Two enchanting nights with Lea Salonga

Many have followed the illustrious career of Ms. Lea Salonga, from how she first performed onstage in “Annie” in 1980 to how she landed her iconic roles as Kim in “West End” and Broadway’s “Miss Saigon” (from which she won a Tony Award and a Laurence Olivier Award).

The world also applauded Lea’s performances as Eponine and Fantine in Broadway’s “Les Miserables” as she achieved another milestone in her career as being the first actress of Asian descent to play the coveted roles.

This August, Lea marks a very special occasion as she performs two nights of enchanting music at the award-winning Newport Performing Arts Theatre (NPAT) on August 30 and 31, 8 p.m., to celebrate Resorts World Manila’s (RWM) 10th anniversary in “Perfect Ten.”

RWM welcomes back Lea after the star was named as the integrated resorts’ featured performer in its first Grand Fiesta Manila Celebrations during its maiden year in 2009. Together with her special guests, Lea promises a back-to-back performance that will wow theater enthusiasts and music fans alike.

Joining her in “Perfect Ten” are her handpicked guests, Esang de Torres, Nicole Chien and stage actress Tanya Manalang who will each get a chance to shine with Lea in a featured number. Another illustrious guest is Michael K. Lee who starred with Ms. Lea in “Miss Saigon” and more recently in “Allegiance.”

“Perfect Ten” is presented by Resorts World Manila in cooperation with Ultimate Shows, Inc. and Full House Theatre Company, Inc. Stage direction is by Floy Quintos, with musical direction by Gerard Salonga, together with the ABS-CBN Philharmonic Orchestra.

***

Pasig City Mayor Vico Sotto, the son of Vic Sotto and Coney Reyes, was the special guest at the formal launch and ribbon cutting ceremonies of Neighborgoods, a project of Ayala Malls The 30th and the Pasig Livelihood Training Center.

Mayor Vico took pride in presenting the handicrafts and food items made my Pasiguenos who, according to him, came from the grassroots. The good-looking mayor said he expects the event to become bigger in the months to come since it is going to be a quarterly event.

“We want to help the people of Pasig by marketing their goods and crafts to more people thru the partnership we forged with the Ayala Malls. We envision this event to become a bigger endeavor in the months to come,” said the Mayor.

In other news, Mayor Vico said the city council is currently discussing the budget for 2020 and he is hopeful that the allocation for health services (which is one of his pet projects) will get a big share of the budget. If passed, the amount is three times bigger than the amount allocated for 2019. He said this would mean more money for medicine and health care needs for the Pasiguenos.

Although he has only been in office for two months, Mayor Vico said he is doing his best to ensure that his constituents will get the ample social services that they need.

***

Maria Laroco was in London last year to audition for the “The X-Factor UK.” She sung “Purple Rain” of Prince and she got a standing ovation from the audience and the judges Simon Cowell, Louis Tomlinson, Ayda Field and Robbie Williams.

She started singing when she was three years old and joined “The Voice Kids” in 2014. She was a grand finalist of “The Will to Win” of “Wowowin.”

Maria sent an audition video for “X Factor UK” and she was invited to go to London. But she had no money for the plane fare. Luckily, she joined and won a singing contest sponsored by the Great British Festival. Her prize was two tickets to London. That enabled her to audition in person for “X Factor UK.”

Maria had to pass four sets of auditions before she made it to the Top 6 after singing “Purple Rain.” But she failed to join when the show was done live at the Judges’ House in Malibu, California because she was not given a visa. She plans to compete again in the future.

Maria’s musical journey continues with the release of her debut album titled “Just Maria” that has ten original songs under Odic Records, an international recording label. The carrier single is a love song titled “Imagine” that should click with milennials as it talks about the magic of love. The song is now available in digital music platforms like Spotify, Deezer, Spinner, iTunes, and others.