Lea Salonga: Stage, Screen and Everything In Between – Wales Millennium Centre, Cardiff and Touring

Picture: Danny Kaan

Lea Salonga: Stage, Screen and Everything In Between was reviewed at the Donald Gordon Theatre, Wales Millennium Centre, Cardiff. The UK tour continues until 1 July 2024.

Star rating: five stars ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

A palpable air of excitement in anticipation of a great evening hung over the auditorium of Cardiff’s Donald Gordon Theatre, filled with an audience of all ages for Lea Salonga’s concert Stage, Screen and Everything In Between. And what a night it was!

The dynamic singer and actress who shot to fame as the lead in Miss Saigon at London’s Theatre Royal, Drury Lane back in 1989 has not lost her vocal expertise nor her appeal. Back on tour after a sell-out return to that very venue in the West End, Salonga is no slouch when it comes to attention to detail, nor is she afraid to move with the times. A varied programme embraces the old and the new – not forgetting the Disney music which made her name as the voice of Jasmine (Aladdin) and Mulan.

Now aged 53 (Salonga was just 18 when she created the role of Kim in Miss Saigon), her voice has an added depth which can be expected with maturity. During he career so far she has performed as a range of characters, moving from the ingenue to in-depth portrayals, including playing both Éponine and Fantine in Les Misérables on Broadway – the first actress of Asian descent to perform those roles, and proving right from the start that she is equally skilled as both an actor and singer.

Coming to the land of song – for the Welsh justly pride themselves on their singing – could have been considered something of a test, but it is one Salonga passed with flying colours. That diminutive figure is deceptive, for her vocal range still enables her to sing a cross-section from stage, screen and musical theatre with no hesitation. Songs from shows across the board – even a Bond movie, in a repertoire that includes The Sound of Music, Oklahoma!, The Wizard of Oz and Sweeney Todd (her performance as Mrs Lovett in Sondheim’s Old Friends was a highlight).

Segueing into the shorter second half sees Salonga offer an empathetic rendering of ‘By the Sea’ from Sweeney, proving once again that she can – and does – enjoy engaging with the finer nuances of musical theatre at its best. There are times when better use of such a large stage might have been welcome, despite an undeniable stage presence, but – hey-ho! – with an auditorium full of fans ranging in age from a wide-eyed six-year-old in a silver jumpsuit to a sprinkling of over 90-year-olds, who cares?

Accompanying vocalists Adam Filipe and Sarah Galbraith both share the spotlight for a few minutes, duetting with the star of the show. An understandably simple set – a piano and a microphone, plus a chair in the second half – relies on expert lighting plus, more particularly, the excellent onstage band. The latter, composed of Elliott Henshaw on drums, Hugh Richardson (bass guitar), Chris Allard (guitar), Martin Riley and Graeme Taylor (keyboards), under the direction of musical director and pianist Gerard Salonga (Lea’s brother), is an integral part of a show that embraces songs from top-notch musical theatre performed by a singer whose ongoing expertise and evident enjoyment of her craft are a joy and a privilege to witness.

Barbara Michaels