In Muli: An OPM Musical, Teodoro plays Anita, a mother in her 40s who looks back on where her life choices have taken her and wonders, “What if?”
Since her days as a college student, actress Kakki Teodoro knew one thing to be certain—she was made for a life in the theater. Not one to shy away from challenging or emotionally driven roles, she has blazed her own path through the industry. Working with the likes of Chari Arespacochaga, Ed Lacson Jr., and Jenny Jamora has given her an arsenal of skills that have made her one of the best actresses of her generation.
Her baptism into the world of the stage came about when she was a member of Ateneo Blue Repertory, from which hailed actors and directors like Reb Atadero, Toff de Venecia, Gab Pangilinan, and Maronne Cruz. One of her standout performances during her time there was playing Queen Femina in their production of ZsaZsa Zaturnah, a role that Teodoro admits she actively sought out.
From that point on, there was no stopping her from digging deep and bringing to life some of the most memorable female characters in the local theater scene, plus a gender-bending take on our national hero Jose Rizal. Her performance was equal parts impressive, astounding, and confusing to watch—but for all the right reasons. Teodoro also put her comedic skills on full display in the supporting role of evil stepsister Lucinda in last year’s Into The Woods.
This September, she takes on a role special to her heart. In Muli: An OPM Musical, Teodoro is Anita, a mother in her 40s who looks back on where her life choices have taken her and wonders “What if?” It is a role that playwrights Charissa Pammit and Jose Paolo dela Cruz wrote with nobody else but her in mind. “This is the first time that this has happened to me, so my response was let’s go!” enthuses the actress. “Sometimes, you don’t see things for yourself, so hearing that people see and trust you with a role is quite encouraging. Then you surprise yourself.”
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Coming in strong
Teodoro has carved out her own niche in the theater world for playing strong female characters. Well, with one exception, but more on that later. This has made her an acting force to reckon with, and one whom every creative is clamoring to work with.
“I love characters who go off the beaten path,” she points out. “I am very drawn to challenger types.” Even the critics and her peers took notice, earning her rave reviews and a handful of trophies along the way.
In 2018, the actress was cast in one of her dream roles, as Nimia in the Sandbox Collective’s production of Ricky Lee’s stage adaptation of Himala: Isang Musikal. Teodoro’s character, a woman of the world who opens a brothel in Barrio Cupang, becomes a focal point in the film’s discourse on religious fanaticism as Nimia and the central character Elsa start out as childhood friends. “I intentionally sought out Nimia. I liked that palaban siya, so she will survive,” says Teodoro. “But the reality is that she also has a tender and fragile heart. I could relate to her.”
Teodoro would get to revisit Nimia in the film adaptation of the musical, which was an official entry to the 2024 Metro Manila Film Festival. While it was not a box office success, it did reap most of the major awards that year, including a Best Supporting Actress trophy for the actress’ portrayal of Nimia. She also won a Gawad Urian Award for Best Supporting Actress for the role.
We wanted to explore what the millennials and Gen X-ers are going through right now. What if ganito yung napili kong buhay? What does it take to start over?” says Charissa Pammit, who co-wrote the musical with magazine editor Jose Paolo dela Cruz.
Then there is a show like Duncan Macmillan’s Every Brilliant Thing, where she was able to fully showcase her range as an actress. The one-woman show required Teodoro to volley between joy, sadness, hope, love, and grief as she recounts the many wonderful reasons to be alive while navigating the ups and downs of her own life. All while pulling in random members of the audience to play the different characters in her life. “This role came to me by accident! But I fell in love with this show because we were given the chance to bring it as close to home as possible,” she points out. “We decided to make some of her choices a Kakki choice, and that made it very special.”
Aside from winning a Gawad Buhay for Outstanding Lead Actress In A Play for her performance in Every Brilliant Thing, there was someone else who noticed Teodoro’s work. British actor Daniel Radcliffe, who was doing the show on Broadway earlier this year, was so impressed by the clips he’d seen of her performance online that he gave her a shoutout during an interview with Macmillan on social media. She even got to meet the actor after watching his performance when she flew to New York for her birthday.
Speaking of going off the beaten path, Teodoro stepped out of her comfort zone when she was cast as Jose Rizal in Tanghalang Pilipino’s Pingkian: Isang Musikal, an original musical by Juan Ekis with music by Ejay Yatco. When director Jenny Jamora dared her to take it, with “I see you in this” as her main pitch, Teodoro could not refuse. “This is an example of allowing the universe to surprise you,” she says. “Because someone trusts that I can do it, I am empowered.”
