Kakki Teodoro, in Every Life

Theater

Sep 25

In MULI: An OPM Musical, Teodoro moves through personalities, fantasies, and lifetimes in a nostalgic story about the paths we never took.

Words Mian Centeno
Photos courtesy of MULI
September 25, 2026

*Kakki Teodoro as Anita in Muli: An OPM Musical*

I am not a ‘90s kid. Born in the early 2000s, I should probably be too young to feel nostalgic about dial-up internet, VHS tapes, and some of the pop culture references scattered throughout MULI. Yet somehow, the show gets there.

From the Jolina Magdangal notebook I secretly wished I had instead of a Power Rangers one (sorry, Mom), to the familiar sights and sounds of growing up, MULI taps into a nostalgia that extends beyond the generation it depicts.

And with Y2K and early-2000s aesthetics finding new life across digital platforms, its references feel just as accessible to Gen Z.

Hopping onto this nostalgia theme feels almost like watching a well-elaborated school roleplay—the kind that was rehearsed for days, filled with different characters, dramatic turns, and one star student everyone counted on to carry the show.

Here, that star student is Kakki Teodoro.

Teodoro plays Anita, a 42-year-old mother whose dream of becoming a pop star was left behind when she got pregnant at 17. As Anita revisits the lives she could have lived, Teodoro moves through different personalities, fantasies, and lifetimes with remarkable ease.

Even familiar with her caliber, I found myself stunned by how far she took the performance.

She carries the comedy, camp, and heartbreak of the nearly three-hour production with a presence that makes it difficult to look anywhere else.

In Art Plus Magazine’s exclusive interview with Teodoro, she described herself as an “octagon”—and MULI proves just how many sides she can bring to one stage.

*Baus Rufo and Kakki Teodoro in Muli: An OPM Musical*

She deserves all her flowers, and probably a very long rest after every performance.

The musical does try to take on a lot: romance, family, politics, grief, ambition, and every strange direction a “what if” can take. Yet that randomness feels appropriate.

From the love life we wonder about to the fantasy of being born rich with a silver spoon in our mouths, our imagined lives rarely follow a clean narrative.

Moreover, Janine Teñoso shows promising potential in her musical theater debut, while Anita’s high school barkada—Justine Peña, Marynor Madamesila, and Baus Rufo—adds welcome comedic relief to Teodoro’s already captivating presence.

*Kakki Teodoro as Anita and Janine Teñoso as Kath in Muli: An OPM Musical*

And perhaps that is where MULI becomes most relatable. Its many stories and detours mirror the way nostalgia works: one memory leads to another, a familiar song brings back an old feeling, and a simple “what if” can open an entire alternate timeline in our heads.

Ultimately, MULI finds its charm in its whimsy, nostalgia, and relatability. Beneath all the lives Anita imagines is a quieter reminder: sometimes, making peace with the life we have means finally letting go of the ones we leave behind.