Menchu Lauchengco-Yulo

Menchu Lauchengco-Yulo is widely considered the first lady of Philippine musical theatre. She is well known for her roles as Diana Goodman in Next to Normal and Mrs. Lovett alongside Audie Gemora as Sweeney Todd in Sweeney Todd. She is the associate artistic director for Repertory Philippines and a founding member of Actor's Actor Inc.

Menchu Lauchengco-Yulo was born on July 7, 1963 and is the sister of balladeer Raymond Lauchengco.

Menchu Lauchengco first entered theatre at 15 years old, auditioning for Repertory Philippines in a production of The King and I with her brother, Raymond Lauchengco. Being too old to be child but too young to be a wife, she did not get in. Her next audition was in 1978 for Fiddler on the Roof, where she was part of the chorus. In 1980, she auditioned for the role of Luisa, the 2nd daughter of Captain Von Trapp in The Sound of Music. However, the directors had a different part for her in mind and gave her the role of Liesl. This role gave Menchu her first solo performance.

After this production, she landed a string of roles as part of the chorus. It was after being given the role of Maria in West Side Story that her star started shining again. The West Side Story production was a success, but once again returned to doing chorus.

She starred as Maria in the Repertory Philippines The Sound of Music, where she received critical acclaim. Her other theatre credits under Repertory Philippines include lead roles in Man of La Mancha, The Secret Garden, Kiss of the Spiderwoman, Oliver!, The Baker's Wife, Company, Passion, Evita, Camelot, Les Miserables, Into the Woods, Scrooge, A Chorus Line, Once A Catholic, Present Laughter, The Little Foxes, Amadeus, Arsenic and Old Lace, and The Rose Tattoo.

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