Lea Salonga Caps U.S. Tour with Record-Breaking Cabaret Performance

Lea Salonga capped her seven-week U.S. tour with a full-house record-breaking performance at Feinstein’s/54 Below in New York.

The Tony Award winner’s 15th final show tonight broke the record for the most performances in a single engagement by a single artist at the supper club.

As Lea exited the stage to a standing ovation, the venue’s manager handed her a wrapped present that she opened onstage. It was a jersey that said “Salonga” and the number “15.”

IMAGE Yvette Fernandez

The program, a reprise of last year’s series at the venue, was a lovely selection that showcased the range of her vocal prowess. It included Broadway favorites, standards, and even pop songs, with intriguing arrangements of One Direction’s “The Story of My Life” and Robin Thicke’s “Blurred Lines.”

A song which brought her and her audience to tears was “I Won’t Mind,” a song she dedicated to two friends who took non-traditional paths to parenthood—one through medical technology, and the other, through the adoption process.

“Last Sunday, I was able to greet her a Happy Mother’s Day which was her first. Because a few days before that, the adoption process for her little girl had come through. There are those of us in this world who are meant to be parents, and I mean that in the most loving of ways, people who really should be blessed with a child. And you can be a parent in many different ways… sometimes it’s about opening up your heart to a kid who needs you.”

Salonga also announced the release of her new album “Blurred Lines” which includes all the songs in the show.

IMAGE Yvette Fernandez

The selection includes a “Greatest Hits Medley” with favorites from Miss Saigon, Aladdin, Mulan, Les Miserables, and Allegiance. 

Life is good.

Yvette