IN LOVE WITH LEA SALONGA

 

In light of the recent Asian American employment, or lack thereof, at La Joya Playhouse I’d like to remind everyone that Lea Salonga doesn’t seem to get her due in America... I wonder why...
By David Davila (playwright/song-writer)

Did you know that almost all of Lea Salonga’s recordings were done live?! LIVE!? Isn’t that cray-cray? I mean the girl decides to put on a concert, and she’s so pitch perfect, and in tune, that all they have to do is hire someone to press record, and she has a new album on itunes.

 
Lea. Gurl. Can we talk? I mean, can we talk about how you just don’t get enough recognition in this country? What gives? Time Out New York did a story about the twenty-five greatest divas in Broadway history and they totally left you off the list, and instead included several people who had only been in one Broadway show. I mean…. blasphemy!

Adam Feldman and David Cote obviously have never seen this....


 
(Lea Salonga at Carnegie Hall 2008)
 

We’re talking about the Tony award winning actress from my favorite musical of all time (Miss Saigon), who also happens to be the voice of two Disney princesses. I get upset when people have never even heard of her. The woman is MAD famous in Asia, dawg! MAD! Like Cover of Magazine Famous! In Asia she is a Level 4, and in America she's only at Level 2..... I want her to be Level 4 here too!!!!!!!!!!



She’s the Barbra Streisand of Asia, and rightfully so when you hear that version of “People,” so why the lack of recognition in the states? 

The only person who seems willing to color-blind cast her in America is Cameron Mackintosh, a Brit. Which  makes me scratch my head in amazement. One of the top 10 living voices on the planet, and Broadway producers, American audiences, Hollywood filmmakers even, aren’t fighting over her left and right? Where is Lea’s multi-picture romantic comedy deal? 



(Wouldn't she have been great in some cheesy 90's romantic comedies? Where are the Asians in main stream Hollywood films? Seems like they're only cast in stereotypical roles.)

When I go to see Ms. Salonga live, I'm one of only a few non-Filipino audience members. Where are the rest of the gay men in America?

What I’m trying to say I suppose, is that Lea Salonga shouldn’t just be a Filipino National Treasure. She should be an International Treasure, but for some reason Americans have brushed her aside as an “Asian singer,” as if that is some kind of subgenre of “regular singers.” It’s as if mentally people make a subconscious statement in their head thinking “Oh, she’ll never get to play any of the great roles so I really shouldn’t pay attention to her.”

Lea Salonga has the type of voice that inspires Oprah or Ellen to dedicate an hour long telecast to her, sending millions of people out to buy her recordings; but that never happened. 

Indeed Oprah and Ellen both invited Charice Pampengo on their programs only to see her album fail in the states, unlike in Asia where it became a giant hit. 

 
(Charice's international hit PYRAMID, which received no radio airplay in the states.)

So I have to ask if the problem here isn’t within the industry but actually somewhere among the American people who aren’t willing to accept an Asian superstar unless they are playing the stereotypical role of ninja warrior. 

Exhibit C (After Lea, and Charice) is Jessica Sanchez, the Filipino-American who lost the crown on American Idol this season even though she possesses what is possibly the greatest voice since Whitney Houston. There are a million reasons why Jessica might have lost the crown and I’m not going to pull an Elton John and claim that America is racist (though plenty of Americans are), but I am going to challenge America to accept the fact that the next great pop diva might just be Jessica Sanchez, an Asian-American. 

 
(Jessica Sanchez: the next great pop diva - hopefully...)

It’s the little losses like Jessica Sanchez that actually do make me question whether Americans harbor some sort of racism towards Asian-Americans. Maybe it's not racism, but it seems that we just haven't made the necessary advancements in this country to include Asians into the fabric of our pop culture.

I bring this up now because the Asian American Performers Action Coalition has issued a complaint towards La Joya Playhouse’s production of Duncan Shiek’s new musical The Nightingale for casting only two Asian actors in a musical that takes place in China. The AAPAC has been fighting desperately to gain equal recognition in the performing arts and everytime something like this happens they see it as a blow toward their cause. 

(Bobby Steggert as a Chinese Emperor in Duncan Shiek's THE NIGHTINGALE... I guess Telly Leung, Jose Llana, and Ethan Le Phong weren't available.)

FYI: Photo is courtesy of Annoying Actor Friend on Twitter... you should totally be following him.

I’m pretty darn sure Duncan Shiek never intended it to be hurtful towards the AAPAC's cause. The creative team of The Nightingale probably thought they were creating a post-modern color-blind cast that represented the one they created in Spring Awakening, which had a mixed cast of white, black, asian, and jewish actors though the story was set in the Aryan world of Germany at the turn of the 20th century.

If you really want to understand what it might be like to be an Asian American actor fighting for parts, or to be on the casting side of an Asian play, you MUST read David Henry Hwang’s masterpiece, YELLOW FACE. This is one of the most power and poignant plays I have ever experienced, and I swear the brilliant ending monologue will have you in tears. This play would have won the Pulitzer had it not been competing against August: Osage County that year. READ IT!!!!

Regardless of how The Nightingale drama ends I hope we can use this episode to examine the way we view race. Racism towards Asians, or the lack of representation of Asians in pop culture isn’t really talked about by anyone except Margaret Cho, who most people don’t take seriously (which is a big mistake). 

