BANGKOK, Thailand—For protest-weary Bangkokians, the staging here of “Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Cinderella,” topbilled by world-renowned and multi-awarded Filipino artist Lea Salonga, offers a brief respite from the political turbulence dividing the nation.

On Tuesday night, everything seemed to have been forgotten as they watched the stirring performance of the Tony Award-winning actress for the first time. The gala premier kicked off the Bangkok leg of the musical’s Asian tour, which started in the Philippines in late July.

For a largely non-English speaking people, the Thais’ reaction to the dialogues and scenes were surprising. They laughed heartily at the jokes even though the lines were obviously of the American brand of humor.

Salonga plays the rags-to-riches heroine in the stage adaptation of the world’s best-loved fairy tale, the most popular version of which was written by Charles Perrault and published in 1697 in Paris. The original version is believed to have come from China in 800 B.C.

Through the skillful injection of modern-day terms into the new Cinderella script, such as interest rates and secret service, the producers were able to make the musical more relevant to the times.

The theatrical effects were superb and magical, leaving the audience wondering how they were done. The most applauded sequence was when the fairy godmother, wielding her magic wand, transformed the pumpkin into a golden carriage, the mouse into horses.

The scene where Cinderella’s tattered clothes changed into a gown in less than a minute particularly left the audience dumbfounded.

Later, her gown gradually transformed back into rags as she fled the castle at the stroke of midnight. To achieve this effect, three “Leas’’ were used during the swift costume change, leaving the audience wondering who of the three was the real Lea.

Standing ovation

Viewers familiar with the original tale will notice a little twist in the ending. Traditionally, the story ends with the herald and the duke going to Cinderella’s house to see if the shoe fits, all in the presence of her stepsisters.

In the musical, however, Cinderella goes back to the palace garden where she and the prince fell in love, and this is where she tries the shoe on.

At the end of the show, the mostly Thai audience—which included movie stars and VIPs in the entertainment industry—lavished Lea and cast with rousing applause. Filipino expatriates gave the cast a standing ovation.

The supporting players got their own shower of adulation, particularly those who played Cinderella’s stepmother and two stepsisters for their amusing dialogue and antics, the fairy godmother for her “magic” and wit, and the king and queen for their comic asides.

“It’s great,” said Christina Aguilar, a Thai pop singer born to Filipino and French parents. She watched the musical with her father, Tony Aguilar, a popular Filipino pianist based in Bangkok.

Lea fans

“Everything was great,” said the Bangkok-born Aguilar who has made a name for herself here after her debut album “Ninja” sold a million copies, a record for a female artist in Thailand.

Thai commercial model, singer and stage actress Suthasinee Buddhinan Rodrigues was particularly ecstatic that she was finally able to see Lea perform live.

“I love Lea Salonga. She’s my idol,” said Suthasinee, who has also starred in Thai musicals herself. “Every song that she sang, I was touched by it. I like a lot of them, particularly ‘There’s Music in You,’ ‘Ten Minutes Ago,’ and ‘Impossible’.”

Suthasinee said she found the musical well written, the dialogues very amusing. “Everything was great” that she wanted to watch it all over again.

A group of Thai high school students said they watched the show mainly out of curiosity for Lea. “It’s good,” they said of their first time ever to see a Broadway musical.

A middle-aged Thai woman, in faltering English, said the lead star’s performance was amazing. “Lea sings very well,” she told the Inquirer, with her son serving as an interpreter.

Fit for a star

Philippine Ambassador to Thailand Antonio Rodriguez said Lea’s performance was “befitting of a star of her stature.”

He said it surprised him to see many Thais expressing full appreciation of the show considering their relatively limited exposure to the musical genre.

Two Filipino housewives living in Bangkok said they were excited that the musical got staged here.

“I could not imagine that I will see (Lea) perform in Thailand, of all places. She was really good,” said Gina Ulat Emuang, who originally hails from Bacnotan, La Union, and has lived in Thailand for 14 years.

Cris Pelias, who hails from Manila and is now based here with her Filipino husband, was also star-struck. “Grabe! Kaya di ako makapagsalita. Ang ganda-ganda niya (I was speechless. She’s so beautiful).”

Anabelle Pacinos, 36, who teaches special kids in the Thai capital, said she has been a fan since Lea’s days as a child performer. “I really like her voice,” said Pacinos, who had also seen her idol in Miss Saigon.

Pacinos, who was formerly based in Makati, had to rush to the airport after the show to catch a midnight flight to the Philippines, where she would spend the holidays.

Billed as the biggest musical production of Broadway Asia Entertainment (BAE), Cinderella made its Bangkok debut on Dec. 16 and will run until Dec. 21 at the 1,500-seater Muang Thai Rachadalai theater. Ticket prices range from Bt1,000 to Bt4,000.

Language barrier

The Asian tour of the Emmy award-winning classic, which began its 30-week run at the Cultural Center of the Philippines in Manila on July 29, has since taken Lea and company to Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong.

Cinderella will hit Singapore from Jan. 2 to 22, 2009, at the Esplanade; Malaysia from Jan. 30 to Feb. 8 at the Istana Budaya, Kuala Lumpur; and later Japan and Korea.

In an interview with the Asia News Network (of which the Inquirer is a member), Salonga said the language barrier become evident especially during the show’s Chinese run.

“The script is very American, the humor is very American. It had to be translated into Mandarin and then into Cantonese, so I was never sure from day to day how the jokes will land,” Salonga recalled.

“The musical numbers were applauded (since) it’s pretty obvious when they start and stop. But as far as the dialogue is concerned, by the time we got to Beijing, I was ... getting no reaction for certain things (which) in Manila would be so pronounced. Like there were certain lines where the audience would react, but when we got to China ... all I can hear were crickets.”

But Salonga happily noted that the Filipinos came in full force to watch her performances in mainland China and Hong Kong. “It was really a fantastic run, and there were lots of Filipinos who came ... and they would say “Mabuhay ang Pilipino (Long live the Filipino)!”

Cinderella is directed by two-time Aliw Awards winner Bobby Garcia, who was also the director of Disney’s Beauty and the Beast and the acclaimed BAE production of The King And I.

Kim, Eponine, Mulan, etc.

Lea plays the title role, with Australian actor Peter Saide as the prince, Julia Cook as the stepmother, Jen Bechter as Portia, Brandy Zarle as Joy, Charlie Parker as the fairy godmother, Aaron Galligan-Stierle as the herald, Jefferson Slinkard as the king, Janna Cardia as the queen, Steve Gagliastro as the chef, and Richard Cerato as the steward.

Choreography is by Vince Pesceth. Featuring music by Richard Rodgers and lyrics and book by Oscar Hammerstein II, Cinderella is based on the 1957 TV special starring Julie Andrews.

Salonga first gained international acclaim for her lead performance as Kim in the 1991 production of Miss Saigon on Broadway.

For that role, she not only won a Tony Award for “Outstanding Performance by an Actress in a Musical,” but also an Outer Critics Circle Award, a Drama Desk Award, and the Sir Laurence Olivier Award. Salonga reprised her Kim persona in Miss Saigon’s West End run.

She also appeared on Broadway as Eponine in Les Misérables, the Witch in Into The Woods, and Eliza Doolittle in My Fair Lady. She also starred in The Goodbye Girl, They’re Playing Our Song, Grease, The Fantastics, Paper Moon, The Bad Seed, The Sound of Music, Annie, and The Flower Drum Song.

Salonga was also the singing voice of Princess Jasmine for the song “A Whole New World” in the blockbuster Aladdin, and of the title character in Mulan, both Disney animated films.