BABY the Musical

Meralco Theater, Sunday, 3:30 pm was the call time for the musical that I watched with my fiance and my shopaholic friends. It was the first time for me to see the Tony and Lawrence Olivier awardee, Lea Salonga in a musical (I was not able to watch Miss Saigon when it was staged here in Manila).

BABY is based on the book written by Sybille Pearson, Music by David Shire and Richard Maltby, Jr. creating the lyrics. The musical play depicts the heart-warming stories of three soon-to-be-parents couples. Their adventures, joys and pains as they wait for the baby. It shows the rewarding and agonizingly funny consequences of the universal experience of "parenthood". There are the college students (played by Lea Salonga and David Shannon), barely at the beginning of their adult lives; the thirty-something (played by Jett Pangan and Agot Isidro), having trouble conceiving but determined to try; and the middle aged parents (played by Menchu Lauchengco-Yulo and Miguel Faustman), looking forward to seeing their last child graduate from college when a night of unexpected passion lands them back where they started.

Lea Salonga as Lizzie

The musical was entertaining at some point especially when the cast displays their funny side and some part are boring because the songs were not sang clearly. Undoubtedly, Lea has the most perfect crystal clear singing voice and near perfect diction. Whether she sang or delivers her lines you can understand every single word that comes from her mouth. I'm so surprise of how very good Jett Pangan played his character. I never thought a lead singer of a rock band would do wonders in theater. Another surprise was Agot Isidro's acting, she was very funny (the funniest among the characters) but she still need to work on the clarity of her singing.. I sometimes can't make out the words she's saying. The rest of the cast are good as well since they are all veterans of theater.

Over-all, it was good.. funny and delightful. But unfortunately, it was very irritating because the heads of those people in front of us are blocking our view (they can't sit still in one position...grrr!).

Anyhow, I must admit that I wouldn't have watched this if it weren't for Lea. I'm a fan and it makes me proud to see how great Filipinos can be in their craft if they put their best into it. Kudos to all of you!

The Cast