Juan Carlos Galano has what it takes to be leading man

Twenty-two-year-old Juan Carlos Galano, or JC for short, is undoubtedly the next big star in showbiz. He exudes the requisite good looks, has acting talent for film, TV and more recently, theater. More importantly, he carries the passion and determination in everything he does.

Managed by Arnold Vegafria’s ALV Talent Circuit, JC has been in the business for two years now and made his film acting debut in Lester Dimaranan’s suspense thriller, Nelia (2021), with actress-beauty queen Wynwyn Marquez.

ZsaZsa Zaturnnah: The Musical is JC’s first musical for professional theater, although back when he was in grade school, he did a stage play about the birth of Jesus for Christmas in Saipan. “Then, I did a straight play about Martin Luther King, where I played the young lead,” JC shared.

He was initially offered to read for the male lead part in ZsaZsa Zaturnnah: The Musical. “There were supposed to be auditions,” JC offered. “Sir Vincent de Jesus, the composer of ZsaZsa Zaturnnah, asked me to meet with the director (Missy Maramara) personally. Then we had a Zoom meeting where they asked me to read for the part.

“I read the script which was funny because when they saw me, they told me, ‘You don’t have to read for the script anymore.’ They were looking for my qualities for the character of Dodong.

“Sir Vincent vouched for me in terms of my singing or my musicality. I’ve also been taking voice lessons also in preparation for this musical. So, it’s exciting.”

It was also Vincent who convinced JC to venture into theater after constantly hanging out at Gener Café, an indie place in Quezon City where a number of theater artists, even showbiz actors, are regularly seen.

“I told Vince that I wanted to try theater and he encouraged me,” JC offered. “‘Theater has a different foundation,’ he told me. Theater has a different soul. I realized the difference between film and theater.

“I was limited by the film headspace. I was confined to the four sides of the box. It was really different. In theater, I really needed to get the flow and rhythm of my body, in delivering the lines, and how I would move in the space. I really still need work.”

To prepare for his role, JC watched the earliest iteration of ZsaZsa Zaturnnah (2006), the film version megged by Joel Lamangan. JC also read the graphic novel by Carlo Vergara.

“The other iterations, I still haven’t seen, sadly, like the Tanghalang Pilipino staging,” JC disclosed. “I actually saw snippets of it because of the videos, the documentation of the musical.”

In ZsaZsa Zaturnnah: The Musical, JC plays the love interest of Kim Molina, who essays the title role, with her alter-ego, Ada, played by Phi Palmos and Adrian Lindayag.

“We’re three alternates in this musical,” JC said. “(I feel) the pressure and the challenge, coming from a film headspace, then adjusting to the methods of stage acting. I got so used to film acting. Natural and not so much movement.

“Our theater director told us, you don’t necessarily need to make a major effort in stage acting, but just be truthful and urgent with your movements. I’ve been taking those into account.

“We’ve been working on those pointers, especially this week, going into opening night (March 17). We have these rehearsal buckets and we are doing the simulated run already. We do scene buckets. The singing parts, we do that onstage, and we are mostly focused on the scenes.”

Initially, JC simply thought his Dodong was a one-dimensional, desirable character, the “pogi” of the town.

“But he’s more than that apparently,” he pointed out. “The character of Dodong is an integral part to resolve the story and Ada’s trauma. So, there would be a journey.

“The audience will see that journey in dealing with her traumas. The question is how would queer people find love in a heteronormal society. It’s to transform the world.

“Ada in Barangay San Isidro is surrounded by people with homophobia, toxic masculinity and trans-executionary reformative feminism. The terminologies are quite deep. But our director is so focused on the play and unraveling the layers of our characters, as well.”

ZsaZsa Zaturnnah is not just a campy musical, according to JC. “It’s also a comedy,” he said. “So that was also a pressure to me, living up to the expectations that this should be comedic.

“But like what our director stressed, the material is already funny. My job as an actor is just to deliver and be truthful to what my character is going to be.

“Dodong is earnest. He doesn’t know that he’s good-looking, which is also part of his charm. I told myself that is what I really need to work on.”

JC will have kissing scenes, although not with ZsaZsa Zaturnnah, his first time to do so for a project.

“That you have to watch out for,” smilingly stressed the Occupational Therapy graduate from the University of Sto. Tomas (UST). “I initially had reservations about doing the kissing scenes, but I realized they were needed in the story.”

Full frontal nudity is not totally out of JC’s league. A theater director suggested JC should do Equus, where the lead goes fully naked on stage. It was a role played by Harry Potter actor Daniel Radcliffe in the West End (2007) and Broadway (2008) revivals of Equus.

“I think I can do Equus, but not right now,” JC said. “I guess I should exhaust my career in the mainstream first before jumping into something like Equus. That’s my personal take on doing full frontal nudity on stage.”

ZsaZsa Zaturnnah: The Musical goes onstage starting tonight at the Doreen Fernandez Blackbox Theater, Arete, Ateneo de Manila University. JC’s performance dates are March 18, 25, April 1 and 2 (matinee show).

In June, JC will venture into a straight play, Virgin Labfest, at the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP).

He will also appear with Julia Barretto and Diego Loyzaga in Real Florido’s soon-to-be-shown romance-drama, Will You Be My Ex?, for Viva Films.

JC, who has been a Bench image model for three years now, wants to steer clear of controversies in his young career. “If I will be put on the news, I want it because I’m a good actor and not the talk of the town because of controversies,” he said.

“I’d like to think I’m maturing as an actor. My development as an actor in this industry, I want to make sense of it and not just because of controversy.”