Sam Milby and Godspell star Anna Maria Perez de Tagle: Will she help Sam start acting career in the US?
When Sam Milby goes to New York anytime this week, he will be the special guest of Anna Maria Perez de Tagle, star of the Broadway musical Godspell (in which she gets to sing Day By Day, the musical’s most popular song), who will treat Sam to a dinner with, of course, Anna Maria’s mom Evelyn as chaperon.
It has been reported that Sam is taking a three-month (or longer) leave from local showbiz to pursue an acting career in the USA, a period much too short for him to prove his worth by maybe first attending auditions presumably in Hollywood.
“Anna Maria has reserved a ticket to Godspell exclusively for Sam,” reported Funfare’s Big Apple correspondent Edmund Silvestre.
Anna Maria has taken after her grandmother Sylvia La Torre who is so conservative that she was noted for her “no touch, no kiss” policy in her heyday when she was appearing in movies and TV shows. Anna Maria’s father is Sylvia’s son Artie Perez de Tagle.
“That’s why Anna Maria will be chaperoned by her mom to her dinner date with Sam,” explained Edmund, “even if Anna Maria is already of legal age at 21.”
Actually, Anna Maria’s mom has no reason to worry. Like Anna Maria, Sam is wholesome and, besides a gentleman, he’s harmless.
Unknown to many, Sam and Anna Maria are friends. They first met in the Big Apple two years ago when Sam was there for a Kapamilya show. Anna Maria is updated on Filipino stars because she watches shows on GMA Pinoy TV and TFC (The Filipino Channel). Since then, the two have been keeping in touch via Twitter.
For sure, Anna Maria will introduce Sam to her Godspell co-stars from whom he can get tips on how to go about and make it in the US, which is a real tough challenge considering the thousands of aspirants. Sam can even ask Anna Maria for some “connections,” you know.
“With Sam’s Amerasian charm and warmth,” assured Edmund, “the Godspell cast will surely fall under his spell. The cast will be delighted to find out that Sam is a popular actor in the Philippines who has appeared in several TV shows, concerts and movies. One of the dramas he starred in was Impostor which was a finalist at the recent International Emmy Awards.”
Asked about Sam’s chances of, well, getting noticed in Hollywood (or anywhere in the US), Anna Maria told Edmund, “I’ll always keep my fingers crossed for him. He’s very nice and I wish him the best because he deserves the best.”
Meanwhile, Anna Maria and the entire Godspell cast have never run out of celebrity well-wishers who catch the nightly show (and double the audience’s fun with their mere presence) at the Circle in the Square in New York City. The latest A-lister to see the critically-acclaimed show and greet the grateful cast backstage was the legendary Angela Lansbury, the five-time Tony winner who is herself a Broadway baby. She’s best known worldwide as mystery writer and amateur detective Jessica Fletcher in the highly-acclaimed and top-rated series Murder She Wrote which aired on CBS from 1984 to 1996.
Anna Maria said she and the whole cast were on Cloud 9 while exchanging pleasantries with the acting icon who is also the honorary chairman of the American Theater Wing, which created and sponsors the Tony Awards in theatrical arts.
“Everyone of us was in awe of her,” a thrilled Anna Maria was quoted by Edmund as saying. “Who wouldn’t be when everyone in Broadway dreams of achieving even a fraction of what she has accomplished as a stage actor. She’s very warm and sweet and very down-to-earth. No wonder she’s an icon.”
Edmund recalled that just two weeks ago, Anna Maria was also visited by close pal and former fellow Disney artist Nick Jonas, who is currently starring in the another Broadway blockbuster revival How To Succeed in Business Without Really Trying. Nick took over from Glee star Darren Criss, who, as we all know by now, is half-Filipino (his mother is Cebuana). The handsome 19-year-old musician/actor, who is also part of the Jonas Brothers, came with his stunning girlfriend, Australia’s pop superstar Delta Goodrem who later tweeted Anna Maria, “You were amazing! the whole show was fantastic @bwaygodspell all that talent on one stage ha! see you soon!” Anna Maria replied, “@delta_goodrem Thank you! We’re thrilled, honored that you came to watch @BwayGodspell. We’re all watching @nickjonas in HTSIB! :) xoxo <3”
Last week, it was Anna Maria’s turn to throw her support behind Nick when he opened for How to Succeed at the nearby Hirshfeld Theater. Nick’s dad, popularly known in the industry as Papa Jonas, is Anna Maria’s manager and “second dad.”
Incidentally, did you know that the Godspell cast is going gaga over Filipino food, thanks to Anna Maria’s mom Evelyn? At times when Godspell has to stage two performances in one day, Evelyn makes it a point to cook Pinoy dishes so that Anna Maria and the cast won’t have to leave theater premises especially during winter.
Said Edmund, “Evelyn brings the home-made food to Circle in the Square which the cast (that includes Hunter Parrish, Telly Leung, Uzo Aduba, Nick Blaemire, Wallace Smith, Lindsay Mendez and the half-Pinoy George Salazar) would partake at Anna Maria’s dressing room. But what Evelyn didn’t expect was that they would all fall in love with her Adobo, Bistek (beef steak), Lumpiang Shanghai, Pancit, Sinigang and even her spaghetti Pinoy style.”
Evelyn is flattered no end.
“Hinahanap-hanap na nila,” she said, laughing. “Pinag-iisipan ko ngang ipagluto sila ng dinuguan. Titingnan ko kung makakain nila.”