Dennis Gaviola

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ABS-CBN Lifestyle

<p>MANILA --Actor-singer Sam Shoaf is thrilled to make his theater debut in &quot;Bagets The Musical,&quot; sharing for the first time how he relates to his character Topee and what it’s like to shift from TV to the stage.</p><p>In a recent media conference for the show, Shoaf was introduced as one of the actors playing Topee — the role originally portrayed by JC Bonin in the 1984 hit film. He will alternate with Jeff Moses.</p><p>When asked what part of his personality is closest or similar to Topee, Shoaf replied: &quot;I watched the movie tapos nakita ko si Topee mahilig po talaga siya sa mixed martial arts. So that&#x27;s I guess something na we have something in common.&quot; </p><p>&quot;I do martial arts pero hindi po professionally parang hobby lang and also I love watching it. So &#x27;yon po like we both love martial arts,&quot;  he added Shoaf.</p><p>&quot;Bagets The Musical&quot; marks Shoaf&#x27;s debut in theater.</p><div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:867px"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1760665542563Sam.jpg" style="width:955px" class="fr-fic fr-dib fr-dragging"/><span class="fr-inner"><em>Handout</em></span></span></span></div><p>Topee is described as quiet but has a strong personality, a martial arts kid who holds things together on the outside, but carries heavy pain and conflict within.</p><p>For the musical, Shoaf also shared how performing in theater differs from acting on screen.</p><p>&quot;It&#x27;s a completely different universe sa theater compared sa TV and all. Grabe po talaga &#x27;yung preparations na ginagawa namin from the workshops. We started doing workshops recently, &#x27;yung mga exercises po talaga it is super different, like completly different blood talaga compared to TV. And everything is just so much exagerated, you have to be more open.&quot;</p><p>&quot;Definitely it&#x27;s a good learning experience as a TV actor going into theater so super surreal, very excited po talaga,&quot; he added.</p><p>Meanwhile, Moses, also shared his similarity with his character Topee.</p><p>&quot;Ako naman po same kami ni Topee. I&#x27;m from Negros. I know to speak Hiligaynon fluently and taga-Negros din po ako kasi I&#x27;m from San Carlos City. &#x27;Yun magkalapit ang Bacolod City at San Carlos City. So I think &#x27;yun ang pinakamalapit kay Topee, &quot; Moses said.</p><p>Directed by Maribel Legarda with a book by J-mee Katanyag and music by Vince Lim, &quot;Bagets The Musical&quot; is set to run from January 23 to March 2026 at the Newport Performing Arts Theater. </p><p>Joining Shoaf and Moses in the lead cast are Noel Comia Jr. and Tomas Rodriguez as Gilbert, Milo Cruz and Migo Valid as Tonton, KD Estrada and Ethan David as Arnel, and Andres Muhlach and Mico Hendrix Chua as Adie.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/lifestyle/people-culture-events/2025/10/3/sam-shoaf-makes-stage-debut-in-jc-bonnin-s-role-in-bagets-musical-1944" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Sam Shoaf makes stage debut in JC Bonnin&#x27;s role in &#x27;Bagets&#x27; musical</a></div><div><br/></div><div><strong>FROM THE ARCHIVES:</strong></div><div><br/></div><div><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/pmdccMq9YLE?autoplay=1&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/DfXVd7XTjbs?autoplay=1&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/PeLBKqbYfP0?autoplay=1&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span><br/></div>

<p>Now that the cast of ‘Bagets The Musical’ has been revealed, Sam Shoaf is finally opening up about his first stage role — and how stepping into Topee’s sneakers feels both thrilling and unexpectedly personal.</p>

Now that the cast of ‘Bagets The Musical’ has been revealed, Sam Shoaf is finally opening up about his first stage role — and how stepping into Topee’s sneakers feels both thrilling and unexpectedly personal.

Sam Shoaf opens up on first theater role, finding himself in 'Bagets The Musical'

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Sam Shoaf opens up on first theater role, finding himself in 'Bagets The Musical'

ABS-CBN Lifestyle

Published Oct 18, 2025 02:00 PM PHT

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Sam Shoaf

Jeff Moses

Topee

Bagets The Musical

stage

theater

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