Lea Salonga brings pride to Philippines anew at Stephen Sondheim concert
MANILA, Philippines — Kapamilya singer Lea Salonga raised the Philippine flag once again as she was among the performers in the star-studded concert yesterday that celebrated the 90th birthday of musical theater legend Stephen Sondheim.
Lea performed "Loving You” from Sondheim's musical “Passion” before giving a birthday message for Sondheim.
That was amazing and worth waiting through the technical difficulties. All those musical theater gods and goddesses in one jam packed celebration! Happy Birthday, Stephen Sondheim! And thank you for the embarrassment of riches that are your shows! 1/2
— Lea Salonga (@MsLeaSalonga) April 27, 2020
“I just wanted to wish you a very happy 90th birthday. I think it is absolutely fantastic that you have allowed for ASTEP to raise funds as part of this celebration,” Lea said.
“In this crisis, all of us are turning to the arts for comfort and solace and sanity so I feel that it’s important to expose children to the arts. Whether or not they end up as artists as adults, it is something that will only serve to enrich, enhance and fill their lives,” she added.
The concert also featured other artists such as Meryl Streep, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Neil Patrick Harris, Kristin Chenoweth, Josh Groban, Aaron Tveit and Jake Gyllenhaal, among many others.
The online concert is also a fundraiser in support of Artists Striving to End Poverty (ASTEP), a youth development program conceived by Broadway Musical Director Mary-Mitchell Campbell and Juilliard students to connect performing and visual artists with underserved youth in the US and around the world to awaken their imaginations, foster critical thinking and help them break the cycle of poverty.
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