After getting her first taste of theater at the age of nine when she made her stage debut as Brigitta von Trapp in The Sound of Music in 2011, Atasha Muhlach looks forward to headlining the much-anticipated Bongga Ka, Day!: The Annie Batungbakal Musical to be staged at the Newport World Resorts this coming September.
The musical, which is based on the 1979 romantic comedy film starring the late National Artist Nora Aunor, is the story of a creative, spirited, generous, and lovable young woman in her early 20s who works as a dispatsadora (saleslady) at House of Pasion. Annie dreams of becoming a fashion designer and her ambition drives her desire to be part of the Coco Banana circle, but her lack of authenticity initially keeps her from being fully accepted.
Looking back on the time before she got cast for the show, Atasha recalled how much she prepared for the auditions. “Grabe ang kaba ko sa audition process! There was so much preparation leading up to it. I prepared a dance choreography to the song 'Annie Batungbakal,' of course, and two songs, one Hotdog song and one song from the '70s. I was very nervous but siyempre naman sobrang excited because when direk Chris Mallado said, ‘Are you free tomorrow for callbacks?’ Everything kind of sank in, and it was a feeling of. ‘Hey we made it! We’re here, we’re here, and we’re doing this now.’”
After making it through the first stage of auditions, the 24-year-old actress admitted that it only got harder competing with other theater hopefuls. “When we were in callbacks, it felt like we were in the ring of fire because there were so many great, talented artists in the audition room and you could feel the pressure and nerves, but everyone was so, so sweet and so kind throughout the whole process,” she shared in an interview with NWR Musicals.
Joining her in the cast of Annie Batungbakal are other talented artists like Sam Concepcion, KD Estrada, John Lapus, Anthony Rosaldo, Jeff Moses, Dindo Divinagracia, and Andrea Babierra.
“Siyempre naman it’s the bond that we’re going to build as a family because I’m entering a new family. Ito po yung Bongga Ka ‘Day family and everyone has been nothing but the best. Meeting the whole cast and the whole production team has been a pure joy and I can feel all the vibrance on set. It’s amazing. For sure, expect na ibibigay ko talaga yung 100% ko to Annie Batungbakal. I’m so excited to explore this character and her journey throughout this whole story,” she said.
Ticket selling for Bongga Ka, ‘Day!: The Annie Batungbakal Musical starts in July. You can also sign up for the waitlist now on TicketWorld to secure seats early.