Legit ang bonding at chemistry

Bagets... grabe ang sepanx

MANILA, Philippines — Nakaramdam ng separation anxiety ang buong cast ng Bagets The ­Musical na nagkaroon ng final curtain presentation kagabi.

Halos hindi nakatulog ang buong cast noong Sabado ng gabi.

Kaya bago sila sumalang sa huling gabi nito noong Linggo, andun ang energy nila pero puyat ang mga bagets.

“Kagabi hindi talaga ako nakatulog kasi iniisip ko, last night na kami,” sabi agad ni Andres Muhlach nung Sunday morning.

Grabe raw ang naging closeness nila – Andres Muhlach/Mico Chua (Adie), KD Estrada/Ethan David (Arnel), Sam Shoaf/Jeff Moses (Topee), Migo Valid/Milo Cruz (Tonton), and Noel Comia Jr./Tomas Rodriguez (Gilbert).

At kung ba’t ganun ay dahil iba raw talaga ang naging bon­ding nila sa three months na ginawa nila ang Bagets The Musical.

“I think really the biggest thing is... What? The biggest thing really is the bond between us boys. I’d like to say, really, I found another family with these guys.

“Kahit ako, when this all came into the picture at the start, I’m sure we were all nervous; we were all scared. Nung nag-rehearse pa tayo, we were a bit scared that time. But loo­king back now that we’re already here in the last... ang galing. I wouldn’t have wished I’d done this with anybody else, guys,” sabi ni Andres.

“No pero, seriously, like this group of boys talagang... what a group, wow. And we talked about this too many times na. We never really expected that we would get this close, really. And really enjoy this opportunity that we were given. And it’s really a blessing that we’re all here together. Right, guys?,” na sabay-sabay na sinagot ng buong grupo.

Ayon naman kay Noel Comia: “I played the role of Gilbert in Bagets. And honestly, tina-try ko po talagang makatulog kagabi pero parang naaalala ko lang po iyong mga pinagdaanan namin. Hindi po ito showbiz answer, like legit po siya. And then eventually, sinabi ko na lang na ‘sige, accept ko na lang na hindi ako makakatulog.’ Mga 5:30 or 6 a.m. pa ako nakatulog. Kaya ayan, ‘di ba, Jeff,” sabay turo kay Jeff Moses.

“Nakatulog po ako, pero hirap ako gumising,” sagot kaagad ni Jeff.

Ayon naman kay Mico Chua: “Yeah, nahirapan din ako matulog kasi I’m so excited for this day. At the same time, parang I don’t want this day to end. It’s hard, but the journey has been so fun. It has been a wonderful experience. Kaya, yeah, looking forward to starting this day.”

Kuwento naman ni Ethan David: “Ako naman po hindi rin ako nakatulog talaga. I think we can all agree that we didn’t sleep well. But it’s the family that I’m looking forward to. The show today, I’m looking forward. Parang ayaw ko sya mag-end. Kasi this is where I found my... Alam ninyo po, sa showbiz hindi po madaling magka-friends. Pero with this set po namin ng Bagets, we really found true friendship within us. So really happy for that.”

“Ako po, buong akala ninyo maaga ako nagising, hindi pa po ako natutulog. Actually, kahapon, kami ni Jeff, two shows kami. Ako pa rin ng Friday, so parang sunud-sunod din ako. Pero kahapon, kahit na sobrang pagod ako, hindi ako makatulog kasi noong show namin kahapon, as in umiiyak na talaga,” kuwento ni Migo.

“Pero parang sobrang late ko na na-realize na patapos na pala ito. Akala ko mahaba pa. Parang sabi ko ‘wow, sana mas in-enjoy ko pa.’ Hindi ko alam, pero still sobrang nag-enjoy ako kasama itong mga boys na ito kasi sobrang solid ng samahan namin, as in. Alam ninyo, hindi namin in-expect na ganito iyong bond na mabubuo namin na magkakasama. Ayun, looking forward na sana makatrabaho ko pa kayo soon. Kahit hindi trabaho. Sana matuloy iyong Baguio namin. May meeting kami about diyan,” sabi naman ni Migo Valid.

