Lea Salonga brings home ‘Stage, Screen, & Everything in Between’

MANILA, Philippines — After five years, Lea Salonga is returning to the Philippine concert scene with “Stage, Screen & Everything in Between.” First mounted in the UK, the two-night show, happening on Nov. 4 and 5 at The Theatre at Solaire, proved to be a certified hit, with tickets selling out just a few hours after they went on sale earlier this week.

The Filipino Broadway icon herself was amazed by the speed at which the tickets sold.

“The concert is officially sold out, and we’re very happy about that. It sold out so fast — even my friends were like, ‘Wait, what happened? We can’t get tickets!’ Well, it’s been a minute since I’ve done a concert, so I’m happy that it turned out the way that it did,” she told The STAR in an exclusive Zoom interview.

“But I’m really, really shocked — happily shocked. Yun na nga, the tickets were gone in a matter of a few hours. I don’t think tickets for my concert have ever sold that fast before hahaha! So, it’s like, oh my gosh! I am stunned, shocked, grateful and extremely elated.

“I definitely have to text everybody in my family just to tell them that this is happening. I think my brother (Gerard Salonga, the musical director) will be very pleased, and I know my whole family will be very pleased.”

Recalling the tour’s success in the UK, Lea shared, “We did eight shows in the UK, and all of us had such a good time! It was music that was so familiar to us, from films we had seen as children or adults, and stuff that took us by surprise that we didn’t know how this was gonna sound. But once we got into rehearsal space, it was like, ‘Oh my God, it’s the coolest thing to do this song!’ Even rehearsals were fun. I always looked forward to performing the concerts. It was just so much fun.”

During the interview, she also described the process of curating the repertoire for the concert. “When we were brainstorming ‘Stage, Screen, & Everything in Between,’ which would encompass music from either the stage, the screen, or in some cases, both, which was a lot of fun, we were trying to determine what music would be really cool to perform. Stuff that was new to the audience’s ears and new for us as artists performing the songs,” she said.

Lea said that they found themselves coming up with a mix of old and new songs, even juxtaposing themes from old films with those from more recent ones, and “putting those together in a way that made sense.”

“Gerard enlisted a whole crew of amazing arrangers and orchestrators who put it all together. They outdid themselves in doing the charts for the concert,” she said.

Of course, presenting it to the Filipino audiences will always be a special moment for Lea.

“I’m really happy to be bringing it to Manila,” she said. “It’s home. It’s always going to be special to be performing at home. It’s been a while since I’ve done a concert in Manila. The last one was in 2019 at the PICC and then the pandemic happened.

“Although I’ve done concerts since the COVID lockdowns were finally lifted, everywhere else in the world, the one place I wasn’t able to do shows was in Manila for whatever reason.

“I’m just, you know, glad that we’re going to do this and it’s possible again to do concerts at home. I’m really looking forward to it. I’m looking forward to presenting this particular concert because we had so much fun doing it in the UK. I have a feeling that the Filipino audiences are gonna take to it.”

She is also excited to return to Solaire, a venue that she is more than familiar with.

“I actually opened The Theatre at Solaire,” she said, referring to the launch of Solaire about a decade ago. “I sang a mashup of I Dreamed a Dream and On My Own for it. I think it was the ABS-CBN Philharmonic (that was there), and Gerard was conducting. So, it’s not my first rodeo at Solaire. I’ve done a few things there, like some private and corporate events.

“The Manila run of ‘Sweeney Todd’ was also in Solaire. It’s nice to be able to come back to a venue where you’re comfortable and you’ve worked with the folks in charge. I enjoy working with them. So the first time (I performed at The Theatre) was over 10 years ago, I think.

“But as far as doing a concert of my own there, yes! It’s the first time I’m doing an actual concert that’s open to the public.”

The Broadway icon’s holiday album Sounding Joy will be released before her comeback shows.

Asked about what else to expect from her comeback show and whether the setlist is tailored to the Filipino audience, she shared, “It’s stuff that I love, and my taste naman isn’t malayo or highbrow as far as that kind of music goes. It was just so enjoyable, and I hope the audience will feel how much fun we’re having on stage.”

“I just want the people to sit back and enjoy the music. I tell stories, I sing, tell some more stories, and sing some more, entirely keeping the atmosphere light and just fun.”

Though the UK repertoire will remain mostly intact, she, nevertheless, mentioned potential changes given that it’s already the Christmas season in the country. “We might nip and tuck here and there. If anything gets thrown out, it’ll be to accommodate Christmas songs.

“It’s imperative that we accommodate the Christmas season. I definitely want to sing Christmas songs, especially since I have a Christmas album coming out. The album drops three days before the first concert in Manila.”

The STAR also asked Lea if she might include a K-pop number, considering that she’s a BTS fan or ARMY, and so are many of the Filipino audience members.

“No, no, I’m not gonna dare that. I don’t have the facility in that language,” she readily admitted.

“If I don’t feel comfortable doing it, I’d rather not. But I will always remain a fan, especially of BTS. Speaking of which, there’s a new single by Megan Thee Stallion featuring RM, and it’s so good! It’s seriously, legitimately good! I’ve been playing it on loop since the day it dropped.”

“If you’re into rap or hip-hop, it’s definitely worth a listen. If it’s not your cup of tea, then you can walk on by, but it’s good,” she further gushed.

“But yeah, I’m a ‘pandemic’ ARMY. But no (I will not perform a BTS song). The closest I got was using Dynamite as curtain call music for my previous tour, but that’s it.

“Maybe eventually, if I find the right song. But it won’t be for this. Because it has to be something from the ‘Stage, Screen, & Everything in Between.’ Even though we have the catch-all ‘everything in between,’ we really stuck to the stage and screen part of it.”

(“Stage, Screen, & Everything in Between” is presented by Solaire Resort Entertainment City with the Union Bank of the Philippines. For details, visit sec.solaireresort.com.)