|
|
Post by roofed! on Oct 23, 2004 0:30:57 GMT -5
For those in Hawaii who likes theater, Lea Salonga will be performing at Blaisdell Concert Hall next week. Salonga became known for her portrayal as Kim in Miss Saigon in London and Broadway and she won all the major theater acting awards for that role. She also won acclaim as Eponine in Les Miserables, including a stint with the National touring company in hawaii and in the Les Mis 10th Anniversary Concert.
Besides theater, she has sung in Disney movies -- as the singing voice of Jasmine in Aladdin (A Whole New World) and Mulan's singing voice (Reflection). You can actually watch her recording session in the recently released Aladdin dvd.
And early next year, she will also perform in concerts in San Francisco, LA, Chicago and New Jersey.
|
|
|
|
Post by islandgirl on Oct 23, 2004 16:47:06 GMT -5
I saw Lea Salonga in Les Miserables here in Hawaii.
Awesome.
|
|
|
|
Post by roofed! on Oct 24, 2004 21:39:19 GMT -5
I envy you for being able to see her own rendition of Eponine on stage. I am only able to settle for her performance on tape for the 10th Anniversary Concert, though I did fly all the way to New York City twice to watch her reprise her Miss Saigon role in 2000 and 2001.
|
|
|
|
Post by islandgirl on Oct 25, 2004 4:24:01 GMT -5
When I saw her in Les Miserables I didn't know much about her except that she had done Broadway and was the voice of Jasmine in Aladdin. I've certainly remembered her since then. Her voice is amazing. I would have liked to see her in Miss Saigon.
|
|
|
|
Post by 808 on Oct 29, 2004 16:45:32 GMT -5
I went to that concert. It turned out that the show sold out and they had to add a "second" night, although the "second" show that they added was on Tuesday, before the original show. She dressed in a black tuxedo-style suit and sang with a six-piece band -- brother Gerard on grand piano, a guitarist, bassist, drums and two on electronic keyboards. The show lasted about 2-1/2 hours, though she spoke a lot between songs. She and her band also took breaks; first the band went off stage and she stayed, had the house lights turned up and answered questions from the audience, and then the band came back and played while she took a short break. Some of the songs she sang: "On My Own" from Les Miz, "I'll Give My Life For You" from Miss Saigon, a portion of "A Whole New World" from Aladdin, "Reflection" from Mulan, some standards, like "It Had To Be You", "Someone To Watch Over Me" and "Over the Rainbow" from The Wizard of Oz, and a couple of Filipino songs, too.
She said she'll never play Kim again -- she can't imagine herself singing "I'm 17 and . . . "! She also doesn't anticipate doing another Disney movie, but only because she feels very fortunate to have been able to be in not one but two movies already. She said it's highly unusual for Disney to use the same person for two movies. She also told some stories about her life and family.
All in all, a very enjoyable night. Though for my taste, I though she was just a little too chatty between songs. And a couple of the arrangements were a little strange. She's still got a great voice though.
|
|
|
|
Post by 808 on Nov 2, 2004 19:42:44 GMT -5
Posted on: Tuesday, November 2, 2004 Original Miss Saigon shines in solo showsBy Wayne Harada Advertiser Entertainment Writer STAR POWER: Lea Salonga's solo concerts, last Tuesday and Wednesday at Blaisdell Concert Hall, confirmed her star power — and her theatrical posture. Clearly, the Filipina songbird — who has played Kim in "Miss Saigon" and Eponine in "Les Miserables" on stage, and provided the film voice of Jasmine in "Aladdin" and Mulan in "Mulan" — is a generous trouper. She treks down every road imaginable, putting a new spin on an old classic ("Someone to Watch Over Me"), doing '70s disco with karaoke fervor ("Dancing Queen") and demonstrating an actor's poise ("On My Own" and "I'd Give My Life for You"). ... The 2 1/2-hour evening (we attended Wednesday's finale) had an intermission — sorta — with the musicians exiting and Salonga taking questions from the audience, which became kind of a TV talk-show chatfest. About moms ("Her fault that I wore those frilly things as a child"). About Filipinos succeeding on a national front (she applauded the efforts of and predicted good fortunes for "American Idol" finalists Camile Velasco and Jasmine Trias — the latter was sitting in the house with her mom, Nora, and visited backstage before and after the performance). And so on. ... She introduced her husband, Rob Chien, in the house, but kept secret the fact that former Gov. Ben Cayetano and his wife, Vicky, were sitting in the front row. At one point, someone shouted that Army Community Theatre was doing "Saigon" next year and invited her to try out for Kim. "Why should I have to try out for a role I created?" she responded. (Not a put-down; merely a reality, since ACT's is a community endeavor, not a touring company). ... Tom Moffatt, who presented Salonga in concert here, has picked up typhoon makeup dates next weekend on Guam. ... the.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/2004/Nov/02/il/il13a.html |
|
|
|
Post by Wolfgang on Nov 4, 2004 13:30:10 GMT -5
I saw a documentary of the "Making of the King and I" album/CD. They interviewed various singers like Julie Andrews. Leah Salonga was Tup-Tim (I think?). She seemed like a very intelligent and eloquent young lady. Gosh, I fell in love with her. Then, I found out later she got married and well, I started to throw things in my dorm room. I was not happy.
|
|
