Lea Salonga Concert- Washington, DC
Lea Salonga Concert- Washington, DC
#0Lea Salonga Concert- Washington, DC
Posted: 7/24/05 at 12:37pm
Last night, Lea did a one-night only concert at the Warner Theatre in DC. I have been a fan of Lea since 1991 when I bought the Saigon OCR. I never had the opportunity to see her live, but at 13, she was my favorite Broadway singer. I wore out my Saigon cassette tape, so was excited to see her in person.
Did anyone else attend? I was one of the token non-Filipino girls there...haha. I got a laugh out of when a girl nearby asked me how I heard of Lea and I replied I heard her sing in Miss Saigon. I think I stuck out. She turned to others nearby, said something in Tagalog (to include "Miss Saigon"), and they all looked at me oddly...
The theater was 3/4 filled in the center orchestra section, but there was maybe a maximum of 10 people in the side sections. I am not sure about the balcony, but perhaps the attendance had something to do with the fact that the best seats were $150 (though this price included a meet-and-greet thing after the show). Apart from a crying baby and someone chewing on ice nearby, and camera flashes (even after she requested it to stop) it was a great experience, musically-speaking.
Her song list was pretty varied- everything from "Reflection" in Mulan (an extended version), to Rodgers and Hammerstein tunes, to Gershwin, to Sondheim, to a song from "Baby" that she did in the Manila, to "Tomorrow" from Annie. Of course she included "On my Own" also. She also performed "Too Much for One Heart" which was cut from Miss Saigon during technical rehearsals, but was morphed into the Kim/John duet "Please" in the frozen version of the show to move the plot along better. She also sang "Love Look Away" from FDS and claimed it was the most beautiful song she has ever sung.
Favorites of mine included "Someone Elses's Story" (Chess), "On My Own" and "Being Alive." She did not disappoint me- I still find her voice to be one of the most clear and controlled on Broadway, and liked her song choices, but some of the other people around me mentioned they were disappointed she did not sing any Tagalog songs and that she had become "too Americanized." In her defense, the show was billed as Lea singing Disney tunes and showtunes.
She seemed quite comfortable on stage and told stories between numbers to segway into the next song. I would have preferred she cut down on this a bit, but I understand her intent. Of note, she claimed that musical theater is number one in her life and that 3 of the roles she would most like to play include Elphaba, Sara Ramirez's role in "Spamalot", and Eva. I don't quite see her as an Elphaba..., but hey, what do I know?
Overall, it was a fun night and I hope to see Lea on the boards again soon.
"Why do you care what people might say? Why try to fit into their design?" (Side Show)
Updated On: 7/24/05 at 12:37 PM
sanda
Broadway Legend Joined: 11/10/04
#1re: Lea Salonga Concert- Washington, DC
Posted: 7/24/05 at 12:52pm
Thanks for the review. I heard the concert news but the ticket is a little expensive for me.
I love Lea in Miss Saigon but her Eponine never moved me. I normally prefer show than concert.
Glad to know that you have a good time.
#2re: Lea Salonga Concert- Washington, DC
Posted: 7/24/05 at 1:04pmI normally prefer shows to concerts too- but I had never had the opportunity to see her so I bought the $55 rear orchestra seats so I could at least see her perform once if she never comes back to the Broadway stage again.
"Why do you care what people might say? Why try to fit into their design?" (Side Show)
Mamie
Broadway Legend Joined: 3/26/04
#3re: Lea Salonga Concert- Washington, DC
Posted: 7/24/05 at 1:11pmI didn't see Lea in "Miss Saigon" but I absolutely loved her in "Flower Drum Song" and I probably would have gone IF I'D KNOWN ABOUT IT. I didn't and (frankly) that price would have probably turned me off. Warner seems like it would be way too big for a show like this.
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mamie4 5/14/03
A click for life.
mamie4 5/14/03
#4re: Lea Salonga Concert- Washington, DC
Posted: 7/24/05 at 2:52pm
lol, I love Lea too! I'm Filipina, so my whole entire family has been listening to her since she was A KID. (yes, my aunt owns a bunch of CD's where she's singing songs like the alphabet! haha)
Anyways, Miss Saigon came out the year I was born (89, right?) so, unforunately, I never got to see it. And even when they did it again, I was still too young to handle the adult situations of the story.
But, anyways, I've grown up listening to her songs, both in Tagalog and English. And I think that it is totally awesome that her fanbase goes past the Philippines! Miss Saigon is one of my favorite musicals now because of her, and she is my role model. I want to get into musical theater too, and she has been my inspiration the whole entire way.
Hopefully I'll be able to see her in concert one day. That would be a dream come true. :)
My name is Jamie.
NYU class of 2011!!!
#5re: Lea Salonga Concert- Washington, DC
Posted: 7/24/05 at 2:56pm
Glad to hear you had a great time at her concert! I saw her in concert here in Hawaii last December and it was great. I did enjoy her little stories between songs and the fact that she stayed onstage to field audience questions during intermission. 
Updated On: 7/24/05 at 02:56 PM
o_kheem_o
Chorus Member Joined: 7/18/05
#6re: Lea Salonga Concert- Washington, DC
Posted: 7/27/05 at 5:52pmi am in the D.C. area.. and was so disappointed when i couldn't go to her concert... she's been a role model since forever! but i do agree with KChenowethfan on her stories in between songs.. i have her live broadway songs concert dvd.. and those stories do get kinda... i don't know.. they just don't fit. oh well.. she's lea salnga.. she can say whatever she wants co'z her singing just makes you not care afterwards.. Ü
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