HOW DOES IT feel playing the role of a gorilla on stage? “It’s hard,” says Ima Castro, who plays Kala, the female ape who rears Broadway actor Dan Domenech like her own son in “Tarzan The Musical” that opens at the Meralco Theatre this Friday. “Kaming tatlo nina Calvin Millado at Jeffrey Hidalgo ang mga unggoy rito. Calvin is the father, Kerchak, at si Jeffrey naman ang sidekick ni Tarzan, si Terk. We all have to stand and move like apes, so naka-hunch kami or squatting all the time at tinutukod namin ang aming kamao sa lupa. Mahirap, but we’re having fun. Squatting pala is very natural sa mga Pilipino. The dance sequences are really demanding, but I love it dahil pag nagsama-sama kami, ang gandang tingnan. May rule ako noon na hindi ako tatanggap ng role na I’ll play an animal. Now I’ve broken that rule.”
Ima appeared in four consecutive plays: “Nine”, “Piaf”, “Full Monty” and “Tarzan”. “After ‘Tarzan’, I have to go back to London so I won’t lose my British residency which I got when I was doing ‘Miss Saigon’ there. I also have a show at the Cockpit Theatre in London coming up.”
How’s their imported actor, Dan Domenech? “He’s very good: as an actor, as a singer, as a dancer, magaling siya sa lahat.”
“Tarzan The Musical” officially opens at the Meralco Theatre this Friday and will run for four weekends. For tickets, call Viva Atlantis at 687-5853 loc. 661, 673 or Ticketworld at 891-9999.
