A Miss Called Lea

World class Filipino artist finally comes to San Francisco! Of course, we are talking about the original Miss Saigon, Lea Salonga.

In the opening show of her first-ever concert tour in the U.S., she chose San Francisco and held the crowd in awe of her voice for almost two hours. The one-night only show was held at the very "intimate" Nob Hill Masonic Auditorium. And she sang the best way she knew how and she was really, really, really good!

No front acts. Like she needs them. From Broadway to standards to pop to two Tagalog songs, she had the crowd in her hands. She talked of her experiences as Miss Saigon, being the voice of Princess Jasmine, the singing voice of Mulan (and now Mulan 2), as Eponine in Les Miserables, doing "Baby" in Manila, her marriage (just celebrated first anniversary). Interpersed with the talk were songs that she mostly chose because of their personal meaning to her. She sang "Reflection", the film version (which ends up as a hit for Christina Aguillera) and I was caught by the surprise of the difference in the lyrics. This was my favorite moment of the entire show (well, it's also one of my favorite songs!). "Someone To Watch Over Me" sung with only a classical guitar accompaniment showed everyone that she doesn't need a fullblown orchestral arrangement to do justice to a song. This is the second best song for me. The two Tagalog songs were "Hahanapin Ko" and "Anak". She talked about how the former song related to the longing that most people have for the motherland. I've always wondered why she sang "Anak" in her previous shows until she explained the "drama" of the song and how it appealed to her as an artist. She sang the song that was cut from Miss Saigon, "Too Much For One Heart", and it's clear why she IS Miss Saigon. "When October Goes", from the musical of Barry Manilow songs, is my third favorite song from the show. She blew me away with her version of it. "On My Own" from Les Miserables has become her staple song but she doesn't just sing it, she gives it more emotion like she did Eponine. "Someone Else's Story" from Chess will always be one of my favorite songs. I am glad that she sang that, too. From Flower Drum Song came "Love, Look Away". This is the song that defined that musical (okay, other than "I Enjoy Being A Girl"!) for me. When I saw it in New York City sometime ago, "Love, Look Away" brought the house down.

All in all, a great show. She showed everyone her mastery of her craft and the control she has of her voice. She showed that even without raising her voice to reach the highest notes, she can reach them without shattering your eardrums and overpowering simple, poignant songs. And not even break a sweat over it. That is called power and what she can do with it if she choses to do so. This is the perfect venue for her, too. Not too big, not too small. Very "Broadway"-theater like. I was wondering how they could sell $200 tickets for the front row seats but those were pretty much the ones that got sold out first. The other great thing about her is that you can understand what she is singing, meaning she pronounces the words very clearly. She doesn't have to resort to any histrionics or other gimmickry to make you believe that she has the voice.

So what's my beef? Well, there are several, of course. The show started at 8:05 (ticket said 8) pm and the place is only two-thirds full. But she doesn't care...As soon as the house lights came down, a lot of people started moving forward to the better seats annoying everybody else who were already in their seats and trying to watch. The ushers were of no help. In the end, people who were in the wrong seats were asked to move when the rightful seat owners arrived. How embarassing! There is a reason why seats are assigned and printed on the tickets: so you don't seat where you're not supposed to be. By the third song, the place was full. Blame it on parking or the lack of available parking in the surrounding area of the venue. Lea, bless her, said something about turning cell phones off because they distract her. I guess some people were not listening or chose not to hear that part. But she would point out the people whose phone would ring! Good for her and how rude of these people! She needs to have a better band! Golly, no one in that band is under 45 years old! I am glad that she has a great voice and can cover for the band but someone could have picked better musicians for her. A string and a horn section would have been great. Gerald Salonga wasn't allowed to be her musical director and lead the band because of musician union rules. Can you imagine seven Caucasian guys trying to play "Anak" and "Hahanapin Ko"? Someone needs to style Lea for these shows. Ugh! A blue sparkling number for the first half of the show and then a very boring red tuxedo for the second part. Neither one was worth remembering except how ugly they were. The bellhops across the street at the Fairmont Hotel were better dressed! I mean, Giorgio Armani, Gucci, Neiman Marcus and Saks Fifth were just down the street! Even Macy's! Oh well...I guess if she had something fabulous on, everyone would remember that instead of her voice.

She is purposely trying to make people see her in a different light and as other than Miss Saigon and she's all grown up now (she was 18 when Miss Saigon opened; she will be 34 in two weeks). She talked of the "fun" in trying to have babies! But in the end, she still is Miss Saigon and will always be. And one more...guess what she song she does for an encore? Why, it's "Tomorrow" from Annie, of course! She gave me goosebumps when I saw first saw her in West End when she opened Miss Saigon and on Broadway; she made me proud to be Filipino when I saw her in Flower Drum Song in New York and again, tonight in San Francisco. She's going to Atlantic City, then Chicago and then finish her tour in Los Angeles. If you're anywhere near these places, yes, she is worth it. Unless you can catch her in her concerts in Manila or ever does another Broadway show, this is as close as you can get.

Now, about that Regine and Pops on April...NOT!