The Theatre World Award, first awarded for the 1945-46 season, is an American honor presented annually to actors and actresses in recognition of an outstanding New York City stage debut performance, either on Broadway or off-Broadway.

History[link]

The Inaugural recipients included Betty Comden, Judy Holliday and John Raitt. Winners are selected by a committee of New York-based critics. That committee includes (as of May 2011) David Cote (Time Out New York, NY1), Joe Dziemianowicz (New York Daily News), Peter Filichia (Newark Star-Ledger, Theatermania.com), Harry Haun (Playbill), Matthew Murray (TalkinBroadway.com), Frank Scheck (Hollywood Reporter), and Linda Winer (New York Newsday). John Willis, founder of the Theatre World Awards and Theatre World Editor, died in June 2010. (Theatre World is the oldest definitive pictorial and statistical record of each American theatrical season and serves as a reference for theater professionals, students, and historians worldwide.)

Known as "Janus" after the Roman god of entrances, exits, and all beginnings, the award is a bronze sculpture designed by artist Harry Marinsky.

The winners for the 2010-2011 season were announced on May 10, 2011, with a ceremony to be held June 7; the awards are traditionally presented by former award winners.^[1]

The Dorothy Loudon Starbaby Award is given by the Dorothy Loudon Foundation in connection with these awards. The first Starbaby Award was presented to Susan Louise O'Connor (Blithe Spirit) in 2009. Other recipients are Bobby Steggert (Ragtime and Yank!) (2009-2010)^[2] and Seth Numrich (War Horse) (2010-2011).^[1]

The first annual Lunt-Fontanne Award for Ensemble Excellence is presented at the 2010-2011 Awards, to the cast of The Motherf**ker with the Hat - Bobby Cannavale, Chris Rock, Annabella Sciorra, Elizabeth Rodriguez and Yul Vázquez. The award is in honor of the late Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontanne and is presented to an outstanding Broadway or Off-Broadway ensemble.^[3]

Award winners[link]

2010-2011[link]

Source:^[1]

• Ellen Barkin, The Normal Heart
• Desmin Borges, The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity
• Halley Feiffer, The House of Blue Leaves
• Grace Gummer, Arcadia
• Rose Hemingway, How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying
• John Larroquette, How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying
• Heather Lind, The Merchant of Venice
• Patina Miller, Sister Act
• Arian Moayed, Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo
• Jim Parsons, The Normal Heart
• Zachary Quinto, Angels in America: A Gay Fantasia on National Themes
• Tony Sheldon, Priscilla Queen of the Desert
• Lunt-Fontanne Award for Ensemble Excellence - cast of The Motherf**ker with the Hat

2009-2010[link]

Source:^[2]

• Nina Arianda, Venus in Fur
• Chris Chalk, Fences
• Bill Heck, The Orphans' Home Cycle
• Jon Michael Hill, Superior Donuts
• Scarlett Johansson, A View from the Bridge
• Keira Keeley, The Glass Menagerie
• Sahr Ngaujah, FELA!
• Eddie Redmayne, Red
• Andrea Riseborough, The Pride
• Heidi Schreck, Circle Mirror Transformation
• Stephanie Umoh, Ragtime
• Michael Urie, The Temperamentals

2008-2009[link]

Source:^[4]

• David Alvarez/Trent Kowalik/Kiril Kulish, Billy Elliot, The Musical
• Chad L. Coleman, Joe Turner's Come and Gone
• Jennifer Grace, Our Town
• Josh Grisetti, Enter Laughing, The Musical
• Haydn Gwynne, Billy Elliot, The Musical
• Colin Hanks, 33 Variations
• Marin Ireland, reasons to be pretty
• Susan Louise O'Connor, Blithe Spirit
• Condola Rashad, Ruined
• Geoffrey Rush, Exit the King
• Josefina Scaglione, West Side Story
• Wesley Taylor, Rock of Ages

• Special Award to the entire cast of The Norman Conquests: Amelia Bullmore, Jessica Hynes, Stephen Mangan, Ben Miles, Paul Ritter and Amanda Root

2007-2008[link]

• de'Adre Aziza, Passing Strange
• Cassie Beck, Drunken City
• Daniel Breaker, Passing Strange
• Ben Daniels, Les Liaisons Dangereuses
• Deanna Dunagan, August: Osage County
• Hoon Lee, Yellow Face
• Alli Mauzey, Cry-Baby
• Jenna Russell, Sunday in the Park with George
• Mark Rylance, Boeing-Boeing
• Loretta Ables Sayre, South Pacific
• Jimmi Simpson, The Farnsworth Invention
• Paulo Szot, South Pacific

