Karel Marquez plays Anastacia Steele in ’50 Shades’ parody

MANILA, Philippines – Karel Marquez is back in theater, and she’s veering away from the “wholesome” roles she is known for.

For her comeback, Karel will portray the role of Anastacia Steele in the local production of “50 Shades! The Musical Parody.” It is inspired by the erotic novel “Fifty Shades of Grey,” written by EL James.

“Una ‘Fifty Shades,’ parang ano ‘yon? No way,” she replied when asked about her initial reaction when she was told to audition for the role.

She was hesitant at first to audition, but the people from 9 Works Theatrical, a co-producer of the musical, told her to “check the material muna, it’s a parody daw, the music is nice. So tama nga, it’s funny, it’s different from the movie talaga. We’re making fun of it.”

The Kapuso actress believes that women can relate to her role as Anastacia, since her character is reserved and conservative.

Yet she thinks that “everyone one has a naughty side. So no matter how pa-demure you feel, there’s always a naughty side inside of you.”

“So I think Manila will have fun watching this. You’ll end up really laughing and talking about the play afterwards,” she added.

Karel believes it is the right time for her to do more mature plays since she’s already 30 years old and has two kids.

She previously starred in the musicals “High School Musical” and “Beauty and the Beast.”

Asked if her comeback to theater is for good, the actress replied, “Hopefully. Let’s see how it goes. If mayro’n auditions for a play that I really like, why not? Of course if I have a soap, hindi ko talaga puwede isabay. Kung ano mauna.”

The last TV show she did was “My Destiny” in 2014, which starred Carla Abellana and Tom Rodriguez.

“50 Shades! The Musical Parody” will start its run on February 12 at the Carlos P. Romulo Theater in RCBC Plaza in Makati City.