Interview: Lea Salonga brings LEA SALONGA: THE HUMAN HEART TOUR to Ohio

Broadway legend, Lea Salonga is bringing her powerhouse voice and her story across the country in her concert tour, "Lea Salonga: The Human Heart Tour." The tour will make two Ohio stops: Toledo on April 28 and Mansfield on April 29.

Salonga is a star of both stage and screen, having won the Tony, Olivier, Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle and Theatre World Awards. She is perhaps best known for her Tony Award-winning performance as Kim in the original Broadway company of "Miss Saigon." Salonga was also the first Asian to play Eponine in "Les Misérables," then returned to the musical as Fantine in the 2006 revival. You may have most recently caught her as Erzulie in the Tony Award-winning revival of "Once on This Island," from which the tour gets its name.

Fans may recognize Salonga as the singing voice of both Princess Jasmine in the original animated film "Aladdin," and Fa Mulan in "Mulan" and "Mulan II." In August 2011, the Walt Disney Company honored Salonga with the title "Disney Legend," alongside Anika Noni Rose, Regis Philbin, and Jim Henson (posthumously).

Salonga has released several albums, including her live album, "Blurred Lines," which was recorded during her sold-out run at Feinstein's 54 Below in 2017. In 2017, she also released "Bahagari" which is an album of traditional Filipino songs.

I got the chance to chat with the star about what makes this concert tour special, recovering from injury, being a coach on the Philippines hit version of "The Voice," video games, gender roles and much more in the interview below.

BroadwayWorld: What inspired you to create "The Human Heart Tour" and take it on the road?

Lea Salonga: I had just finished a run of "Once on This Island," So I guess that inspired the title of the tour. The music that was chosen to be performed are all dimensions or aspects of the heart that we get to show that it is not romantic love or unrequited love, but we get to run the gamut of human emotions without, of course, going insane. We speak of ambition and desire for success. We talk about the love a mother has for her child, there's romance and there's some sensuality, friendship, and self-doubt so we run a nice little gamut and range on different aspects of the heart which is, which has been exciting.

BWW: You're certainly not a stranger to concerts like these, as you've performed all over the world countless times, but what makes this concert tour, unique and special to you?

LS: Well, as far as concerts go it's not necessarily unique vocally. All of the stuff that I am singing on the tour is all music that I've done before; whether it is a concert in Manila, a show on Broadway or elsewhere. What is different is that because I broke my leg in January, on a ski trip. It was my fourth day on the slope, and I fell and broke my tibia. It wasn't a huge break, but a break, nonetheless. My doctor said, "Okay, you've got to keep that immobilized, and you have to be off your feet for four weeks." It was a challenge going to the bathroom for about a month, and taking showers. People that have broken a limb will totally understand.

Then physical therapy began. I told my manager, "Okay, this is the deal. I'm not going to be able to stand for the bulk of this tour. I'm going to have to sit." Now, I hobble on crutches...I get out on stage with my crutches. We've been able to improvise where I can let my crutches hang. We've used a symbol holder and whatever else is available. [...] Then I sit on a stool, and I stay there for an hour and a half, two hours, and sing one song after another, tell stories and have myself a good time. I wear sneakers, even if I'm in a gown, I'm wearing sneakers.

Folks have just been incredibly understanding, and so generous. Nothing has changed in the ovation. It's not for sympathy; it's for necessity. With every day that I'm on tour, I try to increase my stamina and increase the strength on my injured leg. I'm hoping that by the end of this tour, I will be off of every assistive device that I have been using thus far. So, it's been a recuperation tour, and so far it's been successful. My manager's been watching my progress, and he has said, "Even from the first day you started this tour. I'm seeing that you're walking faster and that you're getting more confident." But, my doctor did say, "Just use your wheelchair at airports, please. It's too hard to walk to security." So, that's what's been different and a little more challenging about touring this time around. It's given me a lot of perspective, I have to say.

BWW: That's great! You mentioned Manila, and you are a coach on the Philippines' hit version of "The Voice" as well as "The Voice Kids."

LS: Yeah! It's such a huge hit at home!