2006-2007[link]

• Fantasia Barrino - The Color Purple
• Eve Best - A Moon for the Misbegotten
• Mary Birdsong - Martin Short: Fame Becomes Me
• Erin Davie - Grey Gardens
• Xanthe Elbrick - Coram Boy
• Johnny Galecki - The Little Dog Laughed
• Jonathan Groff - Spring Awakening
• Gavin Lee - Mary Poppins
• Lin-Manuel Miranda - In the Heights
• Bill Nighy - The Vertical Hour
• Stark Sands - Journey's End
• Nilaja Sun - No Child...
• Special award - Actors' Fund

2005–2006[link]

Source:^[5]

• Harry Connick, Jr. - The Pajama Game
• Felicia P. Fields - The Color Purple
• Maria Friedman - The Woman in White
• Richard Griffiths - The History Boys
• Mamie Gummer - Mr. Marmalade
• Jayne Houdyshell - Well
• Bob Martin - The Drowsy Chaperone
• Ian McDiarmid - Faith Healer
• Nellie McKay - The Threepenny Opera'
• David Wilmot- The Lieutenant of Inishmore
• Elisabeth Withers-Mendes - The Color Purple
• John Lloyd Young - Jersey Boys

2004–2005[link]

Source:^[5]

• Christina Applegate - Sweet Charity
• Ashlie Atkinson - Fat Pig
• Hank Azaria - Spamalot
• Gordon Clapp - Glengarry Glen Ross
• Conor Donovan - Privilege
• Dan Fogler - The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee
• Heather Goldenhersh - Doubt
• Carla Gugino - After the Fall
• Jenn Harris - Modern Orthodox
• Cheyenne Jackson - All Shook Up
• Celia Keenan-Bolger - The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee
• Tyler Maynard - Altar Boyz

2003–2004[link]

Source:^[5]

• Shannon Cochran - Bug
• Stephanie D'Abruzzo - Avenue Q
• Mitchel David Federan - The Boy From Oz
• Alexander Gemignani - Assassins
• Hugh Jackman - The Boy From Oz
• Isabel Keating - The Boy From Oz
• Sanaa Lathan - A Raisin in the Sun
• Jefferson Mays - I Am My Own Wife
• Euan Morton - Taboo
• Anika Noni Rose - Caroline, or Change
• John Tartaglia - Avenue Q
• Jennifer Westfeldt - Wonderful Town
• Special Award - Sarah Jones

2002–2003[link]

Source:^[5]

• Antonio Banderas - Nine
• Tammy Blanchard - Gypsy]
• Thomas Jefferson Byrd - Ma Rainey's Black Bottom
• Jonathan Cake - Medea
• Victoria Hamilton - A Day in the Death of Joe Egg
• Clare Higgins - Vincent in Brixton
• Jackie Hoffman - Hairspray
• Mary Stuart Masterson - Nine
• John Selya - Movin' Out
• Jochum ten Haaf - Vincent in Brixton
• Daniel Sunjata - Take Me Out
• Marissa Jaret Winokur - Hairspray
• Special Award - Peter Filichia
• Special Award - Ben Hodges

2001–2002[link]

Source:^[5]

• Justin Bohon - Oklahoma!
• Simon Callow - The Mystery of Charles Dickens
• Mos Def - Topdog/Underdog
• Emma Fielding - Private Lives
• Adam Godley - Private Lives
• Martin Jarvis - By Jeeves
• Spencer Kayden - Urinetown
• Gretchen Mol - The Shape of Things
• Anna Paquin - The Glory of Living
• Louise Pitre - Mamma Mia!
• David Warner - Major Barbara
• Rachel Weisz - The Shape of Things

2000–2001[link]

Source:^[5]

• Juliette Binoche - Betrayal
• Macaulay Culkin - Madame Melville
• Janie Dee - Comic Potential
• Raúl Esparza - The Rocky Horror Show
• Kathleen Freeman - The Full Monty
• Deven May - Bat Boy
• Reba McEntire - Annie Get Your Gun
• Chris Noth - The Best Man
• Joshua Park - The Adventures of Tom Sawyer
• Rosie Perez - References to Salvador Dali Make Me Hot
• Joely Richardson - Madame Melville
• John Ritter - The Dinner Party
• Special Award - Seán Campion
• Special Award - Conleth Hill

