Celebs share highlights from ‘Bongga Ka, ’Day!’ gala night

MANILA, Philippines — It was a night of nostalgia, reunions and Manila Sound as celebrities turned out for the gala night of “Bongga Ka, ‘Day!: The Annie Batungbakal Musical” at the Newport Performing Arts Theater (NPAT).

Among the VIP guests spotted at the event was First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos, alongside personalities from entertainment and theater who came to watch the musical built around the timeless hits of Hotdog.

Led by Atasha Muhlach as Annie Batungbakal, the production transports audiences to 1970s Manila through the music of the iconic OPM band.

To open the gala show, “Bongga Ka, ‘Day!” director Chris Millado in a speech highlighted the presence of the First Lady and praised her for being a “staunch supporter of arts and artists… she also heads the Asian Cultural Council, which sends Filipino artists abroad to continue their training and I’m lucky to have been one of the fellows of the Asian Cultural Council.”

He likewise mentioned that another special moment was the presence of the wives of the late Rene and Dennis Garcia, the original composers and founders of the Hotdog band.

The lead guitarist/vocalist Rene and the bassist Dennis passed away in 2018 and 2020, respectively.

“Bongga Ka, ‘Day: The Annie Batungbakal Musical” tells the story of how Annie, a dispatsadora (shop assistant) at the House of Pasion, goes after her dreams of becoming a top fashion designer one day.

Singer Ice Seguerra, who attended the gala night, found the disco-musical production to be a “very nostalgic” trip through songs that have remained familiar across generations.

“Masarap lang sa pakiramdam because these are very beautiful songs. I’m happy to hear this music again,” Ice said.

One scene that especially resonated with Ice was the mother-daughter moment between Annie and her mom, Suzy Batungbakal, played by Air Paz-Pablico, featuring the Hotdog song Panaginip.

“Because that’s my favorite song,” Ice said, stressing that what makes the production “bongga” really comes down to the Hotdog music: “Definitely because of the songs.”

As for stage actor Noel Comia Jr., who was previously part of “Bagets: The Musical” at NPAT, two performers particularly stood out — John Lapus and Gerhard Krysstopher.

“Their characters stood out to me the most because ramdam ko yung truth sa kanila, ramdam na ramdam ko na sila talaga yung characters. They portrayed them well,” Noel said.

Gerhard plays Toots, Annie’s loyal friend and fellow worker at the House of Pasion, while John takes on the dual roles of Tarurit, the larger-than-life proprietor of Coco Banana, and Tito Tambay, Annie’s neighborhood bully.

Noel also singled out Annie Batungbakal as his favorite musical number.

“Annie Batungbakal is my favorite song, the main theme talaga. Ang ganda ng pagka-rearrange ni Vince (Lim, musical director and arranger of the production),” he said.

The gala night also drew other favorite faces from the theater community, among them real-life couple Jerald Napoles and Kim Molina, who before successfully transitioning to TV and movies, rose to prominence through PETA’s hit musical “Rak of Aegis.”

The two said they were particularly excited to see Atasha, whom they know personally, take on her first lead role in a major musical.

“We’re excited to see everything come together. Since we came from theater, every time your friend does a theater production, we’re very, very excited,” Kim added.

Kim shared that Atasha had already been seeking her advice about theater auditions even before landing “Bongga Ka, ’Day!”

According to the actress, this was around the time Atasha’s twin brother Andres was appearing in “Bagets: The Musical,” while she and Jerald were preparing for their wedding.

“She would really want to audition. So talagang, ‘Ate Kim, give me tips on auditioning,’ things like that,” Kim recalled.

Her advice to the young actress-singer then was straight to the point: “You have to be ready. Kailangan lahat gawin.”

Kim said even Atasha’s father, Aga Muhlach, would ask her about theater because of her experience onstage.

“Sabi ko talaga, always be ready because theater is really different,” she said, adding that Atasha had been nervous about the process and had seriously prepared for it.

Asked about some online criticism the lead star received ahead of her stage debut, Jerald stressed the importance of looking at a musical as a whole rather than focusing on just one performer.

“We are actually watching the play as a whole and always like that, even when we perform. We always see through it na kailangan buo as buo, not just ourselves. Hindi dahil magaling kami, hindi individual yung tingin namin,” he said.

“So if sa creative process ng buong musical na ’to, they think that Atasha is really swak dun sa mismong proseso sa kabuuan, I think it’s worth watching.”

Also seen at the gala night was SB19’s Stell, who shared that he had been looking forward to seeing the production after hearing all the buzz surrounding it.

“Syempre po excited po akong mapanood yung buong show and of course, to see the cast... Tsaka sa social media pa lang, talagang pinag-uusapan ito,” he said.

Stell also sent his good wishes and congratulations to Atasha, whom he had crossed paths with at a fashion event.

Asked if he would consider doing a musical himself someday, the P-pop star said he was open to the possibility if given the chance.

And what if it were a musical built around SB19’s music?

“Why not po? Pwede po ’yan. Pag nag-retire na kami,” Stell quipped.

“Bongga Ka, ’Day!: The Annie Batungbakal Musical” also stars Sam Concepcion, KD Estrada, Jeff Moses, Anthony Rosaldo, Jackie Lou Blanco, John Lapus and other theater performers.

The production is co-produced by Viva Communications, The Philippine STAR and Newport World Resorts, with creative direction from PETA Plus. It runs until Oct. 31 at NPAT.