WOWOWEE
Philippines game show tapes in Hawaii
Photo gallery: 'Wowowee' in Hawaii |
By Wayne Harada
Advertiser Entertainment Writer
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Willie Revillame — you may call him "Mr. Wowowee" because everyone else does — parties hearty in front of the TV cameras.
"I sing, I dance, I want to have fun with the people," he said yesterday.
But pau hana, Revillame, 47, goes home and stays put.
"I go home and back to my simple life," he said. "I don't like discos. I don't party. I just like to make people happy."
At 7 p.m. tomorrow at Aloha Stadium, he hopes a lot of folks will be wowed when "Wowowee," the No. 1 game show in the Philippines, tapes segments that will be part of a two-hour international special on ABS-CBN. (It will be aired locally in about two weeks on The Filipino Channel, available to Oceanic digital subscribers.)
The show's producers say about 1,000 "Wowowee" fans from the Philippines have flown in to participate, and they expect up to 20,000 fans at the taping tomorrow.
"People want us to be in Hawai'i," Revillame said, referring to e-mails and letters sent by Island fans. "We get requests to go all over the world; in Europe and in Asia. 'Please, can you come here,' they ask, from Italy, Germany, all over."
Hawai'i, he said, "was a natural choice. ... The show is a party, a dance, a time to have fun and enjoy a reunion with the Filipinos."
The format — a mix of "Deal or No Deal," "The Price Is Right" and "The Oprah Winfrey Show" — is all about feeling good, Revillame said.
"Wowowee, that's the name of the game," he said. "It's an expression — wow, you feel great, you look great. It's wow power."
The audience give-and-take includes a candid interview, perhaps a moment to share a joke, sing a song, or get groovin' with a dance.
Revillame, the host, singer, comedian and ambassador of goodwill, appears from a rear door of a stage and sings the "Wowowee" theme song along with the audience during each program. As the "Willie of Fortune," he hands out prizes.
"If everyone is happy and enjoying themselves, that's my inspiration," he said.
Reach Wayne Harada at wharada@honoluluadvertiser.com.