1999–2000[link]

Source:^[5]

• Craig Bierko - The Music Man
• Everett Bradley - Swing!
• Gabriel Byrne - A Moon for the Misbegotten
• Ann Hampton Callaway - Swing!
• Toni Collette - The Wild Party
• Henry Czerny - Arms and the Man
• Stephen Dillane - The Real Thing
• Jennifer Ehle - The Real Thing
• Philip Seymour Hoffman - True West
• Hayley Mills - Suite in Two Keys
• Cigdem Onat - The Time of the Cuckoo
• Claudia Shear - Dirty Blonde
• Special Award - Barry Humphries

See also[link]

• Tony Awards
• Drama Desk Awards
• Obie Awards

References[link]

External links[link]

• Theatre World Awards Official website

The World Awards were founded by writer Georg Kindel; Mikhail Gorbachev is their president. An international jury selects extraordinary individuals for their achievements in a variety of areas such as acting, arts, business, media, health and others.

The first World Awards were held in November 2000 at the Imperial Hofburg Palace in Vienna, Austria; the fourth World Awards 2003 were hosted in Hamburg, Germany.

See also[link]

Men's World Day

External links[link]

• Official List of Award Winners

This award-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. v t e

Lea Salonga
Lea Salonga performing at Makati City
Background information
Birth name	Maria Lea Carmen Imutan Salonga[1]
Also known as	Lea Salonga-Chien
Born	(1971-02-22) February 22, 1971 (age 41)
Origin	Angeles City, Philippines
Genres	Pop, OPM, R&B
Occupations	Singer, actress
Instruments	Vocals
Years active	1978–present
Labels	Atlantic, Arista , Capitol, EMI Philippines, Musiko, Sony Music Philippines, WEA, Walt Disney
Website	www.leasalonga.com

Lea Salonga-Chien^[1] (born February 22, 1971) is a mezzo-soprano singer, actress, and Disney Legend from the Philippines well known for originating the lead role of Kim in the musical Miss Saigon,^[2] for which she won the Olivier, Tony, Drama Desk, Outer Critics and Theatre World awards.^[2][3]

She was the first Asian to play the roles of Éponine and Fantine in the musical Les Misérables on Broadway.^[4] She also provided the singing voice of two official Disney Princesses: Jasmine in Aladdin (1992), and Fa Mulan in Mulan (1998) and Mulan II (2004).^[5] Salonga was named a Disney Legend in 2011 for her work with the company.^[6]

Career[link]

1978–1988[link]

Salonga made her professional debut in 1978 at the age of seven in the musical The King and I by Repertory Philippines.^[5] She became the lead star of Annie and joined other productions such as Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Fiddler on the Roof, The Rose Tattoo, The Sound of Music, The Goodbye Girl, Paper Moon and The Fantasticks.^[7]

She began her recording career at the age of ten with her first album, Small Voice, which received a gold certification.^[7][8] 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 as musical director or creative director in her concerts and recordings.^[9][10] Her second album, Lea, was released in 1988.^[11]

In addition to performing in musical theater and recordings, Salonga hosted her own musical television show, Love, Lea,^[7] and was a member of the cast of German Moreno's teen variety show That's Entertainment. She acted in films, which included the family-oriented Tropang Bulilit,^[12] Like Father, Like Son,^[13] Ninja Kids,^[14] Captain Barbell,^[15] and Pik Pak Boom.^[16] She also opened for international acts such as Menudo and Stevie Wonder in their concerts in Manila in 1985 and in 1988, respectively.^[8]

As a young performer, Lea Salonga received a Filipino Academy of Movie Arts and Sciences (FAMAS) award nomination (the Philippine equivalent of an Oscar nomination) for Best Child Actress.^[17] and three wins from the Aliw (literally, "entertainment") Awards as Best Child Performer.^[7]

1989–1992[link]

Salonga was selected to play Kim in the musical Miss Saigon in 1989.^[2] Unable to find a strong enough East Asian actress/singer in the United Kingdom, the producers scoured many countries looking for the lead role of this major British production.^[18][19] 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 the compatibility of her voice quality with the songs in the musical.^[20][21] 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.^[20][21] 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" just before the musical opened.^[20][21][22] Salonga was offered the lead role, with Wilson as her understudy (who was given the role of the bar girl named Mimi).^{[20][21][23][24]}

