Rita Daniela as Perla in MAYNILA SA MGA KUKO NG LIWANAG MUSICAL

Saturday, August 26, 2017

Rita Daniela is indeed a total performer. In fact she can switch from being an actress into being a singer then a theater performer. It all sums up to her being that talented, no wonder she's been doing a lot of projects lately, from being a part of GMA Afternoon Prime's teleserye "Impostora" then to the much awaited "Maynila sa mga Kuko ng Liwanag Musical".

Maynila Sa Mga Kuko Ng Liwanag The Musical is based on the Edgardo Reyes novel and inspired by National Artist for Film Lino Brocka’s classic adaptation. But the musical will be purely based on the novel.

Maynila Sa Mga Kuko Ng Liwanag The Musical is about love that will go the distance, both literally and figuratively. It is also about the loss of innocence, the fight to survive and the challenges of the characters as they go in a journey on how to survive in the heart of Manila.
It is set to touch the audience with relatable songs and the best choreographed dance routines.

Rita Daniela will be playing the role of Perla in Maynila sa mga Kuko ng Liwanag. Perla is the sister of Atong (Noel Rayos). "Si Perla, masunurin, mapagmahal na anak at kapatid. Inuuna nya yung ibang tao bago ang sarili nya. Dahil siguro walang-wala na sya, wala syang pera at mamatay yung borther nya, kaya sinabi nya sa sarili nya punta kaya ako sa Maynila at dun sya naging prostitute." Rita describing her role. She also have a love team on this musical which is Pol played by Floyd Tena.

Rita also described Floyd as someone she can work with easily since he is very warm and friendly. She also admires how good he can sing and she is really looking forward to do the acts with him since it will her first time to work with him.

Rita Daniela also shared his experience working with the master choreographer Mr. Douglas Nierras. She said that it was nice working with him and added that her thoughts when she auditioned under him was, "Day, kaya mo ba tong pinasok mo.." .

But since she loves challenges, she took it all in and surprisingly, based from experience, he was very nice for as long as you listen and follow his orders because theater is all about discipline.

Rita also shared her background when it comes to doing musicals. Most people would recognize her as an actress or a singer but Rita said she started doing musical at the age of 14. Shedid Snowhite at ang Pitong Dwarfs and her partner that time was Ivan Dorschner.
Then with Gantimpala again "Katipunan" where she played Gregoria de Jesus. It was for her, one of her most memorable because it was her straight musical and was also directed by no less than Joel Lamangan. Rita also mentioned that she auditioned for Saigon unfortunately, she had problems with her age that time since she needs to process her documents and she's not yet of legal age.

Rita also narrated how she ended up auditioning for the role as Perla. Since she is taking up Film Making, she was able to watch the movie Maynila sa mga Kuko ng Liwanag and while browsing the social media site Facebook, she saw an audition call for the musical and without any hesitation, she auditioned. Like others, she also underwent the procedure, at first they think that her voice was too "modern and pop" which is why she was asked to sung a different song which eventually made her land the role.

So, how does Rita Daniela balances her time from doing a soap opera then back to doing rehearsals for Maynila sa mga Kuko ng Liwanag? Rita said that most of the time she feels like Gal Gadot or Wonder Woman. She needs to follow her schedule so she sticks to that, starting from M-W-F is for taping then T-TH is for rehearsal, but if she doesn't have any taping, she would go for rehearsal any time of the day because she wants to master her role and the scenes. Rita said that she is very excited for this musical and she hopes that people will get the chance to support and appreciate this one of a kind classic.

Bringing MAYNILA SA MGA KUKO NG LIWANAG to life on stage are Joel Lamangan (Director), Von de Guzman (Musical Director), Jose Victor Torres and Em Mendez (Libretto), Joey Nombres (Lights Designer), Douglas Nierras (Choreographer), and Jun Flavier Pablo (Production Design). Fullhouse Asia Productions, Inc. serves as line producer.

Maynila Sa Mga Kuko ng Liwanag The Musical performances are slated on September 30, 3 pm and 8 pm (Gala), October 1, 2017, 3 pm and 8 pm October 4, 2017 8 pm, October 5, 2017 8 pm, October 6, 2017 3 pm and 8 pm.