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Manila Bulletin devider Entertainment devider Celebrities devider Andres Muhlach enters his theater era

Andres Muhlach enters his theater era

Published Oct 17, 2025 05:31 pm

At A Glance

  • The young actor has been tapped to play the role of Adie, a character that catapulted his dad to stardom.
Fresh from the success of his debut film, ''Minamahal," Andres Muhlach ventures into the world of theater as he plays the role of Adie in the musical version of "Bagets."
During the media conference held at the Viva Cafe in Cubao last Friday, Andres admits that it is a huge change for him.
''Coming from film or TV series acting now in theater, I think the gap or the requirements really are a lot different now. Even the whole process of preparing for the show and all the workshops that we're doing, it's a lot different from the tasks that we need to do when it comes to filming and the preparations for that. But overall, I believe we're all learning it slowly," Andres said.
Andres also mentioned how important it is for him to build rapport with his co-actors.
"Some of us already have theater experience, but it’s really about building our bond. The chemistry we share as an ensemble is important, and we try to bring that to the stage,” he said.
Being part of the iconic barkada is a full-circle moment for the actor as Adie was originally played by his dad, Aga, in the film version.
"My dad started his career as Adie in 'Bagets' and now I'm blessed to say I get the chance to play his character. So it's surreal talaga," Andres said.
When asked if his dad gave him any advice pertaining to his portrayal of Adie, the younger Muhlach said that his dad was simply excited to see him perform onstage.
"So advice naman walang masyado, he's just overall excited for me, and he wants to see how all of us as a cast are going to do this show together," he added.
Reliving the '80s feel on the stage
After watching the original film a few times, Andres admitted that it's going to be quite a challenge for the production to recreate the same feels afforded by the film, onstage.
"I think that's the biggest challenge -- because we all know how generational talaga 'Bagets' is in the Philippine film industry and how much of an impact it made -- I think the biggest challenge for us is trying to bring that reason why people enjoyed it back in the '80s to the theatrical stage now.  Because we're going into a musical and instead of a lot more sequences of dialog, we of course have a lot more song productions and everything," he said. 
Sharing the role with another theater actor, Mico Hendrix Chua, Andres added that they will do their best to portray Adie in the best possible way.
"Of course, I would like to try to give him the best. Mico and I would like to try to play Adie in the most accurate way that we can, just like how he was really in the original film. Of course, the characteristics of Adie that are, you know, he is a charming boy, and that he has a crush, and I think we all can relate... I think that's gonna be the biggest challenge -- implementing the sequences from the film to the actual stage," he added.
"Bagets The Musical," directed by Maribel Legarda with a book by J-mee Katanyag and music by Vince Lim, is scheduled to run from January 23 to March 2026 at the Newport Performing Arts Theater.
Joining Andres and Chua are Noel Comia Jr. and Tomas Rodriguez as Gilbert, Milo Cruz and Migo Valid as Tonton, Jeff Moses and Sam Shoaf as Topee, and KD Estrada and Ethan David as Arnel.
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