Lea Salonga performs two sold out shows in Winnipeg

photo by Maui Zamora

WINNIPEG – Fans of Tony award winning singer Lea Salonga packed the McPhillips Street Station Casino for two consecutive nights on September 28 and 29.

Backed by a six-piece live band, the original Miss Saigon delighted the audience with show tunes, jazz standards and her signature Disney movie songs in the intimate closed-curtain setting of the casino’s main stage venue.

Fans especially enjoyed the singer’s warm humour as she shared behind-the-scenes stories about her 20-year international career in show business and her private family life.

Highlights of the two shows included the never recorded full-length version of the song Reflection from the animated Disney film Mulan, a tribute performance of Michael Jackson’s Gone Too Soon, and especially moving renditions of I’d Give My Life for You from Miss Saigon and I Dreamed a Dream from Les Misérables.

For her most famous duet, A Whole New World from the Disney movie Aladdin, Lea invited a volunteer from the audience to sing with her. On the first night of Lea’s engagement it was none other than CKJS Radio host, Maui Zamora who also introduced Lea before the show with his wife and fellow broadcaster, Ayen Dandan Zamora .

And Lea did not forget her Filipino roots. Mixed into her 14-song, 90-minute show were OPM’s such as: Anthony Castelo’s Hahanapin Ko; Lea’s own wedding song Two Words composed by Louie Ocampo and Freddie Santos, as well as her hit, Bakit Labis Kitang Mahal, which became a nostalgic sing-along for the mostly Filipino audience.

Salonga wrapped up both her shows with standing ovations and an encore of Tomorrow from the musical Annie.

Winnipeg fans will not soon forget these two special evenings at the McPhillips Street Station Casino.

Click to see photos from Lea's concerts in Winnipeg.


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