“It’s a matter of timing to set aside my time to do this,” replies Lea Salonga when asked about why it’s only now that she is playing Cinderella on stage and doing a musical on the Disney fairytale. “It has to be something I want. It has something good that I want to pass on to her (daughter Beverly Nicole) and for her to watch.”
Just like a true blue daughter of theater, Lea is bound to show the same passion and intensity she has known for recreating characters like Kim of Miss Saigon and Fantine of Les Miserables on stage. Cinderella, which will have its Manila run from July 29 to Aug. 24 at the Cultural Center of the Philippines, is another feather on her well-festooned cap. It’s another musical experience from Lea, who has conquered Broadway and the West End.
Lea has come a long way from her Annie days. The orphan Annie is now the sophisticated lady Cinderella.
“The challenge is how to make her (Cinderella) a human being, not a fairy tale,” says Lea of her Disney/Rodgers and Hammersteins character. “I was like 16 or 17 years old the last time I played Cinderella. I will play the character who is well-loved and known because of the many reincarnations of the Disney movie. I became acquainted with the character at the age of five. (What also challenges me is) to keep it fresh everytime the audience comes in.”
“The music of Cinderella is different. There’s a whole lot of humor (for the character). The Disney movie is for the children. This one is certainly a little older.”
During yesterday’s presscon at Dusit Thani’s Ballroom B, Lea gave everyone a sample of the music she will share with her kababayan come the performance time of Cinderella by singing There is Music in You. It’s an inspirational song that challenges one to follow one’s heart and make that dream come true: Now you’re hearing something new. There’s music in you. Now you can go wherever you want to go. Whatever you want to do and to be. May your wish come true.
Lea’s voice never lost its power in the midst of the accompaniment by the FILharmonika. This is a preview of what many can expect from Cinderella. Lea says she just wants everybody to have a fun time with the another interpretation of the rags-to-riches story.
Cinderella also remains true to its Disney story. It’s about a lady who seeks refuge in her own little corner of the house as she is maltreated by her stepmother and stepsisters Portia and Joy. She dreams of having a better life. That begins when the King and Queen put up a ball for their son Prince to find his true love. In one magical night, Cinderella and The Prince cross paths. The search for true love takes off from there. A glass slipper reunites them and seals a happy-ever-after ending.
Cinderella is directed by Bobby Garcia and Australian actor Peter Saide plays The Prince. The people behind the musical took three years to prepare for its staging and Cinderella will cost about $2-M for the Manila leg. It will also be presented in Hong Kong, China, Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and Korea.
This year, Lea is also celebrating her 30th year in the entertainment business. She says some of the highlights of her career are doing Miss Saigon and Les Miz and winning a Tony award. The awards are welcome blessings but the people she has met through the years are the ones she will treasure more.
Although performing gives her a different high, it’s her daughter whom Lea considers her “greatest joy. It supersedes everything — (even) my work.”
If there’s one thing Lea has shown to everyone for the past years, it’s the importance of striving for excellence. And performers owe that to their audience.