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Karylle Tatlonghari and Mikkie Bradshaw Share Insights on Carousel

by Kevyn Gohu
October 7, 2022

The Great Depression did not just demand strength from dads but from moms as well. In Repertory Philippines’ rendition of Rodger and Hammerstein’s Carousel, Mikkie Bradshaw and Karylle Tatlonghari play the roles of Carrie Pipperidge and Julie Jordan. Both leading female artists share stories of how their foundation and inspiration to play their characters come from their experiences with strong women, mother figures, and the women of the future.

When did they decide to take a ride on Carousel?

Karylle Tatlonghari, also known as Karylle, fondly recalls the memory of how she and a friend of hers played the piano back in high school. “Every time we’d go to her house, she would play If I Loved You on the piano. But the first time I really learned about Carousel was from my dad when we watched it in the Meralco Theatre. Though, playing that song with my friend felt like it was a message from my future self,” she beams. “And now, here I am!”

Mikkie Bradshaw shares how her mother was the one who introduced her to Carousel. “She’s the one who introduced me to musicals. I didn’t know much at first about Carousel. But a lot of times, I prefer going into a play without having much prior knowledge about it so that I can have a fresh perspective.”

Motherhood and Womanhood in Carousel

“The fun thing about playing Carrie Pipperidge is that she and I are so similar,” explains Mikkie Bradshaw. “We’re both go-getters, we’re loud. Her life and her priorities are so similar to mine. A lot of Carrie’s life in Carousel is centered around marrying Enoch and honestly, I drew a lot from meeting and marrying my husband. My husband, Nyoy, was supposed to play Enoch in 2020 but he couldn’t join us anymore. But they [Enoch and Nyoy] are so similar in the sense that they both have goals. Honestly, if it weren’t for my husband, I’d be all over the place. In that same sense, Enoch is kind of like a foundation for Carrie.”

But the experiences of being a mother and a woman are not exclusive to one another. For Karylle, understanding Julie Jordan means drawing from the realities and experiences of women.

“Sometimes, to play a character, you need to draw from other experiences. Julie, well, she was completely stuck in a cycle of abuse or domestic abuse that happens to her and her daughter. That’s one of the heaviest parts of the play. But how do you relate that to yourself? As people, as Filipinos, we have a tendency to be people pleasers. And that’s the sign where you just have to learn how to make boundaries,” shares Karylle. “Because a lot of these things do happen in reality. It’s a bit difficult at first when you don’t experience some of these yourself because it doesn’t sink in but, after a while, you understand. Those cycles of abuse still happen and we need to draw from the past to understand it.”

To those who inspired their performance, here’s a message from them to you:

Hard times don’t stop after the Great Depression or in the aftermath of the pandemic. The women of today still go through a lot of inequalities and hardships which Carrie Pipperidge and Julie Jordan deal with as the ladies of Rodger and Hammerstein’s Carousel. As Karylle and Mikkie Bradshaw take to the stage, there are a few people they’d like to dedicate their performance to:

“I’d dedicate nearly every performance to my 13-year-old daughter and the message I want her to take from this performance is that: you’ll never walk alone. If things get hard, you can just reach out and there will be someone to catch her. Be it me, her dad, or her friends. Community is very important and I’d like for her to feel that she can ask for help anytime she needs it,” Mikkie says.

Karylle, on the other hand, dedicates her performance to her Lola who she affectionately calls Manga. “We were together in Vegas recently and although she was more excited to watch Top Gun: Maverick, we celebrated her birthday. She [her Lola] wasn’t used to being sung to but enjoyed it. I’d like to dedicate “You’ll Never Walk Alone” to her. She’s such a beautiful soul. Although she won’t be able to watch with me live, she’s the first to get a preview with me.”

To the women of the past, present, and the future

For the many moms out there who are struggling or doing what many Filipinos call “atras-abante” with their passion projects, Mikkie shares her thoughts as a mom on what it means to chase a part of you that’s unexplored. “To the moms out there, if you have any side of you that you’ve left unexplored, that’s going to eat at you. It’s going to eat at you for the rest of your life. So to me, as with my daughter, everything’s okay. So long as you’re not hurting anyone, go for it.”

However, she adds that there are responsibilities as a mom which need a support system to handle.

“There is also the added challenge that as a mother, responsibilities are different. You have to make sure if you’re embarking on a passion project, everyone has to be on board and supporting you. It’s okay to ask especially when some of these projects might take you away to make sure that the family doesn’t fall apart. It’s really important to have a support system that’s cheering you on.”

We look forward to your performances, Karylle and Mikkie! Don’t forget to catch Repertory Philippines’ rendition of Rodger and Hammerstein’s Carousel on November 26, 2022 to December 18, 2022!