As The World Turns, which is the title of the primetime soap (aired afternoons all over the USA) Lea is starring in, so does Lea’s life, turning round and round in circles like a multi-colored dream.
"When my stint with Miss Saigon ended (in Manila third week of December last year and in New Year end of last January when she closed the long-running megahit Cameron Mackintosh musical on Broadway, reprising her role as Kim), "I thought I’d be idle for months and months. I was ready to take a long vacation."
But then, the As The World Turns offer came along and back to work she went. She has also been tapped as image model of Bayo, a line of ladies’ apparel by Lyncor, Inc. It’s Bayo clothes Lea is wearing on this page and the same one she wore when, after a one-on-one conducted at the Marriott Hotel room of Ferdinand "Ferdy" Agustin, Lyncor president, in Manhattan four weeks ago (it was Ferdy who facilitated the appointment with Lea), we all walked together in the streets of Manhattan to a Korean restaurant a dozen blocks away where Michael waited with a big smile.
Lea wore a bright sweater and pants by Bayo and rubber shoes that helped her walk the distance without catching her breath. A true-blue New Yorker, yes. At the Korean restaurant, Lea sat beside Michael (naturally!), very casual and very relaxed – and very different from the Lea Salonga back home who can be uncomfortably prim and proper.
The whole afternoon prior to the following Conversation, Lea was at a TV studio also in Manhattan, taping for an episode in As The World Turns in which she plays a lawyer, a role that requires some "reinventing" of her wholesome image. Her mom, Ligaya Salonga, left for Manila the day before with Lea’s brother Gerard; while Michael was going back to L.A., where he lives, the day after.
You just came from the taping of As The World Turns. What episode did you shoot today?
(Hesitating) Hmmm. I can’t really reveal too much about it because, hmmm, I’m not supposed to talk about it. Every episode unfolds something new, mayroong surprise, so I’d rather not preempt the show. I might be called a spoiler; I don’t want to spoil anything.
You’ve been on the soap for how many episodes now?
(Mentally counting) Quite a few... maybe about 10... or even more. My Mom has 13 or 14 tapes of the show so I guess I must have been in 14 episodes so far. My contract is good for three months (one season good for 13 episodes). It might be extended to I’m not sure how many more months yet.
Could you tell us more about your role in the soap?
I play Lian Hills, a lawyer who’s very passionate about her work. She’s the daughter of another lawyer, Tom Hills, who’s a long-standing character in the soap, and her mother is a Vietnamese nurse. The character (Lian Hills) first appeared in Oakdale, a town in Illinois, in 1988, with Meng Na Wen (Joy Luck Club, etc.) as the actor. Umalis siya (Lian Hills) in 1991 and she reappears in Year 2001, with me as the actor.
I understand As The World Turns is a long-running soap.
It’s been running for 45 years already... imagine! Ganoon katagal. We celebrated its 45th anniversary last April 2.
I guess several of those in the original cast have died or have retired.
One of them is still around, whose line was the very first to be added on the show. Her name is Helen Wagner and she plays my great-grandmother.
How did you get into the show? Did you have to audition?
I had to audition.
Just like everybody else?
Just like everybody else. I thought that after doing Miss Saigon in January (for the farewell show on Broadway, after a three-month stint in Manila reprising her role as Kim) I’d be jobless for a long time. I was already planning to take a long vacation, to travel and see my friends. And then my agent called me and said, "Would you be interested in appearing on a soap?" I said, "Yeah, why not?" One fine morning, we met with the show producer. Things happened very fast. I auditioned on a Friday and then I got word that I got the job the following Monday. The following Thursday, I did a photo session for the show’s 45th anniversary presentation. Everything happened in one week. That fast. Feb. 12 was my first taping day.
How did you prepare for the role?
I read up a little bit on Lian Hills and on the soap, although I wasn’t able to brush up on lawyers. This soap has many, many fans; they go back years and years and years. They know the character(s) very well. So what I did was surf the Internet. There was news of my joining the soap and that I’d be playing the character Lian Hills who was coming back. There were discussions about her. Many people know her history very well at ’yon na lang ang binasa ko sa Internet. It didn’t really take that much preparation.
Aside from As The World Turns, what are you busy with here in New York?
(Breaking into laughter) Life! Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha! I’m busy with the laundry, cleaning my apartment... life!
You’re living alone (with Ligaya in Manila).
