VETERAN singer-actress-comedienne Mitch Valdes was at a “quandary” before she accepted the offer of Ballet Manila’s artistic director and chief executive officer (CEO) Lisa Macuja-Elizalde, to essay the iconic role of Lola Basyang in the restaging of the ballet masterpiece.

“Not that I’m one of the busiest performers,” Mitch admitted. “After quarantine, when everybody was getting back to their feet, I couldn’t go back to the old stuff I was doing – events, lounge acts, concerts, etc.

“I said I wanted to refresh and we needed new materials. You know if you are in this age, it’s hard to look for writers who understand the performance that I like doing. It’s a new generation. They are really pure stand-ups.”

Late last year, Mitch received a call from Lisa. “I didn’t know what to exactly do at that time,” Mitch disclosed. “The teleseryes, the movies were not calling. There were corporate events to keep me afloat.”

Lisa asked her, “Do you want to do Lola Basyang?” Even if Mitch hasn’t played a grandma before, she readily grabbed the offer.

“I said, ‘Yes! Go.’ I didn’t hear from Lisa again until early this year. Now, here we are in rehearsals seeing me in a Mitch Valdes type of Lola Basyang.

“So I put in some humor and at the last minute, Lisa said, ‘I’m going to commission a song.’ So there’s an original song, Kwento ni Lola Basyang. I open the story with a song. I also close it with the whole cast dancing around.

“That’s the story why. There was the only request I made to Lisa. I told her, ‘Can I get off the rocking chair and interact with the cast? Lisa agreed.”

The children’s book, Mga Kwento ni Lola Basyang, was transformed into a trilogy in 2008, when the tale enjoyed unprecedented success after its partnership with Anvil Publishing, which came out with the books of Cristine Bellen-Ang.

Ballet Manila once again unearthed the magical baul of Lola Basyang as it transports its audience to a world of fantastic dance, music and spectacular visuals with Ang Tatlong Kwento ni Lola Basyang, set to happen at Aliw Theater from May 11 and 12 at 8 p.m. and May 18 at 5 p.m.

The trilogy was consistently reinvigorated by Ballet Manila. To be restaged for the 26th season are Ang Prinsipe ng mga Ibon, Ang Kapatid ng Tatlong Marya and the magical comedy, Ang Mahiwang Biyulin.

Ang Kapatid ng Tatlong Maria is a collaborative partnership between Lisa as choreographer and Filipino music legend Joey Ayala, who penned the music for the ballet.

The last tale, Ang Mahiwagang Biyulin, boasts of the original melody from National Artist for Music Ryan Cayabyab, who composed the lively and catchy strains that will accompany the dancers.

“We chose three stories out of the 12 Lola Basyang books,” shared Lisa. “It was an interesting process because there were so many great tales that were worth sharing. But in the end, we felt that the themes we chose can truly resonate with an audience across many generations.”

Lola Basyang is the originally the pen name of renowned Filipino author Severino Reyes, who created and wrote the anthology of short stories from as far back as 1925, nearly a century ago.

For this special production, Mitch partnered with Anvil Publishing with a common aim to bring the legacy of Severino Reyes alive.

Interestingly, Lola Basyang marks the first time Mitch is working with children. She previously worked with actor Patrick Garcia, when she played his drugged mom who was always on downers. It was a Jose Javier Reyes-directed film, Rollerboys (1995).

Now, Mitch is playing a grandmother in Lola Basyang. Working with kids made her exceptionally careful. “You cannot just make taray there, especially the kids today,” Mitch said.

“The first week, they didn’t even looked at me even if I made the effort to greet them and smiled at them. Maybe the last they saw of me was when I played Kapitana in Ang Probinsyano.

“One of the fathers of the Lola Basyang kids was our assistant director in Ang Probinsyano. Would you believe? The daughter is Annika Gaite. Her father, Michael (Gaite), worked in Probinsyano and now, he’s in Batang Quiapo.”

Mitch’s heart broke when she sat in the auditions of around 25 children and they had to trim down the number to only five. “My heart went to the kids who were rejected. Maybe they were told, ‘You are not what is required of the role.’

“I didn’t know if there was somebody who cried. When it was time to announce, all the parents were there, too. I was no longer there.”

Working with the dancers of Ballet Manila was likewise a “new process” for Mitch. “The first time I saw the dancers, it’s beautiful and a lovely art form with the young bodies.

“The ballerina, my goodness, she was flying from left to right and smiling but at the same time heaving, still on performance level.”

Mitch was discovered by Repertory Philippines in 1968. She started with production initially. “They don’t put you in a play right away,” she recalled. “With Bibot Amador and Baby Barredo, you will sweep the floor first. But I grew with Repertory.”

Then, Mitch also discovered PETA (Philippine Educational Theater Association), with the likes of director Lino Brocka megging Tagalog adaptations. Mitch got to work with actor Mario O’Hara.

“It was very rich,” Valdes beamed. “On one hand, you had British-American theater with Rep and on the other hand, you stage a play with PETA.”

In the early eighties, Mitch changed her name from Maya to Mitch. “Then, when I was performing in one of the concerts, I met Girlie Rodis who asked me if I wanted to be managed,” she recalled.

Mitch and Girlie have since become inseparable after the former gave her nod. “So Girlie repackaged me,” Mitch allowed. “She made me wear an Inno Sotto. She turned me into a girl. Then, we did all the lounge acts and concerts. The repackaging worked.”