Eymard Cabling: From Miss Saigon to Larry The Musical – 10 Fun Facts About This Phenomenal Filipino Talent

Written By Nico Belasco

Eymard Cabling is best known for his time in the musical theater world playing roles in iconic musicals like Miss Saigon, Allegiance, and The King and I. Recently, he took on the role of Elder Larry in the hit Larry The Musical, making waves in the Filipino American community and beyond. Pursuing his passion has led him to performing on stages across the United States and all over the world. We are continually blown away by hard work and dedication to his craft. Here are 10 fun facts about this phenomenal Filipino!  

1. He grew up in Maryland

Eymard was born and raised in Gaithersburg, Maryland and was almost always one of a few Filipinos in his school. Despite not having much of a Filipino community to grow up with, his parents made sure that he didn’t fully turn to the western ways by speaking Tagalog, cooking Filipino food regularly and making trips to the motherland as a family. 

“I was a little kid growing up, just playing with little white kids. I was just like, sure, we can go watch movies at the movie theater. But I didn't know that I was dealing with this duality when I was a kid. I just didn't know. Now that I'm older, I see the big picture. And so I'm struggling still with how I was raised in suburban white Maryland, rather than like the Bay -  Daly City, California. So I was raised in a very kind of seclusion. I was a very shy kid. I was made fun of. I was definitely bullied. I was made fun of because of the food I brought to school. It really made me really quiet and shy. I didn't really have an identity because I didn't know what it was,” he recalled. 

2. Like most FilAms navigating through the diaspora, he struggled with his Filipino identity 

On trips to the Philippines, Eymard also experienced feeling “other-ed” by locals. Many struggled to grasp the fact that despite his upbringing in the United States, he was Filipino too. Eymard experienced discrimination on the other side of the world. 

“They would call me ‘Balikbayan’. I remember asking my parents and my relatives, like, ‘What do they mean? Are they calling me a balikbayan box?’ There's something in that, there's a little bit of uh prejudice and discrimination in that description, right? You're a balikbayan, you're coming back like you don't really belong. I interpreted that as I don't really belong, or I felt like I was told, oh, you have an accent and you don't really speak Tagalog. I'm like, okay, so you don't think I'm Filipino? Yeah, it made me really feel othered. And I hate feeling othered. It's great to hear Filipino Americans kind of find their identity as they get older and they get educated with culture and ethnic studies. I used to be really ashamed. I used to be like, I'm sorry. I'm not a true Filipino. And I don't want to live that way anymore. You know?,” he shared.

3. His passion for theater started in high school

Spending half of his life in public school and the other half in private school, Eymard got the best of both worlds. His parents were firm in making sure that he took part in quality education growing up, investing in prestigious schools and whatever it took to ensure a bright future for young Eymard, who in turn put in the work. In the midst of feeling isolated in high school, he found a home in the theater. 

“I started joining plays because a teacher told me, ‘You don't talk to anyone. You're quiet. You don't have a social life.’ I didn't. All I did was do my homework in the basement of the locker room by myself until my parents picked me up after work. So I would go to school from eight in the morning to six at night. And I would wait for my parents to pick me up from school. My drama teacher said, I'd like you to try to join the plays so you can meet people and socialize. That was high school. And my love for theater began in high school. And then a friend of mine in the drama group told me to go to Carnegie Mellon University for a theater camp. I went there for a six week theater camp and they auditioned me to get in. I got accepted into Carnegie Mellon for theater. I didn't plan that. It was a fluke. I call it random luck, like winning the lottery. I didn't expect to go to theater school. I didn’t even know that you could major in theater. I was in such a bubble by my parents that I thought the only things I could be was an engineer or a lawyer. or something in the medical field. That's what I was thinking I will be when I grow up. Carnegie Mellon swooped in and punched me from the left side and said, do you wanna be an actor?” he shared. 

Ultimately, Eymard went on to pave his own path and earn his BFA in drama with a concentration in musical theater.

