Mark after Here Lies Love

Mark Bautista is smugly proud. He has been invited to attend the forthcoming Olivier Awards in London, where Here Lies Love, the London show he starred in, is up for awards in three categories, including Best Musical. He wants to go, but is doubtful if he could because he has a show to do in Tokyo on the same date. Canceling shows is not something Mark is keen on doing these days. He wants to work as much as he can because he wants to go back to London, which he has come to love.

He says, “When I got there, I found out that all the other actors had studied acting and had very long resumés of roles that they had already done,” he recalls of the time he arrived in London last May 2014. “Even if I had a leading role, I still felt like a nobody beside them. Eddie Redmayne was also at the National Theatre. Our dressing rooms were neighbors. Rosamund Pike watched me perform. I went to parties with Helen Mirren and Benedict Cumberbatch. I was playing a role first played by Jose Llana, a famous Filipino actor on Broadway.

“But me, I never studied acting. I just attended some workshops. And I had only two theater musicals in my resumé.” These were Bienvenido Lumbera and Ryan Cayayab’s Noli Me Tangere and the Atlantis production of The Full Monty. The role of President Ferdinand Marcos in Here Lies Love is only his third. “I am so grateful that whatever little training I had came from two of the best.” Audie Gemora directed his Noli while Chari Arrespacochaga directed The Full Monty.

Still, the realization sent Mark into attending lectures, watching plays and reading books on acting. “I was lucky because the show was at the National Theatre, which is like our Cultural Center and as a member of the cast I was entitled to discounts.” This is also why Mark is saving up to return to London to study. “I want to go to RADA (the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts in the UK). I want to learn more, not just about acting but other things about theater production. Then maybe, I can get roles in other plays and musicals there or I can teach here.”

Mark had no cause for worry. London loved Here Lies Love. The show sold out its entire six-month run and got splendid reviews. And despite his lack of formal training, London loved Mark, who got very good reviews and was often described as charismatic, sexy and even outstanding. A re-run is on the agenda. The cast was requested not to accept long-term commitments in the near future because the show might return to London once a suitable new venue had been found. The Dorfman is already fully booked until next year.

Mark hopes that that call will not be coming within the next few months because he will be very busy showing off what he has learned during his London stint. The events will be his first headlining events in the country since he left. Having to turn down another crack at Here Lies Love at this time would be heartbreaking.

Mark with his Here Lies Love co-stars

First, there is his concert. To celebrate his triumphant return, Mark will be starring in Here Sings Love, a solo concert that will be held at the Newport Performing Arts Theater (NPAT) of Resorts World Manila (RWM) on May 29. It will be directed by Freddie Santos with musical direction by Louie Ocampo. The show will trace his journey from that cargo boat he took to Manila because he had no money for plane fare to audition for the TV show Star For A Night 12 years ago, to his star turn in Here Lies Love through his songs. 

 This will be followed by the stage musical version of the screen blockbuster Bituing Walang Ninging which is set to open in June at the Newport of RWM. This is the first time that a classic movie is being adapted for the theater and Mark is very excited to be in the show. “I will play Nico and I feel so fortunate because it was played in the movie by Christopher de Leon.” That he is now playing a role originated by the legendary Christopher is a big deal for Mark, an affirmation that he has indeed become an actor. Besides, he will get to sing the famous compositions by another famous figure, Willy Cruz.

Mark admits to being nervous about the show, more so because he knows that after London, more is now expected from him. It helps that Freddie Santos, another stalwart of local theater, is directing. “He is helping me a lot about how to perform in concert and in a play. It is so different.” And cast as the imperious Lavinia is Cris Villonco, who was his Maria Clara in Noli. “I was so scared doing Noli. The songs were so difficult. But she was so nice to me. I am so happy she is in Bituin.”

Also set for Mark in the near future are a movie and recordings. He is hoping for Here Lies Love again and that the time for his return to London as a student of the theater will be soon.