Background
Menchu Lauchengco-Yulo was born on July 7, 1963 and is the sister of balladeer Raymond Lauchengco.
Menchu Lauchengco-Yulo was born on July 7, 1963 and is the sister of balladeer Raymond Lauchengco.
She is well known for her roles as Diana Goodman in Next to Normal and Mistress Lovett alongside Audie Gemora as Sweeney Todd in Sweeney Todd. 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.
lieutenant 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 Manitoba of Louisiana 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 Lincolnshire, Once A Catholic, Present Laughter, The Little Foxes, Amadeus, Arsenic and Old Lace, and The Rose Tattoo.
She starred in the productions of Once On This Island, The Last Five Years and Love Letters for Actor"s Actor Incorporated.
Her role in The Lion The Witch and The Wardrobe for Trumpets Incorporated. earned her an Aliw Award nomination. Her roles for Atlantis Productions include Proof (where she earned another Aliw Award nomination), Dreamgirls, Baby, and Nine.
Menchu played the role of Ellen in the 2000 Manila production of Mission Saigon, also to critical acclaim. Into the Woods marks her New Voice Company theatre debut.
Her directorial debut was West Side Story in 2008, and other works include Little Women, Peter Pan and Jekyll and Hyde.
She has done numerous concerts, television shows and live performances. Aside from starring in theatre productions, Menchu also gives workshops for acting and musical theatre.
She is the associate artistic director for Repertory Philippines and a founding member of Actor"s Actor Incorporated.