Stepping into a new medium
With theaters having gone dark during the pandemic, Teodoro was forced her to take a long hard look at her career trajectory. “It was always theater for me. Everything else—the hosting, the food business—was all meant to work alongside it,” she explains. “I wasn’t taking acting in film and television too seriously because I always thought pang-teatro ako.”
The mindset shift that followed led her down an interesting path and a whole slew of new ways to test her acting skills. Teodoro started taking on supporting and ensemble roles in films like A Very Good Girl and the series How To Cheat Death, Senior High, and most recently, Love, Siargao on streaming service Viu—with undoubtedly more projects waiting in the wings.
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Hanggang sa Muli
It was in 2013 when Sa Wakas, one of the first original jukebox musicals, opened at the PETA Center in Quezon City. Written by Andrei Nikolai Pamintuan and Ian Abuan, and produced by Charissa Pammit, it took the audience on a journey of adulting (before it was called that) set to the music of Filipino rock band Sugarfree. Frontman Ebe Dancel even penned an original song, Bawat Daan, for it. After its penultimate run in 2018, fans have been clamoring for a rerun or a sequel.
As fate would have it, the creative team did one better. Muli is an all-original OPM musical with a story that dares to ask the question, “What would my life have looked like if…?” This time, Pammit steps into the shoes of playwright alongside writer-slash-magazine editor Jose Paolo dela Cruz, while Pamintuan is on board as director. “We wanted to explore what the millennials and Gen X-ers are going through right now,” says Pammit. “What if ganito yung napili kong buhay? What does it take to start over?” The music, written by the Gawad-Buhay-winning team of Nica del Rosario and Matthew Chang, is a study of OPM genres across the decades as it follows our protagonist through her myriad of life choices.
Told from the perspective of Anita, a woman in her 40s, who looks back on her life and questions the choices she’s made vis-à-vis the life or lives she could have lived. For Pammit, only Teodoro, whom she has known since their days in Ateneo Blue Rep, could pull off the emotional breadth that the character required. “It’s a challenging role. Anita jumps from one life to another, then there is all that conflict and drama,” she explains. “I really wrote this with Kakki in mind. I don’t see anyone else in the theater right now who can play the part.” Pamintuan, who is also a proud Blue Rep alum, echoes this sentiment, saying, “I’ve been wanting to work with Kakki for a while now, but the timing wasn’t right. Finally, everything aligned, and we are very excited for everyone to see the show.”
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With about a month to go before opening night, Teodoro describes Anita as “still transforming. Binubuo ko pa siya,” navigating the character’s journey across several proverbial lifetimes. “The puzzle pieces are not yet complete.” She does relish the opportunity of taking Anita from page to stage alongside Pammit. “I would ask her, pwede ko ba siyang bigyan ng ganitong background? Or am I understanding this choice of hers correctly?” shares the actress.
This process becomes more prescient as the audience gets to know different versions of Anita, including her insecurities. “It’s a work in progress. I just keep trying different things, based on how I understand her,” says Teodoro. But is she and Anita alike? Not quite, says the actress, and knowing that distinction has allowed her to fully realize Anita as she is meant to be in Muli. “I just need to remind myself, this is an Anita choice, and this is a Kakki choice,” she adds. If there is one thing she has taken away from the show so far, “…it has allowed me to keep dreaming. To remind myself to not keep myself in a box.”
Main character energy
Main character energy takes on a whole new meaning the moment she steps out on that stage. Still need further proof? Teodoro’s got a shelf full of trophies to show for it. Each one well-deserved.
Local theater audiences are in luck that the actress is never too far from the stage or the small screen that they are short on chances to see her brand of creative genius at work.
Muli: An OPM Musical runs weekends from September 11 to 27 at the Maybank Performing Arts Theater. Joining Kakki Teodoro in the cast are Marynor Mademesila, Justine Peña, and Baus Rufo (in his first professional musical theater outing), Janine Teñoso as her daughter Kath, along with Marvin Ong, Vien King, Elian Gonzalez, Raflesia Bravo, Gabo Tiongson, among others. Tickets are available via Ticketworld or at mulimusical.com.
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