 
(The Asian Chicken salad scene from Margaret Cho's REVOLUTION)

So now you’re saying, that’s great David, but if Asians need to play Asians in Asian plays, then how can you contradict yourself by requesting that Lea Salonga play the spicy Latina, Eva Peron on Broadway? (I mean wouldn't she be brilliant?) And to that I say; you’re right, this is a really effed up slipperly slope that we call casting, and talent, and I don’t have the answer to that.

All I can do is try to get you to fall in love with Lea Salonga’s amazing ability to perform a song, and hope that one of you talented composers out there reading this blog, might be inspired to write a new role for Lea.

A role that transcends race, something that can be performed by anyone anywhere. Something that only an amazing performer like Lea Salonga, or Liza Minnelli, or Barbra Streisand, or Audra McDonald, or Patti Lupone, or Bernadette Peters could interpret.... because I do believe that Lea should be included among those ladies... and as long as she isn’t included on that list then Americans will still be allowed to push aside Asian singers....

And now I’d like to acquaint you with some of her best recordings, I know you're dirt poor so I will go through several of her albums (yes I have them all) and highlight which stuff you really need on your ipod:

THE JOURNEY SO FAR

Someone to Watch Over Me - when I first heard her do this stripped down perfectly in tune version in Austin, TX I crapped my pants and melted into the crap... being in the same room as the frequencies that come from her vocal chords is unreal.

IN LOVE
Don’t Know What to Do Don’t Know What To Say - this song always gets stuck in my head, it’s fantastic!

MISS SAIGON: ORIGINAL LONDON CAST RECORDING
Do NOT get the 1995 Complete Cast Recording... that is NOT Lea on the recording, look for the sticker that verifies it has Lea. Do not be fooled... and I have never been a fan of the re-written Broadway lyrics, or the orchestration of the final scene. Stick to the original cast recording ALWAYS!!!!


INSPIRATION
Two Words - a song she sang for her husband at their wedding
When The Winter’s Gone - never has she sounded more like Karen Carpenter than here...


LEA SALONGA LIVE: Vol I & II
All of it!!!! Spring for the entire two volume set... I promise it’s worth it... If you can’t afford it, then at least get the Disney Medley. Her version of Go The Distance is breathtaking. She makes the song sound like a masterpiece. Alan Menken, hello, you should have written Lea a show years ago!


SONGS FROM THE SCREEN:
Somewhere Over The Rainbow... because no one can ever get tired of this song, and her version is immaculate.

LEA SALONGA: THE BROADWAY CONCERT
For some reason this album isn’t available on itunes anymore, but it’s available on DVD, and it comes with the CD. This entire concert is amazing, and I recommend getting the whole thing, but again if you can’t, make sure you get Nothing. Her version is literally the best acted/sang version of this song I’ve ever seen. A masterclass in acting. Also I’ve Never Been in Love Before is like a hot knife through butter. Ouch! Amazzaballs!

 

(NOTHING from Lea Salonga's Broadway Concert)

..... and now for the 90's jam of the week:

 

DAVID DAVILA is half of the song-writing duo Havrilla & Davila, author of the Tex-Mex plays ADAN Y JULIO, MEN OF GOD, CREDO, REQUERDOS OF MY LIFE, and AZTEC PIRATES AND THE INSIGNIFICANCE OF LIFE ON MARS. He is a self-proclaimed Voxist, Diva enthusiast, and the founder of Lone Star Theatre Co. Catch a concert of his 52 Songs project Sept 5th at the Laurie Beechman Theatre. Wanna talk about it? www.daviddavila.net
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Comments

[Shoshana]

I have been a huge Lea Salonga fan ever since Miss Saigon came to Broadway when I was 9. I remember writing her fan mail (never sent) on an old Word Processor. I agree that she should be more famous than she is, but I do remember seeing her when she returned to Miss Saigon right before it closed and I attempted to visit her at the stage door. It was a mob scene. So many fans. I'd love to see her on Broadway again.

[David Davila]

Me too!!! She is supposed to come back to Broadway in ALLEGIANCE: THE MUSICAL about Japanese-Americans during WWII... I hope the show makes it all the way!

[Christina Aranda]

Oh David! Yes! I got the Broadway CD way back when it first came out... but I had to send off to MANILA to get it! That was 2 weeks of anticipation, but when I got it...ugh, couldn't HANDLE how amazing she was on it!

[David Davila]

That album is amazing!!!! There are several albums that are amazing that I didn't even mention.... I have been waiting for the YOUR SONGS album... but it hasn't been released in the US... I think you can import the Asian DVD of it though... she sings Lady Gaga and Elton John and other requests from her fans...

[Christina Aranda]

That's the only one I have. Plus the Miss Saigon full London - ridiculous. I play it on long car rides, which always result in me crying and driving.

[David Davila]

Oh my Gosh I do too!!!!! the drive from San Antonio to McAllen was always easier when two and a half hours were spent with MISS SAIGON... but you need to get the LIVE Vol 1 & 2.... that one is probably her best recording.

[Gleek]

She's amazing talented but why does Idina and Kristen gets more projects than her? although Lea's concerts are mostly sold out.