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Boss lady at the Blakely
By Elton Lugay When superstorm Sandy battered the New York region in October, Charice Pempengco found herself stranded at The Blakely Hotel on West 55th. Managing director of sales and marketing Theresa Gonzales made sure the “Glee” singer-actress felt at home and comfortable while waiting for her canceled flight to Los Angeles to resume. Theresa […]
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Janine Tugonon: ‘Filipinos take pageants seriously’
By Elton Lugay To many Filipino pageant watchers, Miss Philippines Janine Tugonon was the complete package: Beauty, grace and smarts. She was – but, of course — the Filipino favorite from the beginning. And when she answered her final interview, many had thought she nailed it. But she ended up placing second to Miss United […]
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Fans jam Meatpacking District for free Darren Criss concert
Hundreds of Darren Criss fans — me included — didn’t mind soaking wet in the cold rain on December 9 as the “Glee” star serenaded the Meatpacking District with holiday classics. The FilAm singer-actor helped launch the eBay Toy Box with Christmas classics at a free outdoor concert on Hudson at 14th Street. He brought […]
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200 high kicks per show for Rockette Christine Sienicki
By Cristina DC Pastor When Christine Sienicki was a little girl, she watched a friend perform as a young boy at the Rockettes’ Easter Show at Radio City Music Hall. A dance student at the time, she was mesmerized by the Rockettes’ synchronized movements, the variety of techniques not to mention the radiant costumes. “I […]
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The obscure pop culture enthusiast’s guide for the discerning Asian American in your life (You’re welcome)
By Pamela K. Santos If you’re reading this because you haven’t started your holiday shopping, I have bad news for you. You’re late. Black Friday has come and gone, along with Small Business Saturday and Cyber Monday. I suspect many of you only found this post after realizing the company holiday party is next week […]
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3 days after ‘Les Miz’ review, I met Anne Hathaway
By Elton Lugay It felt like an out-of-body experience. Not that I’ve had one, but it was weird in a nice kind of way. On November 30th, my review of “Les Miserables” was published in this magazine (“Why ‘Les Miserables’ brought tears to my eyes,” Nov. 30). Three days later I was at the Porter […]
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Why ‘Les Miserables’ brought tears to my eyes
By Elton Lugay Did “Les Miserables” bring tears to my eyes because it is the holidays and I’m missing someone in my life or was Anne Hathaway’s rendition of “I Dreamed a Dream” pure rapture? I kept tossing this in my mind after coming out of the press preview for Victor Hugo’s classic novel on […]
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‘I Do Bidoo Bidoo’ opens in N.Y. Nov. 30
In the tradition of crowd-pleasing comedy musicals like “Mamma Mia” and “Rock of Ages” comes “I Do Bidoo Bidoo,” a blockbuster from the Philippines that celebrates young love, family values, and the hit songs of the Apo Hiking Society. “I Do Bidoo Bidoo” stars the singing superstars Gary Valenciano, Zsa Zsa Padilla, Ogie Alcasid and […]
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Meet New York’s a cappella ‘ambassador’
By Cristina DC Pastor A cappella music has come a long way. It’s no longer the boring, one-dimensional music played on our parents’ LP records. The 15th century choral music, which started in Europe, has adopted some elements of hip hop’s beatboxing and is enjoying a resurgence in campuses across America. It sounds like a […]