Heart in Broadway

Image Credit: secaucustaxi.com

I was 9 in grade school when my goals wasn’t yet all clear and that a college course was still a subject of the future. To be able to pass through that 42^nd street in midtown Manhattan was one of my dreams.

The Broadway theater which I know little of (at that time), except for the person behind the very popular character of a very popular stage play, Miss Saigon was my ultimate aspiration. I couldn’t think of an artist to portray the character any less than the Miss Saigon herself, Lea Salonga.

Seemingly funny (if it is, as I suppose, the right term to use) that even up to these times, I make it a point to at least update myself about her once in a week. That said, I have slim pickings of confessions to make: Broadway is the reason why I prefer having her (Lea Salonga) songs in my play list than those of Lady Gaga’s and Justin Bieber’s ; why I stay up late at night watching her singing of the Sun and Moon on youtube; why I always get the first copy of the Philippine Daily Inquirer, Backstory every Sunday to scan if so she has an entry there; why I got my alternative name on my facebook profile after her; and why I’m writing this here at this very moment. Truly a fan indeed! 

Photo by Ronnie Salvacion from imdb.com

Broadway.

Lea Salonga.

The two seem to be inseparable. I guess insofar as the Filipino media is concerned, when people talk about Broadway, Lea Salonga is a mutual subject; and when people talk about Lea Salonga, Broadway is an ineffaceable connotation. One is always like the casual remark of the other. So what was with Broadway that made Lea come off the spotlight?

Les Misérables

Lea Salonga singing I Dreamed a Dream 

Les Miserables, literally The Miserable Ones is originally a classic novel of the 19^th century by a French author Victor Hugo. Long story short, it is a narrative of France’s politics, moral philosophy, religion, antimonarchism and justice that was mainly focused on the story of an ex-convict, Jean Valjean.

Lea Salonga on the other hand, as most of us have already known, was the first Asian to play the most appalling and strong character Eponine in 1993 in Broadway which she later on came back to portray another role as Fantine.

Playing part in an international stage play is something that is more than just dream come true. To be able to play a role is not the be-all and end-all of it but when the people think one has played a character real best is the most rewarding of all-- and that is how I’ve known Lea Salonga.

Lea Salonga in the cast of Les Miserables l Image taken from fuckyeahleasalonga.tumblr.com

Lea Salonga with Alexander Gemignani in Les Misérables l Image taken from fuckyeahleasalonga.com

                                      

Miss Saigon

Photo by Giacomo Puccini

This is what started it all-- her spotlight in Broadway. This is by far the 10^th longest running Broadway musical that tells about a story of an ill-fated tragic romance between an Asian woman and her American lover. I wrote it just second to Les Miserables maybe because I have so much more to say about it and am more excited to see this post end with its story.

Besides hearing what other people have to say about Lea bringing home the pride to our Juan country, it was this play that made me love Broadway, not so much because of how classic and good the story was, but because of how Lea Salonga interpreted and went over her character as Kim.

                     “What is it with Lea that makes the whole audience feel mesmerized after watching her show?” I asked a friend who was able to watch her play in Cats, The Musical in Manila last year.

                        My friend said (in not so exact words), “Many actors and actresses can sing and play a role well. Lea doesn’t look that tall, but when she’s the one in the middle of that stage performing, feels like she’s talking and touching you right through the heart. The whole stage is filled with her presence that missing her part makes the entire show incomplete.” And this made me fell more in love with her…and the Broadway.

Lea Salonga with Miss Saigon partner, Simon Bowman l 
Image taken from a video added by mimibarthez on youtube.com

Being picked for a major role out of one hundred and eleven auditionees all over the world is over and above an epic. Her story of how she got the role (which I guess deserves a separate entry) and played as Kim opened so much tribute of how other countries view Filipino talents and acts. Now it’s way easier for other artists to go as far as international entertainment in order to brandish their talent.

Here’s a video of her performance of the song, Sun and Moon with Simon Bowman in the play Miss Saigon.

Awards and Accolades

Out of Miss Saigon Lea Salonga won the Tony, Olivier, Drama Desk, Outer Critics, and Theatre World awards. All the great respect and strong praise she received which she infallibly deserves proved how exceptional her talent is. More than the hand claps, the inspiration that she leaves as a singer/actress and as a person is the one that impresses the people’s heart. 

Image/ Video Credits:
www.secaucustaxi.com/2009/08/
Ronnie Salvacion, filed under Lea Salonga on imdb.com
Giacomo Puccini, en.wikipedia.org
youtube.com

Reference:
wikipedia.org