Finding Annie Batungbakal in Atasha Muhlach

MANILA, Philippines — I went to watch “Bongga Ka, ’Day!” expecting to see a musical.

What I didn’t expect was to see a young woman’s real-life journey reflected so uncannily in the character she was playing.

Much has already been said about Atasha Muhlach and her casting as Annie Batungbakal. Even before the curtain went up, she had already been subjected to the scrutiny that comes with being the daughter of two of the country’s most recognizable stars, Aga Muhlach and Charlene Gonzalez.

The word “nepo baby” was thrown around. There were questions about whether she deserved the role, whether she had auditioned, and whether she had enough experience to carry a major musical.

There has also been speculation about whether Atasha actually auditioned for the role. I can speak only from what I personally know.

When I informed Sam Concepcion about the audition, he told me that Atasha had also shown up to audition for director Chris Millado. That was how I came to know that she, too, had gone through the audition process.

But that detail, interestingly, is not what stayed with me after watching the show. What stayed with me was Atasha herself.

I had seen her during the rehearsal period, and I knew she was working — dance lessons, acting workshops, preparation and rehearsals. She was putting in the hours and doing what anyone serious about a craft has to do. And then I thought about Annie Batungbakal.

Annie is a dressmaker working in a struggling fashion house, dreaming of something beyond the world she knows. She wants to enter Coco Banana — the glamorous, fashionable world that seems to represent everything she isn’t.

And she gets rejected. She goes home hurt. She cries. But she doesn’t stay there.

With encouragement from her mother, Annie gets up and decides to do something about it. She creates, works and pursues her dream. She discovers something within herself that perhaps she didn’t even realize was there. And eventually, she finds her place.

Watching Atasha play Annie, I couldn’t help but see a remarkable parallel. Here was a young woman who, even before opening night, had already been told — at times quite harshly — that (perhaps) she didn’t belong. Yet, she didn’t walk away. She didn’t retreat from the challenge. She went to work.

And that, for me, became more interesting above everything else.

Atasha in ‘House of Pasion’ scenes with Sam Concepcion as Romer, the son of the owner (played by Jackielou Blanco, not in photo)

“Bongga Ka, ’Day!: The Annie Batungbakal Musical”  is, after all, a “bongga” production based on the music of ‘70s OPM band Hotdog. It is colorful, energetic, entertaining and unapologetically extravagant. The entire company — from the creative team and choreographers to the performers — clearly poured enormous effort into bringing it to the stage.

Sam, in particular, brings tremendous energy and support to the production, and it was wonderful to see how the entire company, led by Sam, Jackie Lou Blanco, KD Estrada, Air Paz Pabloco, Yani Lopez, Gerhard Krysstopher, Akie Cedilla and John Lapuz, rallied around the show.

But beyond the spectacle, I found myself watching Atasha carefully. And I found myself becoming proud of her. Not because she is a Muhlach. Precisely because being a Muhlach doesn’t appear to have made the journey any easier.

Atasha’s Annie B shares a tender scene with KD Estrada as the folk-rock singer Burn (left photo) and gets into a high-energy number at the Coco Banana disco bar.

PHOTOS COURTESY OF FULL HOUSE THEATER COMPANY’S OFFICIAL FACEBOOK PAGE/ MARICE ISIDRO AND RYAN BALDEMOR FOR THE STAR

In fact, being the child of famous parents can create another kind of burden. Before you even get the opportunity to prove yourself, people may already have decided why you got the opportunity in the first place.

The only answer to that is work. You work harder. You learn. You listen. You improve. You show up. And you keep showing up. That is what I saw Atasha do.

Was everything perfect? Of course not, nothing onstage ever is. And I don’t think a production should be judged solely on whether every element is flawless.

What moved me was seeing someone young enough to have every reason to be discouraged choose instead to pursue the work. In that sense, Atasha didn’t simply play Annie Batungbakal. She seemed to live a little bit of Annie’s story.

And perhaps that is the most beautiful thing about theater: sometimes, without intending to, an actor discovers that the character they’re playing is telling their own story, too.

For anyone dreaming of entering show business — or, really, pursuing any dream — the lesson is simple.

The industry can be unforgiving. Public opinion today can be immediate, loud and sometimes, merciless. Your background may open a door, or it may make people question why the door opened in the first place. But once you’re given an opportunity, what you do with it is up to you.

Dreams don’t discriminate between the rich and the poor, the famous and the unknown. But the road toward those dreams can be very demanding. And perhaps the most important question isn’t always, “Why was I rejected?”

It is: “What am I going to do about it?” Annie chose to act. Atasha chose to work. (And heck, she delivered and shone as a strong leading star of the show). Perhaps that is the real spirit behind the name “Batungbakal” — to be strong, to endure, to keep going.

Sometimes, the most important step toward living a dream isn’t waiting for someone to believe in you. It is deciding to believe in yourself enough to keep moving. And that, more than anything else, is what I saw on that stage.

I went to watch Annie Batungbakal. I left thinking about Atasha Muhlach — and about what it means to earn your place.