Cue the Music: Gab Pangilinan
We talk to Gab Pangilinan about songs that matter to her at this time in her life and in the lead up to her taking on the role of Mary Magdalene in Jesus Christ Superstar.
There are many ways to get to know a performer, but music might be one of the most revealing. With Gab Pangilinan set to play Mary Magdalene in the Manila leg of Jesus Christ Superstar, we asked her to walk us through the songs that matter to her most—whether as memory, mood, comfort, aspiration, or insight into the role she’s about to inhabit.
If you could only sing one song for the rest of your life, what would it be?
This is the hardest question I’ve ever had to answer and I reserve the right to remain silent. Just kidding. But please don’t make me answer this. If I figure this out, I promise TFM will be the first to know. Now if I could rephrase the question to, ‘If I could only sing one song to an audition for the rest of my life, what would it be,’ the answer would be “Waiting for Life” from Once on this Island.
Do you have a go-to karaoke song? Why has that become your default?
“Party in the USA” by Miley Cyrus and “Wannabe” by the Spice Girls. Karaoke, for me, should be more about the togetherness and the coming together of friends, and should be less about how well you sing. So these are my favorite go-to karaoke songs because they’re the kind of songs that you can’t help but dance and sing along to!
What’s a song people might be surprised to learn you listen to often?
“Gabriela” by Katseye. Okay, maybe it’s not that surprising. But first of all, all my future checks and official documents have Katseye to thank because I imagine people won’t misspell my name as much anymore. For context, for many years, the reference has always been Gabriella Montez from High School Musical which is why misspelling my full name was so common. But on a more serious note, this song took the world by storm and I too had an ‘I need to learn the choreography of Gabriela’ phase.
Is there a song that immediately brings you back to your childhood? What memory, place, or person do you associate with it?
“Maybe” from Annie. When I was 10 years old, my mom took me and my sister to PICC, where we watched Lea Salonga: The Broadway Concert. “Maybe” was the opening song sung by a friend I met at Trumpets Playshop’s summer workshops named Katrice Gavino. The concert began with her acting as a young Lea Salonga singing that specific song. I was a young girl watching another young girl and maybe in that moment I even thought that whatever she was doing on that stage could one day be possible for me too. Looking back–and looking at the setlist, too–(it included songs like “Nothing” from A Chorus Line, “Being Alive” from Company, and “Someone Like You” from Jekyll and Hyde) I realized how that entire concert was probably so much a part of the foundation of my musical theater dreams.
‘It’s the first day of the rest of my life,’ are the first words that Carol Banawa sang as Jewel in Trumpets’ The Little Mermaid at the Meralco Theater, where she was attached to a harness and swimming in the air and I never forgot it. I was 8 or 9 years old. I forgot the title of the song but it was the musical’s opening number. It was one of my earliest memories of watching a musical live, of experiencing a souvenir program that contained the lyrics of the entire production, (which is also why it was important for me that Barefoot Theatre Collaborative’s original musicals’ souvenir programs should contain lyrics too!), and of wanting so much to be a part of something.
Is there a song you’ve never performed in front of an audience but would love to someday?
“It Won’t Be Long Now” from In The Heights. Everything I love about musical theater is in this song: a woman expressing who she is and what she wants, multiple scenes intertwined in the song, and music that makes you want to dance. I meant Vanessa’s parts, but if I have to sing Usnavi, Sonny, and the other parts, I wouldn’t be opposed to it. Haha!
Okay, impossible to just put one so here are a couple: “Man I Need” by Olivia Dean, “Heartbeat on Me” by Kiana V., “Ride Home” by Ben&Ben, and “Unwritten” by Natasha Bedingfield. Instant energizers and uplifters. Parang kung sinabihan ka ba naman ng ‘release your inhibitions’ ni Natasha Bedingfield, aangal ka pa ba?
What’s your favorite love song at the moment? What about it feels true to you about love right now?
