JETT PANGAN TO TAKE HIATUS FROM MUSICAL THEATER AFTER SWEENEY TODD
Jett confessed that he was a little scared at the thought of doing the Stephen Sondheim musical
In an earlier rendezvous with the media to promote her successful Perfect Ten concert, Lea Salonga recalled the time she first discussed her upcoming musical, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
with director Bobby Garcia.
“When Bobby started to cast it in his head, I wondered who we are going to get for Sweeney. And then he said we’ll get Jett Pangan because nobody in Manila’s musical theater world has a voice like that,” she shared. True enough, as early as two years ago, Garcia offered the role of Sweeney Todd to the rock singer best known as the lead singer of The Dawn.
Although he has been dabbling in musical theater for years and has garnered favorable feedback for his memorable performances in Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Nine, Next To Normal and Rock of Ages, Jett confessed
that he was a little scared at the thought of doing the
Stephen Sondheim musical. “This is, by far, the hardest undertaking I’ve ever done anywhere, bar none. Jekyll and Hyde had its mountains to climb, but the music wasn’t as hard to absorb. Rock Of Ages was purely fun but Sweeney
Todd is a beast of a musical to embrace vocally and as an actor,” he told Daily Tribune at the production’s recent press launch.
“For one thing, Stephen Sondheim’s time signatures, modulations and all that stuff is far from the usual, plus there are numbers where scene partners are singing two entirely different things on one song.”
Told that Lea has been looking forward to sing along with “that voice” in reference to his high octave textured vocals, Jett just smiled and said that it is both an honor and a pleasure to work with the Tony-winning actress who plays Todd’s partner in crime, Mrs. Lovett.
“Lea and I first worked in Baby, The Musical back in 2004 where we literally just shared the stage; we didn’t have scenes together. Lea has been very helpful not only to me but to everyone in the cast in terms of the music and, in my case, some blocking but she’ll never overstep the director or how we tackle our characters,” Jett further shared.
In Sweeney Todd, Jett and Lea will be sharing many scenes together including some of the musical’s popular numbers like “My Friends,” “A Little Priest” and the well-loved, “By The Sea.”
Although he remains active with The Dawn, the most enduring active rock band in the country, Jett says doing musical theater provides him with a different kind of high. In a 2013 interview with this writer, Jett made a distinction between his two separate careers.
“The rock singer thing is what you might call my bread and butter, meat and potatoes ‘occupation.’ It is so much a part of me that there’s an umbilical cord connecting me to it forever. Theater, on the other hand, feeds my soul like no other. Portraying different characters onstage gives me a high like, maybe, skydiving,” he explained.
“The band goes on a semi-hiatus when I do a musical run, but manages to stick a gig or two within that time period. When the run is over, we (the band) go back to business as usual,” he added in his recent interview.
As for the fulfillment that he gets from working in theater, Jett said it “comes from knowing that I helped tell a story clearly for two hours or more to an audience without screwing up my singing and my lines.”
“There are no ‘take two’s’ here, so to walk that wire is really a big kick I won’t get anywhere else.”
There may not be a take two in theater but there is certainly a take five and Jett is about to take it.
“This could well be the last musical I’ll be doing in a while, but I’m going to walk away happy and fulfilled because while it’s challenging, the cast is a lot of fun to be with,” he declared.
But while Jett did not give any reason for his “indefinite leave” from theater, he did give an indication that he will again focus on The Dawn in the coming days.
“The Dawn is still rockin’. Watch out for our new live performances meant for online viewing, apart from the usual gigs we do,” he announced. Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street is a production of AtlantisTwenty and ABS-CBN in cooperation with Solaire Resort & Casino. Directed by Bobby Garcia, the cast also features Ima Castro, Andrew Fernando, Gerald Santos, Nyoy Volante, Mikkie Bradshaw-Volante, Luigi Quesada, Arman Ferrer and Dean Rosen.
The production will run from 11 to 27 October at The Theatre at Solaire. For ticket information, visit
Theater, on the other hand, feeds my soul like no other. Portraying different characters onstage gives me a high like, maybe, skydiving.