SCENES FROM her new show, “I Heart U Pare”, were shown at the Iloilo Dinagyang Festival and Regine Velasquez is happy over the warm audience reception. What’s the challenge of playing Tonia, the girl who gets involved in a crime and pretends that she’s a gay man and drag queen? “Mahirap, as I have to create the main character first, Tonia,” she says. “Kailangang buuin ko muna siya before I can pretend to be the bading Tonette. Feeling ko, ako yung impersonator ko, si Anton Diva. When we taped before my wedding, very well defined sa’kin ang dalawang characters. But after the wedding at mag-tape kami uli, nalilito ko so directors Andoy Ranay and Joyce Bernal had to remind me, Hoy, bakla ka rito. Para nga akong bipolar rito kasi may scenes na nagpapatawa ko, then biglang magdadrama.”
Does she think it’ll be as big a hit as “Diva”? “Sana, kasi we’re offering something new. Even the musical numbers here na drag queen ako, I’m not using my own voice kundi I’m lipsynching the songs of other singers. Cute din ang story kasi at the start of the show, Dingdong meets me as a woman. Then later, magiging roommates kami sa club ng auntie niya, Celia Rodriguez, and he is made to believe na bakla ako. In spite of that, he’ll start falling for me and he’ll question his own sexual preference tuloy.”
So how’s hubby Ogie Alcasid doing? “Ayun, each time he watches yung DVD ng kasal namin, naiiyak siya. Binabasa lang yung account ng wedding namin sa Yes Magazine, naiyak din siya. Iyakin yun, e.”
