Fil-Am broadway composer to receive Phildev award

Filipino-American Broadway composer Robert Lopez will receive the Award of Excellence from the Philippine Development Foundation (PhilDev) at its gala event “Suites by Sondheim" on Monday (US time). Lopez, who has won a number of Tony Awards for Best Musical, is a theater composer and lyricist who co-created the Broadway smash hits, “Avenue Q" and “The Book of Mormon." “Bobby represents the best of the Filipino-American, and the kind of distinguished global Filipino that PhilDev would like to represent and highlight the world. He is a talented artist whose first two Broadway musicals have been both critically and commercially successful—a rare combination in the industry," sad Ronna Reyes Sieh, who co-chairs the event. Award-winning composer Aside from his Tony awards, Lopez also shared two Daytime Emmy Awards for his music for Nickelodeon’s “The Wonder Pets" and a Primetime Emmy nomination for a song he co-wrote for the musical episode of the hit US television series “Scrubs." With his wife, Kristen Anderson-Lopez, he co-wrote songs for the Disney feature animation, “Winnie the Pooh" and for “Finding Nemo: The Musical," which has been playing at Walt Disney World since 2006. A graduate of Yale University, Lopez is currently residing in New York City with his wife and two daughters. His father, Frank, was born aboard the last GI boat that left Manila after the second World War. Suites of Sondheim The concert, part of PhilDev’s annual fundraising gala, will be held at the prestigious Alice Tully Hall, Lincoln Center on November 7 at 7:30 p.m. It will present iconic composer and lyricist Stephen Sondheim’s creations from such musicals as "Company," "West Side Story," "Saturday Night," "Sweeney Todd," "Anyone Can Whistle," "Follies," "A Little Night Music," "Merrily We Roll Along," and "Sunday in the Park with George." Headlined by Broadway star Lea Salonga— the first Filipino to receive a Tony award— the one-night, all-Filipino concert will feature: