Seven years after its last run in the Philippines, Spring Awakening is back in Manila with returning and emerging stars in Philippine theater.
The musical follows a set of young teenagers exploring their sexuality in a conservative society. While the story is set in late 19th-century Germany, it’s not hard to see what would make it relevant here, and its alt-rock repertoire makes for an even more provocative production.
The Sandbox Collective’s 2026 staging of Spring Awakening isn’t Manila’s first; the hit coming-of-age musical was first brought to the Philippines in 2009, before Ateneo Blue Repertory staged productions in 2013 and 2019.
Between the musical’s global success and its heavy themes, its young cast has found respite in each other. “We gather before the show. We all pray or do a little ritual to help us synchronize all together and just get rid of some of the nerves, relax a little bit,” Nic Chien, who plays Moritz Stiefel, tells Rolling Stone Philippines.
Sheena Bellarmino, who made a name for herself joining talent shows like the “Tawag ng Tanghalan Kids” segment of It’s Showtime and Your Face Sounds Familiar Kids: Season 2, bagged the lead role on Spring Awakening as Wendla Bergmann. She tells me, “It’s good that we laugh together after each scene, kasi sobrang bigat niyan. If we’re going to carry that [heavy energy] in the dressing room, baka mahirapan pa kami sa susunod na scene.”
Joining them in the cast are Bar Boys: The Musical’s Alex Diaz and Nacho Tambunting, who alternate as Melchior Gabor, and Omar Uddin, who takes turns with Chien to play Moritz. Menchu Lauchengco-Yulo and Ana Abad Santos also grace the Black Box in Makati’s Proscenium Theater as Adult Woman, while Audie L. Gemora plays Adult Man.
As the musical draws to a close on March 22, Belarmino, Diaz, Tambunting, Uddin, and Chien talk to Rolling Stone Philippines about dealing with Spring Awakening’s heavy material and what excites them most about staging this bold Broadway musical in the Philippines.
What did it feel like to get the part?
Belarmino: Wendla was my dream role. It was just a shock to me that it came true, because I thought I’d be part of the ensemble. It’s such an honor to be given this opportunity. Wendla is a beauty onstage.
Diaz: For me to get the role of Melchior, it was just so meaningful. No matter how nervous you are for the explicit scenes, it’s just such beautiful material, and I think it resonates for all of us kids who come from a country where we are conditioned into subservience. Having disruptive material like this, and being able to step onstage and say words you don’t know if you would ever say in real life, is very humbling, and it’s been such a great experience so far.
Tambunting: I was really excited. Melchior Gabor is a very iconic role. He has a depth and curiosity to him that I feel very honored to be able to step into every night.
Uddin: Getting a new role makes me happy, not just because I have new work. With Moritz, learning about his story made me realize I have an opportunity to tell something important to the audience.
Chien: I’m very honored to be able to play a character like Moritz. It’s so cool, knowing that the original [Moritz], John Gallagher Jr., won a Tony for this role. It’s kind of wild and fantastic to get to play him. I love it so much.
Spring Awakening made Broadway stars out of Lea Michele and Jonathan Groff. Does the greatness of that ever weigh on you? What sort of pressure comes with a production like this?
Belarmino: Kabado bente. Kasi, it’s my first time in a lead role. Wendla’s story is a heartbreaking one. Having the opportunity to go through that journey is a blessing.
Tambunting: For me, it’s a lot of pressure because I haven’t done a show in Manila in 12 years. 2013 was the last show I did [here], and I left for school in New York and studied acting. And I feel a lot of pressure to show my friends and family, who haven’t seen me perform in 12 years, what I’ve learned. To make them proud. A lot of the theater people who saw me grow up can come see the show now and see me as an adult, not the child that they knew. So, there is a lot of pressure there. But I feel a lot of comfort working with such a talented cast. Sheena is a wonderful scene partner. I feel very safe working with her and I feel we’ve built a good rapport. So, I embrace the nerves every night, and I allow it to fuel the performance.
Uddin: Yes. This isn’t my story. It’s the story of Moritz and people like him. It pushed me to empathize more with the people who have the same problems as Moritz, and think of how I can tell the story better.
The story of Spring Awakening is very heavy, and your characters get into some very extreme situations. What does it take to get into character, and then get out?
Belarmino: It really helped during rehearsals, especially because I’m the only one playing Wendla, to pagpag. It’s not an easy show and I don’t have an alternate, so I don’t get to breathe much. One way I do pagpag is to talk to my girls, my friends, and ask them, “Kumusta ‘yung show? Kumustua ‘yung delivery ko?” Para lang mag-switch ‘yung utak ko na “Okay, si Sheena na ‘to.” It really helps to have that bond with your castmates.
Diaz: I come in without preparing. I used to overthink the whole process, and then I realized — Benedix Ramos told me this — you need to trust the work that you’ve done. You’ve run the show over and over again. You beat yourself up practicing music. Now, you just need to tell the story. So, when I come in, I’m literally thoughtless, because Melchior’s story starts very bold and bright, and he’s very confident. I can’t be thinking about the end [of the story] when I jump in. So it’s just fun.
Uddin: Before I go into character, I would always pray the Al-Fatihah. Then I would ground myself, sit down, just close my eyes, and then imagine Moritz and me in the same room. Sometimes, when I know what I’m going to do [onstage], I just shut off my brain, let my body move, and tell the story as clearly as I can.
Chien: Video games. I got this advice from Sheena where you think about stuff that your character does, and the stuff that you do that your character doesn’t. So, after I die, I go backstage and play on my computer.
What excites you about bringing Spring Awakening back to the Philippine stage?
Belarmino: It changes lives, not just for the audience but for us [performers] as well. Being a vessel onstage, being a voice for those who’ve been silenced, is so sad, but also such an honor.
Tambunting: I’m really excited because I have history with the show. In 2017, I did a TV version, where it was about a high school in Pennsylvania that was putting on Spring Awakening, and the parent-teacher association was trying to shut them down. So I feel very connected to this piece. And to be able to revisit the material years later, having lived more life experiences and presenting it in my home to audiences that matter to me, is incredibly special.
Chien: Bringing awareness to things that happen here, that are relevant, but that people don’t want to talk about. Not all shows are going to be full, so I look at the older people in the audience, and I think to myself, “I’m going to blow your freaking minds, man.” I just think about shocking them and hopefully changing their minds. Or just seeing young people come and enjoy themselves — that definitely excites me.
