Elton Lugay News

Filipino actress-singer Vina Morales (Aurora Aquino, 'Here Lies Love') brought the house down as she headlined the 'Here Lies Love' homecoming concert last night at Joe's Pub at the Public Theatre, the original venue of the show's debut a decade ago.

'At the ‘Holidays at the White House,’ Americans come together in fellowship and faith, reminding us that we are stronger in community than we are apart,' say the President and First Lady. Thus, during the festivities, the recent one-hour performance of the TOFA Performing Artists, a vocal group of Filipino-American ancestry, was most suitable and a historic first for these fast-rising talents.

In its 12th year, The Outstanding Filipino American Awards (TOFA), founded by journalist Elton Lugay, were still brimming with historic firsts. From the Carnegie Hall on 56th Street, TOFA’s venue has moved down 13 streets to the Town Hall. TOFA has also launched its newest sets of excellence in leadership awards: the Lifetime Achievement Awards, endorsed by President Joe Biden, and the Global Awards. Remarkably, it was also the first time an incumbent mayor of the city has physically graced a Fil-Am event.

The Outstanding Filipinos in America Awards honor the triumph of a 17-year-old Filipino tennis player, Alex Eala, who just won the grand slam juniors singles title at the U.S. Open--a first from any tennis player from the Philippines. Ms. Eala, who is now back to training in California, is conferred the TOFA Global Awards for Sports, given to global Filipinos who made exceptional achievements in their field of endeavor.

Watch the first-ever The Outstanding Filipino Americans (TOFA) Awards' virtual ceremony, hosted by 'Asia's King of Talk' Boy Abunda, via BroadwayWorld.com.

In celebration of Filipino American (Fil-Am) History Month, 100 movers and shakers of Filipino descent will be feted in a digital ceremony through The Outstanding Filipino Americans (TOFA) Awards, a national award-giving body. The TOFA Awards, which have been customarily held annually at Carnegie Hall, also turn 10 this month. To mark this milestone, the TOFA Awards are honoring their list of “100 Most Influential Fil-Am Individuals and Organizations” or #TOFA100 on Saturday, October 31, 2020, at 9 p.m. EST (Sunday, at 9 a.m. PST) via YouTube and Facebook.

Lea Salonga, Darren Criss, and Bobby Lopez join the virtual celebration!

'Empire State is privileged to honor outstanding Filipinos.' - Governor Andrew Cuomo

Moved by the plight of their fellow Filipinos displaced by the eruption of Taal Volcano in Batangas, Philippines, in January, N.Y.-based Filipino American (Fil-Am) artists banded together in a genre crossover to record the Michael Jackson hit “Heal The World.” A production of The Outstanding Filipinos in America (TOFA), the music video was recently released on YouTube.

With Awkwafina making history as the first Asian-American to win the Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Leading Role category and Korean film Parasite taking the best foreign film award, the Asian American community can take pride in not just breaking the glass ceiling this year at the 77th Golden Globe Awards but shattering it to pieces.

In its fifth edition, The Outstanding Filipino Americans in New York (TOFA-NY) Awards honor 15 organizations and individuals who have inspired the community with their passion, conviction, and achievements. Presented by AARP, TOFA-NY caps the month-long Filipino American Heritage celebrations in the New York tri-state area. This year's TOFA-NY Awards ceremony is slated for 8 p.m. on October 31 at Carnegie Hall's Weill Recital Hall.

There doesn't seem to be enough of 13-year-old Filipino-Canadian singer Darren Espanto to go around these days, especially since he has made headlines in what could only be described by his legions of fans as a run of charismatic, breakthrough performances on 'The Voice Kids' Philippine edition, under the tutelage of Coach Sarah Geronimo (other coaches were Tony winner Lea Salonga and rock star Bamboo Manalac).

Tony Award winners Bobby Lopez ('The Book of Mormon,' 'Avenue Q') and Jhett Tolentino ('Here Lies Love,' 'A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder'), among others, receive Filipino American community honors.

In its fourth year, presented by AARP, The Outstanding Filipino Americans in New York (TOFA-NY) Awards, the grandest celebration that caps the monthlong Filipino American History Month in New York City, has announced today that Filipino-American EGOT holder Bobby Lopez ('Frozen,' 'The Book of Mormon'); fashion designer and philanthropist Josie Natori; Dean of Academic Affairs at Columbia University Sheila Coronel; the people behind Fiesta In America, an annual trade and cultural expo; and the medical mission volunteers of Philippine Medical Association in America (PMAA) will be feted with the highest honors--The Heritage Awards--at TOFA-NY Awards ceremony, which will be held at Carnegie Hall's Weill Recital Hall (881 7th Ave, New York, NY) on Saturday, October 25, at 7 p.m.

Les Mis star Amanda Seyfried will take on the female lead in the sequel to Seth MacFarlane's TED, appropriately titled 'Ted 2.'

Filipino American and Tony Award-winning composer Bobby Lopez, who created and co-wrote 'The Book of Mormon' and 'Avenue Q,' and his wife, Kristen Anderson, were nominated for Best Original Song 'Let It Go' from the Disney animated feature film 'Frozen,' also nominated for Best Animated Feature Film, at the 71st Golden Globe Awards held at the Beverly Hilton Hotel Sunday, January 12.

On his way out of the Amazura Concert Hall in Jamaica, Queens, where the cast of GMA Pinoy TV's hit TV series 'My Husband's Lover' had a well-attended thanksgiving concert for fans, model-singer turned actor Tom Rodriguez had a quick interview with BroadwayWorld.com, whose readers from the Philippines have earlier nominated him for Best Actor (Musical) and Best Crossover Artist (Mainstream to Theater) at the 2013 BroadwayWorld Awards-Philippines.

Amanda Seyfried has signed on for Jake Szymanski's HE'S F-ING PERFECT, from a script by Lauryn Kahn.

Heroism and excellence in the nursing profession won the predominantly Filipino American audience that gave a well-deserved standing ovation to NYU Langone nurse Menchu De Luna Sanchez--superstorm Sandy's hero nurse--when she personally received her The Oustanding Filipino Americans in New York (TOFA-NY) award from Deputy Consul General Zaldy Patron and Southern District of New York Judge Lorna Schofield at the Weill Recital Hall in Carnegie Hall Saturday night.

Philippine Consul General to New York Mario L. De Leon, Jr., United States District Judge for the Southern District of New York Honorable Judge Lorna Schofield, and Former Chairman of the Board for the Hollywood Foreign Press Association Ruben Nepales will keynote the third annual The Outstanding Filipino Americans in New York (TOFA-NY) Awards on Saturday night, October 26, at Weill Recital Hall in Carnegie Hall, the official venue of the TOFA-NY Awards ceremonies for the past three years.