‘Without PH, “Miss Saigon” could never have opened’
French composer Claude-Michel Schönberg, who wrote the Broadway musical “Les Misérables,” recalls the moment that led to his first visit to the Philippines in 1988. They were having a hard time casting his new musical, “Miss Saigon,” which was based on the Giacomo Puccini opera “Madame Butterfly.”“There was nobody in England, nobody of the caliber [we needed] so we decided to go to New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Hawaii where there are big Asian communities.”
Still, nada. Then, one night, Schönberg was at home in Paris watching TV. “On the French television, they were advertising that tonight was going to be the Lino Brocka night. I didn’t even know that there was a movie industry in the Philippines.”
He watched the first movie. “It was a story about the revolution and they were all sitting in a circle around a fire and one guy took a guitar and started to sing. And my god, I was struck by this voice. Who are these people? He looks like an Asian but he’s singing like Pavarotti, I couldn’t understand.”
He watched the entire movie and when the second movie started, he stayed rapt. “Again, I heard voices I never heard before. Beautiful singers, beautiful music … After that, I rang Cameron [Mackintosh] and I said, ‘We must go and see what’s happening in the Philippines. Everything I see musically from the Philippines, it’s amazing.’”
Schönberg said that Mackintosh sent the guy who was running his Sydney office to the Philippines. “When he arrived here, he was totally flabbergasted. He told us, ‘You better come here, it’s a treasure island.’ And that’s why we arrived in the Philippines.”
It was here that they found Lea Salonga, who would originate the role of Kim, the Vietnamese girl who falls in love with an American marine during the Vietnam War. Salonga would play the role both in the West End and on Broadway.
Schönberg said, “Without the Philippines, the show could never have opened. It’s in Manila that we found 75 people from the original cast.”
Back in the Philippines
Fast-forward to 2024, Schönberg is back in the Philippines for the opening of the Manila season of the Asian tour of Mackintosh’s new production of Boublil and Schönberg’s “Miss Saigon.” The show, produced by GMG Productions in association with GWB Entertainment, opened at The Theatre at Solaire yesterday.
Playing Kim is Filipino Australian actress Abigail Adriano, who also played the role in the 2023 “Miss Saigon” Australian tour.
“This musical changed my life even before I was given the role of Kim. It was my comfort music. The show means so much to me. Can I just say it’s such an honor to be the second Kim performing in Manila since Lea Salonga?,” said Adriano.
It must be daunting to take on a role already made iconic by other powerful performers, but Adriano said, “I’m so grateful that they have been able to be inspirations to me. One thing that helped me make this unapologetically my own interpretation is what Cameron Mackintosh said to me the first time we rehearsed the show. He literally held my face and he said, ‘Abby, when you do Kim, I just want to see you.’”
Seann Miley Moore also makes the role of The Engineer his own, giving it his fabulous flavor.
“The Engineer is now the Engin-queer. Cameron Mackintosh said, ‘Over the 30 years of this production, no one has ever done it like you and what you’ve done is a complete revelation.’ It’s really fantastic to bring this new energy to the show, but it really is a testament to Cameron for bringing new people, new voices, bakla energy. I’m up here not just for myself, but all my young queer bakla audience out there. If I can do it, you can motherf_ck_ng do it.”Homecoming
For Moore, the show is a homecoming of sorts. He got emotional as he said, “My mom is originally from Makati and we’ve been away. To see my mom on her soil doing her thing is beyond. In Australia, I fight for diversity and queerness because I’ve always been different … But to just walk on the street and just looking out here, I see me. To perform onstage and see myself in the audience is going to be so new. It’s good to be home.”
It’s also a homecoming for Filipino Kiwi actor Laurence Mossman who plays Thuy. “It feels like a dream being back in the Philippines. I lived here for six years, from 2014 to 2020, and it’s where I got my start in theater. Being back just feels like I haven’t left.”
Australian American performer Nigel Huckle, who was part of the “Les Miserables” cast during its Manila run, is back in the country to play Chris.
“Eight years ago today, I was doing ‘Les Mis’ here at Solaire and I had an audition for Chris in the Broadway production and it didn’t pan out … It took eight years of seasoning and now here I am again … It’s really an honor to be part of the legacy of this show here where partially it all really began.”
“It’s Pinoy power,” said Mossman.
Kiara Dario, who recently played the lead in Repertory Philippines’ “Snow White and the Prince,” remembers watching the DVD of “Hey, Mr. Producer!” over and over as a little kid.
“I would watch the wedding scene of ‘Miss Saigon’ again and again and again and again. And this is such a weird thing to say [as I was] 3 years old, but I wanted to be one of those bar girls.”
Today, she plays Gigi in “Miss Saigon.”
“I think another amazing thing about this production is, our resident director Theresa Nguyen is a Vietnamese American woman and her perspective is so valuable to this production. The changes may seem subtle but if you’re a fan, you’ll really notice them. In Sydney they reworked a lot of the Dreamland scenes to make sure the women in the bar were given more power. I think those changes are really beautiful to see in 2024—it’s such a beloved musical that is also able to adapt.”
For Schönberg, “If you leave the theater a little bit different than when you entered, the job is done. We don’t want to only give you pleasure. We want to touch the very sensitive strings inside you.” INQ
“Miss Saigon” runs at The Theatre at Solaire until May 12. Tickets are available through Ticketworld.