BWW: Can you talk a little bit about your experience with that, and what it's like to mentor these new artists?

LS: It's been fantastic. It's been really, really incredible. I'm not in touch with everybody that I've mentored, because that can be impossible. But, there are a few that stick to your heart that you always look over, remain in touch with and try to find opportunities for them. It's been quite a trip, and it's definitely been rewarding being able to watch the progress of someone even years after. It's amazing to be able to witness that.

There are a couple of little girls that we've stayed in touch with and [we've] kind of been watching them. There are a few others that I've become friends with from the adult version, and we've all remained in touch and maintained a friendship. I don't think I've worked together with a whole bunch of them since the show wrapped, but there are a couple that I regularly tap to be part of concerts and things. It's been an incredibly fulfilling experience. During the first season, I had no idea what it was going to be, and it's turned out to be something very, very special.

BWW: That's so wonderful. You've also done several shows back in Manila such as "Fun Home," "Cats" and even "Miss Saigon." What is it like to return and perform in your hometown?

LS: Oh, it's always fun. It's always a good time. Performing in front of a hometown crowd, it's just... I don't know. I think when people look at you and see that you've done well for yourself, it's kind of "hometown girl done good." I think people are just happy that I'm able to come home and keep performing. It's always a good time because then there is no language barrier. I can speak in whatever language I want. If I speak in English, it's fine. If I speak in Tagalog, or a mix of the two, it's nice because then sometimes I don't have to think about which language to use. It's whatever naturally will convey the thoughts in the most efficient and effective way, and that's what I'm going to do. Sometimes the story is told better in Tagalog than English, and vice versa. So, it's nice to have those tools at my disposal.

BWW: You've definitely done well for yourself as you've had such an incredible career on stage and screen, with such iconic credits. Miss Saigon just had a birthday!

LS: Yes, April 11, that was opening night!

BWW: Yes, and you got your Tony Award for originating Kim. So, is there a role or a show that you feel most connected to?

LS: Oh, I don't know... that I feel most connected to... let's think. I don't know. I think there's actually a couple that are very close to me. One is playing Sonia in "They're Playing Our Song" because I think it most accurately depicted my psychological state during some relationship drama that I was having at the time. It felt really cathartic to do that show because it was like "Okay, I have emotional release doing this."

Then the other one would be playing Helen in "Fun Home." The director of the show, Bobby Garcia, basically took me aside and said, "Basically this role is you're going to play your mother telling you, the adult you, about what this life has been like." So I told him to stop talking at that point. Then, I immediately knew my way in and had to do that for every night of the show. I could see my mother out of the corner of my eye, even while I was on stage, but Bobby was watching her watching me. He said, "Oh, you made her feel so uncomfortable. She was so in her seat the whole time you were singing "Days and Days," and it felt extremely satisfying to hear that.

BWW: Lastly, I saw that you are an avid gamer. What's your favorite game?

LS: Right now it's "Assassin's Creed," and I'm actually in the new game plus mode of it. I started the entire game over, but kept all of the arsenal that I had already accumulated from the previous play-through, which means that I'm starting at a very high level. But that really doesn't matter because then all of your enemies are at that same level. It's like, "Well, alright. This is gonna be fun." [laughs] But it's been a lot of fun.

You get to choose the gender of your player. I played as a woman, the first time, and now I'm playing as a man the second time. It's interesting how different things will read, just because of the switch, how certain jokes land and how things look. The scenarios are exactly the same, and I like that it's exactly the same because then the difference is really in the person playing. It's in their interpretation. So, I see something as completely different even though my brain is telling me, "Nope, everything is exactly the same," but it's also how we culturally and societally perceive gender roles. It's two people doing exactly the same thing, and exactly the same wardrobe too, but there's a difference that you perceive, just because of how society has placed men and women in certain roles. I find it really interesting. It made for really interesting commentary on gender roles. I don't know that the game was actually intending to do that.

BWW: Thank you so much, Lea!

LS: It was my pleasure!

For more information on "The Human Heart Tour" and the full tour schedule, click here.

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