The Cat is Out of the Bag

If Lea Salonga were an animal, I’m sure she’d be a cat.

“I love cats,” she said, “far more than dogs.”

Read on and you’ll find out why.

It is coincidental that in Cats, her latest theater outing, she’s playing Grizabella, the Glamour Cat who gets to sing Memory, the enduring musical’s most memorable song.

“Grizabella is different from the roles I’ve done,” confirmed Lea who initially shone on the international stage in the title role as Kim in the Cameron Mackintosh’s megahit musical Miss Saigon for which she scored a grand slam (Tony Awards, Critics Circle Awards, Laurence Olivier Awards, etc.). That was more than two decades ago when she was barely out of her teens and yet she played the role of a mother with impressive ease.

Presented as Cats: Now and Forever in Manila starting last night until Aug. 22, the musical boasts of an international entourage of 53 people including cast, crew and a live band which plays offstage throughout the two and a half hour performance. It’s a unique and inspirational musical based on the book Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats written by T.S. Eliot and first published in 1939. With a little adaptation, Andrew Lloyd Webber used Eliot’s poems as lyrics and set them to music to create the musical. The inclusion of elements from Eliot’s other unpublished writings brought to life the glamour cat Grizabella who provided the pivotal storyline for the musical.

Cats tells the imaginative tale of a tribe of Jellicle Cats as they gather together for the annual Jellicle Ball, and one by one tell their stories for the entertainment of Old Deuteronomy who must choose one of the Cats to journey to the Heavyside Layer to be “reborn” into a new life.

Married to Rob Chien, Lea is a mother of one, four-year-old Nicole who is showing signs of following in Lea’s footsteps.

In the following Conversation, Lea talks not just about Cats but also about how she keeps a balance between her demanding career and her family.

Conversations last week e-mailed a set of questions to Lea who was in Melbourne for the Cats rehearsals. 

How different is your preparation for Cats from those for your previous musical starrers like Miss Saigon, Les Miz, My Fair Lady and Flower Drum Song?

“I think the physical demand is different, first of all. This is probably the most intense dancing I’ve ever done in a show. It also freaks me out that I have to wear a unitard. God knows I’m not by any stretch of the imagination skinny.

“The vocal demand is also quite strange for me. This is the show in which I do the least singing, and that freaks me out, too. I’m more used to singing for at least an hour with few breaks, if at all. Now, I have heaps of time between songs, which scares me because that might mean that my voice will go cold before my big song at the end of the show. It’s something I’m still trying to figure out.

“For preparation, I’ve just been singing and dancing in rehearsals. That’s been helpful in getting my stamina up. I also gave up eating grains, and it seems to have helped with my mental alertness. I can receive an instruction or a note just once, and I won’t forget it. That’s pretty cool.”

How is the role of Grizabella different from your other roles (Kim in Miss Saigon, Eponine in Les Miz, etc.)?

“No spoken or sung lines. No recitative. No opportunity to explain anything verbally. I just have the songs and my face and body, which makes the task of telling the story doubly difficult.”

When was the first, and last, time you watched Cats?

“The first time was in London in 1988. The last time was in Sydney in 2010.”

What’s your favorite song in Cats?

“Now that I’ve been hearing the songs on a daily basis, I think all of them! T.S. Eliot’s poetry set to Andrew Lloyd Webber’s music is so wonderful.”  

What scene in Cats is most memorable to you?

“When Grizabella finally is accepted back into the tribe. It’s an incredibly emotionally overwhelming moment for me. I also love watching the Jellicle Ball. The choreography is brilliant.”

Do you have a favorite Cat?

“Mr. Mistofolees!!!”

Do you love cats (the animals) in general?

“Oh yeah, far more than dogs. I love their independence and intelligence. I also love that I don’t have to potty train them.”

How was the recent Cats staging in Sydney?

“You mean, from an audience’s point of view? It was so much fun to watch! I had the best time.”

Any “rough” edges that have to be improved/polished for the staging in Manila?

“The only things we’ve had to be concerned about have been integrating the old and new cast. There are nine new people, so spacing and heights are a huge consideration. We worked really hard last week in Melbourne to make sure that any iffy moments are addressed before we get to the theater.”

How do you divide/balance your time between your family and your career? Do you bring your daughter Nicole on your stints abroad?

“I bring her when she doesn’t have school and when I know I’ll be away for a really long period of time. Thankfully I have a very supportive family, but that said, I make sure I’m home for most of the year.”

Is Nicole showing any signs that she might follow in your footsteps?

“She seems to be showing an inclination, but whether it’s a sign of anything permanent still remains to be seen. She’s only four-years old so it’s still too early to tell.”

If ever, would you and Rob let Nicole perform onstage? At what age (since you yourself started quite young)?

“I would wait until she was absolutely ready, if that’s even what she wants to do. It could be in a year, or in five.”

Do you and Rob plan to have another child? How soon?

“We’d love to have another one, but not this year. Maybe next year, God willing.”5

Which musicals (or movies or TV shows) do you allow Nicole to watch?

“Anything that doesn’t contain profanity or questionable morality. I let her see cartoons, animated and live musical films. That kind of stuff.”

I remember you saying before that you wanted to play the title role in Evita. Do you still want to?

“I want to, but I’m not as driven or crazy about it. If it happens, great. If not, that’s fine, too.”

Do you have any dream theater role?

“Right now, I’m too focused on Grizabella that I haven’t given ‘any dream theater role’ that much thought. Ask me again after we open.”

How do you feel about other Filipino artists making a name on the international scene?

“It makes me so proud. Incredibly proud.”

Any comment on Charice or a piece of advice you want to give her?

“I don’t think she needs any advice from me, she is doing amazingly well already! I wish her nothing but the best in everything she does.”

After Cats, what are your next projects?

“Concerts in the US, the Les Miz 25th Anniversary concert at the O2 Arena in London, and a bit of travel with my family.”

When are you going back to Broadway or the West End?

“I don’t know…Hopefully sooner rather than later, while I still have the energy!

Cameron Mackintosh is reported to be planning to do a film version of Miss Saigon in 2011 (or 2012). If you had a choice, what role would you play in it?

“None. Miss Saigon was already a huge part of my life. To even think of how I could be part of it now would be an act of hubris, arrogance and selfishness.”

(Note: Cats: Now and Forever is presented at the CCP by Lunchbox Theatrical Productions, David Atkins Enterprises, Concertus and All Youth Channels in association with The Really Useful Company Asia Pacific. Tickets priced from P750 to P7,000 are available at TicketWorld outlets, selected National Bookstore branches, Robinsons Department Store and Greenbelt 1, Glorietta 4, Trinoma Mall Cinema Booths. Call 891-9999 or visit www.ticketworld.com.ph.

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