After six years of stunning audiences in Broadway and the West End, Filipina singer and actress Rachelle Anne Go took the center stage last Feb. 14 for a one-night concert celebrating love, musical theater, and journey as an artist at Marriott Grand Ballroom, Resorts World Manila.
As the house lights dimmed, “Rachelle Ann Go: The Homecoming” started with melodious harmonies like “Cats and Stars” of Les Misérables performed by 2019 Aliw awardee for best new female performer, Niña Campos. From there, Go herself took the stage with opening with a medley of “Defying Gravity” from Wicked, “Home” by Diana Ross; and “Deeper Love”, and “Think” by Aretha Franklin.
First Idol Philippines winner, Zephanie, also joined Go and Campos onstage to unleash everyone’s inner Disney fan favorites such as “How Far I’ll Go” (Moana), “For the First Time In Forever” (Frozen), and Go’s first foray into the world of musical theater—”Part of Your World” (Little Mermaid)—as she played the role of Ariel in Atlantis Production’s staging in 2011.
Her love for theater
Go’s days playing the adventurous mermaid princess took her on a new adventure altogether: the West End stage. Go was cast in the 2014 revival of Boublil and Schonberg’s Miss Saigon, portraying the role of Gigi Van Tranh—a bar girl who dreams of someday living the American dream.
Her theatrical repertoire only grew from there. Between her two runs in Miss Saigon, it was her time on a West End stage: Les Misérables. Go joined the cast of Les Miz in June 2015, as well as the Asian tour the following year, playing the role of Fantine; an unwed young mother whose life was unforgiving.
Moreover, Go was given yet another show-stopping role as the headstrong Eliza Hamilton in the original West End production of Hamilton in 2017.
Go’s great loves
Despite her love for theater and her craft, Go used the concert as a homage to her greatest love of all: God. Before a moving performance of Hillsong Worship’s Oceans, Go shared about how her faith and trust in God’s plan for her became her rock when she was struggling to build a new life abroad. Additionally, she had also talked about learning to use her craft as a means of glorifying God instead of herself.
Go’s faith had also led her to another great love—her husband, Martin Spies, who she had met at church in New York last 2017. After a whirlwind romance, they married in April 2018. With it being a Valentine’s day dedication song to her love, Go sang Robert Flack’s “The First Time I Ever Saw Your Face” for Spies who was in tears onstage.
Go’s original onstage prince charming, renowned singer-actor Erik Santos had a duet with her for a classic musical theater love song, “All I Ask of You” from The Phantom of the Opera. Her most notable guest, however, was none other than internationally-acclaimed Filipina musical theater veteran Lea Salonga, who Go had looked up to since before her career in theater. Both serenaded the audience with two musical theater hits of the Wicked musical’s ode to friendship “For Good” and “The Movie in My Mind” from Miss Saigon.
Next Role?
For her finale performance, Go brought the house down with the powerful masterpiece of Wicked’s “Defying Gravity”. After her homecoming concert, Go will be returning to London to further pursue theater. With Salonga’s hints on a prospective new role offer for Go, it seems likely that the international stage will be seeing a new Elphaba in Wicked.
