WATCH: New Cast of Rak of Aegis Performs and Answers Press Q&A!
The new cast members of Rak of Aegis- Carla Laforteza (Mary Jane), Alisah Banaobra (Aileen), Tanya Manalang (Aileen), Jon Santos (Fernan), Tricia Jimenez (Mary Jane), and Vince Lim (Kenny), perform alongside their co-stars and talk about how they became part of the show.
(READ: Fresh Faces and Theater Stalwarts Introduced in Rak of Aegis’ 5th Rerun)
Tanya Manalang, who most recently played Kim in the West End production of Miss Saigon, was asked if she has seen or has heard about the musical prior to auditioning.
Tanya Manalang: “Sadly hindi ko po napanood iyung show dahil nung nagopen po sila, nakaalis na po ako. Pero I’ve been hearing great reviews about it and narinig ko rin po iyung arrangement ng mga kanta, ‘tsaka iyung stories po kasi iyung mga friends ko napakalaking fans po ‘nung show. ‘Nung naoffer po sa akin magaudition to try out for Aileen sabi ko talaga I really want to give it a try kasi it’s really different from what I did for the past 2 years, which was Kim for [Miss] Saigon. Tapos ito Tagalog pa. And mabirit talaga ‘to and hindi rin naman ako biritera talaga. Challenging so game ako.”
Did her training at the West End help her breeze through the audition?
Tanya Manalang: “Breeze through? Actually feeling ko nga minsan masyado akong seryoso. I think I need to loosen up more. Kasi ibang klaseng warmth iyung naffeel ko dito. (laughs) Nakakahelp naman siya in terms of discipline but I need to stop being so uptight all the time.”
Jerald Napoles, who plays Aileen’s love interest Tolits, was asked if he was going to do something different for this rerun.
Jerald Napoles: “Maraming idadagdag na flavor iyung bagong cast. So for example meron kaming apat na Mary Jane, so apat na interaksyon sa bawat isang Tolits na tatlo. So iba-iba yung reaksyon ng bawat actor sa ibibigay ng kapwa actor. So usually may nadedevelop na bagong mga adlibs o bagong mga antics na ipapaalam muna siyempre sa director kung maaari. So iyun actually iyung magic ng Rak of Aegis.”
In the second video below, all the new cast members talk about how they became part of the show.
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- Tolits and Aileen reminisce about the 5 years of Rak of Aegis
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- Tanya Manalang is the new Aileen!
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- Rak is bak! Now on its 5th and possibly final run
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- Jerald Napoles and Benjo Manalo present the third Tolitz, Pepe Herrera (who was not around)
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- Aicelle Santos, on voice rest, announces the rerun of Rak of Aegis.
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- The cast and creative team of Rak of Aegis!
