Lea Salonga is riding a run of firsts and new creative risks, a boost for Filipino representation in mainstream entertainment as Filipino American History Month gets underway.

• She becomes the first Filipina with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, placed outside the Pantages Theatre among names like Idina Menzel and Nat King Cole.
• She returns to Honolulu for Hawaii Symphony Orchestra concerts on October 17 and 18 at the Blaisdell Center, heavy on Sondheim plus Miss Saigon, Les Misérables, Disney and pop, with Hawaii-raised Broadway performer Yasmine Sulleman singing backup.
• She voices the monstrous Manananggal in the DreamWorks animated film Forgotten Island, a sharp break from her Disney princess roles, and also sings much of the score plus a bonus track with the Filipino pop group Bini.
• Next comes her first stage play entirely in Filipino, a translation of Federico García Lorca's The House of Bernarda Alba in Manila in February, performed in 1800s-era language in a small black-box theater.
• Her message to young Filipinos: don't be afraid to occupy space, and don't let anyone quiet you.

Outlook: Forgotten Island is still in theaters and building word of mouth, with the Honolulu concerts next week and the Manila play following early next year.