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| FIRST FILIPINA BROADWAY STAR, as MEI-LI, LEAD ACTRESS, FLOWER DRUM SONG |
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| CELY CARRILLO, press picture, 1960. |
One of Carrillo’s earliest performances was playing Gilda at age
13, in the Verdi’s opera “Rigoletto”, where she was hailed and billed as the
world’s youngest coloratura soprano. To prove that her success was no fluke,
she next appeared in another play directed by Wilfrido Ma. Guerrero—“Give the
Kid a Break”(written by Mely Landicho). When the play opened at the Little
Theater in Diliman, Cely--who was only in a minor role as the younger sister of
the lead character Roberting—earned the highest kudos of the evening.
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| NEW YORK GIRL. Cely refreshes for a shake and burger . |
Her stage achievements that included starring roles in
“Kismet” and “Firefly”, paved the way for the young artist to compete against
other budding international talents for a slot at the famed Juilliard School of
Music. Her efforts were rewarded with a 6-year scholarship at the school in New
York. Moving to the U.S., and quickly immersed herself in getting a complete
Western-style theater and performance arts education.
 |
| CELY TAKES MANHATTAN. |
Carrillo, bent on pursuing her Broadway dream, lingered on and rented a West Avenue apartment in upper Manhattan. With her was brother Tomas Jr., who was starting college at Fordham University, and her unmarried maternal aunt, Miss Ocampo (her mother and 2 sisters Cory and Cecille, were living in Tennessee).
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| CELY CARRILLO answering an audition call, NY. April 1960 |
Like all aspiring artists, she went on countless auditions, snagging TV roles on and playing alongside Raymond Massey and Lee Tracy. She was also a featured singer in the ABC-Paramount produced record, “Hi-Fi in an Oriental Garden”, where she sang 3 folk songs: Leron, Leron Sinta, the Pearls of Mindanao, and Bahay Kubo.
LISTEN TO CELY CARRILLO SING
"The Pearls of Mindanao" Here:
In 1958, a
casting call was sounded out for a new Broadway musical created by Richard
Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II, based on the 1957 novel, The Flower Drum
Song, by Chinese-American author C. Y. Lee.
 |
| FLOWER DRUM SONG PROGRAM, 1960S. |
The story
is about a rich Chinese refugee, Wang
Chi-yang, who clings to traditional values in San Francisco's Chinatown. The musical shifted its focus to his son, Wang
Ta, who is caught between two clashing East-West cultures, including the
practice of arranged marriages. Rodgers and Hammerstein, with stage director Gene Kelly, then scoured the
country for Asians or Asian-looking talents to form the mainly Oriental cast.
 |
| FLOWER DRUM SONG, Road Tour Program, 1960 |
Carrillo
joined the casting call for the new musical,
and was taken in as part of the ensemble. Also passing the audition was a
compatriot, Patrick Adiarte, originally from Manila, best known for appearing
as the young Prince Chulalongkorn in the 1956 film version of the Rodgers and
Hammerstein musical, “The King and I”.
 |
| SCENES FROM FLOWER DRUM SONG, 1960 |
The lead
female role, however, was won by the Japanese-American actress and former
nightclub singer, Miyoshi Umeki. Umeki
had won a supporting role Oscar for the 1957 film, "Sayonara", headlined by
Marlon Brando. Carrillo, later became her understudy, a fortuitous role. She
also understudied Pat Suzuki, who was cast as the first Linda Low, Ta's
nightclub love interest.
 |
| SCENES FROM FLOWER DRUM SONG, 1960 |
“Flower
Drum Song” opened in New York at the St.
James Theatre on 1 Dec. 1958, and was met with enthusiastic reception,
generating significant advance sales. There were many sold-out performances and
the original cast album which included Carrillo, also did very well too. Some
of the memorable songs included: “I Enjoy Being a Girl” (later popularized by
Doris Day), “A Hundred Million Miracles” , “Love, Look Away”, “The Other
Generation”, and “Chop Suey”. Come
awards season, “Flower Drum Song” received six Tony Award nominations.
 |
| THE NEW MEI-LI. Cely takes over Umeki's lead role in 1960. |
After over a year of headlining the musical, Umeki left and it was Carrillo who stepped into shoes her in 1960, a milestone in her career. Suddenly, she was thrust in the spotlight as the lead actress in a popular musical, a first for a Filipino.
