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Lea Salonga “Inspired” 2009 North American Tour

Los Angeles, CA - Tony Award Winner Lea Salonga has been captivating audiences around the world, and now she will embark upon her 2009 "Inspired" USA tour for a limited number of dates, including Los Angeles and Las Vegas, beginning this May. For more information, check out www.leasalonga.com

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March 17, 2009 09:55 AM Eastern Daylight Time

Lea Salonga “Inspired” 2009 North American Tour

LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Tony Award Winner Lea Salonga has captivated audiences around the world. Now she will embark upon her 2009 “Inspired” USA tour for a limited number of dates, including Los Angeles, Reno and Las Vegas, beginning this May.

Hot off the heels of headlining the critically acclaimed Southeast Asian road show of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s classic, Cinderella, Lea Salonga leaves her “glass slippers” behind to mesmerize audiences stateside.

Having created the role of the orphaned “Kim” in Miss Saigon and brought to life the singing of Disney’s Mulan (“Reflection”) and Princess Jasmine in Disney’s Aladdin - it’s truly “A Whole New World” for Salonga and her angelic voice.

Salonga has become the national treasure of her Philippine homeland as she captivates audiences the world over - playing to SOLD OUT houses at Carnegie Hall, Hong Kong’s Cultural Centre and the historical Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles.

Salonga has been singing since the age of ten when she made her theatrical debut in “The King and I” and has gone on to release three studio albums. She began an illustrious career in Broadway musicals when she was cast to play Kim in Miss Saigon after a world-wide talent search. Additional credits include Les Miserables, My Fair Lady, Grease, The Sound of Music, Annie and Cinderella, among many others.

In 2008 Lea was presented with the highest honor that can be bestowed upon a Filipino civilian, the Order of Lakandula by the President of the Philippines.

In the field of musical theater, she is recognized for having won the Olivier, Tony, Drama Desk, Outer Critics, and Theatre World Awards. She was also the first Asian to play Eponine in the musical “Les Misérables” on Broadway. www.leasalonga.com

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Lea Salonga in Tattler Magazine

www.leasalonga.com

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Lea Salonga "Inspired" Show Tour Dates:

Lea Salonga “Inspired” 2009 North American Tour

Lea Salonga-Chien (born Maria Ligaya Carmen Imutan Salonga on February 22, 1971 in the Philippines) is a multi-awarded Filipino singer and actress who is best known for her acclaimed portrayal of Kim in the musical Miss Saigon.

Photo/Bio: www.leasalonga.com

Lea Salonga “Inspired” 2009 North American Tour

In 2007, Salonga released her first studio album in seven years called "Inspired," which has been certified platinum, and finished another stint in the musical Les Misérables on Broadway, this time as Fantine. She is slated to appear in a number of musical events scheduled in different countries until 2008.

Photo/Bio: www.leasalonga.com

Lea Salonga “Inspired” 2009 North American Tour

Lea Salonga started as a child star in the Philippines, making her professional debut in 1978 at the age of seven through the musical The King and I by Repertory Philippines.

Photo/Bio: www.leasalonga.com

Lea Salonga “Inspired” 2009 North American Tour

Lea began her recording career at the age of ten with her first album, Small Voice, which received a gold certification. A song on the album, the duet "Happiness," marked her first recording collaboration with her younger brother Gerard Salonga who would, years later, work with her either as musical director or creative director in her concerts and recordings. Her second album, "Lea," was released in 1988.

Photo/Bio: www.leasalonga.com

Lea Salonga “Inspired” 2009 North American Tour

Salonga's big breakthrough came when she was selected to play Kim in the mega hit musical Miss Saigon in 1989. Unable to find a strong enough Asian actress/singer in the United Kingdom, the producers scoured many countries looking for the lead role of this major British production. For her audition, the 17-year-old Salonga chose to sing Boublil and Schönberg's "On My Own" from Les Misérables and was later asked to sing "Sun and Moon" to test her voice quality's compatibility with the songs in the musical. The members of the panel were impressed with Salonga's rendition of the songs, noting that from Salonga's very first note, they already knew they had a potential Kim. Salonga competed with childhood friend and fellow Repertory Philippines performer Monique Wilson as they were tested with songs from the musical, which included "Too Much for One Heart," a number replaced by the duet "Please" right before the musical opened. Salonga was offered the lead role, with Wilson as the alternate (who was also assigned the role of bar girl Mimi).

Photo/Bio: Edwin Santiago via www.leasalonga.com

Lea Salonga “Inspired” 2009 North American Tour

For her performance as Kim, Salonga won the Olivier for Best Performance by an Actress in a Musical for the 1989/1990 season. From its original London home, Miss Saigon moved to Broadway in April 1991. Salonga subsequently garnered the Tony, Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle and the Theatre World Awards for the same role. Between 1993 and 1996, she was asked periodically to play Kim on Broadway to boost ticket sales. In 1999, she was invited back to London to close the musical, and in 2001, at the age of 29 and after doing the Manila run of the musical, Salonga returned to Broadway to close the Broadway production.

Photo/Bio: Edwin Santiago via www.leasalonga.com

Lea Salonga “Inspired” 2009 North American Tour

Lea Salonga is the eldest child of Feliciano Genuino Salonga and Ligaya Alcantara Imutan and spent the first six years of her childhood in Angeles City before moving to Manila. She is a sister of composer Gerard Salonga and granddaughter of former Senate President Jovito Salonga.

She studied at the Operation Brotherhood Montessori School in Greenhills, Metro Manila, where she was a Bergamo 1 Student and an active participant in school productions. She also attended the University of the Philippines College of Music's extension program aimed at training musically talented children in music and stage movement. She was a college freshman at the Ateneo de Manila University when she auditioned for Miss Saigon and attended Fordham University when she was in New York.

On January 10, 2004, Salonga married Robert Charles Chien, a Chinese-Japanese managing director of an entertainment software company in Los Angeles, California, whom she met while doing Flower Drum Song. They have a daughter, Beverly Nicole, born on May 16, 2006 and named after Salonga's late mother-in-law, Beverly Chien.

Photo/Bio: www.leasalonga.com

Updated as of March 25, 2009

Under Construction March 25, 2009