Lea on return to Philippine theater: Very intimidating!

Tony Award-winning actress Lea Salonga returns to Philippine stage in Atlantis Productions’ and The Singapore Repertory Theatre’s staging of Yasmina Reza’s Tony Award-winning comedy God of Carnage.

God of Carnage won the Tony and Olivier Award in 2009 for Best Play. It is about two pairs of parents, one of whose child has hurt the other at a public park, who meet to discuss the matter in a civilized manner. However, as the evening goes on, the parents become increasingly childish, resulting in the evening devolving into chaos. It was also recently made into a film titled Carnage, directed by Roman Polanski and starring Jodie Foster, Kate Winslet, Cristoph Waltz and John C. Reilly.

God of Carnage will mark Lea’s return to a straight play, her last being Proof almost 10 years ago, also with Atlantis Productions. She will be joined by Singaporean actor Adrian Pang (whom she performed with in They’re Playing Our Song 12 years ago), award-winning actress Menchu Lauchengco-Yulo, and The Kitchen Musical star and award-winning actor Art Acuña. It will be directed by Bobby Garcia.

Bobby says, “It has been one of the great thrills of my career to direct Yasmina Reza’s beautifully demanding play. To collaborate with Lea, Menchu, Art and Adrian, four amazingly brave actors is icing on the cake. I am so proud of the collaboration and I can’t wait to share the show with Manila and Singapore audiences.”

God of Carnage will run in Manila starting tomorrow, July 13, until July 22 at the Carlos P. Romulo Auditorium, RCBC Plaza, Makati City. It will run in Singapore in November. Although deeply entrenched in daily rehearsals, Lea was gracious enough to catch up and answer some questions:

How does it feel to be doing your first straight play in 10 years?

“Intimidating, to be honest. Firstly, I’m far better interpreting song lyrics than spoken paragraphs of text. Second, I’m performing with people who are far more comfortable (not to mention better) with plays than I am. However, I’ve taken acting lessons which illuminated a lot of what I found so mysterious and elusive about the craft of acting that I’d like to think I’ve gotten somewhat better at figuring out how to map a character’s arc through a show. Before, where my script was still quite clean and pristine even after a run was over, now it looks like it fell into a barrel of pencils, especially the first few pages. So again, how does it feel? Intimidating... and very fulfilling. Our days have been so much fun and collaborative.”

What attracted you to God Of Carnage?

“I saw this play in New York (at the time, it starred Jeff Daniels, Janet McTeer, Dylan Baker and Lucy Liu) and was roaring with laughter. It was a well-written script, and the cast just kept the action going. I’d rather not say much more, for fear of revealing too much.”

What is God Of Carnage about? What can audiences expect?

“It is about two sets of parents that meet in order to discuss their children. One couple’s son hit another couple’s son with a stick on a playground following a heated exchange of words. What starts out as a civil coming together ends up in... for lack of a better word... carnage. But don’t worry, no one dies at the end. After all, this is a comedy.”

The show reunites you with Adrian Pang. What was it like working with Adrian in They’re Playing Our Song?

“Adrian was the most generous actor working on that show. I was a bit frightened at the beginning since the show was a two-hander, essentially. All the dialogue and drama happens between our two characters, but he really held my hand throughout the process. We really had to be partners through it all, and we were.”

How does it feel working together again after almost 12 years?

“Funnily enough, it doesn’t feel like 12 years have passed. It’s as if we’re just picking up from wherever it was we left off. It’s so nice to have that kind of dynamics with someone. I’m so incredibly happy that I get to work with him again for the Manila run, and then later this year for the Singapore run.”

What is it like working with Menchu and Art?

“Now Menchu is someone I work with far more frequently, whether it’s a concert or a musical. This is our seventh show together (not even counting concerts and other miscellany) so it’s always special. Also, she’s one of my daughter’s ninangs. It’s always nice to share the stage with a good friend. As for Art, I’ve never worked with him, but I knew him by reputation and from mutual friends. He’s so talented and witty, and a great presence in the show.”

What have rehearsals been like?

“Oh wow... how can I describe rehearsals... plenty of laughter amidst the seriousness of putting up a show. There are plenty of discussions between all of us, whether it’s one actor to another, or one actor with Bobby. And Bobby tends to tease our two ASM’s to no end. Then again, there is always someone that draws his attention in that way. It hasn’t been the actors, so it’s been the crew.”

What happens next after God Of Carnage?

“In between Carnage runs, I’ll be performing in a musical called Allegiance at the Old Globe Theater in San Diego. We open in late September, and finish up in late October, after which I head to Singapore immediately for Carnage pick-up rehearsals and its three-week run.”

Are there any plans to bring your much-heralded Café Carlyle Cabaret shows to Manila?

“I don’t think so... each cabaret show is created specifically for the venue. I do perform bits and pieces of the show at other venues whenever it’s appropriate though.”

How do you juggle being a wife, a mother, and an international performer traveling the world all at the same time?

“To be honest, I don’t know. I try to keep my priorities straight, and schedule commitments in such a way that I get plenty of time with my family while still being able to work. Whenever I have to be away from Manila for a really long time, I take my daughter along with me, with a helper or my mother. Plus, technology helps a lot, with plenty of video chats.”

Do you still have “dream roles”?

“I don’t know that I still have any... it’d be nice to play Evita someday, but that doesn’t seem as important anymore. I’ve been able to perform quite a few roles that many other actresses would consider dreams to play, so I’m a pretty lucky girl already. My cup runneth over and over.”

(For tickets to God Of Carnage, call Atlantis Productions at 892-7078.)