Eugene Domingo finally makes her musical theater debut

Eugene Domingo had taken on countless roles on and off stage, but she had never tried musical theater — until “Into the Woods” came calling.

The reason she took on the challenge? “Ay naku, Clint Ramos used the friendship card,” the veteran actress-comedienne told The STAR.

Clint is serving as the co-producer and creative/artistic director for the Philippine production of the Stephen Sondheim musical, which is presented by Theater Group Asia. The UP Diliman-educated and multi-awarded Filipino Broadway costume designer also previously produced the most recent production of “Here Lies Love,” which became historic for featuring Broadway’s first all-Filipino cast.

“Clint Ramos kasi is kind of a mentor, but more of like family, a friend who became family. We were together at Dulaang UP, kami ni Dolly (de Leon), Candy (Pangilinan), Frances Ignacio,” Eugene said.

Aside from the “friendship card,” she also said yes to “Into The Woods” because it’s a longtime favorite of hers.

“Paborito ko siyang panoorin kahit sa copy lang — not yet sa theater — but I have a copy. Every time I watch it, naiiyak ako. Maganda siya. I never imagined that I would get to do it one day at hindi ko rin na-imagine na napakahirap pala! Alam mo ‘yon? Ang ganda niya panoorin, pero hindi siya madaling gawin.”

“Into the Woods” weaves several well-known fairy tales such as Cinderella, Jack and the Beanstalk, Little Red Riding Hood and Rapunzel into one story, but with a twist. In the Philippine production, Eugene plays the role of “Jack’s Mother” with Jack being portrayed by rising theater talent Nic Chien, the only child of Filipino Broadway icon Lea Salonga, who happens to lead the powerhouse cast as the Witch.

As Nic’s onstage mom, she couldn’t be prouder of Nic’s work.

“Feeling ko napag-aralan niya na ‘to bata pa lang siya. First day pa lang namin, ay memorize na niya. Apart from his exposure to his mom, siya mismo in love siya sa ‘Into The Woods.’ Tapos ang perfect niya as Jack. Makulit siya, sensitive siya, caring. So perfect siya as Jack,” she reiterated.

When this paper asked about Nic’s promise in the theater world, Eugene said, “Oo naman, natural eh. Tsaka excited siya! Super. As in gusto mong… ‘Kalma, anak, kalma.’ (Nic is) really excited. The joy of being a performer is in his heart.”

PREPARATION

Eugene readily admitted that she has no extensive musical background coming into “Into The Woods.” As a professional actress, the closest she had come to doing a musical would be the 2012 musical film “I Do Bidoo Bidoo: Heto nAPO Sila.”

But other than that, according to her, “I have no musical background. Maybe when I was in college; it was a children’s musical. Paisa-isa lang ang kanta, hindi ganito. So this is my first musical,” referring to “Into The Woods.”

As preparation, she took some vocal refresher sessions to ready herself for the rigors of the 24-show run.

“Kasi nung college naman ako, I had voice lessons, tas nawala na siya. I needed to practice the techniques because this isn’t just one show, there are 21 to 24 shows. So, I really need endurance.”

Although her character doesn’t do a lot of solo singing, the role is very much embedded in the musical fabric of the show.

“Aside from the musical requirements — hindi naman pala kanta yung character ko — but all of us are involved in one music, in one measure. So you have to be aware of that,” she explained.

“Technically, it’s really challenging. Because I’m a straight-play actor. So for me, that added to the challenge! At saka nakadagdag sa pikon ko — joke! — nakadagdag sa learnings... Parang masasabi ko after this, ‘Grabe naman si Euge, triple threat.’ O parang ako yung threat ngayon,” she quipped.

Even co-star Lea is proud of the leap she’s taken.

“Lea said, ‘After nito, you should be proud of yourself. Ilagay mo talaga sa profile mo.’ Sabi ko, pwede sigurong proud lang ako, sa sarili ko. ‘Hindi, put it out there. Be proud of yourself.’”

But beyond the show’s musicality lies a culturally resonant truth, one that Eugene brings to the surface by grounding her performance in the Filipino experience.

For her, “Into the Woods” isn’t just a fairy tale; it mirrors the harsh realities many Filipinos face every day, particularly the struggles due to poverty.

“Kasi malalagyan ko ito ng layer. I’m referring to my character, Jack’s mom. You see how our poverty line is rising. Yung unit ko kasi, it’s all about survival. Our wish is really to survive kahit maibenta na namin yung mga sarili namin, we have to survive,” she said.

“If you look at our population now... the problem of the world is all about poverty, survival, fighting for your lives, fighting to breathe. And that’s the main concern of my unit.

“So as a Filipino, this is not so foreign to me. It’s easy to layer it with my own interpretation as Jack’s mom. Initially, you would think Eugene Domingo playing Jack’s mom is supposed to be hilarious. But I really try to put another layer, which is the truth — how hard it is to be poor.”

When asked how she would name her character, if “Jack’s Mother” had an actual name, Eugene was quick to say, “Aling Tasing,” envisioning her as an everywoman.

“Di ba yun yung term natin sa, for example we have a TV show na nagpapaka-profound… we would use that term on TV, ‘Naku, hindi maiintindihan yan ni Aling Tasing. Ayusin niyo, dapat naiintindihan ni Aling Tasing.’

“Who is Aling Tasing? I don’t know (laughs). Ewan ko. But parang kapitbahay mo na sasabihin, ‘Wag mo nang pahirapan ang buhay, mahirap na nga buhay namin, noh!’”