I also saw Lea Salonga's Carnegie Hall debut. The one thing that struck me was how well she connected to her audience. In past concerts, my biggest gripe with Lea was that it always seemed that her patter was too rehearsed, thereby erecting a wall between her and the folks who paid to watch her. But I think Richard Jay Alexander steered her in the right direction and helped Lea let more of her personality shine through, and she most definitely connected with her audience tonight.
I thoroughly enjoyed her I STILL BELIEVE, which I first heard her sing live with Liz Callaway in 1991. The crowd gave the duo a standing ovation. Other highlights for me include NOTHING, I'D GIVE MY LIFE FOR YOU, her Act I finale, I ENJOY BEING A GIRL, her Act II opening, LOVE LOOK AWAY, A LITTLE FALL OF RAIN (duet with Paolo Montalban), ON MY OWN, I DON'T KNOW HOW TO LOVE HIM, PEOPLE, with, as someone already posted, the original Winter Garden orchestration, THE STORY GOES ON, especially where Liz Callaway entered during the final verse and sang it as duet with Lea, POPULAR and DEFYING GRAVITY. Her GRAVITY will generate, I'm sure, much commentary because inevitable comparisons will arise with respect to Idina Menzel. Lea's singing of GRAVITY is a much more trained and controlled sound than Idina's: very different but exciting nonetheless.
I had an amazing time.
Updated On: 11/8/05 at 12:36 AM