Lea Salonga 'Backstory' 11/20/2009
Mich
http://showbizandstyle.inquirer.net/entertainment/entertainment/view/20091120-237293/Coming-home--again
BACKSTORY
Backstory : Coming home … again
By Lea Salonga
Philippine Daily Inquirer
Posted date: November 20, 2009
MANILA — The best part about being away from home is … coming home. My
two-month North American tour is over and I’m writing this on the
flight back to the Philippines.
I had an absolute blast performing across the United States and
Canada. The audiences were all fantastic! To everyone who came to
watch, thank you all so very much.
Though the tour in its entirety was great, there are a few things that
stand out in my mind, moments that I will not soon forget.
We are family
At just about every single stop, there was at least one family member
or best friend in attendance. I can count with the fingers of one hand
the cities where there was no one that I knew.
That minimized the loneliness factor that usually accompanies a tour.
It was as if God was watching over me via those loved ones, who also
brought food backstage (my Aunt Jutay in Texas brought her three-bean
salad and “beyond the grave” chicken salad to my Austin concert);
watched my daughter backstage when our yaya couldn’t be there (thanks,
Ate Grace from Toronto, and it was great meeting your Ila, too!); took
me to lunch or dinner (Kuya Arnel, Ate Len and Auntie Lourdes, old
high school friends Danny, Ria and teacher Luchie); or just hung out
(the Imutans from Stockton, Ca.).
Beautiful venues
The venues were darn good. We played a couple of old houses and many
new ones. All were nicely fitted as far as equipment was concerned,
but my jaw dropped in awe of some performance spaces:
1) Cerritos Performing Arts Center. It was my second time performing
here. I love the acoustics, and just how pretty the house is—from the
seats to the chandeliers.
2) Tarrytown Music Hall. A lovely little theater only an hour away
from Manhattan. Because it was built before the time of amplification,
even the slightest whisper can be heard in the back row.
3) The Venue at Horseshoe Casino (Hammond, Indiana). This place was
built especially for live events, and it shows.
4) Paramount Theater (Austin). Said to be one of the original
Paramount Theaters in the US. As with a lot of older houses, the
acoustics are amazing, and there was obviously much care put into the
construction and interior design.
5) Pechanga Casino (Temecula, California). This is so beautiful! It’s
a very new theater, and built very well. I also like that the casino
allows kids to watch shows here.
New Aladdins
In November 2005, I asked an audience member to sing “A Whole New
World” with me in Carnegie Hall. Since then I’ve periodically called
someone to the stage whenever it felt right. On this last tour I did
that at every single performance. That meant a brand new Aladdin every
night.
For the most part, a young (or young-at-heart) gentleman would
volunteer, but from time to time we’d get a curve ball thrown in our
direction! At one performance, a young lady came up; at another, seven
people! It was a challenge subdividing the song so that everyone could
get a turn at the microphone, but it was such fun!
I learned later that one “Aladdin” had been told by his doctors that
he would never speak, much less sing, ever again. His name is
Aristotle and he’s from Toronto, and he shared this on Twitter. I was
flabbergasted by this, and totally inspired. So, Aristotle, though you
said thanks, let me thank you back for being an inspiration. You rock!
One more thing: Every single Filipino volunteer who came up on stage
was nothing short of amazing. Magaling talagang umawit ang mga
Pilipino.
Again, again
As this moment I have bookings for 2010 (a reading in February, a
three-week cabaret engagement in March, and “Cats” in Manila in July),
and I already have requests for 2011 from many of the venues that I’ve
performed at this year. Hurray!
Congratulations
To the cast and crew of Repertory Philippines’ production of “Sweeney
Todd,” congratulations!
If you haven’t seen it, I urge you to go. This is one of Stephen
Sondheim’s best, and one of my favorite musicals to listen to. I
myself can’t wait to see it.
Congratulations also to Gerard Salonga and the members of
FILharmoniKA! Yes, Ger, I know it’s hard music, but when did you ever
shirk from a challenge?
My website is undergoing an overhaul. Watch this space for its
unveiling date.
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