For her performance as Kim, Salonga won the Olivier for Best Performance by an Actress in a Musical for the 1989–1990 season.^[25] From its original London home, Miss Saigon moved to Broadway in April 1991.^[26] Salonga subsequently won the Tony, Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle and the Theatre World Awards for the same role.^[2][25] Between 1993 and 1996, she was asked periodically to play Kim on Broadway to boost ticket sales.^[27] 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,^[28] Salonga returned to Broadway to close the Broadway production.^[29]

In 1990, Salonga performed in a homecoming concert in Manila entitled A Miss Called Lea.^[30] She also received a Presidential Award of Merit from Philippine president Corazon Aquino.^[3]

1993–1996[link]

In 1993, upon completion of her initial stint as Kim on Broadway, Salonga played the role of street waif Éponine in the Broadway production of Les Misérables,^[31][32] and later flew to Los Angeles to perform the song "A Whole New World" of Disney's Aladdin with Brad Kane at the 65th Annual Academy Awards,^[33] where the song won an Oscar.^[34] That same year, she released her self-titled international debut album with Atlantic Records, which had modest sales in the USA but went platinum in the Philippines and sold 3 million copies worldwide.^[35]

In 1994, Salonga played in various musical theater productions in the Philippines and Singapore.^[2][5] She starred as Sandy in Grease,^[36] as Sonia Walsk in They're Playing Our Song,^[37] and as The Witch in Into The Woods.^[38]

Back in the U.S. in 1995, Salonga played the role of Geri Riordan, an 18-year-old adopted Vietnamese American child in the Hallmark Hall of Fame TV movie Redwood Curtain, which starred John Lithgow and Jeff Daniels.^[39] She then flew back to the Philippines to star with Filipino matinée idol Aga Muhlach in the critically acclaimed film Sana Maulit Muli,^[40] which gave her a second Filipino Academy of Movie Arts and Sciences (FAMAS) award nomination, this time for Best Actress.^[41] She accepted an invitation from Sir Cameron Mackintosh to play the role of Éponine in his 10th anniversary production called Les Miserables in Concert at London's Royal Albert Hall. Salonga performed along with Colm Wilkinson, Michael Ball, Judy Kuhn, and Philip Quast.^[42][43]

In 1996, Salonga was in Les Misérables once again. She played Éponine in the London production of the musical, then continued on to do the role in the musical's U.S. national tour in Hawaii.^[2]

1997–2003[link]

From 1997 to 2000, Salonga did recordings and concerts in the Philippines and another engagement in London, in addition to her periodic returns to Miss Saigon in London and on Broadway. In 1997, she released I'd Like to Teach The World to Sing (recordings from her childhood days) to gold sales in the Philippines.^[44] That recording was followed by Lea... In Love in 1998^[45] and By Heart in 2000, with both albums reaching multiple platinum status in the Philippines.^[8] In addition to the release of these albums, she participated in the tribute concert to Sir Cameron Mackintosh in London called "Hey Mr. Producer: The Musical World of Cameron MacKintosh", where she did numbers from several of his musicals.^[46][47][48] She also performed in four concerts: The Homecoming Concert, The Millennium Concert, The Best of Manila and Songs from the Screen – the last two being benefit shows.^[30] Salonga returned to Manila in Miss Saigon, staged at the Cultural Center of the Philippines at the end of 2000.^[49]

After Miss Saigon's closing on Broadway in 2001, Salonga recreated the role of Lien Hughes originally played by Ming-Na Wen in the soap opera As the World Turns. After completing her contract that year, she was asked to return to the role in 2003.^[50][51] She guested on Russell Watson's The Voice concert, narrated for the television special My America: A Poetry Atlas of the United States, and appeared on the Christmas episode of the TV medical drama ER, playing the role of a patient with lymphoma.^[30][52]

