Photo Coverage: Anna Maria Perez de Tagle and Friends’ Cruise Concert

New York, May 13, 2012 – Hollywood-turned-Broadway actress Anna Maria Perez de Tagle's "Godspell" co-stars, showbiz friends, and fans turned out in full force at her recent benefit concert held on board the Hornblower Hybrid, which – aside from the audience enjoying De Tagle and her buddies' wide repertoire – treated the crowd to breathtaking views of the Manhattan skyline and the Statue of Liberty.

BroadwayWorld.com was there, and took the event photos below.

Halfway through the concert, which, in most of the musical numbers, had made use of a live band accompaniment led by the show's musical director, Sonny Paladino of Disney's "High School Musical" and Broadway's "Billy Elliot," De Tagle gave a short spiel about St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, and why she chose the cancer research center as her fundraiser's sole beneficiary.  "I'm doing this show to raise funds for St. Jude Children's Hospital because one of my first cousins, Neil Thomson, is struck down with a rare form of cancer.  St. Jude finds cure for children with cancer," she said. Soon after, she sang a Tagalog love song titled "Ikaw" (You), which she dedicated to Thomson. The 21-year-old petite singer gestured for her cousin to join her on stage, which made her burst into tears toward the tail end of the song – apparently, there was not a dry eye in the audience.

Besides De Tagle's heart-tugging stage moment with her kin, other highlights of the evening included her duets with Wallace Smith ("The Closer I Get to You") Nick Blaemire ("No Air"), Eric Michael Krop ("Sun and Moon," "Last Night of the World"), George Salazar ("I Got You Babe") – in which Salazar and De Tagle channel '60s folk-pop duo Sony and Cher, Sam Milby ("I Need You Now"), Corbin Bleu ("I Just Can't Stop Loving You"), and interestingly enough, her surprise duet ("When You Look Me In the Eyes") with Paul Kevin Jonas Sr., De Tagle's manager and American boy band Jonas Brothers' father.

In addition, De Tagle dedicated her medley of ballads from mega-musicals "Les Miserables" ("I Dreamed a Dream," "On My Own") and "Miss Saigon" ("I'd Give My Life For You") to one of her musical influences, Lea Salonga, who was seated among the concertgoers. Group numbers, such as John Kander and Fred Ebb's "Sara Lee" and Elton John and Kiki Dee's "Don't Go Breaking My Heart" (the show's first and last encore), were well applauded. 

Photos by Oliver Oliveros