The impersonator’s post-Ondoy comeback show
BY PERRY GIL S. MALLARI REPORTER

Master impersonator Willie Nepomuceno is all set with his latest show dubbed Will the Real Willie Nep Please Stand Up! at the Music Museum this weekend.

In an interview with The Manila Times, Nepomuceno, known for his hilarious impersonation of celebrities and local political figures, talks about his craft and the deeper meaning of his latest show.

Pacquiao, ‘Noynoy’ and ‘Ondoy’

Nepomuceno narrates that the original concept for the show was to spoof Manny Paquiao’s career, “It would be a humorous take on his supposed career dilemma, whether to become a boxer, a singer or a politician,” he says. He intended the show to be a complete musicale, but then new trends began to emerge in the country that caused him to change plans. “The political season started when Noynoy [Aquino] announced his bid for the presidency,” Nepomuceno points out.

There’s a tinge of irony when he reveals that devastation and loss were the prime catalysts in the fruition of his latest show. “I sustained great damage from Typhoon Ondoy,” the legendary impersonator says.

Nepomuceno narrates that during the onslaught of the typhoon that brought the greatest amount of rainfall in the country in 42 years, his house in Marikina was submerged in 8-foot deep floodwaters. “It destroyed memorabilia and nearly all of the write ups about me,” he laments.

Nepomuceno reveals that the show on Saturday signifies a new beginning after the horrors of tropical storm Ondoy. “I believe that there must be some sort of healing,” he say, adding that the laughter his performance would elicit is a way of saying goodbye to the devastation of Ondoy.

The veteran impersonator will be featuring 20 characters in his latest show, among them Manny Pacquiao, Freddie Roach, Sen. Noynoy Aquino and Sen. Mar Roxas. He said the first half of the show will be a musicale (as he originally planned) and the second half will be parodies of local politics.

The master of disguise

Nepomuceno said that being a keen observer helps him in capturing the likeness of a particular character, “I usually watch videos and read as much as I can about a particular subject.” He explains that his craft is based on the art of caricature—taking a prominent feature of a particular character and then exaggerating it, “In the case of Erap [former President Joseph Estrada], it’s the hair and the mustache,” he narrates, lightheartedly, continuing, “With Noynoy it’s the balding head.”

Will the Real Willie Nep Please Stand Up! is scheduled November 20 to 21 at the Music Museum. Show starts at 8:30 p.m.