It’s a good time to be Filipino on Broadway – a handful of notables are starring in Broadway attractions this year, according to ABS-CBN, a Filipino media company based in Quezon City, Metro Manila in the Philippines.
The best-known Filipino actress in the world is marquee favorite Lea Salonga, who was the first Asian actress of Filipino ancestry to win a Tony Award (and an Olivier Award) for her performance as Kim in “Miss Saigon” in 1991.
Salonga now is co-starring with Bernadette Peters (also a Tony winner), Jasmin Forsberg and Camille Liwanag in “Old Friends,” a Stephen Sondheim revue, now at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre.
In 2023, Salonga also had a cameo role in “Here Lies Love,” the musical biography of Philippines first lady, Imelda Marcos, featuring an all-Filipino cast, a first for Broadway.
Hawaii’s Nicole Scherzinger, former Pussycat Dolls lead singer, is starring as Norma Desmond in the acclaimed revival of “Sunset Boulevard” at the St. James Theatre. It’s a role she originated in the West End and imported to New York last year. And yes, Scherzinger is of Filipino heritage, too.
Hawaii also can claim two other male Filipino performers in current hit shows: Marc delaCruz is a standby to play the lead of Alexander Hamilton plus other key roles in “Hamilton,” at the Richard Rodgers Theatre; and Zare Anguay is a swing actor, dance captain and fight captain in Disney’s “Aladdin,” at the New Amsterdam Theatre.
Filipino American trouper Eva Noblezada has assumed the role of Sally Bowles in “Cabaret at the Kit-Kat Club,” at the August Wilson Theatre.
And Darren Criss is Oliver in “Maybe Happy Ending,” at the Belasco Theatre.
Among other Filipino actors on Broadway now:
- Kay Siba is Katherine Howard, one of the six wives of King Henry VIII in “Six: The Musical,” at the Lena Horne Theatre.
- Daryl Tofa is Two-bit Matthew in “The Outsiders,” at the Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre.
- Angelica Hale is Trisha in “Boop: The Musical,” a newcomer at the Broadhurst Theatre.
- Jhailyn Farcon is Imogen and Alaina Vi Maderal is Gwynne in “& Juliet,” at the Stephen Sondheim Theatre.
- Nico De Jesus, Raechelle Manalo, and Niki Saludez are ensemble members in “Hell’s Kitchen,” at the Shubert Theatre.
- Kay Trinidad is Fate and KC Dela Cruz is a swing actor in “Hadestown,” at the Walter Kerr Theatre.
- Jessica White is in the ensemble of “The Great Gatsby,” at the Broadway Theatre.
- Jeigh Madjus is Baby Doll and Heather Makalani is in the ensemble in “Moulin Rouge,” at the Al Hirschfeld Theatre.
- Lissa DeGuzman is Elphaba standby in “Wicked,” at the Gershwin Theatre…
A reimagined, existential ‘Mulan’
An up-front advisory: “I Am Mulan,” opening today (April 9) at the Earle Ernest lab Theatre adjoining Kennedy Theatre at the University of Hawaii, is not recommended for young children.
The play’s subtitle, “Rewriting the Legacy of a Timeless Heroine,” sets the tone. This is not a Disney princess fable; youths 13 and older may attend.
Elizabeth Ung, an MFA candidate, has written and directed an existential dramady that reimagines the popular heroine into five distinct personas – a battle-hardened veteran, a modern American-born Chinese, a romantic dreamer, a politically charged revolutionary, and an irreverent, gender-fluid performer – all trapped in a surreal purgatory known as Dìyù.
Another challenge: the production is multi-lingual featuring English, Mandarin, and Cantonese languages.
The storytelling taps a rich tapestry of history – from the origins of “The Ballad of Mulan” in 4th-century China through turbulent periods such as 1930s Shanghai, the 1966 Cultural Revolution, and the late 1980s New York City AIDS crisis, to the contemporary impacts of COVID-19.
An all-Asian ensemble includes alum Lily Hi’ilani Okimura as ABC Mulan, alongside Justin Fragiao, Qi Zhang, Ariean Jimenez, and Jill Sanders.
The design team includes set designer Lacey Tuell, light designer Tyler Kanemori, projections by Alison Bruce-Maldonado, and costumes by Kāneikoliakawahineikaʻiukapuomua Baker.
Performances are at 7:30 p.m. today (April 9) through Saturday (April 12) and at 2 p.m. Sunday (April 13). Tickets: $8 to $18, available at manoa.hawaii.edu/liveonstage/mulan Information: (808) 956-7655…
Washington beats Clooney in the Broadway grosses
Denzel Washington and Jake Glynenhaal have regained the No. 1 spot on the Broadway gross competish, for the round-up, for the week ending April 6. George Clooney slides to No. 2.
The Top 10:
1—“Othello,” $3.179 million.
2—“Good Night, and Good Luck,” $3.315 million.
3—“Wicked,” $2.476 million.
4—“The Lion King,” $1.986 million.
5—“Hamilton,” $1.965 million.
6—“Glengarry Glen Ross,” $1.789 million.
7—“The Outsiders,” $1.359 million.
8—“Aladdin,” $1.268 million
9—“The Picture of Dorian Gray,” $1.218 million.
10 – “MJ the Musical,” $1.170 million.
The complete list, courtesy the Broadway League:
And that’s Show Biz…