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| CELY CARRILLO featured in a trade card. |
Her moment
of Broadway fame would be brief, lasting until May 7, 1960 only, as by then,
plans were afoot for a film version of the hugely-popular musical. The movie
would be released in 1961 topbilled by Miyoshi Umeki, who reprised her stage
role, and James Shigeta. Unfortunately, Carrillo was not included in the film
adaptation (Adiarte was retained), but when “Flower Drum Song” closed on
Broadway after 2 years, she joined a road tour of the musical that opened in
Los Angeles in June 1960, and which then played in San Francisco, Dallas,
Denver and other key U.S. cities.
 |
| CELY WITH ROBERT MITCHUM, in the movie, "Rampage", 1963. |
Surprisingly,
“Flower Drum Song” would be Carrillo’s
first and last Broadway credit. She would foray into television and
films, which by then was burgeoning business. She was seen in The Corruptors
(1961, TV series) , rampage (1963, with Robert Mitchum), The Virginian (1964)
and Coronet Blue (1967, TV series).
During her
stay in New York in the 1960s, Carrillo was squired by a number of suitors. One
of them was George Strattan, a classmate at the American Theater Wing who has
also appeared in off-Broadway revues. He
would be seen in TV shows such as “The Monkees” and “The Waltons”. But it was
to Filipino Antonio M. Onrubia that she would spend her life with.
 |
| CELY WITH CYNTHIA. 1977. Pix; flickr.com, by gottogodisco |
A
daughter, Cynthia Onrubia (b. 27 Jan, 1962, inherited her artistisc genes. She gained
national attention, when, as a 15 year old, was cast in the musical, “A Chorus Line”–the
youngest dancer in the blockbuster production that premiered at the Shubert Theater
in 1977. She stayed with the musical
until 1985, and then was seen in other hit musicals---"Cats" ( 1982-83); "Song and
Dance", "Jerome Robbins’ Broadway" (Asst. choreographer, 1989-90); "The Goodbye
Girl"(Dance Captain, 1992); "Damn Yankees" (1993-95); "Victor/Victoria" (1995-97); "Dame Edna: The Royal Tour"(1999), “Cabaret” (2014-15),
 |
| CELY CARRILLO & DAUGHTER CYNTHIS, Pix: Broadway World. |
“Flower
Drum Song” enjoyed a short revival in 2001, using a script rewritten by
playwright David Henry Hwang. It opened on October 14, 2001 at the Mark Taper Forum with Filipina Broadway star
Lea Salonga in the title role. The
sold-out show had an extended run, which ended in January 13, 2002.
 |
| CELY MEETS LEA. Opening of Flower Drum Song the Virginia Theater.Pix: Getty Images |
Because of
its success, “Flower Drum Song” was moved to Broadway on October 17, 2002.
At the opening night at the Virginia
Theatre, Cely Carrillo was on hand to meet Lea Salonga—the musical’s newest
Mei-Li. It was a trailblazing role that
once was hers, which she played to so many standing ovations, and which made it
possible for an Asian—a Filipina, to be exact—to conquer the Great White Way
and pave the way for other incredible Filipino talents to follow.
SOURCES:
My thanks to Mr. Rufi Carrillo for Cely Carrillo's personal background.
My thanks to Mr. Rufi Carrillo for Cely Carrillo's personal background.
Aguila,
Dan D’umuk, “Cely Carrillo in Broadway”, The Sunday Times Magazine, 10 April
1960 issue, pp. 6-8.
Cynthia Onrubia: http://www.theensemblist.com/guests/2015/11/12/qa-cynthia-onrubia
Flower Drum Song: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flower_Drum_Song
Flower
Drum Song Broadway Revival 2002: https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-production/flower-drum-song-13310
Cely
Carrillo and Lea Salonga: Getty Images, https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/cely-carrillo-joins-lea-salonga-at-a-party-in-the-lobby-of-news-photo/97299540#cely-carrillo-joins-lea-salonga-at-a-party-in-the-lobby-of-the-a-picture-id97299540
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gottogodisco: https://www.flickr.com/photos/70697698@N00/11981976256
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