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MANILA -- Meeting the press for the first time since being cast as Adie in "Bagets The Musical," young actor Andres Muhlach admitted he’s still wrapping his head around the idea of playing the same character that catapulted his father, Aga Muhlach, to fame in the 1984 classic.
In the upcoming stage musical adaptation, Andres will alternate with Mico Hendrix Chua as Adie.
"It's a surreal feeling, honestly. It's really a full circle moment for me because my dad started his career as Adie in 'Bagets,' and now I'm blessed I get the chance to play his character din Adie in 'Bagets.' So it's surreal talaga," Andres said during the media conference for the show.
Asked if his dad shared any advice on taking over the role, Andres said Aga preferred to just cheer him on. "Sa advice naman wala masyado but he's just overall excited for me and he wants to see how all of us as a cast are gonna do this show together," he added.
Andres also shared his preparation for the musical and how it's different from acting for the screen.
"Coming from film or coming from TV series acting, I think the gap or the requirements really is a lot different now. ... Even the whole process of preparing for the show and all the workshops that we're doing, it's a lot different from the tasks that we need to do when it comes to filming and the preparations for that. But overall, I believe we're all learning it slowly," he said.
"But I think for us really, it's just about building the bond that we have, because, above everything, above all, the chemistry that we share as ensemble or as a group is really important, and we'd like to replicate that as much as possible when it comes to in person and on the stage," Andres added.
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Andres admitted that he has watched the hit '80s film a couple of times, noting that the challenge now is to bring the joy that people felt while watching the film onto the stage.
"I think the biggest challenge -- because we all know how generational talaga 'Bagets' is in the Philippine film industry and how much of an impact it made -- I think the biggest challenge for us is trying to bring that reason why people enjoyed it back in the '80s to the theatrical stage now. Because we're going into a musical and instead of a lot more sequences of dialogue, we of course have a lot more song productions and everything," he said.
"And in terms of the character of Adie, of course, I would like to try to give him the best. Me and Mico would like to try to play Adie in the most accurate way that we can, just like how he was really in the original film. Of course, the characteristics of Adie that are, you know, he is a charming boy and that he has a crush and I think we all can relate. ...I think that's gonna be the biggest challenge -- implementing the sequences from the film to the actual stage," Andres said.
Andres Muhlach steps into his dad Aga’s shoes as Adie in ‘Bagets' musical
Meanwhile, Chua said he is honored to play Adie in the musical, adding that he will take it as a challenge. "It's going to be a really big shoes to fill, but I'll take it as a challenge... I'm excited," he said.
Comebacking Mico Hendrix Chua bags Aga Muhlach's role in ‘Bagets' musical
Directed by Maribel Legarda with a book by J-mee Katanyag and music by Vince Lim, "Bagets The Musical" is set to run from January 23 to March 2026 at the Newport Performing Arts Theater.
Joining Andres and Chua in the lead cast are Noel Comia Jr. and Tomas Rodriguez as Gilbert, Milo Cruz and Migo Valid as Tonton, Jeff Moses and Sam Shoaf as Topee, and KD Estrada and Ethan David as Arnel.
KD Estrada happy to return to theater via 'Bagets The Musical'