In 2002, Salonga returned to Broadway to play the role of a Chinese immigrant in a reinterpretation of Rodgers and Hammerstein's Flower Drum Song opposite Jose Llana.^[32] This was after the reinvented musical had a run at the Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles in 2001 with Salonga playing the lead role^[53][54][55] and with the show garnering multiple wins and nominations, including Lead Actress in a Musical for Salonga, from the Theatre Los Angeles Ovation Awards.^[56][57] The show, given a brand new libretto and considered one of the 10 best plays on Broadway in 2002 by Time magazine,^[58] garnered Tony Award nominations for Best Book, Best Costume Designer, and Best Choreographer,^[59] and earned nominations from the Outer Critics Circle,^[60] the Drama League,^[61] the Astaire Awards,^[62] and Broadway.com's Audience Awards and Broadwayworld.com's Fans' Choice Awards as well.^[63] The Salonga-led Broadway revival cast album was also a top contender at the 2003 Grammy Awards for Best Musical Show Album.^[64] While Salonga's performance was received positively by theater critics such as Matthew Murray, Heather Cross, Patrick Purdon, and John Simon, among others, she was not nominated at the Tony Awards for her brief stint on Broadway that season, although she did get nominations for Distinguished Performance from the Drama League, for Favorite Lead Actress in a Broadway Musical from Broadway.com's Audience Awards, and for Best Lead Actress in a Musical from Broadwayworld.com's Fans' Choice Awards.^[63] Between the 2001 Los Angeles and 2002 Broadway productions of Flower Drum Song, she performed in a non-musical theatrical production for the first time, playing the role of Catherine in the stage play Proof in Manila.^[2] This was followed by a major concert, The Broadway Concert,^[65] at the Philippine International Convention Center. She also sang with Harry Connick, Peter Gallagher, and Michelle Lee in a tribute number for Richard Rodgers at the 56th Tony Awards.^[66]

In 2003, Salonga did her first "all-Filipino" concert in Manila called Songs from Home, which later won a second Aliw Award as Entertainer of the Year; she also won the previous year.^[67][68] Upon her return to the U.S., she performed in several shows at the Mohegan Sun in Montville, Connecticut. This was followed by a Christmas concert in the Philippines called Home for Christmas at the end of the year, which was nominated for the 18th Aliw Awards,^[69] and performances at the Lenape Regional Performing Arts Center in Marlton, New Jersey the following year, in 2004.^[70] Later that year, she played Lizzie in the Manila production of the musical Baby, which earned her another nomination from the Aliw Awards.^[69][71]

2004–2007[link]

In 2005, Salonga played her first US concert tour in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Atlantic City, and Chicago.^[72][73][74] Concert dates in Washington, D.C. and Norfolk, Virginia followed.^[75] Later that year, Salonga performed with a 26-piece ensemble to a sold-out crowd at the Isaac Stern Hall in Carnegie Hall for the benefit of Diverse City Theater Company.^{[76][77][78][79][80]} Between her concerts, the Filipino Academy of Movie Arts and Sciences (FAMAS) bestowed her with the Golden Artist Award at the 53rd FAMAS Awards in honor of her international achievements.^[81][82] She performed during the grand opening of Hong Kong's Disneyland^[83] and recorded two songs on tenor Daniel Rodriguez's In the Presence CD.^[84] That same year, Salonga did voice work for Disney's English dub of Hayao Miyazaki's My Neighbor Totoro as Mrs. Kusakabe. Salonga's other Disney film credits include the singing voice of Princess Jasmine for Aladdin in 1992 and Fa Mulan for Mulan and Mulan II in 1998 and in 2004, respectively.^[5]

In 2006, at the 15th Asian Games in Doha, Qatar, Salonga concluded the closing ceremony with the song "Triumph of The One" before an audience of 50,000 people at the Khalifa Stadium.^[85][86][87]

In 2007, Salonga released her first studio album in seven years called Inspired, which has been certified platinum,^[88] and finished another stint in the musical Les Misérables on Broadway, this time as Fantine.^[89][90] She was scheduled to appear in a number of musical events scheduled in different countries until 2008.^{[91][92][93][94]}

Salonga received the Order of Lakandula Award from Philippine president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo in recognition of her excellence in her craft and for using her talents to benefit Philippine society.^[95] It was also announced that she would return to Broadway in the musical Les Misérables, replacing Daphne Rubin-Vega as Fantine on March 6.^[89][96] Her tenure started, however, on March 2, four days earlier than planned.^[97][98] Her casting on the show has been credited with boosting the musical's ticket sales on Broadway.^[99][100] On September 27, 2007, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, who was in New York, watched Salonga in her new role in the musical, whose cast that night included Filipino Americans Adam Jacobs as Marius and Ali Ewoldt as Cosette.^[101][102] Her contract with the musical ended on October 21, 2007 and she was succeeded by Broadway's original Cosette Judy Kuhn.^[103][104] For her performances in this revival, Salonga received rave reviews and made it again to the short list of Broadway.com's Audience Award favorites—this time for Best Replacement for her new role as Fantine.^{[100][105][106]} During her stint on Broadway this season, she appeared on Broadway on Broadway 2007^[107] and Stars in the Alley 2007,^[108] spoke at the Broadway Artists Alliance Summer Intensives,^[109] guested on the Broadway musical 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee,^[110] and participated in Broadway Cares / Equity Fights AIDS' 12th Annual Nothing Like A Dame event to benefit the women's health initiative of The Actors Fund.^[106][111] Right after doing Les Misérables, she performed in two events: at the US Military Academy Band's concert in West Point where she sang four songs and an encore^[112] and in her own concert at the Tarrytown Music Hall in New York.^[113]

