Chicago Live, Thanks to Smart Infinity

When my friend Maymay and I went to the Gala Night of Chicago the Musical at The Theatre at Solaire, we knew we were in for a treat, thanks to Smart Infinity, and what a treat it was!

I personally loved Chicago the Movie, with Renee Zellweger, Catherine Zeta-Jones and Richard Gere, so it was fun and thoroughly entertaining to see it on stage, ala Broadway or the West End, right here in Manila.

One more fantastic thing about the musical? The all-Filipino orchestra, headed by Robert Billig, the musical’s conductor who joined “Chicago” three months into its original run in 1975.

I later found out that it only took four masterful hours for 14 Filipino musicians to get “All That Jazz” together and come out sounding like a well-acclaimed “Chicago” stage orchestra, at the Theatre – Solaire.

“A four-hour rehearsal, yeah, that’s all we were allowed. I knew from the very beginning [that we’re well covered with the Filipino talents we found] as soon as we played the overture. We met for four hours together on Tuesday (Dec. 2) and that was it! We did the dress rehearsal the following day and the opening that night (Dec. 3). So they came a long way in two days, pulling this show together,” said Billig.

Billig performed with 14 Filipino musicians he selected from 25 submitted video auditions prior to “Chicago’s” Manila debut.

Unlike other musicals, “Chicago” weaves its band into the story and Billig gets to be part of the performance alongside its touring cast led by Terra MacLeod (Velma Kelly) and Bianca Marroquin (Roxie Hart) who have performed for Manila media and members of Smart Infinity since the start of the musical’s Manila run last December 3.

There's the Filipino orchestra right behind Velma and Roxie's lawyer, Billy Flynn

“The ongoing run of ‘Chicago’ is part of the realization of the premium mobile lifestyle that complements the experience our members get from Smart Infinity. The experience of seeing the longest-running Broadway musical in Manila is really a big takeaway for our members,” said James Chi, marketing manager at Smart Infinity. 

“Just like the successful local runs of other world-class stage spectacles like ‘Cats,’ ‘Mamma Mia,’ ‘The Phantom of the Opera,’ and ‘Wicked,’ bringing ‘Chicago’ to the Philippines is again a very special treat for our subscribers,” said Julie Carceller, Department Head of the Smart Infinity Business Group at Smart. 

For details the “Chicago” run, visit www.ticketworld.com and www1.smart.com.ph/infinity/Chicago.

Smart Infinity is also the first to launch iPhone 6 and iPhone6 plus last November 14. New Infinity subscribers have the option to get the iPhone 6 (64GB) or the iPhone 6 Plus (16GB) with an additional P5,000 worth of GCs or bill rebates compliments of Smart Infinity starting on their fully consumable Prestige Plan 5000. On the brand’s fully consumable Premium Plan 8000, new subscribers can choose to receive two 16GB units of the iPhone 6, or an iPhone 6 16GB plus a MacBook Air. New sign-ups at P3500 per month, or the Aspire Plan come with a 16GB iPhone 6.