A few weeks ago I went to what was to be the penultimate performance of Avenue Q (thankfully it’s not). As much as I love Avenue Q and wanted to see it for what I thought would be one last time, I also wanted to see what Joanna Ampil had to offer in the role of Christmas Eve. I’d seen her previously, too many years ago, as Kim in Miss Saigon. Of course Miss Saigon, because truthfully, if you want to see a Filipino on stage that’s pretty much the only show you’ll be able to find one in, at least in a role with actual lines. Since it went dark seeing a Filipino on stage in a West End musical has been a rare occurrence.

 

In the past few years I’ve seen maybe two dozen shows, at least – from classics like Phantom of the Opera to newer musicals like Eurobeat. If there’d been any Filipinos in any of the shows you could’ve fooled me. Filipinos have radar, we all know it. All it takes is a drop of blood three generations ago and we’re claiming that actor as Filipino. Even when we get it wrong, it’s enough that they look Filipino – and if they can look it, then why the heck can’t a Filipino be in it?

 

Okay so there are some shows where Filipino actors wouldn’t be believable. Seeing Filipino dancers on a 1960s dance show that wasn’t integrated may have looked a little odd in Hairspray. Same as Cockney chimney sweeps in Mary Poppins. Or would it? This is acting after all, Lea Salonga and Joanna Ampil have been in Les Miserables and I’m pretty sure there weren’t any Filipino people in France during the revolution. I’m also quite certain that Mary Magdalene wasn’t Filipino either.

 

I realise that not every actor – Filipino or otherwise, is the same calibre as Lea Salonga or Monique Wilson. However, they had to audition too when they were starting out. In fact, when they were casting for Miss Saigon the Philippines was the last place they went, and look what they found there. But forget Miss Saigon for now, there are other roles to be had. In Little Shop of Horrors, I can’t see why a Filipino couldn’t be Crystal, Ronnette, or Chiffon. Whilst we’re at it, why not a Filipino Audrey! In Wicked, the people are from Oz – pretty sure you could be a Filipino from Oz. In RENT, a musical set in New York where I know there are Filipinos, they could be any number of characters.

 

The reason we’re not on stage certainly isn’t because we don’t like musicals. Apart from Miss Saigon, which even if it wasn’t your first introduction to musical theatre you still know about, Filipinos have an inbuilt love of musicals. I think it’s the theatrics that go with it. It can be any musical – Sound of Music, Grease, Mamma Mia. Trust me. I mean, did you hear Charice Pempengco belt out ‘You’re Gonna Love Me’ on pretty much every show she’s been in? We know our musical numbers.

 

The theatre is becoming increasingly diverse. We need only look at the recent BBC contest to cast the role of Nancy and Oliver Twist in Cameron Macintosh’s latest production of Oliver. In the end the winner was the person who I would imagine as Nancy, but there were plenty of other contestants who wouldn’t have first come to mind. I think Joanna Ampil would’ve made a great Nancy. She’s got the voice and acting ability to pull off a song like ‘As Long as He Needs Me.’

 

 

I certainly hope that it doesn’t take someone to write a new musical based somewhere in South East Asia for Filipinos to become a presence once again on the West End stage. If they’re waiting for Miss Saigon I can tell you on pretty good authority that it’s not coming back any time soon. I guarantee that as soon as Filipinos are cast Filipinos will come and see it. We know how much we like to take pride that a Filipino’s part of something so word will spread like wildfire and there will be some “stage (insert relation here)” waiting for you to ask if they can get you tickets.

 

I love musical theatre. I love being able to see Filipino talent. I hope that it’s not too long before I can experience both of those. So come on Filipinos…we know you can sing (don’t even start me on the fact that a Filipino hasn’t won X-Factor or American Idol yet lol), it’s time to take to the stage again!

Posted on 10 April 2009 by Gemma in Entertainment, Theatre

Tagged joanna ampil, musicals, west end