‘Shower is the best place to vocalize ’

Body Talk with Nick Varrichio, the star of Atlantis’ Beautiful: The Carole King Musical

Meet Nick Varrichio, the star of Beautiful: The Carole King Musical which marks Atlantis Theatrical Entertainment Group’s 20th-anniversary presentation starting today until July 7 at the Meralco Theater. Playing the titular role is Kayla Rivera.

Nick is a 29-year-old theater actor who is currently living in New York City. He grew up in Mentor, Ohio, east of Cleveland, and has two brothers. In one of his interviews (Pillow Talking’s interview with Nick Varrichio), he mentioned that all of them were musically inclined as his brothers play percussion and congas while Nick plays the clarinet.

His first live theater performance, Lend me a Tenor, was during his sophomore year where he played the role of Max. From then on, he fell in love with theater and started joining school plays.

He pursued his theater dreams at Baldwin Wallace University where he had his most difficult phase. According to him, he found himself incompetent to be a theater actor, so he went away from school and worked at a restaurant. He was 21 when he fully realized his passion in performing after his director friend told him that theater is a “privilege” and is not guaranteed for anybody.

His passion to fulfill his dreams on performing paved the way to a plenty of musical plays, including Saturday Night Fever as Double J; Happy Days, A New Musical as Fonz; Christmas Inn as Sam; Kris Kringle The Musical as Elmer; A Chorus Line as Kristine and AI; The Light in the Piazza; and Spring Awakening.

In Beautiful, his second musical play and first lead role in Manila, Nick plays Gerry Goffin. Direction is by Bobby Garcia. (For tickets, call Ticketworld at 891-9999.)

How do you keep up (cope) with the demands of a theater career?

“Life upon the wicked stage ain’t ever what a girl supposes. A life in theater can oftentimes make you feel more relatable to a hermit crab than those around you in this Anthropocene epoch. To stay afloat, I revel in my hobbies like learning Vince Guaraldi’s Peanuts music on piano, going on adventures via books of all kind, and enjoy the occasional night out with friends for some Donna Summer and disco.”

What kind of diet do you follow?

“Chicken and broccoli can be quite a mundane meal prep. As a side hustle, I work at a restaurant in Midtown Manhattan (*shout out to Davio’s!), so I think one’s diet choices should be nourishing for both mind and body. Hippocrates said it best, ‘Let food be thy medicine, and medicine be thy food!’ Everything in moderation, and rightfully so ­— pizza is my favorite food.”

What kind of workout is effective for your body (and vocal cords) and how often do you do it?

“An effective workout should be under 45 minutes, challenge oneself from head to toe inside and out, and be fun! Swimming and Crossfit are what inspire me, and because singing is so connected to one’s body (a.k.a. the diaphragm) I’m usually raring to warble some Rodgers and Hammerstein tune by the end of it all!”

Some singers say that vocalizing while taking a warm shower is good exercise for vocal cords. Do you do it?

“The shower is a great place to get one’s cords nice and up-to-speed! I enjoy waking up to Kacey Musgraves’ album Golden Hour and letting the steam do its wonders.” 

Sleep is important. How much sleep do you get per night?

“Sleep is super important for singers; it is a time to reset, recharge and repair. Eight hours is a solid number, and in a perfect world, I would always be ‘early to bed, early to rise’.”

What’s your outlook on life?

“Outlook on life? Bertrand Russell’s, ‘Everything that happened in the past happened five minutes ago.’ Elizabeth Gilbert’s, Attraversiamo and Paulo Coehlo’s Maktub, to name a few.”

How do you relax (cope with stress)?

“I can tell I am usually stressed when my mind is moving faster than my body. Therefore, I take a deep breath, step away from ‘the noise,’ and usually call my mom. To cope with the daily curveballs or life’s silly, sneaky surprises, I find that it’s the simple things like walking my dog or sharing a meal with a loved one to be the best coping mechanism. I always remind myself when the going gets tough, ‘This, too, shall pass’.”

What kind of meal (breakfast, lunch and dinner) do you take prior to a performance?

With Kayla Rivera, his leading lady in the musical slated at Meralco Theater today (June 14) until July 7.

“Water is something I’ve trained my body to reach for no matter where I’m at and no matter what I’m doing. Trips to the CR (Comfort Room) can be quite frequent, especially now that salabat has been introduced to me while performing in Beautiful at the Meralco Theater here in Manila. It is now my elixir of choice!”

Are you at your best performance level even if you are not feeling well?

“Life happens, and sometimes the body forces you to slow down, as manifested by an illness per se. Even if I am not feeling 100 percent, I will always do my best and give my performance all I got. My high school drama director taught me that ‘theater is a privilege,’ and with it comes great responsibility. If you do what you love in life, you find that the best remedy is, in fact, your work.”

How often do you see your doctor?

“I try to keep my mind and body happy all the time, thanks to a placebo effect of moral vices (*pun intended) and smiling a lot, so I can’t say that my doc and me are super close.”

What’s your favorite hideaway (to reenergize)?

“The best hideaway to reenergize for me is either an adventure in nature or an under-the-radar trip back home to Cleveland, Ohio, where I grew up. Nothing beats the mystique of an old-looking tree or dinner with my family at my favorite pizza parlor Giuseppe’s back home.”

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