“Ganito” by Sarah Geronimo. The lyrics, the melody, everything about it is so simple and yet so profound: ‘Ganito, ang kanyang kamay ay hawakan mo na parang hawak mo ang buong mundo, ang pangalan n’ya ay tawagin mo kung pa’no sinisigaw ng iyong puso at kaluluwa, wala nang mas mahalaga, yakapin ang dinarama nang lubos.’ Grabe ka na, Nica del Rosario.
When you’re going through a difficult time, is there a song you return to for comfort or steadiness?
“I Am” by Nichole Nordeman. I’ve been listening to this song since it came out in 2002. My girl cousins and I obsessed about it as pre-teen Sunday school kids because it had a beautiful melody and a storytelling-like quality, then as a teenager, I related to the lyrics: ‘You saw my mistakes, You watched my heart break, heard when I swore I’d never love again.’ It’s a song I’ve known almost my entire life–a song about faith, about an entire life lived– but it hits different now because I’ve actually been through almost all these stages of life. And at the risk of sounding corny or preachy, it remains to be true for me that ‘When I was weak, unable to speak, still I could call You by name.’ It’s the kind of song that has made me reflect on my own life and how I’ve lived. It’s a song that reminds me that no matter what happens, no matter what life throws at me, I am divinely protected and everything will be okay.
What is one song that reliably makes you cry? What is it in that song that gets to you every time?
“Aawit Kang Muli” sung by Bituin Escalante from the Viu Original series Still. The pandemic was a dark time for everyone, and this song encapsulates everything I felt as an artist during that time.
If you had to choose a song that reflects where you are in your life right now, what would it be?
“Let the Rain” by Sara Bareilles. I’ve always connected to this song and have always considered it to be one of my lifesongs. An artist’s biggest critic is herself, and when I was younger, I thought that if I kept trying to prove myself, I’d become braver. Now I know it doesn’t work that way and if this song resonated with me then, it does so even more today. The song is a constant reminder for me to be brave and to stay vulnerable and to keep moving despite crippling fear. I love that it encapsulates how messy life is and how complex human emotions can be and how the world rolls on and we, as humans, just need to roll right along with it.
Is there a song you nerd out over? What fascinates you about it?
Oh my god, there are too many! “What Happens” from The Notebook is one of those songs. Musical director Rony Fortich likes to call these songs ‘story songs.’ What I personally love about songs like this is, it really won’t work if you just sing it, you have to go all out with it and tell the story, which is why it requires–more than an amazing singer–a storyteller. Everyone out here loving “My Days” because of the high sustained notes (which I am also obsessed with, don’t get me wrong) but I love “What Happens” because it takes me through an emotional journey. There’s just something so fascinating about watching a character process her situation and take you inside their mind. It’s the same for many of Cathy’s songs from The Last 5 Years: “I’m a Part of That,” “Climbing Uphill,” “See I’m Smiling.” Ugh. Obsessed. Love it.
As you play Mary Magdalene in Jesus Christ Superstar, is there a song—whether from the show or outside it—that has helped you understand her more deeply?
Growing up, Jesus Christ Superstar has always been on my radar. It’s my dad’s favorite musical. It’s one of my husband’s favorite musicals. I’ve always known the melody of “Jesus Christ…Superstar.” I first heard “I Don’t Know How to Love Him” sung by Lea Salonga at the concert I mentioned earlier, not in its entirety but in an Andrew Lloyd Webber medley. But when I was cast as Mary Magdalene, I’m now hearing her songs with fresh eyes and ears. Her songs “Everything’s Alright,” “I Don’t Know How to Love Him,” and “Could We Start Again Please?” reveal just how imperfectly human she is. A woman of grace and quiet power. They orchestrated Mary Magdalene’s songs so specifically–music and lyrics that exude empathy and compassion–and I can’t wait to get to know her even more as the weeks progress.
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