As of November 2007,^{[dated info]} a number of performances were scheduled for the rest of the year and for 2008, including a Christmas presentation in Manila,^[91][114] concerts in other parts of the Philippines and in California, Hawaii, Hong Kong, and Guam^{[92][93][115][116][117][118][119][120]} and Broadway Asia Entertainment's international tour of Rodgers & Hammerstein's Cinderella, where she plays the lead.^[94][121]

2008–present[link]

On 3 July 2008, Salonga became a columnist in the Philippine Daily Inquirer with her column "Backstory" (Entertainment section), "Introducing: Lea Salonga, writer".^[122] She performed in "Global Pop" at the Music Center on July 11, 2008. It was presented by The Blue Ribbon a group founded by Dorothy Chandler in 1968.^[123] Backed by an orchestra of 19 musicians, Salonga received a standing ovation for her solo concert on July 11 at Los Angeles' Walt Disney Concert Hall. Salonga also performed part of Rodgers and Hammerstein's "There's Music in You", as preview of her coming show Cinderella at the Cultural Center of the Philippines on July 29.^{[124][125][126]} That same year she received a special citation from Awit Awards, the Philippines' version of Grammys.

From late July 2008 to mid-2009, Salonga played the title role in the 30-week Asian tour of Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella, opening in Manila and continuing to China, South Korea, Japan, Singapore, Malaysia, and Thailand. According to Billboard.com, Salonga was scheduled to perform in Nevada, Washington, California, Indiana, New York, Hawaii and more in 2009 and was also asked to dance the Filipino novelty dances "Ocho-ocho" and "Spaghetti".^[127]

In July 2009, Salonga agreed to advertise the Avon Products line of anti-aging skin care products Anew Rejuvenate in the Philippines.^[128]

Also in the same month, Salonga was invited to sing at the 95th Anniversary Special of the Iglesia Ni Cristo (INC). She was given a standing ovation after her first song, which was an original composition by the Church arranged by Ryan Cayabyab.^[129]

At the Requiem Mass for former President Corazon Aquino on 5 August 2009, Salonga sang the patriotic Bayan Ko as the recessional before Aquino's casket was brought out of Manila Cathedral.^[130]

Salonga celebrated 20 years of Miss Saigon by performing in a concert called "Lea Salonga...Your Songs", at the Philippine International Convention Center (PICC) Plenary Hall on December 11 and 12, 2009. She conducted an online poll via www.LEAyoursongs.com where fans could request songs they wanted to hear. The concert had crooner Richard Poon, the award-winning dance group Philippine All Stars and Concert Comedy Queen Ai-Ai de las Alas as special guests. "Lea Salonga...Your Songs" was under the musical direction of her brother, Gerard Salonga along with the FILharmoniKA.

From 23 July to 22 August 2010, Salonga played the role of Grizabella in the Manila run of the Asia-Pacific tour of Andrew Lloyd Webber's Cats at the Cultural Center of the Philippines. She returned to Les Misérables on October 3 in the 25th Anniversary Concert of Les Misérables as Fantine, fifteen years after appearing in the 10th Anniversary as Eponine.^[131][132]

In 2010, Salonga joined forces with Avon as a celebrity judge for Avon Voices,^[133] Avon's first ever global, online singing talent search for women and songwriting competition for men and women. Instantly, she become part of Miss Universe history because of her winning final question which won by Miss Angola Leila Lopes.

