Recap: Good Morning, From Here, October 26 – November 01
Monday
Every time you see the words “Chris Lopez Production,” buy tickets to whatever it is, knowing whatever you are about to see will be outstanding. Chris’s magic is written all over the latest, greatest Tribute to Rihanna that opened at The Palm last Friday night. Cecille, an extraordinary young singer/dancer from the other coast of Mexico, also pays tribute to Beyonce. Both famous artists create spectacles at their concerts, and Chris/Cecille do the same, just shrunk down to fit the stage. The choreography is tricky and energetic, and in Rihanna oh so very sexy, indeed. Racy, even. Cecille’s Rihanna makes her Beyonce look wholesome.
There are between 7 and 10 costume changes for the entire crew, and because I sit in the front row, I can see the meticulous detail work, zippers, buckles, corsets, belts, laces, pockets, and flaps that are extraordinary (and difficult to make!) and so closely resemble the originals as to be cloned. My appreciation for fabric equals the quality of a voice, and Cecille can and does bring the house down with her saucy, sensual delivery.
The Starboys and Stargirls appear army-trained in their synchronicity, and their seemingly unending joyful energy continues unabated throughout the concert. Each of them is a star in their own right and, as a team of enthusiastic dancers, unmatched. They are a delight to watch IF you can tear your attention away from the star of the show. That is why I see shows numerous times throughout a run, so I can fully appreciate the intricate details that make a show an unrivaled box office smash.
See this fast-paced, ambitious tribute to Rihanna at The Palm Cabaret on November 08 at 9 pm.
And then there is Kevin Anthony II, a new, successful real estate agent for Ryan Donner and Associates here in Vallarta. He has been selling properties for just over a year; his first client was one of my best friends, Georgia Darehshori, who now lives mere blocks away from me.
Once a month, Kevin changes hats, picks up a microphone, steps up on the stage at Nacho Daddy, backed by the Roxsand band, and all hell gloriously breaks loose. If LOVE could be personified, it would look just like Kevin Anthony. He is funny, sincere, and infinitely giving of himself.
His fifty years of singing rose to the fore last night, with him presenting all new songs at his season opener to a jam-packed house upstairs at Nacho Daddy. It was so sold out that tickets went on sale immediately for his November 24th show.
Everybody was there – Georgia (of course), Jim Davis, singer Sargento Broadway (I helped him eat his French fries), Francesca Bavaro aka Effie Passaro, just back to town after playing Carnegie Hall (!!) and who sang Creep beautifully with Kevin, Alison Lo, Francie Nguyen, Starla Kay, Frank and Lupe Patterson, Rob Burton and Jan Dorland, Cassandra Shaw (Kevin wore one of her stunning bracelets), April Zalesky, Angela and Art Curley, John and Barb McKinney, Chiara and Tom Montante and a million other fans.
Janathan Rios did a great job on sound and lights, following Kevin around the room whenever he left the stage to say hi personally to someone in the room.
It was an explosive start to what will be Vallarta’s finest entertainment season yet. And is that ever saying something?
I am off to the airport this afternoon to collect my sister Patrice, and everything will be right in the world From Here.
Tuesday
Today will be jam-packed full of shopping with my sister, starting at the great tianguis in Coapinole. This outdoor market covers blocks and blocks and features beautiful fresh produce and new and used clothing, mostly for women and kids but there are requisite shorts and tee-shirts for the guys. I have found couture gowns for less than 50 cents apiece. I no longer buy new fabric, just repurpose these triple xxx beasties that can render three or four meters of useable fabric; my version of ‘downsizing!’
After Coapinole, we will hit Costco and La Comer on our way back to Centro and gather up some goodies for her stay; the airport was a freaking zoo, by the way!!
Tonight, we will attend the Out and About PV Magazine’s Gay Mixer, held at Act2PV from 6 to 8 pm, to support that excellent publication headed up by my dear friend Jerry Jones and the theater, reopening this Thursday with the Greatest Show, followed by a Halloween party in Mary Ann’s Ovations Piano Bar. There will be a costume contest, emceed by Sharon Gerber Scherer, my Scrabble buddy.
It’s a gorgeous, happy day, get out in it and spread some joy From Here.