I live alone, yeah.
How’s the adjustment period so far – you know, from being spoiled/pampered (by Ligaya) to fending for yourself?
Okay naman. I wouldn’t consider myself spoiled because my Mom trained me to do household chores. I’ve got to do my own laundry and my own bed, and clean up my own mess. My Mom is a cleanliness freak; she cleans the house so well that I can never be half as good. But I can manage, thank you.
What’s the difference between your life here and your life in Manila?
I would say that I am a bit pampered in Manila. I have a maid, I have a driver, some people make things easy for me. But I have more privacy in New York. Hindi ako nakikilala dito, e. I can walk around, walk anywhere. Puwede akong mag-suroy-suroy kahit saan without anybody recognizing me. Even if they do (recognize me), they simply nod and smile. Or sometimes, they ask very politely, "Excuse me, are you Lea Salonga?" I smile back and say, "Yes, I am." Then they say, "Oh, I saw you in Miss Saigon," and after that, they pretty much leave me alone.
You prefer it that way.
Oh, yes, I do. Sometimes, I have to run to the corner store and I don’t have to really fix myself. I just put my hair up in a ponytail and off I go. I can’t do that in Manila. When I go out, I make sure that my hair is okay, my dress is okay, everything in me is okay. Dapat pulidong-pulido ako when I go out, you know. If you’re a celebrity in Manila, kilalang-kilala ka. It doesn’t matter whether you’ve achieved success or notoriety, people know who you are so you always have to look good.
What is it about Manila that you miss when you’re here in New York?
Siempre my family. My family lives there, in our house, my brother (Gerard) and my Mom. I miss the very colorful show business back home; there’s nothing like it in other parts of the world.
Are you up-to-date on what’s happening in Philippine showbiz?
Yes, I know all the tsismis. There are some that I’d rather not hear or read.
Such as what?
Well, such as those about mothers and daughters fighting. For me, that’s not for the public to get into; it’s none of the public’s business. It’s something that I’d rather not know. So when somebody from Manila tells me tsismis about mothers and daughters quarreling, I stop him and say, "Don’t even tell me that." Me, I really have a good relationship with my Mom. I mean, we have ups and downs, we have our arguments, we have our fights. But those are things that I would never splash across the pages of a newspaper for whatever sake, you know. It’s so tasteless!
How do you maintain your good relationship with your mother?
You’ve got to know when you are being unreasonable, you’ve got to know how to give and take – I guess I’ve got to give her a lot of concessions because she’s much older. Besides, she is my mother! We’re both moody and temperamental but because she’s my Mom, I have to respect her. She tells me, "Anak, alam ko makulit ako. But you know that I’m like that because I love you and I care for you." And I understand her.
Are you so dependent on your mother that you might be helpless without her?
Let’s put it this way: I don’t think I’ll be able to leave her alone. Living in New York is probably one of the toughest things to do – alone. New York is a tough city and you’ve got to be a pretty tough person to live and survive here. Here, the pace is fast, very fast. Everybody is doing his own thing, everybody has his own agenda, everybody lives his own life. There’s such an energy that creeps up to your feet. You either love it or hate it. Me, I knew from the very start that I’d love this city. My Mom knows that I can pretty much take care of myself and I’ve proven to her that I can. I have several friends here and if I need them or if they need me, we’re sure that we can take care of each other. My Mom is very safe with that knowledge.
The streets of New York can be very dangerous. How do you protect yourself?
That’s a misconception about New York. You have to know how to behave on the streets.
As in... no eye contact with strangers?
It doesn’t really matter. You can make eye contact or whatever it is, it’s fine. Just don’t stare at tourists because the more you do that, the more you yourself will look like a tourist. A lot of people in this city are from out of town. A lot of people who live in this city are originally not from this city; they’re out-of-towners. They’re from Ohio, or from Idaho or from whatever. You just have to know when to be out on the streets or when to take the subway or when not to. I take the subway by myself, or the cab.
What about your studies?
I’m on leave from school (Fordham University) because I have many other things to do. I took Philosophy and History but I haven’t chosen a major yet.
Another Broadway play that you might do in the near future? Do you still dream of doing Evita someday soon? Or are you too young for the role?
