joel reserved two tickets for us on friday the 13th, bel castro’s night, and so ina and i got to see cherie gil as maria callas in “Master Class” and, wow, what a worldclass performance, no less than a tour de force!   it’s great material, of course, by terence mcnally, but who would have thought we had a filipina actress who could would rise to the challenge, do a callas past-her-prime, relate to the highs and lows of a spectacularly operatic if stormy life in a virtual two-hour monologue (!) addressed to aspiring opera singers, with bits and pieces of greek and italian thrown in, all so clearly effortlessly seamlessly delivered, it was easy to suspend disbelief, see hear feel maria callas herself, what a woman, what an artist, what a diva, and just as easily snapping out of it and rising to one’s feet, almost electric was the impulse to pay homage with a standing ovation.   BRAVO, CHERIE!!!   and kudos to director michael williams and the philippine opera company for a great production!