“Siguro, same lang din ng kay Ethan. We really built the trust with each other. We all went through the same things. Iyong hardships namin, all the loses and the wins. Sama-sama namin syang inatake and malaking factor siya for us. Especially, parang kwento lang din talaga ng Bagets eh. So, parang it’s a new family na alam kong hindi matitibag. In our future endeavors, sana magkikita pa rin sila, mag-imbita pa rin sila. So, sana mag-imbita sila para magkita-kita man lang,” sabi naman ni Milo.

Ibinahagi naman ni KD na: “Ako naman, what I like about this project, sobrang unexpected iyong chemistry namin. At kahit anong compare anyone with anyone, sobrang nakakatawa pa rin. It’s super fun. So enjoyable. Super grateful ako na iyong bond namin, na nabuo namin sa mga rehearsals, nata-translate sa stage.”

“Sabi ko, ‘wow. What an experience.’ First of all, to be working with these amazing, talented people, grabe talaga. What a joy. What an honor. You know what they say, it’s not what you do in life, it’s who you do it with. And I’m happy that I got to meet everyone over here. Sana mag-Baguio tayo,” sabi naman ni Sam Shoaf.

“Sa akin naman, idi-declare ko na ito iyong pinakamalaking project na natanggap ko sa buong career ko. Speaking of this, itong mga kasama ko, blessing talaga sila para sa akin. Kasi iyong learnings araw-araw, kahit mga katarantaduhan minsan iyong pinag-uusapan namin, may napupulot akong importanteng lesson.

“Joke lang. These guys  are my brothers talaga na tinuturo nila din sa akin, ‘Be you.’ Iyon, iyon ‘yung palaging message na nakukuha ko every time na magkasama kami. Parang lahat ng dumarating sa buhay ko nare-remind ako na, ‘hindi mo kailangan na maging someone para magustuhan ng mga tao,’ and sila iyon, sila iyong nagpapa-realize sa akin. And every time na magkasama kami, nararamdaman ko iyong care ng isang brother, isang pamilya. Kaya nilo-look forward ko every weekend na pumunta rito para makasama sila. And I truly believe na hindi pa naman ito iyong last. Mina-manifest ko iyon. Kasi gustong-gusto ko sila ulit makasama,” sabi naman ni Jeff.

“For me kasi, as a newcomer sa industry, they really make me feel na, ‘you’re one of us,’ parang ganun. I never felt na parang outcast ako or anything. Kasi, coming into this project na nakita ko iyong cast. Sabi ko, ‘sh*t, like somehow everyone’s established na or someone has been here for so long. And, para sa akin, they welcome you with open arms. Kaya, I’ll be forever grateful sa kanila. Love you guys,” dagdag ni Mico.

At hindi rin nila naramdaman na nagkaroon ng sapawan o inggitan.

Mismong si Andres na ang nagsabi na: “Beauty of this group talaga, us 10 boys, is from the very beginning, nung nag-start na iyong rehearsals and iyong mga workshops, never kaming naging competitive sa isa’t isa. Talagang, the beauty of this group and the reason why I believe it was able to flourish in its own way is because talagang, we all pushed each other everyday. Kasi alam din natin na we all have our own strengths and weaknesses, bawat character.

“So we knew na talagang, if we wanted to make this a nice show, we have to work together. And from day one talaga, we all know, right, guys? We were all just helping each other and kahit may magkamali, we were always just there for each other to push and push talaga. So, in terms of competitiveness, actually there’s none at all. It was really just more of a team effort talaga. And everyone had their own part to play and really gave what they could,” sabi pa ng isa sa kambal nina Aga Muhlach at Charlene Gonzalez na talagang sineryoso ang pagganap ng Adie na kuwento niya ay inaabot siya 4 a.m. para lang ma-perfect ang pagganap sa character na ginampanan ng ama niya sa original movie version nito.