Tony Award winner Lea Salonga makes her cabaret debut @ Café Carlyle (New York)
Wednesday, March 17, 2010 at 9:56PM
I was excited to read that Olivier and Tony Award winner star Lea Salonga made her cabaret debut at the Café Carlyle (New York) last Tuesday in an exclusive three-week engagement.
Her autobiographical show titled The Journey So Far follows her career, which began in her native Philippines three decades ago. Since then, she gained international acclaim as a musical star in Miss Saigon, and Le Miserables, as well as the singing voice of heroines in Disney animated motion pictures Aladdin and Mulan.
Salonga will be supported by a quartet lead by her Musical Director and pianist Larry Yurman and the season continues to the 27th of March.
I really wish I could go to the show to see how she crosses over from a Broadway/West End/Hollywood star to a cabaret artist. She seems to be (wisely) playing it safe and the show is getting positive reviews. Here’s hoping that it is the beginning of her long and successful cabaret career.
The Journey So Far
Tues.-Thurs. at 8.45pm General seating, $75 per person; VIP seating, $125 per person; Bar, $45 per person
Friday at 8.45pm General seating, $85 per person; VIP seating, $125 per person; Bar, $45 per person
Saturday at 8.45pm & 10.45pm General seating, $85 per person; VIP seating, $125 per person; Bar, $45 per person
The Café Carlyle 35 East 76th Street at Madison Avenue
For booking call 212-744-1600. For more information, visit www.thecarlyle.com.
Reviews from the Press:
From The New York Times
A bright, utilitarian voice that sweeps across continents as it conjures the aspirations of the inner princesses in millions of nice young women from Manila to London: no, it’s not Celine Dion, but Lea Salonga, the demure 39-year-old Philippine star whose autobiographical show, “The Journey So Far,” opened a three-week engagement at Café Carlyle on Tuesday evening.
Ms. Salonga is the vocal personification of what might be called the Broadway and Hollywood international style, which embraces Disney songs, Rodgers and Hammerstein ballads and the anthems of Schönberg and Boublil. Hers is a talent groomed to express inspirational generalities that please most of the people most of the time without taxing their emotions. Beyond an eagerness to please, impersonality is its signature quality.
Read the rest of the review by Stephen Holden here.
From The Theatre Mania
As this is her first official foray into cabaret, it’s not surprising that Salonga adopts a fairly traditional approach to the genre. She introduces herself through “Salamat, Salamat Musika,” a song from her native country, The Philippines, and then intertwines her early personal and musical history as a child performer though an enchanting section that includes spirited renditions of “Sing,” “Tomorrow,” and “Matchmaker, Matchmaker” — as well as a hilarious recitation of the Girl Scout pledge.
It’s her courtship and eventual marriage to Rob Chien, however, that leads to the strongest section of her act — and the one that veers from a “greatest hits” format. Salonga belts out a snappy “Something’s Comin,” which is followed by an extraordinarily heartfelt pairing of “Fallin’” and “I Still Believe in Love” (both from They’re Playing Our Song), a pitch-perfect take on Marcy Heisler and Zina Goldrich’s pattery “There’s Nothing I Wouldn’t Do,” a breathtakingly beautiful version of the Gershwin’s “Someone to Watch Over Me,” and a positively lovely rendition of “Two Words.” In each of these songs, Salonga’s exquisite technique and commitment to the song is unmissable.
Read the rest of the review by Brian Scott Lipton here.
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If you enjoyed this post, you might also like these previous entries:
Lea Salonga Blogs About The ‘Journey So Far’ Opening Night
Barb Jungr’s ‘River’ show @ Cafe Carlyle reviewed
London Singing Sensation Barb Jungr Returns to Cafe Carlyle to Launch New Series (New York)
Reader Comments (1)
i still wanna see her guesting in GLEE.... paging GLEE producers!!!!