The October 10 press conference for Studio A Productions’ Inday: The Musical ran like a short set list. The cast opened with The Boyfriends’ “Sumayaw, Sumunod,” took questions, came back for “First Love (Never Dies),” and took more questions. Then Elha Nympha closed with her own version of “Dahil Mahal Kita,” the band’s late-’70s love song, the kind a wedding band saves for the slow dance. It made for a warm, nostalgic set.

The show those songs belong to is about kulam, the Filipino folk practice of hexes and ritual magic.

Kulam, With Feelings

Danna Bernardino, who wrote the book and lyrics, said the story revolves around kulam, a subject she studied when she was young and knows well. In her telling, not all kulam is harmful. Inday leans into its rituals, she said, and stays away from black magic.

“We wanted to give everyone a fresh perspective of kulam. Remove the negative connotation about kulam by putting on more human emotions,” Bernardino said. “It’s about love, family, and forgotten memories.”

Fitting that story to The Boyfriends’ catalog, one of the defining sounds of the Manila Sound era of breezy late-’70s Filipino pop, “was very challenging,” she admitted. The show’s own tagline shows how the two meet: “Sasayaw ka ba o susunod?” (“Will you dance, or will you follow?”) borrows its rhythm from “Sumayaw, Sumunod.” When ElysPlanet first covered Inday in September, all Studio A had shared was a promise of chants and buried pasts. Kulam is what sits underneath them.

Elha Nympha’s Ancestors

For Nympha, who plays Laya/Inday, the subject is close to home. Her family comes from Capiz, and she has ancestors from Siquijor, two provinces that Filipino folklore has long tied to stories of witchcraft and folk healing. Siquijor in particular still draws tourists on that reputation today. She explained why the role mattered to her:

“This is special for me because nanggaling po kami sa family na galing sa Capiz and we have ancestors from Siquijor. With that, I said, ay perfect ito, maisasabuhay ko ang aking mga ancestors. Espesyal s’ya kasi number one, I like the story, number two, it’s very timely na marami talagang, normal naman sa Filipino households na nagkakaroon tayo ng alitan with mga kapatid, may inggitan, at alam n’yo po ‘yun na parang may lumalalang inggit. Ganun. Dito po, isinabuhay po namin ang ganung issue. Pinakita din po namin na ang kulam ay hindi lang basta masama na kulam. May mga good kulam as well.”

Sibling rivalry and envy that curdles over time give the show its family drama. The kulam gives that envy somewhere to go.

“I Am Willing to Take Criticisms”

Back in March 2017, a 12-year-old Nympha had just sung Sia’s “Chandelier” on Steve Harvey’s Little Big Shots when the media asked whether she’d be open to doing a Broadway musical. “Kung may chance po, pwede po,” she said.

The chance arrived nine years later. Nympha, now 22, won the second season of The Voice Kids Philippines in 2015 and spent the next decade on ABS-CBN’s Sunday variety show ASAP, including as part of the vocal group New Gen Divas. Inday is her first musical, and she admitted the offer gave her pause. “Gagawin ko ba ito? It’s not that I can’t do it—hindi kasi ako nag-train for this,” she said in remarks shared by the production.

She took it on as a challenge. Every theater actor needs a first role, she reasoned, and being compared with seasoned stage performers comes with the territory. “I am willing to take criticisms,” she said.

The biggest adjustment was memory. With no theater background, she learned to stop leaning on prompters and to study her character and commit every line and lyric to heart. “Medyo umayos po ang memory ko,” she said, giggling. “Talagang kinabisado ko po lahat.” She called it a fear she had to face: “Thankful ako na na-face ko ang fear ko.”

She wasn’t much of a theatergoer before this, though she has seen Rak of Aegis, the Philippine Educational Theater Association’s long-running jukebox musical built on the songs of the band Aegis, as well as Studio A’s own Tulog Na The Musical, and has watched Miss Saigon online. She plans to ask her friends in theater for tips and mentorship. She said she’s grateful to the team for making her first stage experience a memorable one, and that given another chance, she would choose to work with the same people again. Outside the Inday company, the one name she’d love to share a stage with is her friend Sheena Belarmino, a fellow New Gen Divas member who recently made waves in Theatre Group Asia’s The Notebook: The Musical.

The Other Lead

Katrina Velarde, who plays Elara/Orvaya, wasn’t at the press conference. Velarde, 31, is billed as “The Vocal Supreme.” She grew up in Tondo, Manila, joined singing contests from age seven to help support her family, and in 2014 co-starred in Trenderas, a TV5 musical drama series. She has done theater before, but never professionally.

“I was hesitant, but naisip ko, bakit hindi?” Velarde said in a statement released by Studio A. “It will be a big challenge for me especially since I haven’t really done professional musical theater, but I’m excited but at the same time nervous.”

A Dark Musical, Sold by Word of Mouth

Asked why audiences should pick Inday out of a crowded theater calendar, Nympha kept it short. “This is very dark,” she said. Few Philippine productions are making dark-themed shows right now, which she said makes it unique. “It’s a musical. I think magugustuhan po talaga ng mga tao.”

Director Jef Albeo said that same darkness made the show a challenge to mount. He credited a strong marketing team and leads who draw audiences on their own, though he admitted he hadn’t been sure the show could fill seats. It has. The October 16 and 17 performances are sold out, and Studio A has added a second weekend, October 23 to 25.

As a newer company, Studio A leans on its audiences to spread the word. “We always let our audience market our show,” Albeo said. That’s how Tulog Na grew: after its first run, the people who’d seen it brought more people in. That show, a dark comedy set in a mortuary, starred film and TV comedienne Marietta “Pokwang” Subong, who went on to share Best Actress at Cinemalaya 2026.

Eunice Somintac plays Aya and Cherry Morena plays Hira/Lira, alongside Basty Batistis, Chris Fong, Jude Gamaliel, Nicollo Gutierrez, Jeremy Manite, Aina Salazar, Primitivo Moscare, and Cary Faith Rodolfo. Manite also composed the original music, with arrangements by Jason Tung. Teacher Georcelle, founder of the dance company G-Force, choreographs. Anthony Ramirez designs the costumes, and All About Home handles production and set design.

If You’re Going

Inday: The Musical
Dates: October 16 and 17, 7:30 PM (sold out); October 18, 3:00 PM; October 23, 24, and 25, 7:30 PM
Running time: About 150 minutes
Venue: Carlos P. Romulo Auditorium, RCBC Plaza, Ayala Avenue, Makati City
Tickets: ₱1,000 to ₱3,800; reservations through Studio A Productions’ official website
Note: Latecomers won’t be admitted once the show starts, and reserved seats can’t be refunded or rescheduled.