Lea Salonga Blogs on BroadwayWorld: March 8, 2010

Tony Award-winner Lea Salonga (Miss Saigon) comes to the Café Carlyle to make her New York cabaret debut in an exclusive three-week engagement. "The Journey So Far" will begin performances on Tuesday, March 9 and plays through Saturday, March 27.

Leading up to and through her run, Lea Salonga will be blogging for BroadwayWorld.com!

For reservations please call 212-744-1600. For additional information please visit www.thecarlyle.com.

The wonders of SHOPPING!!!

I will be the first to admit, I'm not much of a shopper. I've kept clothes for years in my closet (perhaps I'm one of the millions of people hoping to fit into one's old jeans... which isn't going to happen anytime soon) and don't really keep up with the latest styles. I live in t-shirts, jeans and sneakers, and since my foot injury (metatarsalgia, thanks to the high heels that I wear in concert...call it "vanity") haven't really sought the more fashionable pieces of footwear. However, now that my Carlyle Cabaret is coming up, my management team sent me on a mission: SHOPPING.

Since, as I said, I'm not much of a mall hound, I decided to arm myself with the most absolute essential for a successful shopping trip: a gay man with great taste in clothes. For this mission, Josh Pultz, one of my agents at DGRW was chosen.

He sent me messages that I should head to Bergdorf & Goodman's personal shopping department on the 4th floor...he would start fielding the fashions (with the help of Liz Miller and her able associate Kate) before my arrival. Once I got there, I saw what he had initially picked out. A couple of pieces stood out for their style (Josh knows that I lean towards the more conservative sets) and simplicity. The Café Carlyle is a small room, so we needed to tone down the flash.

The first piece I tried was a gray Badgely Mishka jersey gown with large stones on the neckline. It was comfy, which is always a consideration when I know that I'll be standing on stage for a little over an hour. We got it fitted by Ina, one of the Bergdorf fitters (we're lowering the neckline a little, and getting it hemmed... the thing about those gowns is that they're made for very, very tall people... I'm not tall at all), and called that gown a winner.

Next, I put on a turquoise Andrew Gn gown. It looked OK on the hanger, so I wasn't sure just how it would look on the body. Once I put in on though, I felt like... like... a total princess! Josh and I both gasped! We couldn't believe it! Kate did say that it would look good worn as opposed to hung, and she was right. Needless to say, we got that fitted too.

At my final fitting, I tried on one final piece: an classic black Armani tuxedo. I had seen this worn on many actors at many red carpet events, so I thought this would be an investment piece, something timeless that I would and could wear to just about any formal occasion. I finished the day with a pair of Jimmy Choo heels. And yes, they are quite comfortable!

So yes... I think that I'm ready for my Café Carlyle engagements, thanks to Bergdorf's and my fashionable gay shopping companion. Next: making sure my actual show's all set and ready to go.