LEA SALONGA

FULL NAME: Maria Lea Carmen Imutan Salonga

BIRTHDAY: February 22, 1971
AGE: 51 years old
BIRTHPLACE: Manila, Philippines
ZODIAC SIGN: Pisces
TRIVIA: In 2011, She was named a Disney Legend. Then in 2004, she
married Robert Charles Chien and the couple welcomed their daughter
named Nicole in 2006.

HER STORY:
Lea Salonga is a multiple award-winning actress and singer. She is
renowned across the world for her powerful voice and perfect pitch. She is
also best known for her Tony Award winning role in Miss Saigon. In addition
to that, she has won the Oliver, Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle and
Theatre World Awards. She was also the first Asian to play Eponine in the
musical Les Miserables on Broadway and returned to the beloved show as
Fantine in the 2006 revival. Many fans of all ages recognize her as the
singing voice of Princess Jasmine from Aladdin and Fa Mulan for Mulan
and Mulan II. For her portrayal of the beloved princesses, the Walt Disney
Company bestowed her with the honor of “Disney Legend”.
THE PRESENT:
Lea starred in the critically acclaimed Sony musical drama Yellow Rose
and in the Netflix animated series Centaurworld. Additionally, in August,
Lea released her single “Dream Again” with all profits donated to charities
aiding in COVID-19 relief around the world, including The Actor’s Fund. In
November 2020 Lea Salonga: Live with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra
from Sydney Opera House aired as part of Great Performances on PBS. A
live album of the performance was subsequently released by Broadway
Records.

In 2019, The Human Heart Tour saw sold-out audiences and

record-breaking sales across North America, the United Kingdom and
Australia. In 2018, broadway revival of Once on This Island as the Goddess
of Love, Erzulie. The show’s return to the Broadway stage earned a Tony
Award for “Best Revival of a Musical” and also garnered Lea and the cast a
Grammy nomination for “Best Musical Theater Album”. In 2017, Lea
released “Bahaghari”, an album of traditional Filipino songs. The album
serves as a reflection of all the intricate different languages found in the
Philippines and aims to help preserve the island nation’s dynamic culture.
She also released her electrifying live album “Blurred Lines” in the spring of
2017. The album was recorded during her sold-out run at Feinstein’s. The
original six-date showcase was received with overwhelming applause from
fans and critics alike. In the fall of 2015 Lea began her critically acclaimed
run as Kei Kimura in the Broadway production of Allegiance. The musical,
inspired and developed by legendary actor George Takei, tells the story of
a Japanese American family forced into an internment camp during World
War II. Lea garnered a Craig Noel nomination for Outstanding Featured
Performance in a Musical for her performance in the Old Globe production
and can be heard on the show’s original cast album. For much of 2014, Lea
performed with legendary popera quartet II Divo, accompanying them in
Asia, the United States, Canada, Mexico, and all through Eastern and
Western Europe on their A Musical Affair tour, celebrating the band's 10th
anniversary. In 2010, Lea made her debut in the world of Cabaret,
performing a sold out, three-week, engagement at the Cafe Carlyle in New
York City. She returned in June 2011 to delight audiences in another
multi-week engagement and released a live version of her 2010 concert
“Lea Salonga: The Journey So Far”. her 26th career CD, in August 2011.

She was honored with an appointment as a United Nations Food and

Agriculture Organization Goodwill Ambassador in October 2010, Lea
vowed to act as an advocate for the Youth and United Nations Global
Alliance initiative led by the FAO. The same year, she also joined forces
with Avon sd s celebrity judge for Avon Voices alongside with other artists,
in the first ever global, online singing talent search for women and
songwriting competition for men and women.

In her 40-year career, Lea has performed for six Philippine presidents (from
Ferdinand Marcos to Benigno S. Aquino III), three American Presidents
(George H. W. Bush, Bill Clinton, and George W. Bush), and for Diana,
Princess of Wales and Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. She began her
career as a child star in the Philippines, making her professional debut in
1978 at the age of seven in the musical The King and I. She went on to star
in productions of Annie, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Fiddler on the Roof, The
Rose Tattoo, The Sound of Music, The Goodbye Girl, Paper Moon, The
Fantasticks and Rodgers and Hammerstein's Flower Drum Song on
Broadway.
E FREN “BATA” REYES
FULL NAME: Efren Manalang Reyes
NICKNAME: Bata, The Magician
BIRTHDAY: August 26, 1954
AGE: 86 years old
BIRTHPLACE: Angeles, Pampanga, Philippines
ZODIAC SIGN: Virgo

Efren “bata” Reyes is a Filipino professional pool player. A winner of over

100 international titles, Reyes was the first player to win the WPA World
Championships in two different pool disciplines. Reyes is a WPA World
Nine-ball Champion and WPA World Eight-ball Champion, a US Open
winner, a two-time World Pool League winner, and a 13 time Derby City
Classic winner. Reyes also represented the Philippines at the World Cup of
Pool, winning the event with his partner Francisco Bustamante in 2006 and
2009. By defeating American player Earl Strickland in the inaugural Color
of Money event in 1886, He took home the largest single match purse in
pool history of $100,000. Analysts, fans, and even players considered him
as the greatest pool player of all time. He is nicknamed “The Magician” for
his ability on the pool table and “Bata”, to distinguish from a fellow pool
player by the same name.

