Lea Salonga, Award-winning Broadway Star and Singing Voice of Disney's Mulan and Princess Jasmine, to Perform Oct. 10
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Lea Salonga, Award-winning Broadway Star and Singing Voice of Disney's
Mulan and Princess Jasmine, to Perform Oct. 10
Release Date: September 24, 2009
BUFFALO, N.Y. -- The Center for the Arts at the University at Buffalo
will present Lea Salonga on Oct. 10 at 8 p.m. in the Mainstage Theatre
in the Center for the Arts on the UB North (Amherst) Campus.
Lea Salonga is an award-winning Filipino singer and actress who is
best known for her acclaimed portrayal of Kim in the musical Miss
Saigon. In the field of musical theater, she is recognized for having
won Olivier, Tony, Drama Desk, Outer Critics and Theatre World awards,
the first to win various international awards for a single role. She
was also the first Asian to play Eponine in the musical Les Misérables
on Broadway. Salonga is the singing voice of Princess Jasmine in the
film Aladdin and Fa Mulan in the films Mulan and Mulan II.
Salonga started as a child star in the Philippines, making her
professional debut in 1978 at the age of seven in the musical The King
and I by Repertory Philippines, and went on to star in several more
musical productions.
She began her recording career at age 10 with her first album, "Small
Voice," which received a gold certification. Her second album, "Lea,"
was released in 1988, and her most recent album "Inspired" was
released in 2007 and has been certified platinum.
Salonga's big breakthrough came when she was selected to play Kim in
the mega-hit musical Miss Saigon in 1989 after a world-wide talent
search. She later won the Olivier for Best Performance by an Actress
in a Musical. When Miss Saigon moved from London to Broadway in 1991,
Salonga subsequently garnered Tony, Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle
and the Theatre World awards for the same role. Between 1993 and 1996,
she was asked periodically to play Kim on Broadway to boost ticket
sales. In 1999, she was invited back to London to close the musical,
and in 2001, Salonga returned to Broadway to close the Broadway
production.
In 1993, upon completion of her initial stint as Kim on Broadway,
Salonga played the role of street waif Eponine in the Broadway
production of Les Misérables. In 1996, Salonga was in Les Misérables
once again, in various ways. She played Eponine in the London
production of the musical, then continued on to do the role in the
musical's U.S. national tour in Hawaii. She capped her Les Misérables
comeback with an invitation from Sir Cameron Mackintosh to play the
same role in the musical's legendary 10th anniversary "dream cast"
presentation at London's Royal Albert Hall.
Salonga continues to perform in musicals worldwide and more recently
began performing concerts. In 2008 she was presented with the highest
honor that can be bestowed upon a Filipino civilian, the Order of
Lakandula by the president of the Philippines.
Tickets for Lea Salonga are $39.50, $31.50. Tickets are available in
the Center for the Arts Box Office from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday
through Friday and at all Ticketmaster locations, including
ticketmaster.com. To charge tickets, call 1-800-745-3000; in Canada,
call 416-870-8000. For group sales, call 716-645-6771. For more
information call 716-645-2787.