Wednesday
Patrice and I were boots on the ground at the tianguis in Coapinole by 8:45 yesterday morning, and the place was already a madhouse. The tables right at the entrance usually do not have prices marked overhead (we have learned to avoid them in general), but yesterday, 10 pesos/piece was the rule of the day. Can you spell pandemonium? We moved down a ways, dug in, and scored about 20 pieces, Hauled them to La Comer, shopped (after coffee on their terrace), then hauled all of THAT stuff to Costco, shopped (after strawberry sundaes in the usual store busy-ness) loaded a taxi to the max, came home five hours later ready for a nap.
Then, from 6 to 8 pm, Act2PV opened its doors for the third-of-the-season Out & About PV Magazine’s Gay Mixer. Owner, writer, editor, and publisher Jerry Jones met everyone at the top of the stairs and posed for pics by his photographer Oscar Almeida. Dozens and dozens of us filled Ovations Piano Bar to bursting. It was, indeed, standing room only, with most of the tables and chairs removed to accommodate the crowd.
I saw and chatted with so many people I knew just returning to Vallarta. Still, the great thing about these Mixers is the number of newbies who avidly gather up information that is so easily exchanged at these kinds of functions.
The grand reopening of Act2PV is tomorrow at 7 pm. Find me and say hello From Here.
Thursday
We were supposed to have a mango smoothie last Saturday at noon. He canceled pretty much at the last minute, apologizing that he was recovering from passing a kidney stone and needed to rest. He was chipper, and his last words were, “Enjoy your sister!” with a big heart. David Duvall died 72 hours later.
When I think of his passing, another loss, another thing in MY life I won’t get to experience like his fascinating Composer Series, which premiered ten days ago at the Arte Vallarta Theatre. Music drove David Duvall’s life; he loved the old guys with reverence, which made him dig deeply into their lives to discover why the Gershwins wrote music one way and Burt Bacharach another. Out of that curiosity came his Composer Series.
I was taken with how well David wrote and invited him to become a weekly contributor to the Vallarta Mirror; I have one long unpublished column in the archives that I will split up over the next couple of weeks.
He lamented often about the ethereal quality of music in the arts – a book can be held and reread, a painting can be looked at or not, but it’s there. If music is not played and listened to, it dies. It was David’s purpose in life to see that never happened.
David was his wife Penny’s sole caregiver. She cannot live alone; I am sure their children will arrive soon to help her manage the difficult details that have to follow.
Take care of one another and make sure your affairs are in order. I will let Bob Bruneau, a dear mutual friend, and Piano Man who will miss an impending dinner date with David and Penny, have the last say. “David, may you fly with the angels, make beautiful music on the other side, and find eternal rest,” From Here.
Friday
I trust everybody’s Halloween was as much fun as the revelers on the streets of Centro. All. Night. Long. As we were constantly reminded yesterday with the passing of musician David Duvall, life is short, so play it loud.
The Greatest Show last night in the Casa Karma Red Room, usually a wildly exuberant production, was tempered, and rightfully so, with an aching reminder that a piece of the Act2PV family was missing. David Maiocco began the show with Billy Joel’s Piano Man; I was grateful for the low light in the theater. Musical Directors Mark Hartman and Bing Young helped Maiocco on the piano to kick off Act2PV’s Opening Night of the 2024/25 Season.
Sarah Joy sang an aria first, then joined her Best of Broadway stars Sargento, Alfredo Mendoza, and Yutzil Mar, giving us a taste of their show, which will be premiering later this month.
Gloria Fiona, in a huggable costume, twerked her way into everyone’s hearts. Stephanie Wright Watts announced her new show, which will run concurrent with her role as Donna in Mamma Mia, beginning in January.
David Sabella offered up a Jerome Kern/17th-century Ave Maria mashup that gave me chills in his unique countertenor voice.
Cate Valcic and David Maiocco cohosted last night’s first Greatest Show – scheduled to run all winter – a departure from seasons past.
We continue in Mexico to honor the dead today, dedicated to all the children that have passed, and tomorrow, El Dia de Los Muertos. While we are remembering ancestors, reach out and touch someone today with all the love in your fingertips and tell them how dearly they are loved, now and forever From Here.
