She’s Back! Lea Salonga Is The Witch in Into the Woods
Marking her return to Philippine musicals after six years.
(SPOT.ph) Six years after her last musical performance in the Philippines, Lea Salonga is set to return to the stage as The Witch in Theatre Group Asia’s (TGA) upcoming production of Stephen Sondheim’s Into the Woods.
“She’s good, she’s nice, she’s more just right. LEA SALONGA IS THE WITCH!” TGA said in a post. “This is the comeback you’ve all been waiting for! So hold tight to your cows, capes, golden hairs, and glass slippers... the journey into the woods is about to unfold!”
Into the Woods follows the stories of familiar fairy-tale characters—Cinderella, Little Red Riding Hood, and Rapunzel—while adding an original storyline about a childless Baker and his Wife. To break a curse placed on them by the Witch, the couple must venture into the woods to gather magical items from the other characters.
“What I love about this piece is the whole ‘what if’ premise of fairy tales. Continuing past ‘happily ever after’ is very interesting. Through the material, we realize that a witch isn’t always bad, and good people aren’t always entirely good. The message is so poignant,” Salonga said.
The musical is scheduled to premiere in August at the Samsung Performing Arts Theater in Makati City, with ticket selling expected to go on sale in the coming months.
Also read: Into the Woods Is Coming to Manila This 2025
Lea Salonga on being part of Into the Woods
Interestingly, this isn’t Salonga’s first time to play The Witch. In 1994, she portrayed the same character in the Singapore production of Into the Woods when she was just 23 years old.
“It’s cool that I get to revisit a role that I played as a younger adult. Playing her again 30 years later is going to be illuminating. So much life has happened in the intervening years. I’m hoping to bring as much of that as I can to this production,” Salonga said in a statement. Her last musical performance in the Philippines is her role as Mrs. Lovett in Sweeney Todd—another Stephen Sondheim play.
“The last show I did in Manila was a Stephen Sondheim masterpiece. Now, I’m coming in Into the Woods, yet another Sondheim masterpiece! If all I do for the rest of my life is perform in Sondheim shows, I’ll be very happy.”
And it seems like this local production of Into the Woods will not simply replicate the Broadway classic. According to TGA Founding Collaborator Clint Ramos, it will incorporate elements that emphasize the Filipino experience.
“Into the Woods is a very complex and thought-provoking piece. We want to create a version that considers the Filipino condition. Hopefully, our context will give more meaning to the already rich work that is this Sondheim musical,” Ramos said. “And Lea, with her remarkable talent and abilities will be very instrumental in imparting that message.”
This will be Salonga’s second collaboration with TGA, following her work with BAFTA nominee Dolly de Leon in the silent play Request sa Radyo in 2024.
Also read: The Truth About Request Sa Radyo: A Review