It has been 24 years since Miss Saigon was last staged in the Philippines. I still remember how excited I was to see the show back in the Cultural Center of the Philippines where Lea Salonga and some of the original cast members made their return to the Miss Saigon stage.
For someone who followed their journey back in 1989 when Lea, Monique Wilson, Michael Williams, Jon-Jon Briones, Robert Seña, Isay Alvarez, Jenine Desiderio, Pinky Amador, Lyon Roque, Miguel Diaz, the late Junix Inocian and my uncle Cocoy Laurel broke barriers by opening doors for many Filipinos to make a name for themselves in international arena. The show meant so much to me. I still remember waiting for the cassette tape release of the cast recording, (yes it first came out in a double cassette feature). I would listen to it day in and day out and memorized every single song. I dreamt of doing the show one day but I never got the chance to, I guess it was not meant for me, so I cherished each opportunity I would get to have a glimpse of the show on TV, more so when they had a concert in 1994 at the CCP, it was the closest thing for me to seeing the real show.
The very first time I saw Miss Saigon was in Japan back in 1992, and yes it was in Japanese. For those that don’t know, I went to college in Japan so I understood what I was watching and it also helped that I knew the songs in English by heart.
The next time I watched the show was on Broadway in 1995 and watched it again the year after, where Joan Almedilla played the role of Kim. I was waiting for the opportunity to watch Lea play Kim and I finally got the chance in the year 2000, eleven years after she opened the show in the West End. It was everything I dreamed it would be and more.
If there was anyone I wanted to see in the show perform live but never got the chance to, was my uncle Cocoy. He played the Engineer in the original Australian production alongside Joanna Ampil, who I would have loved to see play Kim in 1995. Thanks to YouTube, I get to watch their stellar performances.
Twenty four years later, the international tour of Cameron Mackintosh’s new production of Boublil and Schönberg’s MISS SAIGON, returns to Manila. I was fortunate enough to be invited to the Gala Show where I brought my daughter, Angia who was so excited to watch it for the very first time. We were seated in the first row and we loved it.
The performances of Filipino-Australians Abigail Adriano as Kim and Seann Miley Moore as the Engineer literally brought me to tears. They gave me more than what I expected. It was raw, riveting and powerful. What shocked me was the fact that Adriano is only 19-years-old, and she did all of that with so much depth. Nigel Huckle as Chris, Sarah Morrison as Ellen, Lewis Francis as John, and Laurence Mossman as Thuy, Kiara Dario as Gigi, and the entire cast brought a whole new meaning to the word excellence.
The new production is directed by Laurence Connor with musical staging by Bob Avian and additional choreography by Geoffrey Garratt. Production design is by Totie Driver and Matt Kinley based on an original concept by Adrian Vaux; costume design by Andreane Neofitou; lighting design by Bruno Poet; projections by Luke Halls; sound design by Mick Potter; and orchestrations by William David Brohn. Music supervision is by Alfonso Casado Trigo and Guy Simpson, with associate choreography by Richard Jones and the Asian tour production is directed by Jean-Pierre Van Der Spuy.
The Asian Tour of MISS SAIGON is produced by GWB Entertainment, with the Manila season presented at The Theatre at Solaire by GMG Productions, with tickets on sale exclusively through TicketWorld. Catch the show at The Theatre at Solaire until May 12.
The tickets are selling fast so if I were you buy them now and experience the heat of Miss Saigon.
Blessings,
