Finding Lea’s Prince in New York City

New York — Amidst the arctic cold weather and an approaching snowstorm, we found him. The man who will ultimately place the glass slipper on Lea Salonga’s Cinderella and find the true meaning of love. And we found him, where else, but in New York City.

The first set of auditions for the Broadway Asia Tour of Rodger’s and Hammerstein’s Cinderella was held at Telsey And Co. on 8th Avenue. Founded by Bernie Telsey, Telsey and Co. is one of the busiest casting agencies in the US. They have cast shows such as Rent, Hairspray, Wicked and Legally Blonde. Rachel Hoffman, our casting director, had it all set up for us.  A full day seeing some of the finest theatrical leading men New York had to offer. With Lea, the producers and the creative team present, we began the auditions and saw one handsome man after another. I would ask Lea to read scenes with them and have our music director Michael Duff take them through some songs when I felt there was something worth exploring further. I would then scribble down notes on my casting grid so as to remember each person I saw.

And then Peter Saide walked into the room.  Immediately I knew that there was something special here. He sang the Prince’s solo song The Loneliness of Evening flawlessly and so I asked him to sing Do I Love You with Lea. They sounded beautiful together. Pure synchronicity. I had them read a couple of scenes from the script and it became obvious that they had great chemistry together. Lea would later say to me that Peter was “swoon worthy.”

But we were not done. Many more Princes to see.  Not a bad way to spend the day. Especially considering the freezing temperatures outside. But Peter became the one to beat as we continued our search. He set the bar real high. And at the end of the day, as Rachel, the producers and I gathered to discuss who would become Lea’s leading man, I simply said. “It’s Peter.” Everyone agreed.

And so negotiations began to hire the extremely talented Peter to join the Broadway Asia tour of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella. Peter hails from Australia and was actually only visiting New York when we were having the auditions. He stayed a few extra days to be around for the callbacks and then headed back to Australia after he got the news that he was cast as Prince Christopher.

New York is the shopping Mecca for musical theater talent in the US. You can find it all here. Any shape, size, height or sound you need, it’s all available. And chances are, if you can’t find it in New York City, it doesn’t exist.

But casting is far from over. We have many more roles to fill and an entire chorus of singers and dancers to find. Much of February will be spent finding those special people who will bring life to the timeless world where a young woman wishes for a new life, and with a mentor’s guidance, makes the choices necessary to attain her dreams.

Design meetings continue with our astonishing design team that includes Tony Award winning set designer David Gallo (The Drowsy Chaperone, Xanadu, Company), lighting designer Howell Binkley (Jersey Boys, Avenue Q, Xanadu, Kiss of the Spiderwoman) renowned costume designer Renato Balestra, inventive choreographer Vince Pesce, smart and clever Book writer Mark Waldrop and trusted musical director Michael Duff, whom I had so much fun working with on the Broadway Asia tour of The King & I. I’m also thrilled that Chari Arespacochaga, who has worked with me on everything under the sun, will also join us as my associate director.

What makes the journey even more exciting for me as director  (aside from working once again with Lea) is that the  brand new version of Rodger’s and Hammerstein’s Cinderella will premiere in Manila, before it embarks on a lengthy Asian Tour and later on a US National Tour.  Manila audiences get to see it first before anyone else.

But that’s still several months away. Now, it’s back to warm winter wear, gigantic down jackets, gloves, scarves and a hot Grande Mocha to get me through meetings, auditions and even more meetings.  It doesn’t matter though. This is the best part of directing a show. When the only thing that exists are all the possibilities. And if anything seems remotely impossible, I simply remember the wise words of Cindrella’s fairy godmother: ”Impossible things are happening every day!”

The Broadway Asia Tour of Cinderella runs from July  29 to Aug. 24 at The Cultural Center of the Philippines.  For details, call Ticketworld at 891-9999.