Getting physical in Avenue Q
Five years ago, Rachel Alejandro tried her luck in the
She was heartbroken. Perhaps, that was not God’s plan for her at that time. Even if she is oozing with talent, Rachel was not meant then to land a break in the
Of course, she also dreamed of being successful internationally that’s why her heartbreak was understandable. With her innate talent, she could have easily landed a coveted role in American TV, film or stage production. But Rachel is not afraid to take risks.
“Success is relative,” Rachel maintains. “It’s a matter of looking at your glass half-empty or half-full. There are those who insist that at a certain age, they should have been already famous. When it didn’t happen, they get disappointed and start questioning. The wrong way to live is not taking risks.”
In the local front, Rachel no longer needs to prove anything when it comes to her talent. The daughter of singer and pop king Hajji Alejandro undoubtedly inherited her father’s musical genes that’s why she embarked on a singing career.
Rachel’s vocal pipes, which gave us such hits as Nakapagtataka and Paalam Na, resonate with aplomb onstage.
She’s been hailed not just for her hits but for the musicals she has done. “When I was eight, I did Sound of Music for Metropolitan Theater,” Rachel shares. “Back then, I thought I would become a theater actress. But after I joined That’s Entertainment when I was 12, I started earning my own money and things became different. I pursued a showbiz career.”
Her love for theater wasn’t abated even if she entered showbiz. In between films, concerts, performance tours and recording, Rachel managed to accommodate choice roles in musicals through the years. She was in Peter Pan, El Filibusterismo, Sino Ka Ba, Jose Rizal?, Larawan, Promises, Promises, Fire, Water Woman, Five Women Wearing the Same Dress and Rent, “one of my best experiences ever because we even staged it in Singapore,” Rachel allows.
Last March, while she was on a
Rachel clinched the coveted roles and during the initial run of the Tony Award-winning musical, Avenue Q, last September at the RCBC Theater, she earned consistent raves for her performance. The play was so successful that a repeat has been scheduled from Dec. 14 to 23 at the same venue. Rachel and her boyfriend, Philip Palma, pooled their resources to buy the Dec. 20 performance night.
“It’s so nice to be part of something that entertains people and makes them happy,” says Rachel. “I get the same feeling every time I would do curtain calls. It’s always so overwhelming.”
Landing the roles of the lovable Kate Monster and the vixen Lucy the Slut in Avenue Q proved to be serendipitous for Rachel. Two years ago, she watched the play with her manager, Girlie Rodis, in Broadway. At that time, Rachel had been pining to do the lead in the musical. That’s why when it was offered to her, she didn’t think twice even if it meant passing up more lucrative offers.
She underwent workshops to make the puppets move while she also sings and delivers her dialogue. Her other co-stars were Aiza Seguerra as Gary Coleman, Joel Trinidad as Trekkie the Monster and Nicky, Frenchie Dy as Christmas Eve, Felix Rivera as Princeton and Rod, Rick Everley as Brian and Teenee Chan as Mrs. Thistletwat.
“We had only six days to learn puppeteering,” Rachel shares. “They had to reduce the weight of my puppets because my wrists were getting painful. I was the only girl puppeteer. The rest, like Joel and Felix, were men and both were very fit because they live in the gym. I also had to do workouts for my upper body to sustain hand puppet movements.”
Rachel delivered a career-defining performance in the dual roles of Kate Monster and Lucy the Slut. Her part combines the complex task of playing the roles and manipulating the puppets. An average actress would have easily buckled down for the part, but Rachel proved she has the stuff that great and dynamic performers are made of.
“The whole show was very physical,” Rachel attests. “We had to run from one scene to another and make a seamless transition to change puppets. We had a very efficient crew. We had to go up and down the stairs. There was even a scene where my puppet had to be craned out from the top of the
Avenue Q is a phenomenally inventive musical about real life and finding one’s purpose — finding a job, losing a job, learning about racism, getting an apartment and getting kicked out, being different, falling in love, promiscuity, avoiding commitment, hangovers, Internet porn and discovering the world.
“What makes the performance fresh every night is the whole new group of people watching out there,” Rachel grants. “I know I have to be real for them. When they appreciate your performance, you’re humbled. You’re encouraged to do better.”
The raves didn’t stop on the final performance of Avenue Q. Director Bobby Garcia sent Rachel’s audition tape to a
Rachel might just get her long-awaited break in the
Even if she continues to shine, Rachel remains one of the most underrated local performers to date. Perhaps one of the most misunderstood personalities, too. She is often mistaken as suplada, when all you need to do is break the ice to find out that Rachel is very accommodating and amiable.
Rachel’s raves in Avenue Q came on the heels of her victory in the World Championships of the Performing Arts in
When she’s not onstage performing, Rachel puts to good use her keen business sense in The Sexy Chef, the flourishing food business she put up two years ago with younger sister Barni. After the restaurant in Katipunan, the sisters recently opened a branch at ABS-CBN’s The Loop, servicing clients with
- Latest
- Trending
