Rowena Vilar is electrifying in "West Side Story"

Australia-born Filipina Rowena Vilar stood out for her stellar performance as Anita in STAGES' production of West Side Story.

Having been formally trained in classical ballet at the Royal Academy of Dance (RAD) at an early age of six, Rowena had to quit at age 14 to focus on her studies. When she finally finished college, she took on a full-time finance-related job in Melbourne. One day, she watched a dance concert with a friend of her younger brother. After the show, something inside her was telling her to dance again. Rowena then made a big decision of leaving her job and went on to continue studying dance for six months. Many people saw her great potential and it didn't take her a long time to become a professional dancer in Australia.

Rowena shares that she became part of the musical theater industry by accident. "Musical theater wasn't really my goal, but my agent told me to just go to these auditions and see what happens." Without her expecting it, Rowena made her first musical performance in the Australian cast of We Will Rock You (2003-2005). She joined the company for 15 months.

Rowena then took a short break by studying acting for six months. Another audition came her way and gave her an experience she'll never forget in the Australian tour of The Boy from Oz (2006) starring Hugh Jackman. "He stands 6' 4" so it's quite intimidating at first," Rowena recalls, "but it's very amazing to work with him." Rowena's role requires a height of 5' 7" and she falls short by three inches. "So I went to the audition wearing heels and they didn't notice it, so I got the part," she continues laughingly. "But during the rehearsals, they realized that I was really shorter than they thought. They didn't mind it anymore since I was singing and dancing well for them."

In 2007, Rowena became part of the Australian tour of Miss Saigon where she played the roles of Gigi and Kim. Here, she got the chance to work with fellow Filipino Leo Valdez who played the engineer. "He is such a great man to learn from," Rowena comments.

ANGST-RIDDEN ANITA. Immediately after Miss Saigon comes the challenge of doing a "triple threat" musical, where the performers should be able to act, sing and dance very well, in the guise of West Side Story. Rowena finds the role to be heavy and absolutely challenging but also rewarding. "Aside from the triple threat requirement of the role," Rowena explains, "Anita has a massive range of emotions. She is playful and humorous but she also has a lot of angst hidden inside her."

Rowena actually finds a lot of similarities in her character with that of Anita's. "I enjoy the parts where Anita likes to joke around and have some fun," Rowena says, "but I also love the other side of Anita that projects her as a strong woman. She says whatever she wants to say, she stands for what she believes in, and she holds on to her dignity even when she is tormented. I think that's the most wonderful part about Anita's character." Rowena actually considers Anita to be one of her ultimate dream roles.

Some critics dub Rowena to be an occasional scene-stealer and she thinks that if it's true to the story, then it's certainly not a bad thing. "That's the character anyway," she affirms, "Anita wants the attention." Rowena is much applauded in the "America" sequence and towards the last part when she sings "A Boy Like That" while Maria responds with "I Have a Love."

Despite Rowena's inclusion in the Manila cast of West Side Story came in late, she quickly learned the difficult Jerome Robbins choreography. Rowena also amazes the audience when she delivers her lines like a true blue Puerto Rican, and not a tinge of Australian accent can be heard. "I guess I'm also just lucky," Rowena claims, "I've had a voice coach who told me that the Australian accent can easily adapt to any other accent like the American or English. So I just listened to how Puerto Ricans speak."

With West Side Story as her theater debut in Manila, Rowena is very happy to collaborate with the most down-to-earth stars like Christian Bautista, Joanna Ampil, Karylle, and Gian Magdangal. "They just mingle with everyone," Rowena remarks, "and it's very humbling for me."


Rowena also regards seasoned actress Menchu Lauchengco-Yulo to be the most giving director she has ever worked with. "She's just so nice," Rowena reveals, "she doesn't only care about the story but she also cares for her cast. She's really incredible and I'd love to work with her again." Rowena is going back to Australia after the run of West Side Story, but she is definitely coming back on January to do another project and explore other avenues here in Manila.

Although this is Rowena's first time to visit Manila, she has been to her hometown in Cebu four times when she visits her family there. This time around, her parents come here to Manila just to see her perform in her own country. Also, Rowena's boyfriend Stephen Mahy flies all the way from the Australia just to give his all-out support. However, he only stayed in Manila for two weeks because he has some theater work to do back home. The couple met in the Australian tour of Miss Saigon where Stephen played Chris and was part of the ensemble. They've known each other for two years now, and for Stephen, Rowena is of course, the best among the performers.