Well, I’m 30 now, but I don’t feel quite ready for it yet. But that’s fine. There are so many other roles that I’d like to play as well, like Annie Get Your Gun and others. I don’t really have any dream role. I just keep on working and continue doing what I love to do. It doesn’t matter if I end up as a support to the lead or I’m the lead. In As The World Turns, I’m just one of the many people in the cast. There are at least 30 of us in the cast. Maybe even more.
Even if you’re in New York, you manage to find work back home, like you’re finishing another album for BMG Pilipinas, Inc.
It’s called Sounds From the Screen, which is actually a "live" recording of a concert that I did with the MPO (Manila Philharmonic Orchestra), conducted by my brother (Gerard). All I have to do is mix the sound and take the best performances and put them together.
Is this your first collaboration with Gerard?
No. It’s our second "live" concert that will be released as an album. The first was Lea Live 1 and 2 quite a while ago.
And you’re also the new endorser of Bayo (Ilonggo for Baro as in dress).
Bayo is very comfy; looks good on me. Before Mom and I finalized the negotiations with Lyncor, Inc. (maker of Bayo), I requested for a few samples and tried them. They fit perfectly and I love them!
It’s very obvious that you’re very happy. It’s reflected all over your face. Your life is happy, I guess.
Oh, yeah, masaya ang lovelife ko. (Eyes widening in mock anger) What’s this tsismis that Michael and I were breaking up? We haven’t broken up; we’re not breaking up.
Some people mistake Michael for a Singaporean-American.
Actually, he’s Korean-American. He was in Manila for four weeks to replace Adrian Pang (the Singaporean actor) for the lead in They’re Playing Our Song which we did at the AFP Theater in Camp Aguinaldo. Then, he visited with my family for about a month.
How did you and Michael become close? Did your kissing scene spark the magic between you?
Not really. I can kiss an actor and feel completely professional. To be honest, I think there were some people in the audience who saw something before Michael and I felt anything, even during our first performance together. You know, they were saying, "Oy, bagay na bagay sila!" They were kilig na kilig.
Was it the scene where you embraced?
It’s not even that. We didn’t even know what it was. But there was something that was definitely happening before we even realized what it was.
At what point did you realize that, well, there was something happening?
I think during the last week when we started hanging out a lot together. Towards the end of his stay, it started to get a little confusing.
Confusing in what sense?
We were confused about what was going on. I can’t speak for Michael but I personally didn’t think that I was going to have time for a love life or time to fall in love with somebody. But then, it happened.
What did Michael have that made you change your mind?
Besides the fact that he’s a good-looking guy, he’s smart and funny. He’s a really good person; he treats everybody with respect and dignity. He never has a bad word to say about anybody, even in jest. He’s always smiling to people and he hugs everybody.
What was it in Michael that first attracted you to him?
Actually, at first I wasn’t attracted to him the first time I met him. My mind was on so many other things, among them Miss Saigon which was going to start its run in October last year. I didn’t have the time for anything beyond work, you know. It just kind of happened. Na-develop na lang!
How did he court you?
I don’t play games with men. Wala kaming courtship-courtship. He asked me to a party and we went together. It was such a really nice evening we had before he left. The next day, we had a birthday party for my Mom and a despedida for Michael, and a cast party too, held in my house. When the pianist started playing, my Mom said, "O, bakit wala pang sumasayaw dito?" My Mom asked Michael and me to dance. While we were dancing, I said, "Oh, oh!" I could feel some magic happening. You know, when you’re doing a show that’s a romantic-comedy and the lines are crafted in such a way that you can’t tell what’s real and what’s not... you know, that can be dangerous. We needed some time away from each other to find out if it was for real or not and we realized that it was for real.
And so?
So, a few days after he left, we decided to make a go of it.
How long have you been going steady?
Since August last year. About nine months.
You do play beautiful music together!
We both love music, no doubt about it, and we share a lot of other things in common. He loves to eat and I do, too. I’ve learned to love Korean food. Delicious!
Is it for keeps? I mean, will you end up at the altar?
(Knocking on wood) I don’t know yet; it’s too early to tell.
Your Mom obviously approves of Michael. Is it very important that your Mom approves of your boyfriend, of your future husband?
Yes, of course, it’s important. I have had some relationships that I didn’t make public and they didn’t work out because my Mom didn’t approve of the guys. My family has to like the guy.
If and when you do get married, will you give up your career?
I’ll go on working and so will Michael. Theater (acting and singing) is our life. You stop working and you stop living, see?