Ryan Agoncillo is Lady Dada

What happens if geeky-look Ryan Agoncillo gets dressed in drag on the glitzy bar's catwalk? Ryan can be considered the most gorgeous man in drag when he stars in the weekly series Lady Dada starting this Wednesday, September 8, 8-9 pm on TV5's Primetimes5.

The series taps the wacky side of Ryan, a departure from his mestizo looks and cultured ways.

"Ang ganda-ganda ko rito!" he quips. "I never imagined myself dressed in drag before. This one's for the books seriously," he adds.

Lady Dada tells the story of hard luck Dindo (Ryan Agoncillo) who barely succeeds in every business and job he gets into. His failures eventually ruined his marriage with Rina (Mylene Dizon). After a series of unfortunate events, he proves to be a bad luck magnet as he was restrained to get near his son Miko; this after he became violent in a bar owned by his wife and her ex-suitor Brian (Ryan Eigenmann).

Macario, his closeted high-school best friend, enters the picture in literally gay fashion as Kylie (Keempee de Leon) to the rescue. He convinced Dindo to mask his identity as a pretty woman and audition to be the next drag queen in Rina's bar. In order to get closer to his wife and son, Dindo is left without a choice but to turn from a man to a woman to a drag queen. His female disguise becomes even more awkward when he is courted by Rina's widower brother Henry (Roderick Paulate).

"Nagtatawanan nga kami," shares Ryan, "kaming tatlo nina Keempee at Edgar Allan [de Guzman as Junior, Kylie's lover], bading dito. Pero si Dick, siya naman ang lalaki ngayon."

Now Quezon City councilor Roderick Paulate is a legend in his own right playing classic gay characters such as Petrang Kabayo and Kumander Gringa. "Ngayon, lalaki na 'ko dito. Nanliligaw pa," says Roderick whose last gay role was in the indie film Ded Na Si Lolo.

Ryan goes back to acting via Lady Dada after several months of focusing on his career as host. Before hosting TV5's two year-old flagship show Talentadong Pinoy, he has topbilled several TV series and movies including two blockbuster marriage-themed movies with reel-and-real-life wife Judy Ann Santos-Agoncillo.

Mylene and Keempee are both thrilled as Lady Dada mark their first appearance in a Kapatid show. Meanwhile, Dick's widower/suitor role is his TV comeback after winning as councilor in Quezon City last elections. He was first seen in a Kapatid show via 5-Star Specials Presents Maricel Soriano last March. Ryan Eigenmann, Edgar Allan Guzman, and Nathaniel Britt (as Dindo's son Miko) complete the cast.

Production designer and indie film director Dante Nico Garcia was thankful to the show's director Bb. Joyce Bernal for letting him help her in transforming Ryan from geeky to gorgeous. "Binigyan niya kasi ako ng pagkakataon na mapaglaruan ko si Ryan," says the director of the critically acclaimed film Ploning and one of the closest friends of Ryan's wife, Judy Ann Santos.

Will Dindo get around the persistent courting of Henry (who is actually his brother-in-law)? Could he pass for the next drag queen in town? How long can he hide his real identity?

Don't miss the outrageous gender mix-up on Lady Dada, which pilots this coming Wednesday, September 8, on TV5's Primetimes5.