Former theater moppets attain international stardom

TORRE. From “Lion King” to “Li’l Big Trouble.”

We’re happy for the many  Fil-Ams and Eurasians who are making a name for themselves in the international performing arena—but, we’re even prouder of the home-grown talents who make it big abroad, because we know only too well the degree of difficulty they have had to hurdle to get foreign audiences to notice them.

Take Angeli Flores and Myka Torre. Angeli is part of Blush, the pan-Asian pop quintet that’s now making its presence felt on Billboard’s dance chart via the recent No. 3 hit single, “Undivided” (which also features hip-hop luminary, Snoop Dogg), while Myka has just wrapped up her eight-month stint as young lioness, Nala, in Disney’s popular stage musical, “The Lion King,” in Singapore.

Something in common

Angeli and Myka have something in common: They began honing their performing chops on the legitimate stage (when they were 8 and 5 years old, respectively)—and both even acted with us in Bing Pimentel and Nestor Torre’s long-running religious musical revue, “Nasaan si Hesus?”

Before bagging the coveted role in “The Lion King,” Myka had already stacked up a solid body of work, which began when she played a “boy” in Ramon Orlina’s production of NUT and Ryan Cayabyab’s “Birhen ng Caysasay.” This was followed by important roles in “Magnificat,” “Pag-ibig sa Bayan,” “Nasaan si Hesus?,” “Cory The Musical,” “Bagahe” and “Padre Pio.” Even with her fine showing in talent searches on TV (“Little Big Star”) and the movies (“Wapakman”), Myka continues her love affair with the theater, which she calls  “home.”

Last year, she won three gold and two silver medals at the World Championship of Performing Arts (Wcopa) tilt in Los Angeles.

FLORES. Sings lead vocals on Blush’s Billboard-charting dance hit, “Undivided.”

The young thespian describes her stint with “Lion King”: “It’s fulfilling to perform for different nationalities, because you know you’re representing your country and showing it in a good light. I learned a lot and made many friends. But, as they say, home is where the heart is!”

Myka will fly back to Singapore next week to act in Alfian Ahmad’s film, “Li’l Big Trouble,” as Emily, a streetwise young student who defends her friend against bullies.

Early this week, we caught up with Angeli as she was touring schools in Los Angeles and San Francisco to promote “Undivided,” in which she sings the lead vocals. We laughed as we reminded her of how painfully shy she was as a child actress and singer—a moment in her life she looks back on with fondness and joy.

Now a luminous beauty at 22, Angeli says that acting in theater productions and singing in a band had made her a sturdy performer: “I can’t imagine how I would have endured Blush’s rigorous training without those experiences!”

So far, Blush, which also includes Japan’s Natsuko Danjo, Hong Kong’s Victoria Chan, Korea’s Ji Hae Lee and India’s Alisha Budhrani, has finished recording eight tracks for its upcoming debut album. The Asia-wide search for the quintet will soon be seen on the “Project Lotus” reality show on Channel V.

Manila visit

We asked Angeli’s parents, Samy and Imee, if the members of the band get along well. To answer our question, Imee told us that during Blush’s recent Manila visit, the girls “bonded” at Angeli’s home in Marikina—and even ate balut and isaw!