Gab Pangilinan Talks About Playing Mary Magdalene in 'Jesus Christ Superstar'

GMG Productions, with David Ian for Crossroads Live and Work Light Productions, just announced the cast of Jesus Christ Superstar. Among them is Filipino theater actress Gab Pangilinan, who is playing the role of Mary Magdalene in the Manila leg of the production's international tour.

"Di pa rin siya nagsi-sink in. I still can't believe it," Pangilinan tells Esquire Philippines in an interview. "I think I need to be rehearsing or be there for it to really sink in—how big of an opportunity and how big of a deal it is for me to be part of the company. Sobrang hindi nagsi-sink in because of how iconic Mary Magdalene is and the people who have portrayed her. It’s hard to believe na, 'Oh, ako, I will be one of the people in history to have portrayed Mary Magdalene here in Manila.'"

Jesus Christ Superstar is set to run from May 2 to 31 at The Theatre at Solaire, before heading to Taipei in June and Singapore in August. Rehearsals with the touring cast officially start in April, but, as it turns out, the most-sought-after artist in Philippine theater has been—albeit unintentionally—preparing for it since childhood.

Pangilinan, who made her professional acting debut in 2014 through PETA's Rak of Aegis, came from a family of artists. She is the daughter of Vicky Sevilla-Pangilinan (of singing group Music & Magic) and Joseph Pangilinan (of LSGH music ministry Kundirana); and the niece of Sharon Cuneta and Sen. Kiko Pangilinan, Angeli and Gary Valenciano, and Anthony Pangilinan and Maricel Laxa, so it doesn't come as a surprise that she grew up with music and theater in the household.

"My first encounter with Jesus Christ Superstar was through my dad because it’s his favorite. My parents are musical theater fans, but I think my dad’s top musical would be Jesus Christ Superstar. I grew up with him humming the score or singing "Gethsemane" many times—as a joke, but with all the feelings," she recalled.

The first time she heard Mary Magdalene's solo, "I Don’t Know How To Love Him," was at Lea Salonga's Broadway concert in the early 2000s. "I was really young, and my mom brought me and my sister. It was one of those songs that sticks with you—the melody, the words. That was my first memory of that song," she added. Little did she know that she was giving her own rendition of that track alongside a touring cast in 2026.

But the process of auditioning-to-casting was three years in the making. After an initial self-tape audition in 2022 led to silence during the post-pandemic reshuffling of theater schedules, she assumed the opportunity had passed. Then, in June 2025, GMG Productions' Executive Producer Sam Sewell informed her that auditions were open again and asked if she wanted to reuse her old audition tape. 

"I was like, 'No. I wanna send a new one.'Two or three years is too much of a time difference. I feel like I’m a different person. I’ve evolved with the multiple things I did throughout the years," she says.

She finally received the good news during a photo shoot. "I saw Sam there, but she didn’t tell me anything. Then, when I was alone, she called me and broke the news. I was just shocked. Parang nakatulala lang ako sa Newport banyo. I was like, 'Is this real? Is this a prank?"

In Jesus Christ Superstar, Mary Magdalene, a former prostitute, becomes one of Jesus' supporters. To make things more complicated, she is scared to admit that she has fallen in love with him. Tackling this, especially in a conservative country like the Philippines, requires a delicate balance. 

"Mary Magdalene in Jesus Christ Superstar is so iconic. Even to me, growing up in musical theater, you would know about her. Amidst all the men—and it’s a rock opera, so it's a 'testosterone-filled' musical—there’s just something so beautiful about the softness and the peace that the score of Mary Magdalene brings," Pangilinan says.

"Her love is so pure, but it’s so human. In "I Don’t Know How to Love Him," there’s that push and pull of a woman loving someone. Obviously, si Jesus, kaya siya naging controversial. But she’s singing about loving someone and not knowing what to do about it; she’s a mess of emotions, but there’s still that softness. That’s what makes her role one of the most memorable and important."

Despite already having tackled several roles, including Daisy Hilton in Atlantis Theatrical's Side Show (2018), Young Joy in Ang Huling El Bimbo, and Roxane in Mula sa Buwan, Pangilinan shared that she is all at once excited and challenged in joining the Jesus Christ Superstar production. 

"I know for a fact this will be a completely new experience because it’s my first time in a long time that I’ll be part of a cast where I don’t know anyone. I am the new person there. Our industry is so small that we usually all know each other, but this time I’ll be working with international theater actors across the board," she said.

Pangilinan admitted that she will be completely out of her comfort zone, comparing it to the last time that she felt like a "fish out of water," which was when she started doing professional theater. But while she has yet to meet the touring cast, she's already "preparing mentally, spiritually, physically, and emotionally—especially for the marathon that is the eight-show week."

For her, this is "a huge opportunity, but also a huge responsibility."

As the production gears up for its limited run in May 2026, Pangilinan emphasized that the "powerhouse vocals" of the show are reason enough to catch the show.

"I don’t think years prior to now we ever thought we’d see Jesus Christ Superstar in Manila. That says a lot about the industry today. It’s a timeless musical that generations have experienced online or through Spotify, but to experience it live is a completely unique, rare, and memorable experience," she says.

She believes that it is "one of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s best works, if not the best. To be even a tiny part of it is such a privilege."

Gab Pangilinan joins principal cast members from previous UK, North America, and Australian tours of the production, including Luke Street (Jesus), Javon King (Judas), Ethan Hardy Benson (Pilate), Grant Hodges (Caiaphas), and Kodiak Thompson (Annas).

Jesus Christ Superstar opens on May 2 at The Theatre at Solaire, 1 Aseana Avenue, Entertainment City, Tambo, Paranaque. Tickets are available on Ticketworld.

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