After two decades, teen drama Tabing Ilog is making a comeback as a stage musical. And the iconic roles of Rovic and Eds, originally portrayed by John Lloyd Cruz and Kaye Abad, respectively, are passed on to former Pinoy Big Brother Otso housemates Sky Quizon and Kiara Takahashi.
As part of her preparations for the show, Kiara reviewed the original Tabing Ilog episodes, studied Eds’ character, and reached out to Kaye. “I messaged her on social media. Random lang, gusto ko lang talaga maiparamdam sa kanya na sobrang saya ko that I’ll be portraying Eds na ginawa niya before,” Kiara shares. Her intention was just to express her overwhelming emotions, not expecting anything from the actress at all. But Kiara’s joy multiplied a hundredfold when Kaye actually replied to her message. “Nagulat po ako. Ang bilis niya po mag-respond. Sabi niya na excited siya and she’s looking forward to watching the play and ma-meet din po ako,” adds Kiara.
Meanwhile, Sky admits that he feels pressured giving life to the role that paved the way for John Lloyd’s stardom. “At first, I didn’t know na doon nag-start ‘yung career ni John Lloyd. Tapos noong nalaman ko ‘yun, parang mas nagka-pressure. There’s a big shoe to fill in,” he confesses Nonetheless, Sky couldn’t deny the sense of pride and excitement since he’s always been a big fan of the actor. “Bata pa lang ako tinitingala ko na sa acting si John Lloyd. Siya talaga ‘yung iniidolo ko. I draw inspiration from him sa mga high school and college performances. So, excited din ako kung paano ko naman mabibigyan ng justice ngayon ‘yung role,” says Sky.