Marriage becomes Ima Castro

After conquering the international stage via the mega-musical Miss Saigon, Filipina actress-singer Ima Castro captured the heart of her leading man, David Shannon, who played Chris to her Kim.

After an onstage and offstage romance that began in Dublin and culminated in the South Hampton leg of the UK tour of Miss Saigon, the hunky David officially became the real-life leading man of Ima twice over. They first tied the knot in South Hampton, England, on Oct. 26, 2003, as witnessed by David’s family and their Miss Saigon castmates and colleagues. And for the second time, the Shannons marched down the aisle on Feb. 21 this year, at the Villa Escudero resort in Tiaong, Quezon, for the benefit of Ima’s side of the family. (best friend since way back Judy Ann Santos acted as Ima’s bridesmaid.)

The love story of Ima and David not only defied cultural differences, but also the bride’s own initial resistance to her groom, believe it or not! The first time they met in Manchester, Ima didn’t hear violins. "We just said hi and hello," Ima remembers. "At that time, I was already doing the tour, while David was still playing Chris opposite Joanna Ampil who was Kim in the West End run of Miss Saigon."

Finally, he joined the UK tour in the Dublin leg and the two got to know each other better – or worse! "At first, I thought he was arrogant," Ima laughs at the memory. "That he was a ‘player.’ He really looked like a playboy."

So the dainty Filipina in Ima gave David a tough time, making him endure a six-month courtship. "I played hard-to-get," Ima chortles.

When she got over her first impression of David, Ima discovered that her onstage partner had all the traits she was looking for in a possible lifetime partner.

"I realized that 90 percent of the rumors I heard about him were false," Ima says. "That he wasn’t a heartbreaker at all. In fairness, he admitted to me that he was kinda selfish in the past. But that was only because his priority was his work."

But when it comes to matters of fidelity, "he’s a one-woman man," Ima says, beaming with unmistakable pride. She says that she has never been happier and more fulfilled than now. Married life is bliss, she quips. It has also taught her countless lessons on life and love. "I realized that I can really be thoughtful," she points out. "Selfless. I really worry about him. Like when he travels in a plane, I really pray hard that he’d be safe."

She has learned not to think only of herself. "I’ve become more patient," she asserts. "I thought I never had that in me. But with him, I’ve become better in that department. I’ve also learned to be more expressive about my feelings. Before, I would keep everything bottled up inside. But David encourages me to open up with my emotions."

Needless to say, her current personal joy has had a profound effect in the professional sphere. After three years in Miss Saigon, Ima has chosen to move on and make a comeback in the Philippines.

Indeed, the pert, petite and pretty Pinay did the entire nation proud, when she took over the role of Kim in the mega-musical Miss Saigon not only here in Manila (at the revered Cultural Center of the Philippines), but also in the Cameron Macintosh production’s Asian tour (in Hong Kong and Singapore) and in the two-year UK tour.

"My stay in Miss Saigon has taught me to value the talent I was blessed with," she intones. "I’ve become more responsible as an artist. I’ve always been a professional, but working abroad has taught me to push myself even harder. I’ve become even more disciplined as a performer. There are a lot of talented people out there, but what really spells the difference is having the right attitude and character." Ima’s bond with the other Filipinos in the UK tour of Saigon became stronger throughout the play’s run.

"We were like one big happy family there," Ima relates. "Every weekend and every time there was a special occasion like birthdays, we would get together and cook kare-kare, tuyo, and other Filipino dishes. We would also play mah jong, to cope with the stress and the homesickness." And Ima was able to impress not only her partner David and her Pinoy compatriots, but also the rest of the Saigon cast and crew, most notably producer Cameron Macintosh, composer Alain Boublil and Claude-Michel Schonberg, and director Matt Ryan. Schonberg, in fact, hailed Ima as a miraculous talent.

"In the past, I was always putting myself down," Ima recounts. "I had little self-confidence. So our director Matt told me that I should have more faith in my abilities because Schonberg himself called me ‘a miracle from the Philippines’."

Now, the marvelous miracle is home. The newlyweds have decided to pursue their brilliant careers in the Philippines. David, in fact, will be sharing the stage with another Filipina international star Lea Salonga in the new Atlantis musical, Baby, this August.

Ima, for her part, is raring to get back to work and pick up where she left off. Nowadays, she is preoccupying herself with almost-daily workouts in the gym, to shed the extra pounds she has gained because of marital bliss. "I want to be in great shape when I start doing concerts and shows once again," she affirms. "I spend at least one hour max in the gym with my personal trainer. I do cardio. Weight lifting." She has also taken up different sporting activities with hubby David, like badminton and scuba diving. "David is an expert diver," she explains. "In fact, he’s a dive master. He can teach scuba diving. He tells me that his dream is open a diving school and resort in one of the country’s best beaches!"

Ima, on the other hand, dreams of publishing her own coffeetable book of the photographs she has taken underwater. "It’s really relaxing down there," she enthuses. "It’s like a totally different world."

Indeed, Ima is in the swim, diving in the sea of love!