4. He has an impressive track record of musicals that he’s taken part in

Throughout his years in the theater community, Eymard has built quite the impressive resume. Since his start, he’s been part of iconic productions like Miss Saigon, Allegiance, Shrek the Musical, She Loves Me, Pacific Overtures, The King and I, and as we all know, Larry The Musical, to name a few. His spectacular presence is an incredible addition to every stage he steps on, and he continually leaves the crowd in awe at the end of every one of his shows. 

“My touring life in the early 2000s was very different than it is now. Because back then, there was no Airbnb. There were no smartphones. It was just like, let's just go to a hotel and run across the highway and go to eat at a Denny's. Touring out of a suitcase and living in a hotel and Airbnbs is fun. You're in a different city every week. It's not for the faint hearted. If you like traveling and you love to live on the go and collect hotel points, touring was a lot of fun. But then regionally, if you work at a theater, usually regional theaters have a show run for about two months. One month of rehearsal and one month of a run. I've been, I think, to every state in the United States, except for two. I've been to maybe over 115 cities, including Canada and then I got to tour the King and I in Asia so international tours are amazing as well because you get to like see China and Korea and Japan and like see these countries that you never thought you would be able to visit,” he shared. 

5. He played the The Engineer in Miss Saigon 

After graduating from college, Eymard did two tours with Miss Saigon. The first one ran in the early 2000s. Nearly 20 years later, he joined the production again on the union tour in 2018. Many know Eymard for his time on stage as The Engineer. Eymard’s participation in the iconic Tony Award-winning musical helped catapult his career to great heights. Landing his role in this production was the start of an incredible career. 

“I auditioned and we started rehearsing in New York City. I finally felt like I was a bonafide actor. They eventually asked me to understudy the role of the engineer. I couldn't believe it. The moment in Miss Saigon where they said, would you like to play this role? I thought it was a dream come true. I was like, really? Every time I got a role, I wanted to meet that challenge and do the best I could. Like the notes of Tui are so high, they're so high to hit. It took me many, many, many years to find my voice, to be confident enough to audition for that role. So Miss Saigon has been my stepping stone. Every chapter of my life, Miss Saigon helped me to become the actor I am today. From a little, quiet, shy kid, to a loud military leader, I found my strengths and weaknesses through Miss Saigon,” explained Eymard.

6. He starred in Larry the Musical

Of the many roles that Eymard has played throughout his life, playing Larry Itliong, legendary Filipino-American union organizer, in Larry the Musical, was without a doubt one of the most fitting roles to date. Eymard was approached to be in workshop number 2 of the production by the director Billy Bustamante. Three years later, he was approached again to play Larry at the Brava Theater. Here, he played ___ sold out shows in front of countless Filipinos. 

“I will go full circle to me being raised in Maryland. I didn't know about Larry Itliong at all. I didn't know about him at all until... four or five years ago when they asked me to be part of the workshop. Then I Wikipedia'd, and I was like, what? Who is this guy? I did know about the Filipino Manongs. I just got online, YouTube. I started to click, click, click, videos, videos, and all of the works that Dawn Mabalon wrote about him and everything that Filipino scholars have been writing about him in the West Coast. It was like opening Narnia and just walking into the kingdom of Philippine royalty. I thought, oh my God, what have I been missing my whole life? I watched all of these videos and documentaries showing clips of how he talked or how chill he was with a cigar or how he walked with like this slouch. I definitely felt his energy and his charisma for people and for his movement. The way he talked was just so direct, so confident and inspiring. You could tell by his voice that he knew what he was doing and that he was very passionate about what he believed in,” he shared. 

During the successful run of Larry the Musical, Filipinos flew in from every corner of the United States and even from out of the country to witness the production in all of its greatness live. Every night brought a jam-packed crowd of kababayan who were eager to learn about Larry Itliong and the incredible things he did for the labor movement. Eymard and the rest of the cast brought their all to each performance and ultimately ended every night with a standing ovation from each audience they performed in front of. 

“I'm homesick. I am so homesick. I felt like I was welcomed into a community of cheers every night at curtain call. At the end of the show, I gave it to the community of Stockton, Delano, Northern California. I was terrified. I still am. But every time we did the finale, the roars and the screams and the flags and the tears. Oh, the audience support. I'm homesick. I'll admit it. I felt embraced, hugged. Every issue that I have growing up about finding out who I am. as a Filipino American or as a human being, it was validated by the audiences at the Brava Theater. I felt welcomed, I felt like I belonged,” he mentioned. 

