IF you’re a huge fan of the great American vocalist Sarah Vaughan—and who can resist the vocal stylings of this electrifying artist whom the esteemed jazz commentator Scott Yanow has described as having “one of the most wondrous voices of the 20th century”?—you might have regarded warily the latest addition to GMA’s top-rating Dramarama sa Hapon programming block, the soap opera Sinner or Saint.
Which, of course, was also the title of one of Vaughan’s biggest hits during her so-called Columbia Years (1948-53, when she cranked out a series of hits for Columbia Records). So definitive is her beautiful reading of this ballad that any fan would be loathe to have any film or TV effort use it with neither the epic drama nor the sense of camp that Vaughan’s recording demanded of such association.
Fortunately for Vaughan’s fans, GMA’s latest afternoon drama makes no association with that tour de force of vocal emoting beyond the title—although they might also wonder why the soap opera’s creators (writer RJ Nuevas and director Don Michael Pere) didn’t have the good sense—or the sense of camp—to have made the association.
Premiering on June 13, Sinner or Saint practically begs for Vaughan’s recording to accompany its magnificently maudlin scenes. The soap is a riveting story of love, deceit and betrayal in which Dennis Trillo and Bianca King play childhood friends-turned-lovers Raul and Noemi, whose plans for a life together take a tragic turn after he accidentally kills her abusive uncle. Suddenly at risk are Raul’s aspirations to become a lawyer and Noemi’s hopes of escaping her cruel relatives. Out of true love and in fear of losing both their dreams, Noemi willingly decides to take the blame for the accidental death—with the condition that once Raul gets his degree, he will do everything to win her case. Of course, this being a soap opera, it doesn’t play out quite as nicely. Cue in Vaughan’s “Sinner or Saint”.
I’ll take you dear any way you are
A sinner or saint
It doesn’t matter what they say you are
I have no complaints
Whether it’s foolish or wise, dear
I’ll go along trustingly
They say the devil’s in your eyes, dear
But you look like an angel to me
I won’t ask you what the past has been
The dreams you have had
All the blessings I’ll take with the sin
The good with the bad
Who cares what people say of you
Who cares what pictures they paint
All that I know is that I love you
Saint or sinner, sinner or saint.
The creators of the soap may have missed out on the supreme value—both dramatic and good ol’ camp—that Vaughan’s reading would have brought to the proceedings, not to mention the bragging rights to good taste for them, but still it must be said that Sinner or Saint make for compulsive viewing with its overindulgence in the pathos and batho typical of the genre.
There is also King, whom in our recent cover feature for View magazine we cited as a leading lady waiting to happen and for whom we are thrilled to see it finally happening. It may have been a long wait for King, who had been languishing for years mostly in ridiculous contravida roles, but she is now harvesting the riches of Yoda’s wisdom: all good things come to those who wait. Given her juiciest role yet, King brings both abandon and restraint to her portrayal that even the casual TV viewer can’t help but wonder what took GMA so long. Hopefully after Sinner or Saint concludes its run, Kapuso executives will have the good sense to have Bianca headline a reworking of Angela Markado.
And then, of course, there is Trillo, the gorgeous and gorgeously talented multiawarded actor who may not fly as high in the radar as GMA’s other top leading men—Richard Gutierrez and Dingdong Dantes—but has amassed points not just for genuine dramatic heft but also for admirable versatility that the other two can only dream about. His work as Raul is only going to add more to those points, what with the ambitious aspiring lawyer choosing exigency over love when he shacks up with the wealthy and scheming Corrine (Alessandra de Rossi) to realize his ambitions.
Sinner or saint, indeed.
It would not be altogether surprising if a smattering of people wondered the same about Trillo, who has found himself under the excruciating glare of the spotlight on a couple of occasions, both involving the women who have figured in his life. The most recent occasion involved estranged girlfriend Jennylyn Mercado, who let loose a barrage of ugly accusations in a magazine interview.
Trillo, however, has proven to be an anomaly in this age of confessional diarrhea splattered and smeared all over Twitter and Facebook and pretty much eveywhere else in the media new and old. Not unlike how he dealt with the messy revelation that he had fathered a son with beauty queen Aguilar, this on top of a messy triangle—or so it seemed like a love triangle—involving him, Aguilar and starlet Cristine Reyes, Trillo has chosen to keep himself relatively mum in the face of Mercado’s allegations, saying only that there are always two sides to the story.
The only thing he was willing to speak at length about during the press conference for Sinner or Saint was his gratitude toward GMA, which signed him more than a decade ago after he left ABS-CBN disillusioned. “I’m grateful that GMA has been unwavering in their support despite this recent spate of negative publicity,” he said.
“They continue to show their belief in me, as have so many other people, and I’m deeply thankful. I want to do right by all the support that I’ve been blessed with so at this point, all I want to focus on is my work and my son.”
***Sinner or Saint is seen weekdays in GMA’s Dramarama sa Hapon programming block.
In Photo: Multiawarded heartthrob Dennis Trillo and the exquisite Bianca King fuel passions in GMA’s top-rating Sinner or Saint.
