Leading Lady

Menchu Lauchengco-Yulo

I’ve always been taught that it should always be ladies first. But the Triple Threats: Leading Men and Women of Philippine Music Theater concert series had the lady going last as Menchu Lauchengco-Yulo closed out the series with Leading Lady over at the Cultural Center of the Philippines’ Tanghalang Aurelio Tolentino (CCP Little Theater).

Just like in Audie Gemora’s concert, the theater was packed with an audience made up of family, friends and members of the theater community, including Audie himself, who showed their support for Menchu. I would’ve felt a bit out of place being in the midst of audience members who probably knew each other but once again, Menchu gave a performance that was very accessible to a theater newbie, a casual fan or even to just the remotely curious.

Directing the concert was Menchu’s younger brother, Raymond Lauchengco who was part of the Bagets phenomenon back in the 1980’s. Music director and the accompanying pianist that night was Rony Fortich. And it is probably Rony’s input that had Menchu’s show having almost the same format, mood and feel as Audie’s a month before. The song selection had a nice balance of medleys, mash ups and songs performed in their entirety. I’ve always said before that medleys are nice once in a while but too much of it just overwhelms me.

What isn’t overwhelming at all is having Menchu at a solo concert. Leading Lady was a showcase of her range as an actress, singer and also as a master storyteller. Individually, the songs told a story but they also formed a part of a larger story (Menchu’s love affair with the theater) which was communicated very clearly by her. She told the audience of her journey as a theater actress going back to the days portraying ingénue roles, her transition towards more mature and meatier roles and also hinting of what she would want to do in the future. The Ingénue Medley had Menchu singing at a soprano range that I’ve never heard before from her. She wondered why these roles always required the character to always have a shawl. I guess that the shawl holds the secret for hitting those high notes.

Menchu really shone when she sang songs from dramatic roles like Fantines’ I Dreamed a Dream from Les Miserable and Evita’s signature song Don’t Cry for Me Argentina. I’ve had goose bumps when she choked during the latter song. I felt that I was watching Evita in all her ostentatious glory and not Menchu who was just donned a simple black ensemble. While I expected Menchu to be in her element in dramatic roles, I never crossed my mind that she could actually do comedy. But she did spectacularly with a hilarious (Not) Getting Married Today number that had her spouting numerous words in a single breath while dragging Rony and guest artist Teenee Chan into the mix. And then without skipping a beat, she suddenly shifted and went all serious for Send in the Clowns from A Little Night Music. There is a stark contrast between this song and the one right before it that was made evident when she went into it sans any introduction.

Audie Gemora and Menchu Lauchengco-Yulo

One of my favorite parts of the concert was when she sang Magbalik Ka Mahal from Rama Hari, the only song in the entire concert that was in Filipino. She recalled a performance of this song that she did almost a decade ago that had her mispronouncing a word. But she didn’t commit the error this time and brought out the beauty of Bienvenido Lumbera’s lyrics set to music by Ryan Cayabyab. Another favorite part of mine was As Long as He Needs Me from Oliver! but I wish that it wasn’t part of a mash up with My Man from Funny Girl.

After the concert, I was able to talk to Audie who admitted that he was in tears in various parts of the concert as he realized that he and Menchu had been in this theatrical journey together for a long time now. And Audie pointed out that while he ventured into mainstream/pop music and directing for other medium, she remained and stuck with theater all this time. That’s when I truly realized how dedicated Menchu is to the theater stage and I felt honored to be among the audience for her first solo concert ever.

On my way home from the concert, I remembered how many theater actors, including THE Lea Salonga herself, were behind Menchu during a difficult and painful time in her career. So not only does Menchu has the dedication and passion for theater, she has also has the love and respect of the community as well. And seeing her in concert just reaffirmed my belief that she is really on a class of her own. In other words, Menchu is truly Philippine theater’s Leading Lady.