Salonga was honoured as a Disney Legend on 19 August 2011.^[134]

She was chosen to serve as one of the judges in the 60th Miss Universe 2011 Beauty Pageant in São Paulo, Brazil on 12 September 2011. ^[135]

Salonga will star in the Broadway-bound musical, Allegiance, at the Old Globe Theatre in San Diego from 6 September – 20 October 2012.^[136]

Education and personal life[link]

Lea Salonga is the daughter of Feliciano Genuino Salonga and Ligaya Alcantara Imutan and spent the first six years of her childhood in Angeles City before moving to Manila.^[7]. She is not related to former Senator Jovito Salonga. She has a brother named Gerard Salonga who is an orchestral conductor.

She studied and finished her secondary education in 1988 at the O. B. Montessori Center in Greenhills, San Juan, Metro Manila,^[137] 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. A college freshman at the Ateneo de Manila University when she auditioned for Miss Saigon,^[138] she later took two courses at Fordham University's Lincoln Center campus while in between jobs 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.^[3][139] They have a daughter, Nicole Beverly, who was born on May 16, 2006, named after Salonga's late mother-in-law, Beverly.^[140] She is also an avid video game enthusiast, and has mentioned her love for the hobby in several of her print articles.^[141]

On October 15, 2010, Lea Salonga was nominated Goodwill Ambassador of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).

Discography[link]

• Small Voice (1981)
• Lea (1988)
• Miss Saigon (Original London Cast) (1990)
• The King And I (Hollywood Studio Cast) (1992)
• Little Tramp – The Musical (1992)
• Aladdin (soundtrack) (1992)
• Lea Salonga (1993)
• Les Miserables - The Dream Cast in Concert (1995)
• Hey Mr. Producer: The Musical World of Cameron MacKintosh (1997)
• I'd Like to Teach The World to Sing (1997)
• Mulan (soundtrack) (1998)
• By Heart (1999)
• Lea... In Love (1999)
• Lea Salonga Live Vol. 1 (2000)
• Lea Salonga Live Vol. 2 (2000)
• Lea Salonga: The Christmas Album (2000)
• Making Tracks (2001)
• Songs from The Screen (2001)
• The Broadway Concert (2002)
• Flower Drum Song (2002)
• 100% Lea Gives Her Best (2003)
• Songs from Home: Live Concert Recording (2004)
• Mulan II (2005)
• The Ultimate OPM Collection (2007)
• Inspired (2007)
• Shelldon (soundtrack) (2008)
• The Journey So Far - Recorded Live at Cafe Carlyle (2012)

Filmography[link]

• Tropang Bulilit (1981)
• Like Father, Like Son (1985)
• Captain Barbel (1986)
• Ninja Kids (1986)
• Pik Pak Boom (1989)
• Dear Diary (1989)
• The heat is on in Saigon (1989) – the making of Miss Saigon
• Aladdin (1992) – singing voice of Princess Jasmine
• Bakit Labis Kitang Mahal (1992) – Sandy
• Sana Maulit Muli (1995) – Agnes
• Redwood Curtain (1995) – Geri Riorden
• Les Misérables: The 10th Anniversary Concert (1995) – Éponine
• Mulan (1998) – singing voice of Fa Mulan
• As the World Turns (2001) – Lien Hughes (also reprised role in 2003)
• My Neighbor Totoro (2004) – voice of Mrs. Kusakabe in the Disney English language version
• Mulan II (2004) – singing voice of Fa Mulan
• Disney Princess Enchanted Tales: Follow Your Dreams (2007) – singing voice of Princess Jasmine
• Les Misérables: The 25th Anniversary Concert (2010) – Fantine

See also[link]

• Kuh Ledesma
• George Canseco
• Pilita Corrales
• Martin Nievera
• Gary Valenciano

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official website
• Lea Salonga at the Internet Broadway Database
• Lea Salonga at the Internet Movie Database
• Lea Salonga at the Disney Legends Website
• FAO Goodwill Ambassador website

BD Wong
BD Wong in New York City, June 2008.
Chinese name	黃榮亮 (Traditional)
Chinese name	黄荣亮 (Simplified)
Pinyin	Huáng Róngliàng (Mandarin)
Jyutping	Wong4 Wing4 Loeng6 (Cantonese)
Birth name	Bradley Darryl Wong
Born	(1960-10-24) October 24, 1960 (age 51) San Francisco, California, USA
Other name(s)	Bradd D. Wong Bradd Wong B.D. Wong
Years active	1983-present
Partner(s)	Richie Jackson (1988-2004)
Children	Jackson Foo Wong (2000- ) Boaz Dov Wong (2000-2000)
Awards Theatre World Award 1988 M. Butterfly

Bradley Darryl "BD" Wong (born October 24, 1960) is an American actor, best known for his roles as Dr. George Huang on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, as Father Ray Mukada on HBO's Oz, Henry Wu in the movie Jurassic Park, and for his Tony Award winning role as Song Liling in the Broadway production of M. Butterfly. He starred as Dr. Lee on NBC series Awake from March to May 2012.

