‘Katy’ cast call for local theater support

“There’s nothing bad about it (watching foreign musicals), because we have to see those musicals because they are beautiful musicals! But, ako lang, ang hiling ko sa mga Pilipino na bigyan n’yo kami ng chance,” Isay Alvarez-Sena, lead star of “Katy: The Musical” told members of the press last Tuesday, Aug. 14 at the Speaker’s Conference Room of the House of Representatives in Quezon City where Spotlight Artists Center and the Congressional Spouses Foundation, Inc. sealed their partnership as co-producers.

She added, “You know, you watch ‘Phantom (of the Opera),’ you also watch an original Filipino musical.”

“Katy” is based on the story of Katy de la Cruz’s rise to stardom as the country’s Bodadil Queen. The first production debuted in 1989 with Mitch Valdes playing the lead role.

Big musical

“When we thought of producing ‘Katy’ we wanted it to be like the big musicals, the foreign musicals that come here,” Isay added. “So, we need support from everybody. So if we don’t get that support, hindi kami maririnig o hindi kami mapapanuod.”.

Scheduled to begin on January 13, rehearsals for “Katy” is slated to begin on October while tap dancing lessons for some of the vaudeville numbers Katy was famous for will begin in September.

This, and the powerhouse cast also made up of Dulce, Epi Quizon as Golay, Tirso Cruz III, Lou Veloso and Gian Magdangal, make the local production as big as the foreign ones.

“Actually, di ba ngayon buhay na buhay and teatro sa bansa natin? At nakakatuwa na nabibigyan ng pagkakataon lahat mga actors, bagong mga bata na nagsisimula. Pero napakaganda—mas lalong magandang binibigyan natin ng pagkakataon pa ang sariling atin, ang talagang original na Pilipino na musical katulad ng ‘Katy,’” shared Dulce, who was handpicked to be part of the cast.

Dulce and Isay then gave sample of what to expect in January by singing “Minsan ang Minahal Mo ay Ako,” which Ryan Cayabyab wrote especially for “Katy.”

Jozza Palaganas | Yahoo! Southeast Asia Newsroom