Devon still can’t believe it!

Curtain-raisers:

• A politician and his companions decided to watch a musical on Broadway to find out why it was such a huge hit. Well and good. Sadly, he never found out why. The reason? Barely 10 minutes into the musical, he began snoring, much to the annoyance of those nearby. Blame it on jetlag from the flight halfway around the world.

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Even now that You With Me is in the can, showing nationwide starting Sept. 27, Devon Seron still has to pinch herself to realize that it isn’t all a dream ­— you know, being the leading lady of two Korean drama actors, Hyun (who rose to fame via the KBS show The Gentlemen of Wolgyesu Tailor Shop) and Jin Ju-Hyung (of the KBS2 show Hwarang: The Poet Warrior Youth).

“I’m not so much into Korean dramas,” admitted Devon (remembered as James Reid’s first girlfriend), “and I haven’t seen the shows of my Korean leading men.”

In the movie co-produced by Gitana Film Productions and RR Films/Entertainment, Devon plays rich girl Kim Soriano over-protected by people around her and aching to stand on her own two feet. It’s her biggest break after seven years of doing supporting roles following her graduation from the Pinoy Big Brother (PBB) Teen Edition.  

“I actually gate-crashed into the exclusive audition for the movie,” recalled Devon who is from Cebu. “I thought it was for an indie. I really wanted to do an indie kasi. I wasn’t on the list of the auditoneers so I nagged my friend to let me in. I told him, ‘Uy, ipasok mo lang ako sa audition, okey na ako.’ That was what happened.”

By coincidence, Devon said that she and a friend had been planning to visit Korea.

“Bakasyon lang,” she said. “That was last June. I never thought that it would be vacation and work for me at the same time. Oh my gosh, I told myself, ‘This is hitting two birds with one stone.’”

It was also a learning experience.

“The Koreans are punctual,” shared Devon. “If the call time was 8 a.m., they expected everybody to be there earlier than that. And also, they treated everybody equally; walang star-star sa kanila.”

The two Korean actors are expected to come as part of the movie’s promo. Asked where he would take them, Devon said, “Of course, Cebu. It’s my place and I know what places to bring them to, kung anu-ano ang dapat kong ipakita sa kanila.”

Baron Geisler: If only he would (if he could) stay away from alcohol

Why Baron was ‘missing’ at play’s opening night

This story was relayed to Funfare by an eyewitness.

Baron Geisler disappointed some fans when he failed to make his theater debut during the opening night of Tanghalang Pilipino’s rock sarswela, Aurelio Sedisyoso, at the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP). Baron was supposed to play the composite role of Tikbalang in the play, but he reportedly couldn’t memorize his lines.

Director Chris Millado deemed it better not to allow Baron to act on opening night and instead, fielded an alternate, Jonathan Tadioan, who played multiple roles as a shape-shifter in the American colonization. It was a pity because Baron auditioned for the role and passed with flying colors.

Baron’s role was the second most important part in the play, next to the title role of Aurelio Tolentino who was played by David Ezra Cruz, son of Dulce. In fact, during the curtain call, the role of Tikbalang was the second to the last to take a bow onstage.

During the press conference for Aurelio Sedisyoso held three weeks ago, Baron reportedly showed up intoxicated despite his earlier promise to Chris that he would behave in this project. Chris said he agreed to include Baron in the cast after he seriously talked to the actor who agreed to the conditions of Tanghalang Pilipino. Baron was reportedly told he could not take in alcohol or anything that could impede his acting during rehearsals and especially during the actual performance.

Not only Chris was nervous about Baron’s performance, even the actor’s fellow cast members were worried if Baron could pull off the role. A source from the theater production confirmed to the Funare informer, however, that Baron was allowed to go onstage Saturday last week on both matinee and evening performances. As they would say, all’s well that ends well.

“Magaling siya,” said somebody who watched the play. “He should stay away from the bottle at least when he’s shooting a movie or TV, or when he’s doing a play…especially a play.”

We never doubted that. Baron is one of the finest actors around. Let’s just hope that he can stay away from alcohol, so he can seriously go full-time into acting on stage, TV and film.

(E-mail reactions at [email protected]. For more updates, photos and videos, visit www.philstar.com/funfare or follow me on Instagram @therealrickylo.)