A number of artists featured in the 2024–25 season at the Center for the Arts happen to share deep Disney connections, having their careers nurtured or boosted in some way because of the Walt Disney Company. It's a small world, after all. Read on to learn more about them.
LEA SALONGA
Many fans of all ages recognize Lea Salonga as the singing voice of Disney film princesses Jasmine in Aladdin and Fa Mulan in Mulan and Mulan II. For her portrayal of the beloved heroines, the Walt Disney Company bestowed her with the honor of “Disney Legend” in 2011. Salonga’s recording of “A Whole New World” for Aladdin won an Oscar for Best Original Song in 1993 as well as two GRAMMY Awards.
Salonga headlines the ARTS by George! benefit event on September 28 at the Center for the Arts, performing songs she has made famous throughout her extraordinary four-decade career. Born in the Philippines, she is best known for her Tony Award-winning role in Miss Saigon. Salonga has also won the Olivier, Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle and Theatre World Awards, and was the first Asian cast member to perform the role of Eponine in Les Misérables on Broadway.
Quoted in The Phillipine Star from a piece by journalist Sanya Mansoor, Salonga described how her voicing of Disney princesses mattered for representation in film, particularly Mulan, best known for the song “Reflection”: ”All of a sudden, the people that look like me had a princess,” Salonga said. “[Mulan] brings honor to herself and to her family... and she does it with grace.”
Learn more about Lea Salonga as both Jasmine and Mulan in these videos, Dizographies: The Tale of Two Princesses:
Part 1
Part 2
PETER WILSON
Peter Wilson, conductor of the American Festival Pops Orchestra (AFPO) which performs at the Center for the Arts on December 14, started his professional career as the concertmaster of the Walt Disney World All American College Orchestra. Performing three shows each night for five days (Wednesday through Sunday) at EPCOT Center, Wilson notes in an article on Violinist.com that the gig afforded him the opportunity to work with some “amazing, legendary musicians each week, including Rosemary Clooney, Carol Lawerence, Billy Taylor, Della Reese, Maureen McGovern, Michael Feinstein, Pat Williams, Bill Conti, and Sesame Street’s Bob McGrath. . . . I had been a fan of all things Disney since I was a little boy listening to LPs of "Jungle Book" and "Pinocchio."
Wilson would later go on to become senior enlisted music advisor to The White House, performing as a violinist in “The President’s Own” U.S. Marine Band for 30 years in direct support of five U.S. Presidents. Upon retiring in 2020, he was awarded the Legion of Merit.
MIKE SUPER
Magician and illusionist Mike Super, performing at the Center for the Arts on February 2, notes that his Disney development also began in Orlando, with a boyhood visit to the aptly named Magic Kingdom. “I loved magic from a young age,” Super explained in a video interview with The Acorn Center of Littleton, NC. “My family were huge Disney enthusiasts, so there used to be a magic shop in Walt Disney World. (It’s not there anymore; it disappeared!” he joked. “It fulfilled its ultimate goal…) “Having seen the coolest old man performing some tricks…I immediately became obsessed," Super recounts on his website. “That’s what got me started,” and then, 20 years later, Disney came to me—and what a huge honor—asked me to perform for them, which is amazing, so it’s a good full circle story, and that’s how I started.”
Super, whose last name really is Super—“Believe it or not, I used to get made fun of in grade school all the time because of it”—dubs himself “a Disney FANATIC!,” noting “Magic & Disney just naturally go together.” When prompted to share his greatest influences, Super cites Walt Disney first on his list, calling him “A True Genius!” and names one of his “favorite magic/illusion moments” of his entire career as “Making an actual Magic Kingdom Ride appear from nowhere LIVE on stage while surrounded by skeptical Disney Executives.”
Super rose to fame as the winner of NBC’s hit television series Phenomenon, becoming the only magician in history to win a live magic competition on a primetime U.S. network television, and was a top finalist on America's Got Talent, also appearing on Penn and Teller: Fool Us. His immersive show of mind-blowing illusions will enthrall the whole family at the Center for the Arts as part of its popular Family Series.
You can subscribe to three or more eligible Great Performances at Mason or Family Series events in the 2024–25 season at the Center for the Arts to save 15% on tickets, including 15% on additional tickets purchased throughout the season. Note: Tickets to ARTS by George! and An Evening with Lea Salonga are not available as part of a subscription package or at a discount.