HIS STORY:
Efren “bata” Reyes when he aged 5 he moved to Manila to live with his
uncle who owned a pool hall. He cleaned the hall and would sleep on the
tables, because he was not tall enough to reach the pool table. He played
while standing on a coca-cola case that he moved around. From a very
young age he won his first match for money when he was nine. He
continued to compete at 3-cushion billiards in the 1960s and 1970s. Then
he was discovered by promoters that gave him the opportunity to compete
in larger tournaments. In 1978, Reyes competed in the Philippines vs.
Japan pocket billiards competition, where Reyes presented the Philippines,
where their team won 2 years in a row until the event ended. In 1979,
Reyes defeated Japanese champion Takeshi Okumura to win the All Japan
Championship in a 9-ball, although not winning the all around title that year.
In 1983, Reyes took on Pepito Dacer in the finals of the Philippine
Professional pocket billiards championships, which was played in rotation.
During the 1980s, he is considered as a top-class player in his homeland
but not yet internationally recognized, he went to the United States to
hustle and in 1984, Reyes claims to have earned $80,000 in a few weeks,
which made him a fold hero back in the Philippines. In 1985, he defeated
Nick Varner in the finals and became the first non-American to win the
event. Reyes won the match 120-117 despite being 17 racks behind, to win
the all-time largest purse in any professional pool event. In 1999, Reyes
won the first televised World Professional Pool Championship. In 2001, He
participated in the 2001 Tokyo Open, with over 700 participants and a total
purse of ¥100 million ($850K). In 2002, he won the International Challenge
of Champions, defeating Mika Immones in a deciding rack. And in 2004,
WPA World Eight-ball Championship, where he met Marlon Manalo in the
final. The win made Reyes the first player to win WPA world championships
in more than one discipline. In 2005, He won the IPT King of the Hill
Eight-ball Shootout, which offered the highest top prize of any pool event to
that date. They reached the 2006 final, where they met Earl Strickland and
Rodney Morris representing the United States. They won seven
consecutives racks to win the final 13-5. He also won the 2009 event once
again partnering Bustamante. As of 2019, Reyes is still actively competing
in the professional pool. Overall, he is the most successful player at the
Derby City Classic, having won the overall championship on five occasions,
and winning the event on fourteen occasions. He has also won two gold
medals and six bronze medals at the Southeast Asian Games including an
eight-ball bronze medal at the 2002 Asian Games.

MAJOR TITLES :

● WPA World Eight-ball Championship (2004)

● WPA World Nine-ball Championship (1999)
● U.S. Open Championship
● U.S. 9-Ball Championship (1994)
● U.S. One-Pocket Championship (2000, 2011)
● PBT World Team Billiards (Team Philippines) (1993)
● PBT World Eight-ball Championship (1995, 1996)
● Sands Regency Reno Open (1985)
● Sands Regency Reno Open (1986)
● Sands Regency Reno Open (1995)
● Sands Regency Reno Open (1999)
● Derby City Classic
● One-Pocket (1999,2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2014)
● Master of the Table (1999, 2004, 2005, 2007, 2010)
● Nine-ball (2005, 2010)
● Ten-ball Challenge (2010)
● International Challenge of Champions (2002)
● ESPN Challenge
● Ultimate Nine-Ball Challenge (1999)
● Ultimate Shootout (1999)
● Tokyo World 9-Ball Open (1992)
● Tokyo Open 9-Ball (2001)
● World Pool League (2001)
● World Pool League (2002)
● All Japan Championship 9-Ball (1990)
● All Japan Championship 10-Ball (1999)
● All Japan Championship 10-Ball (2003)
● Japan Open Men's Division (2005)
● International Pool Tour
● IPT King of the Hill Eight-Ball Shootout (2005)
● IPT World Eight-ball Championship (2006)
● World Cup of Pool
● World Cup of Pool (2006) - with (Francisco Bustamante)
● World Cup of Pool (2009) - with (Francisco Bustamante)
● Masters Championship
● McDermott Masters 9-Ball Championship (1988)
● Masters 9-Ball Championship (2001)