea Salonga.
Valenciano noted how conceptualizing the project may have started a year earlier, recalling how Chairman Gabby Lopez spoke to him about it while they were doing ASAP Live in London.
The secret of ASAP’s enduring appeal? The stars credited the show’s continuing effort to innovate and providing wide-reaching exposure to the network’s talent.
“It was a learning stage for me,” said actress Kim Chiu, who conceded ASAP gave her the confidence to sing, dance and host a show and sharpen those skills. She’s been with the show 10 years, and, thanks to the show, she is now proud to declare, “Ay, artista na ako.”
Maja Salvador curious to find out what’s inside the Flatiron Building.
The stars and the media. Photo by Boyet Loverita
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