Salonga, whose Broadway credits also include Les Misérables and Flower Drum Song, will be backed by a 28-piece orchestra under the direction of Kevin Stites. The evening — directed by Richard Jay-Alexander — is a benefit for Diverse City Theater Company, a company run by playwrights, directors and actors, whose mission is to encourage diversity in all aspects of the theatre. Concertgoers can expect to hear tunes from Saigon, Les Miz, Flower Drum Song, Baby, Chess, Annie, Oliver!, Jesus Christ Superstar and more.
The two-act evening will also include special guest stars, all hand-picked by Salonga. Liz Callaway, Andrea McArdle and Paolo Montalban — on his night off from the Paper Mill production of Cinderella — will duet with Salonga, and each will perform a solo number as well. Callaway, it should be noted, worked with Salonga in the original Broadway cast of Miss Saigon, and like McArdle, Annie was the musical that made Salonga a star in the Philippines, where actor Montalban was also born.
Lea Salonga burst onto the London and New York theatre scene as Kim in the international hit musical Miss Saigon. For her performance, she was awarded the Laurence Olivier, Tony, Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle and Theatre World awards. On Broadway she was also seen in another Boublil Schönberg musical, Les Misérables, as the ill-fated Eponine, a role she would later repeat in the concert video of the musical. Her most recent Broadway appearance was in the revival of Flower Drum Song.
In her native Philippines, the singer-actress has appeared in productions of Baby, Annie, The Sound of Music, The Goodbye Girl, Paper Moon, The Fantasticks, My Fair Lady, Into the Woods, They're Playing Our Song and, most recently, Proof. On film, Salonga sang the female leads in the Disney animated films "Aladdin" and "Mulan" and has recorded several solo albums.
Carnegie Hall is located on West 57th Street and Seventh Avenue in New York City. Tickets, priced $45-$100, are available by calling (212) 247-7800 or by visiting www.carnegiehall.org. Limited VIP tickets, priced $350, include a post-performance VIP party; call Liz Casasola at (212) 309-9018 or e-mail [email protected]. * For a complete interview with Salonga, Click Here.
