Philippine Showbiz Today Vol 14 No 7 | Page 20

20 Philippine Showbiz Today April 8 - 21, 2019 Exciting things ahead for Aicelle Santos After starring in Miss Saigon’s UK Tour for a year, GMA Network’s home- grown singer and actress Aicelle Santos is back in the Philippines with high spirits. With her stunning performance amidst excellent reviews, she has truly brought pride to the country by successfully portraying the iconic role of ‘Gigi Van Tranh’ in Cameron Mackintosh’s critically-acclaimed musical. “Playing Gigi was a personal, spiritual, and professional journey for me,” Aicelle shared. “It taught me a lot about myself as a person and as an actor. I became more disciplined because of our daily shows that required physical and mental focus.” The Kapuso star also talked about the struggles of being away from home and what she learned from them. “Being so far from home and living outside of my comfort zone made me realize the more important things in life. I valued my personal relationships more with my family and friends. I learned to appreciate the warmth of the sun after days of cloudy and gloomy skies. I enjoyed the quietness of a simple and independent life,” she said. Now that she’s home, Aicelle is back to performing for her kababayans. She is part of Ballet Philippines’ 2019 restaging of the 1977 pop rock opera ballet, “Tales of the Manuvu,” which showcases the folk tales of the Manobo tribe in Mindanao. It runs until March 31 at the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP), Pasay City. She is also set to make her TV comeback this April as a regular host of GMA’s musical-variety show, Studio 7. Apart from these, fans can once again catch her reprise her role as Elsa in the rerun of “Himala: Isang Musikal”. Asked what else she’s looking forward to, Aicelle said, “To creating new music and marrying the man I love.” With overflowing love and blessings, Aicelle remains grounded and full of gratitude, “My new mantra is to live in the moment and to embrace the life that is unfolding right in front of you. I am more grateful than ever to everyone who continues to support me and to the Lord who guided me through this path.” Love and bittersweet revenge on GMA Afternoon Prime’s newest series, BIHAG Sa isang iglap, maglalaho ang lahat. Experience drama at its finest as GMA Network proudly brings action, mystery, and suspense with its newest Afternoon Prime series, BIHAG. Kapuso viewers are in for a thought-provoking tale of how one mistake can lead to another as the program features the stellar performances of the network’s prime stars: Max Collins as Jessie, a simple and loving wife and mother; Mark Herras as SPO1 Larry Pineda, an honest police officer and Jessie’s REYFORT Joel Castro Web Designer www.joelcastro.com Jose K. Lirios Contributing Writer high school classmate; Jason Abalos as Brylle, Jessie’s perfect husband who is a pediatric surgeon; Neil Ryan Sese as Amado, a short- tempered man who mourns the loss of his daughter; Sophie Albert as Reign, the woman who will come between Jessie and Brylle. Jessie, Brylle and their son Ethan is the image of a happy family. Jessie is a loyal wife who chose to be a stay- at-home mommy blogger. Brylle, on the other hand, is a pediatric surgeon and her faithful husband. But when an unfortunate hostage- taking involving their son happens, lives are lost, betrayal arises, and soon they find themselves and their perfect family falling apart. The show’s creative team is composed of creative director Aloy Adlawan; creative consultant Kit Villanueva-Langit; Concept Creator and Headwriter Suzette Doctolero; writers Zita Garganera, Jason John Lim and John Roque; and brainstormers Honey Hidalgo and Brylle Tabora. This original series, created by the GMA Drama group, is headed by the SVP for Entertainment Group Lilybeth G. Rasonable, VP for Drama Redgie A. Magno, AVP for Drama Cheryl Ching-Sy, Senior Program Manager Redgynn S. Alba and Executive Producer KJ Corpus. BIHAG is the under helm of esteemed director Neal del Rosario. The world premiere of BIHAG started April 1, Mondays to Fridays, on GMA Afternoon Prime. Kapuso viewers from across the globe can catch BIHAG via GMA’s flagship international channel GMA Pinoy TV. For the program guide, visit www.gmapinoytv.com.