Lea Salonga shares 4 lessons her daughter learned from the theater

By: Katrina Hallare - 6 years ago

After her daughter’s run as cast member of the theater version of Roald Dahl’s “Matilda”, Lea Salonga was the doting mother, consoling her child Nicole. Salonga’s daughter wept upon realizing that her time with the show was over.

On Instagram, the theater veteran penned a heartfelt message for her unica hija, and expressed how proud she was of Nicole’s growth as a young artist.

“If anything, she has fallen in love with musical theater more deeply now than if she had merely remained a spectator rather than a participant,” Salonga wrote. “There’s a fulfillment that she now understands, and knows more intimately than she ever did before.”

Salonga thanked the people behind the show’s successful run and shared that Nicole is planning to join more plays in the future.

This photo best sums up my daughter’s experience as part of the cast of #MatildaMNL. She loved her time in the show as Alice, and once it was over, she had a total breakdown backstage. If anything, she has fallen in love with musical theater more deeply now than if she had merely remained a spectator rather than a participant. There’s a fulfillment that she now understands, and knows more intimately than she ever did before. To everyone at @atlantistheatrical headed by the indefatigable Bobby Garcia, thank you for allowing her to be part of Matilda. There are lessons she has learned that she wouldn’t have been able to get anywhere else: teamwork, hard work, commitment, and never quitting. She has made incredible friends out of this, and plans to join more productions in the future (as long as she keeps up with her schoolwork). To the cast of Matilda (most notably Ate Mica Fajardo), we thank you for your patience and your love in teaching our daughter not only the fundamentals but also what it means to be a good human within a production. We are so blessed that Nicole has gone through this experience; for sure she has grown. I don’t know that I could completely express my gratitude as a parent for what my daughter now knows and understands. But I shall endeavor to as much as I can, whenever I can.

A post shared by Lea Salonga (@msleasalonga) on Dec 10, 2017 at 7:32pm PST

“There are lessons she has learned that she wouldn’t have been able to get anywhere else: teamwork, hard work, commitment, and never quitting,” Salonga said, taking note of what she observed on Nicole’s stint in the show. “We are so blessed that Nicole has gone through this experience; for sure she has grown.”

Nicole played the role of Alice during the show’s one month run, which lasted from Nov. 10 to Dec. 10 at the Meralco Theater in Pasig City. JB

Aga Muhlach on his TOTGA letter to Lea Salonga: ‘It’s just that’