No more results on this page
There is almost no stagecraft to this show... just Lea Salonga singing with a small band. And yet, no other stagecraft is needed, because her voice is just so beautiful and she sings with such emotion. Curiously, Miss Saigon was absent from the song list. Other than that, fans of Lea Salonga would be very happy with this show.
Usher allowed people to take our reserved seats in the balcony...not cool. Getting comp buffet tickets was a fair trade. Please note: the buffet is not worth $20/head...prob not even $8/head...it is very mediocre. We were planning to eat at the buffet anyway, so the $40 trade-off for the usher's mistake (and the rudeness of the people who wouldn't move from our seats) was...fair.
I had heard some Lea Salonga music before, but not recently, so I didn't know what to expect other than a lot of Filipinos would be in attendance! The venue itself, just under an hour east of Seattle in good weather (it was pouring rain this night), was new to me, and I was glad we arrived 1/2 hour before show time. Ample parking (garage), large and modern facility, smoking is allowed and thus it's an indoor haven for smokers. Filtration was good enough to not be obnoxious, but it was noticeable, and I wouldn't have lasted if the ballroom itself had this issue (I didn't notice anybody smoking therein, perhaps it isn't allowed there). As a first-timer to the Snoqualamie Casino, I was a bit wide-eyed, but eventually figured out where the ballroom was via "feel." Their signage could perhaps be improved, such as putting something obvious where one emerges from the elevators. The ballroom itself: large, seats were comfortable yet tight side-to-side, with ample foot room. Good sight lines, almost intimate. Ms. Salonga's set included about 20 songs (90-100 minutes, no break), with 1 encore that found perhaps a quarter of the crowd headed for the exit before they even realized it, but then people came in and went out throughout, the ushers were excellent in keeping the incomers out until between songs. She was backed up by a small group of 6 that included a couple of keyboards, electric guitar players, bass player, and a terrific piano player who doubled as musical director. She included songs of her own, a handful of others' songs ranging from Journey to Chicago to Air Supply to Barbra Streisand, a couple of Filipino songs, a couple of Les Miserables songs (from her performances in that musical), and the two Disney songs she's most known for - "Reflection" (from Mulan) and "A Whole New World" (Aladdin). She took a huge risk (apparently, something she's been doing for 6 years) by inviting an audience member to come up on stage to sing the latter as a duet, and a willing, eager, and fairly-proficient male audience member quickly emerged, raced across the front and climbed the stairs to join her. She thanked the audience after virtually every song, something I've never seen; her personality warmed up as time went on - with talk of her childhood, getting to married, her family, and her heritage, often injecting humor; she spoke of a Make-A-Wish youth who had made progress(!) since her attendance at a previous concert, and near the end expressed a heartfelt appreciation for our attendance the kind of which I've never seen and that I felt was genuine. Further, she - an accomplished performer - was available to sign autographs afterwards! In summary: expect smoke-it's a casino, the ballroom is a fine venue, and the performer was - and is - a wonderful individual who hasn't lost sight of where she's come from, both musically and as a person. Expect a pleasant time with middle-of-the-road type of music and a few laughs along the way. Hopefully, someday she'll play in a venue closer to Seattle, such as Meany Hall, maybe even Benaroya Hall, as I think she's popular enough.
What a pleasant and charming evening Lea gave the audience. Her voice is truly amazing and offers a wide repertoir of music to fit all her fans. And for those of us who did not know of her, she quickly brought us into her world of musical beauty. A highlight was inviting a male fan out of the audience to sing her Alladin duet with her. It brought the audience to their feet with a sense of belonging and pure joy. A fantastic night of beautiful music.
The repertoire was fantastic! Lea knows how to connect to her audience. She talked in between songs and I guess it's important for all performers to say something about the song. Lea looked really tired but she managed to spend time greeting her audience and fans after the concert. She did sign some autographs so as mine, I was at the very end of the line and almost said to Lea, "yahoo, I'm the last one and you get to go home" but I wasn't so sure if Lea would take such joke, so I didn't bother to say it. Lea was so kind when I requested her to put my name on the album, no second thoughts and she's willing to do anything whatever her fans requested. Overall, the experience was great and look forward to another concert here in Washington State. This was my second time to see her in concert here in Snoqualmie!
A great show. Lea has a very porwerful and beautiful voice.
Concert was awesome! Lea sang very good. It was very nice to see her in person!
The show overall was good. Lea's voice works best on the Broadway and show tunes - especially loved "I Dreamed a Dream" from Les Miz, and her Disney songs. "A Whole New World" was especially fun with a duet partner from the audience. Did not care for the Philipino songs, but the audience was primarily Asian so it was appropriate for the crowd.
