AWARD?
MANILA, DECEMBER 31, 2011
(STAR) [PHOTO - Lea Salonga with mom Ligaya and daughter Nicole…
] FUNFARE By Ricardo F. Lo - That's what Funfare's Big Apple
correspondent Edmund Silvestre is asking.
My answer is yes, yes, yes!
Said Edmund, "One of the most revered theater performers in the world, Lea
has been bringing honor and pride to the Filipino race, not just with her
exceptional talent, but with her untainted public image as well."
Again, I agree.
After winning the international hunt for the lead role in the Vietnam
War-inspired musical drama Miss Saigon, Lea received the highest honors for
excellence the world of theater can bestow on an artist: Broadway's Tony Award
and West End's Laurence Olivier Award.
From then on, the theater world began to notice Filipino talents.
… and with Miss Saigon producer Cameron Mackintosh
Lea even managed to break racial barriers and opened doors wider for Filipino
and other Asian theater actors when she was cast in Caucasian roles (Eponine and
Fantine) in the French revolution musical Les Miserables.
She has performed at the Oscars as well as in front of global leaders and
dignitaries, starred in a movie (Red Curtain) with John Lithgow and Jeff
Daniels, appeared in an American soap (As The World Turns), sang in the most
prestigious venues across the earth, joined Susan Sarandon, Celine Dion and
Italian actor Raoul Bova as Goodwill Ambassadors of the United Nations to fight
world hunger, and even sat as a judge in the Miss Universe Pageant.
Just recently, Walt Disney honored her with the Disney Legend Award for her
contributions to Disney's legacy as the singing voice of Princess Jasmine from
the animated film Aladdin and Fa Mulan in Mulan and Mulan II, all produced by
Disney.
"So," concluded Edmund who recently interviewed Lea in New York for Funfare,
"like many others I believe that Lea, even only at 40 which is the new 30 as
scientists today redefine age is already ripe for the Philippines' highest and
most coveted recognition for an artist, the National Artist Award."
I second the motion.
Lea has always been an inspiration to numerous talents both wannabes and
veterans who consider her a role model, both as an artist and as a person. And
her unparalleled achievements as an accomplished theater diva even injected new
life and interest in Philippine theater.
But you'll be surprised to learn that Lea herself believes she's not
deserving of the National Artist honor not yet, at least - saying she has not
done really "significant" to push for the interest of Philippine arts.
"Of course, I don't want it to be given to somebody who's dead that they
can't appreciate and enjoy the award, but at the same time I don't feel worthy
of the honor and I would probably say, you know what, wait until I actually make
a real contribution to the country before you consider me," she humbly told
Funfare at the recent Avon Voices singing competition in New York City (reported
in this corner a few issues ago) where she served as a judge alongside Fergie of
the Black Eyed Peas and Natasha Bedingfield, among others.
Lea said that she's not yet in the league of artists like F. Sionil Jose, the
late Salvador Bernal or Alice Reyes, "who have contributed so much" to the
development of Philippine arts and thus deserve to be conferred membership in
the Order of National Artists.
(Aside from the title and prestige, a National Artist receives a monthly
pension, medical and life insurance, arrangements for a state funeral, a place
of honor at national state functions, and recognition at cultural events.)
Among Lea's landmark performances are those in (from left) Miss
Saigon as Kim… Les Miserables as Fantine… Cats as Grizabella… and in Flower Drum
Song.
"A lot of what I do, I sing a lot of western music, I've done a lot of
western musicals," Lea pointed out, "but I can't really say that I've made any
significant cultural contribution or impact to the advancement of Filipino
arts," adding, "(Zeneida) Bibot Amador (the late founder and artistic director
of Repertory Philippines) should actually have gotten it. Even though she was
staging mostly western plays and musicals, it's because of the number of people
that came out of Repertory Philippines and have made a mark for themselves. "
It was in Repertory Philippines that producer Cameron Mackintosh found many
of the principal characters for Miss Saigon like Lea, Monique Wilson, Cocoy
Laurel, Isay Alvarez, Junix Inocian, Pinky Amador, Michael Williams and even Leo
Valdez (a non-Repertory member).
"That's Bibot's great contribution, among many other things, to Philippine
arts. And don't forget that she had groomed not just a lot of actors, but also a
lot of directors who are now grooming actors the same way that she did."
More than two decades after taking the Great White Way and the West End by
storm, Lea, now a wife (to Rob Chien) and mother (to Nicole), continues to sing
and act on stage and topbill concerts and musicals all over the world, while
reaping honors and citations from different organizations and award-giving
bodies.
Yes, Edmund, Lea has nothing more to prove in her field that even Walt Disney
one of the largest media conglomerates in the world -already recognized her as a
legend.
… and with fellow UN Ambassadors of Goodwill Susan Sarandon and
Raoul Bova
And, as Edmund observed, the sad thing is that the Philippines is taking its
precious time to put on a pedestal a genuine national treasure worthy of the
highest emulation, however young she may be.
By the way, nominations for National Artist of the Philippines are based on a
broad criteria, as set forth by the Cultural Center of the Philippines and the
National Commission on Culture and the Arts, to wit (as enumerated by Edmund):
• Living artists who have been Filipino citizens for the last 10 years prior
to nomination as well as those who have died after the establishment of the
award in 1972 but were Filipino citizens at the time of their death;
• Artists who have helped build a Filipino sense of nationhood through the
content and form of their works;
With John Lithgow and Jeff Daniels in the teleplay Redwood Curtain…
• Artists who have distinguished themselves by pioneering in a mode of
creative expression or style, making an impact on succeeding generations of
artists;
• Artists who have created a significant body of works and/or have
consistently displayed excellence in the practice of their art form, enriching
artistic expression or style; and
• Artists who enjoy broad acceptance through prestigious national and/or
international recognition, awards in prestigious national and/or international
events, critical acclaim and/or reviews of their works, and/or respect and
esteem from peers within an artistic discipline.
[With John Lithgow and Jeff Daniels in the teleplay Redwood
Curtain…]
(E-mail reactions at entphilstar@yahoo.com. You may also send
your questions to askrickylo@gmail.com. For more updates,
photos and videos visit www.philstar.com/funfare or follow me
on www.twitter/therealrickylo.)
Chief News Editor: Sol
Jose Vanzi
© Copyright, 2011 by PHILIPPINE HEADLINE
NEWS ONLINE
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