Lea Salonga in Stephen Sondheim’s “Old Friends” at the Ahmanson Theatre. Photos by Matthew Murphy
“The alchemy is extraordinary – everyone is learning from everyone.”
— Cameron Mackintosh
Being alive was my intangible, take-home gift after watching Sondheim’s Old Friends at the Ahmanson Theater in Los Angeles on February 22, 2025, which happened to be Lea Salonga’s birthday.
Her unmistakable popularity has been fueled by her “continuously improving” talent and her desire to be responsible, disciplined, and someone reliable to put on a good show, as she shared her thoughts with The New York Times’ Robert Ito in an article published February 18, 2025.
Our community’s excitement in watching Lea Salonga perform in the U.S. is quite high—even for this writer, who was persuaded by others to watch Flower Drum Song, opposite Jose Llana in 2002–2003 in Los Angeles. Then, again in New York in Allegiance in 2015–2016, my first time watching her dance onstage.
Ted Benito would always ask, “Have you seen a Filipina become a worldwide acclaimed talent?” “Hmm,” I pause, and very few come to mind, since she has performed to thousands at Soraya, Cerritos Performing Arts, Disney Hall, and Ahmanson Theater. Even in Cerritos, barely recovering from crutches.
As soon as Lea Salonga sang Loving You, it felt familiar. The lyrics moved me to tears. Every lyric was sung pitch-perfect and enunciated well. The sounds to our seats in Row W resonated quite well. At times, I heard the audience exclaim loudly their satisfaction. That included my unabashed bravos!
Loving you is not a choice
It’s who I am
Loving you is not a choice
And not much reason to rejoice
But it gives me purpose
It gives me voice to say
To the world, this is why I live
You are why I live
You in Sondheim’s lyrics are my grandchildren, born in the USA, and because of the color of their skin, are being excluded by White House policies torching the diversity, inclusion, and equity progress we have all worked hard for since the Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s—to make America a nation we love.
Though this is our temporary political situation in America, in our blessed state of California, I cannot lose sight of and truly appreciate that the theatre cast is diverse, of various ethnicities and ages, and their highest caliber of performances are at par with Broadway royalty, namely Bernadette Peters and Lea Salonga.
Sondheim’s Old Friends reflects the artistic ambition of Ahmanson:
“We create and present a broad range of outstanding live theatrical work that is bold, authentic, provocative, engaging, entertaining, and inspiring. We support artists working at the highest levels of their own experience and craft.”
And triumphantly, this was exceeded that afternoon. Even Los Angeles Times’ Charles McNulty, on February 14, 2025, describes Lea Salonga’s performance as superior.
To me, her “less is more” style allowed her voice to be heard—pure and pristine, with depth of emotion. Days later, I can still hear her sing and convey that love to the audience in my heart’s memory. A love she found in Robert Chien in 2004, whom she married at the Cathedral of Angels, witnessed by some of her fans. The YouTube piece, viewed by millions, captured their endearing and loving exchange of vows, with tears that accompanied their I do.
When Bernadette Peters sang her solo of Send in the Clowns, Sondheim became more and more familiar to me. With such rawness and emotional intensity, the relevance and resonance of the song to today’s circumstances were palpable. Mind you, this song has been sung in 500 different ways, but Peters’ version just hits your heart—boom, bullseye—and you are broken again.
Don’t you love farce?
My fault, I fear
I thought that you’d want what I want
Sorry, my dear!
But where are the clowns?
Send in the clowns
Don’t bother, they’re here
When some of the cast got interviewed in London, they were asked about the most difficult song in Old Friends. Their consensus formed around the song Getting Married Today—a rap at a fast pace where a single mistake could unravel the entire effect. Yet it was deftly sung to perfection by Joanna Riding, with Kevin Earley and Maria Wirries.
Here was my surprise—when Lea Salonga sang The Worst Pies in London in an East London Cockney accent. Her vintage costume as a baker made her unrecognizable at first. I had to ask our seatmate, Akiko, “That was Lea, right?” She played Mrs. Lovett in Sweeney Todd in Manila and Singapore, so her Los Angeles performance elicited the longest applause from the audience for her animated singing and “baking onstage.”
No denying times is hard, sir
Even harder than the worst pies in London
Only lard and nothing more
Is that just revolting?
All greasy and gritty
It looks like it’s molting
A wall plaque in the Ahmanson Theatre lobby reads:
“The word theatre comes from the Greeks. It means the seeing place. It is the place people come to see the truth about life and the social situation.”
May those words live in my heart, while Being Alive!
