Photo Coverage: Joanna Ampil Manila Concert, 9/18

Together with Tony winner Lea Salonga, husband Rob Chien, and Joanna Ampil's manager Girlie Rodis, BroadwayWorld Philippines attended Ms. Ampil's second solo concert in Manila Saturday evening, September 18, 2010 at Onstage, Greenbelt 1, Ayala Malls, Makati City. 

Aptly titled "Joanna Ampil: West End Girl", London's favorite leading lady Ms. Ampil ("Miss Saigon", "Les Miserables") won the audience with her shifts between vocal styles with an air of ease, whether hitting the ridiculous high notes of "Defying Gravity" (Wicked) or keeping the upbeat tempo of "Man In the Mirror" (Michael Jackson).  Add to that the rich and lush sound of the FILharmoniKA orchestra, conducted by young maestro Gerard Salonga.  It was an evening of plentiful show tunes for the theatre buffs in the audience, and a balanced variety of music from classical pop to standards for the rest of the nearly full-house crowd. 

Alas, there were no Filipino-penned songs in Ms. Ampil's new repertoire.  We thoroughly enjoyed and remembered Ms. Ampil dishing out some pretty Tagalog lyrics of "Mamang Sorbetero", a Celeste Legaspi original, and "Liman-Dipang Tao", a Ryan Cayabyab composition, in her first solo outing at the Music Museum last year. 

Written and directed by Waya Gallardo, "Joanna Ampil: West End Girl" concert repertoire had included:  Overture from "Candide", "As if We Never Said Goodbye" (Sunset Boulevard), "One Day I'll Fly Away" (Moulin Rouge), "I Dreamed a Dream" (Les Miserables), "Healing", "Lately", "Not While I'm Around" (Sweeney Todd"), Barbra Streisand medley, "I'd Give My Life for You" (Miss Saigon), "All I Ask of You" (The Phantom of the Opera), a duet with Ariel Rivera, "The Last Time I Felt Like This", a duet with Ariel Rivera, "I Don't Know How to Love Him" (Jesus Christ Superstar), "Somewhere" (West Side Story), "Let's Hear it for the Boy" (Footloose), "Man in the Mirror", "Knocks Me Off My Feet", "Defying Gravity" (Wicked), "I Am Changing" (Dreamgirls), and encore "For Good" (Wicked). 

Photos by Oliver Oliveros