Broadway star Lea Salonga has been cast as a guest star in the season finale of Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, the hit American television comedy-musical.
Salonga, an internationally-awarded actress and singer, will essay the role of the aunt of lead star Vincent Rodriguez III who plays Josh, the love interest of Rebecca (played by Rachel Bloom).
The storyline of the new hit series revolves around Bloom, a New York lawyer who gives up her job and moves to California to attempt to reconcile with former boyfriend Josh.
Crazy Ex-Girlfriend is the first primetime series on American TV to depict the lives of Filipino-American characters. Lead star Rodriguez is a Filipino-American actor.
“One of our characters happens to be Filipino so when we realized no one else had even made the effort to show a Filipino family on an American comedy, it taught me a lot about Filipino culture,” Bloom revealed to media when she accepted her Golden Globe award for the show.
In an interview with Philippine Daily Inquirer, Bloom said, “We knew Lea was both a musical-theatre icon and a Filipino icon, so we were looking to cast her in some role throughout the season.”
“When the writer’s room started coming up with the story for the season finale, we realised that a certain role would be perfect for her.”
“Lea sings an astounding solo number that we wrote specifically for her,” Bloom added.
Salonga is currently headlining the Broadway musical Allegiance, a musical about Japanese-Americans during World War II.
Lea’s role in the finale episode of Crazy Ex-Girlfriend is written by Rene Gube, a Filipino-American, whso also has a minor role in the series as a Catholic priest.
