Lea Salonga dedicates 'Into the Woods' to the late Bobby Garcia

"Into the Woods" opened on Wednesday night with a stellar cast headlined by Lea Salonga. 

Theater Group Asia's (TGA) rendition of the Steven Sodeheim show most certainly delivered and on social media Thursday, Lea Salonga dedicated "Into the Woods" to the late theater impresario Bobby Garcia, who died in December 2024.

First acknowledging "some details that are still in the process of refinement," Lea recalled the small quiet moment she had before the show officially opened on Wednesday night. 

"While I was waiting backstage to make my first entrance as The Witch, I took a couple of seconds to look up to the heavens and whisper, 'This is for you, Bobby'," Lea narrated.

Bobby and Lea have a longstanding relationship, with the former directing the latter in "Request sa Radyo," his final directorial work, incidentally the first outing of TGA, a production company he cofounded alongside other globally renowned Filipino artists.

In a statement, Tony Award-winning creative visionary Clint Ramos said the latest outing of TGA "is a vision Bobby was very passionate about."

"He was very central to the formation of TGA and we choose to celebrate his life and legacy by forging ahead and bringing out aligned dreams to fruition," Clint said.

The two we were set to co-produce and become co-artistic directors and co-creative consultants of "Into the Woods."

Bobby was also supposed to co-direct the play with another one of his longtime collaborators Chari Arrespacochaga, who said in a statement that "continuing the work we started is my way of honoring him and carrying on the spirit of fun and love for the craft we infused in everything he did."

In her post, Lea said was certain of "how proud [Bobby] would've been of all of this, of all of us."

"We do this show with love for this giant in the sky," she added. "You will be forever missed."

"Into the Woods" runs until August 31 at the Samsung Performing Arts Theater in Circuit Makati. Read our review here.

— LA, GMA Integrated News