7. He is a firm believer in Body Positivity

In the height of the pandemic, Eymard took to Instagram to express how he battles thinking negatively about his body. He shared a side by side comparison of how he looked before the start of Covid and where he was at the time of posting. This post opened up a conversation that most Filipinos don’t like to have. By harnessing the power of social media as a platform to educate others, Eymard used his page to speak his mind on the importance of self acceptance and body positivity. 

“So 2020 happened and I think I made that post in 2021. But what I did was I looked at myself in the mirror and I said, oh my God, look how much my life has changed. Am I going to be embarrassed about it? Cause I've seen people post like six pack, eight pack abs. And they're like, just getting back to the gym. I’m like, I'm so proud of myself and I'm proud of them too. But what are you projecting on social media when you do that? Are you saying that this is the only way to look good? So I'm sitting in my bathroom, then I'm like, you know what? I feel good about who I am at this moment, where I am. If I decide to go to the gym, it's because I want to be healthy. Even though I've gained 30 or 40 pounds. I went through this existential debate about body positivity. Is it good to be skinny? Is it good to be bigger? Is it good to be... And I couldn't find an answer. But the answer I found was in the mirror. You don't have to go to the gym 24/7. You don't have to have chiseled rock abs, but the change comes from inside. It comes from like, in your heart and in your mind. If you're okay with where you are, then you're on the right track. It was all about acceptance,” he explained.

8. He loves traveling 

Whether he’s performing across the globe or hopping on planes to explore other countries leisurely, Eymard and his wife love to travel. Throughout his years in the industry, he has performed in countless states across the United States and toured in several countries throughout Asia. While he is hopping on planes from city to city and country to country, Eymard makes it a point to process what he experiences and broaden his horizons. 

“Traveling around the world, countries, states, nations, I am obsessed with it because I get to experience different cultures and see different people. One of my favorite comedians is Trevor Noah. He says why he loves traveling and touring and doing shows around the country and the world is because he gets to meet people from different walks of life. Anything from the Midwest to California, all the way to New York, New Hampshire, and Boston. I love visiting different cities and learning about the histories there. I love learning about other people, languages, histories, and foods. So being able to tour, I still can't get enough of it. My wife and I love traveling so much because our eyes are opened up. We are no longer ignorant to different religions, politics. I'm like, why is your government this way? Or what, I love learning about it. And when you find out about why people are the way they are, then you understand it and it makes sense,” he shared. 

9. He is proudly Filipino

When asked what being Filipino meant to him, he shared, “I think about my family, my ancestors. They lived with such lightness, grace and happiness. It's hard to put in one sentence, but everything revolves around joy, laughter, happiness, resilience, power, courage, bravery. I think about my mom before the last part of her life, she opened up an assisted living business. She bought a house and she put nurses in there and residents and senior citizens. She would talk to me about American families throwing their grandparents into homes. She would say, ‘I want to take care of these grandparents because they're like my children.’ I was like, ‘Mom, why? It's too much work. You should retire.’ Man. Now that I look back and I think about what she did, the love and care that nurses have. Love, in such hard working conditions and working hours, I mean, the Filipino finds a way to smile and laugh and do anything. That to me is what I want to carry on in my life. So I just love being Filipino because of that.”

10. He is full of words of wisdom

When asked for his words of wisdom to those who wish to follow in his footsteps, Eymard shared, “Don't be afraid of the word no. Don't be afraid of rejection. If that comes your way, keep moving on. Don't give up. Even though it can be hard, don't give up. I am dealing with the constant battle of this business. If you still love it, give it a try. Don't be afraid of no. Don't feel down. If you're rejected, just keep moving on to the next thing. Because with every five no's, there will be that one yes that will change your life. And so ‘no’ is not that bad.”

---

Written By Nico Belasco

Photographer, Writer, Speaker, Podcast Host, Creative

---