HONG KONG?Eric Quizon is following in his father?s footsteps. And they?ve led him to this city.

Like his father, the legendary comedian Dolphy, 60 years ago, the young actor, director and producer is trying to make his mark as a migrant worker in the city.

Quizon is among the newest OFWs in town, having signed up last June with the entertainment company Springtime Group Ltd. to bring Broadway hits like ?The King and I? and ?The Producers? to Hong Kong?s cosmopolitan audience.

?I guess I?m an OFW. I mean, I work here. I get paid in Hong Kong dollars. So, I guess I am an OFW, in a way,? Eric told the Inquirer in an interview.

?I fell in line for a Hong Kong ID at the Immigration office. I don?t do that in Manila. You ask somebody to do that for you. (But) it felt good kasi I felt just like the rest. I felt ordinary. I felt normal, basically,? he said.

Eric is now based in Hong Kong and hopes to introduce it Filipino plays and musicals, even bring along other Filipino thespians for a taste of the city?s theater scene.

He explains how he got his job. ?One of the partners of ?Springtime? is a friend of mine. He knew that I?m a producer, so he goes, ?Look, we need an English-speaking director/producer because we are planning to bring in big shows like The King and I.??

This was in May last year. The company published ads in the papers and Eric decided to send in his resumé. ?I had to go through a process and it wasn?t easy. I went for the interviews then I had to file all the requirements and wait. Somehow I got the job,? he said.

?If ever (the shows are) going to be in English, definitely we?re going to get Broadway actors and hopefully Filipino actors too because they?re actually very familiar with the musicals, like what happened in Disneyland, (where) most of the performers were Filipinos,? Eric said.

?So, the ?Springtime? people said maybe that?s what we can do - source out actors from the Philippines since Filipinos are not just good in acting. We have wide-ranging looks. Like, many look like Spaniards.?

But there?s been a snag. Broadway musicals were supposed to be shown in a temporary theater in West Kowloon but its construction was delayed until April this year. While awaiting the construction to be completed, Quizon worked with Gina Alajar, Angelu de Leon and Harlene Bautista in successful runs of the Tagalog version of the ?Vagina Monologues? in this city late last year.

He also spent half his time shooting two movies in the Philippines, including the Metro Manila Film Festival entry Bahay Kubo with Maricel Soriano.

Dolphy in Hong Kong

Eric also noted that his father could be considered ?one of the very first? Filipino migrant workers in Hong Kong.

Then aged 22, Dolphy arrived in the city in 1950 and tried his luck as a dancer with the late Bayani Casimiro Sr. at the Skyroom in King?s Road in North Point.

?So we can say he was one of the very first OFWs in Hong Kong,? said Eric, who will be launching in Hong Kong Dolphy?s autobiography and charity foundation later this year.

?We?re all excited about this book,? he said. ? Ang maganda lang sa kanya, parang may pagka-Taglish siya. It?s told the way he tells his story, yung style niya. Ang Pinoy kasi Taglish pagnagsalita, hindi yung Pinoy na Pinoy na malalim or in (straight) English.?

The charity foundation, to be called DolphyAid, will be based in Manila but with international in reach to also help Filipinos abroad, Eric said. Due for launching in Hong Kong in June, it will help calamity victims and those in need of educational and medical assistance.

?It encompasses a lot because my Daddy is like a foundation in himself. People come to him. He pays for the burial of the dead. He sends children to school and buy medicines for the sick,? Eric said.

?So I said ?Dad, you?re 80 years old. You don?t have to think about that anymore. Let?s set up a foundation for that.? I said at least, we could help people but let?s make it go through a process so that you would no longer worry about it,? he said.

Dolphy is actually going to do a movie with Vic Sotto this year. ?He?s no spring chicken,? Eric added.

That certain anonymity

?You know, the real reason I accepted the job is I really wanted to be based here for a while,? said Eric, who has an apartment in the upscale Mid-Levels. ?It?s a change. That?s what I really wanted. I could take the bus, I could take the MTR. When I see Filipinos in the MTR then, you know, I talk to them. It?s something I cannot do in Manila, plus the fact that it?s not so far away. I mean, Manila is an hour and a half away.

?I love Hong Kong,? he confesses. ?One thing I like about it is that there?s a certain anonymity? but of course there are lots of Filipinos. They have their picture taken with me and they ask for my autograph.?

One Sunday it took him nearly an hour to get through a crowd in the Central business district of Filipina domestics who wanted to get his autograph and take a picture with him.

?That?s fine,? he said. ?It?s something that I?m used to, part of my job description.?