Reb Atadero, also known as @rebranger on Instagram, was one of the first artists who said yes to PalabasTayo WishList. We filmed him on December 19 last year to help promote the show he was going to work on. As per every WishList episode, it is scheduled to be published around the time the show is about to run or already running in order to add to its buzz.
The PalabasTayo crew composed of the camera, lights, sound, and our excellent pianist, Daphne Jocson were all very excited because we were going to work with two amazing artists: Reb and Cris Villonco in two separate episodes. WishList was a new segment and we were producing several videos to pilot in January 2020 so we were honestly still learning and praying to the theater gods that they will come out presentable.
Reb, a product of Ateneo Blue Repertory has been doing professional theater for 12 years and has gained respect from his peers because of his pure talent. When we asked him to do the episode in line with his participation in Atlantis Theatrical’s staging of “The Band’s Visit”, Reb said, “I’ve had these roles and songs in my head for a while so picking them wasn’t too difficult.” He added, “I like to talk. I suppose that’s a good place to start. That and the fact that I knew the songs by heart. I figured nothing was really working against me so I just went for it and had fun.”
His first song, he says, “is everyone’s favorite song from “The Hunchback of Notre Dame”. Written by Stephen Schwartz for the Disney animated film, he adds that it is definitely one of his favorite Disney movies. It was reincarnated into a musical and starred Michael Arden as Quasimodo in 2016. The song “Out There”, Reb says, “is about wanting freedom, wondering what it would be like to live in a world that’s different from your own”.
“Shiksa Goddess” from Jason Robert Brown’s musical, “The Last Five Years” is Reb’s second song. The role of Jamie is one of the roles that he’s been dreaming for a long time. He says that this song is “about wanting to be in a relationship with someone that you are not allowed to have.” Fortunately, this is not the case in his real life as he seems very happy in his showmance with fellow performer, Tanya Manalang.
His final song is from his favorite musical, Hamilton written by multi-award winner, Lin-Manuel Miranda. “My Shot” according to Reb, talks about “taking your moment, going center stage in life, and going for it and standing up for your beliefs.”
Sharing about his thoughts on his WishList, Reb says, “I’m very happy with how it turned out. The recording sounds good and the environment allowed me to be as candid as possible. It’s a great project! It’s a nice peek into the minds of local theater actors. It’s fun to see the different personalities behind Philippine theater.”
Reb’s jaw-dropping performance in this episode (which he mostly did in one take) is just a testament of this man’s dedication to his craft. We are excited to see him do more exciting projects in the future.
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