By Totel V. de Jesus
Before Filipino theater actors Red Concepcion, Gerald Santos and Fil-Am Jonjon Briones made it in Miss Saigon, there was Leo Valdez. He played The Engineer in more than 3,500 performances for 14 years from the mid-1990s up to 2008.
Sir Cameron Mackintosh, one of the makers of the multi award-winning production, was said to have called Valdez as his favorite Engineer, a role that has become like “his second skin.”
Many are wondering what happened to him after quitting the role and going into semi-retirement. He’s done some solo shows in the Philippines but not regularly for the past 10 years. Now he’s back for a one-night-only concert, surprisingly not in Metro Manila, where theater is very much alive. Valdez will serenade his fans in Casino Filipino in Cebu City on July 28, as part of the grand launch of its new tagline, “Your One Great Experience”.
A week before his show, there’s singer-comedienne Rufa Mae Quinto with singer Bryan Termulo taking center stage for the grand launch on Saturday, July 21 at CF Cebu’s Tambayan gaming area.
“Excited akong mag-perform at mas special ito for me dahil nakasama ako sa grand launch ng tagline ng CF Cebu which I want to be part of. I want to give the audience their ‘One Great Experience’,” she said.
The good news is, CF Cebu Branch Manager Ricardo Uy said fans and other guests may watch the shows for free. “Even non-players may come and watch as long as they’re 18 years old and above. This is just the start of more exciting shows,” he said.
He added visitors can look forward to more exciting celebrity shows this second half of the year as they rev-up their entertainment offerings in line with their new tagline. He assured they will continue to promote Visayan talents by showcasing them in the nightly entertainment events. Being an Ilonggo, Valdez is a true-blooded Visayan and lucky are they to have an international theater artist performing even for one night.
“Before, the main audiences of our shows were the casino guests who were already here. But the crowd changed when we featured different artists and began inviting different groups. We’re happy with the outcome because more Cebuanos will have the chance to see their favorite artists. There’s no need to go to Manila to watch them perform,” Uy said.