Club Mwah: Where passion and excellence meet
SAVOIR FAIRE By Mayenne Carmona

Being the consummate artist, Jeannie Goulbourn, world-class designer and owner of Silk Cocoon, could not help but be impressed by the artistry and talent of the performers of Follies de Mwah. She did not stop talking about it until she stirred the curiosity of friends like Conchita Toda, Sari Yap and myself to watch the show.

"It is not for material gains that is driving these artists to perform," says Jeannie. "You can see that they are passionate about their art. They are committed to perform to their maximum and give the audience their best! Their passion is oozing when they perform, which makes them delightful to watch."

With this sales pitch, how could we deny her the pleasure of taking us to Club Mwah, a theater-cum-bar located on the third floor of The Venue Tower on Boni Avenue, Mandaluyong City. For good measure, Sari and Conchita even invited more friends to tag along with us, and we ended up at a long table for 12 that night.

We saw for ourselves exactly what she meant. We could not quite believe the fabulous Las Vegas kind of entertainment that this small club presents. The costumes, accessories, headpieces and makeup are all designed for each song and dance number. The lavish sets are spectacular and well designed. All that for a minimum entrance fee of P500.

On its sixth season, Club Mwah presents "Bedazzled 6", a show with different scenes lifted from Broadway plays and James Bond movies.

They have a number that pays tribute to Miss Saigon, which starred Lea Salonga on Broadway and West End. For the sake of realism, a helicopter appears mid-air while American GIs in military garb and Vietcongs are all over the stage. Next scene sees Kim paddling a boat on stage and she turns the scene into a comedy with her exaggerated pregnant look and Rapunzel hair. While doing a lip synch of Sun and Moon, lover Chris suddenly appears on stage. Instead of crying, Kim barks like a wolf when a helicopter rescues Chris, leaving her behind.

Another spectacular sequence is Madonna’s Vogue, which is given a Thai touch complete with a golden temple as background with props and exotic Thai dancers in costume.

"Sets, props and costumes are never recycled," says Club Mwah vice president and administrator Pocholo Malillin. "We don’t want to shortchange our patrons. We always try our best to give them quality entertainment for this Thai number, we even went to Bangkok to buy the costumes!"

One unforgettable number that I thoroughly enjoyed is the tango sequence from the musical Chicago. The setting is the women’s prison cell of women who got convicted for murdering their lovers. Remember that scene with Catherine Zeta-Jones and Renee Zellweger? The Club Mwah Follies dancers did not fall short in impersonating them. Club president Chris Nicolas, who is director and choreographer of all their shows, plays the gigolo dancer.

Shirley Bassey’s Goldfinger introduces the sequence taken from the James Bond movie. The Follies dancers wear dramatic long gowns fully beaded in gold.

From the depths of the jungles of Africa, the African tribal dance goes hip and contemporary with a luminous spider web converted into a wall by tumbling, scaling jazz dancers garbed in golden ethnic costumes with matching headdresses and cannibal sticks to boot.

Other dance sequences, not necessarily in this order, are a Korean flower festival dance with the Follies dressed in bright pink and orange Korean costumes, another Madonna number from the James Bond movie Die Another Day and the finale, I Am What We Are, a gender-bending, dazzling number where all the opulently dressed performers parade down the staircase.

At the end of the show, Paolo and the rest of the Club Mwah Follies thanked everyone and proudly announced that the show has been accredited by the Department of Tourism as a must-see stopover. The lavish costumes, excellent choreography, the choice of music and opulent sets make the show very recommendable. What is more admirable and noteworthy is the Filipino performer’s passion to excel in his chosen field of artistry.

Before we left the place, we promised Paolo that we would spread the word about his excellent show. If we can support foreign artists, why not help and encourage Filipino artists by supporting shows like Club Mwah’s "Bedazzled 6"?

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