Early life[link]

Wong was born in San Francisco, California, the son of Roberta Christine (née Leong), a telephone company supervisor, and William D. Wong.^[1] He is of Chinese descent.^[2] Wong attended Lincoln High School before attending San Francisco State University.

Career[link]

Wong gained attention for his Broadway debut in M. Butterfly opposite John Lithgow. The play won multiple awards, including several for Wong. He is notable as the only actor to be honored with the Tony Award, Drama Desk Award,^[3] Outer Critics Circle Award, Clarence Derwent Award, and Theatre World Award for the same role.^[4] In addition to his long-running stint on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit as FBI psychiatrist Dr. George Huang, he has had recurring roles in All American Girl and as a prison priest on Oz, with guest appearances on The X-Files and Sesame Street. On the big screen, he has appeared in The Freshman (1990), the 1991 remake of Father of the Bride and its 1995 sequel, Father of the Bride Part II, Jurassic Park (1993), Executive Decision (1996) and Slappy and the Stinkers (1997). He also provided the voice of Captain Shang in Disney's Mulan (1998) and its direct-to-video sequel. He returned to Broadway as Linus in a revival of You're a Good Man Charlie Brown, alongside Anthony Rapp, Roger Bart and Kristin Chenoweth, and the 2004 revival of Stephen Sondheim's Pacific Overtures. In 2008, he starred in the one-man show Herringbone, in which he portrays 11 roles, at the McCarter Theatre at Princeton University. He brought the show to the La Jolla Playhouse in San Diego the following year.^[5]

Wong announced his departure from the cast of Law & Order: SVU in July 2011, to join another NBC police drama, Awake where he currently portrays Dr. Johnathan Lee, a confrontational therapist of an LAPD detective (portrayed by Jason Issacs) who lives in two realities.^[6] Wong will guest star in an upcoming thirteenth season episode of Law & Order: SVU titled "Father Dearest" (which airs May 2, 2012).^[7]

Personal life[link]

Wong, began a long-term relationship with talent agent Richie Jackson in 1988.^[8] In 2000, Wong had twin sons: Boaz Dov, who died 90 minutes after birth, and Jackson Foo Wong. They were born through a surrogate mother, using Wong's sperm and an egg donated by Jackson's sister. In 2003, Wong wrote a memoir about his experiences with surrogacy titled Following Foo: the Electronic Adventures of the Chestnut Man. Wong and Jackson ended their relationship in 2004.^[8]

Filmography[link]

Television[link]

Video games[link]

Awards[link]

• 1988 Clarence Derwent Award for Most Promising Male – M. Butterfly
• 1988 Outer Critics Circle Award for Best Debut Performance – M. Butterfly
• 1988 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play – M. Butterfly
• 1988 Theatre World Award – M. Butterfly
• 1988 Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Play – M. Butterfly
• 2003 GLAAD Davidson/Valentini Award^[9]

References[link]

External links[link]

• BD Wong at the Internet Broadway Database
• BD Wong at the Internet Movie Database
• BD Wong at the Internet Off-Broadway Database

Maria Hinojosa (b. 1961, Mexico City) is a Mexican American broadcast journalist. She was (2005–2010) Senior Correspondent for the PBS news magazine, NOW on PBS.^[1]

She is currently also the host of her own show on PBS, Maria Hinojosa: One-on-One, an interview talk show that features one-on-one interviews with a diverse group of guests, including actors, writers, activists, and politicians.^[2]

Hinojosa's first journalism experience was as host of a Latino radio show while she was a student at Barnard College, where she graduated magna cum laude with a degree in Latin American studies.

In 1995, Hinojosa began hosting the National Public Radio show Latino USA; she also hosted the WNBC-TV public affairs show, Visiones. From 1997 to 2005, she worked for CNN's New York City bureau, where she gained recognition for her reporting on urban issues.

She can currently be seen on PBS, where she hosts Maria Hinojosa: One-on-One, and on V-me, the Spanish-language TV network, where she hosts La Plaza: Conversaciones con María Hinojosa.