Excerpts from the new book Connecting Two Cultures: Australia and the Philippines by Renato Perdon, Sydney, 2014
THE WORLD FAMOUS original London stage production of Miss Saigon celebrated its 25th anniversary with a gala concert last Monday, September 22. The original Miss Saigon opened in 1989 with Filipino thespians were flown to London from the Philippines for the inaugural show at the Theatre Royal at Drury Lane, London. Many of the original Filipino cast members looked back with fond memories of their parts in the successful Cameron Macintosh stage productions.
Miss Saigon is one of the rare international stage productions that paved the way to international fame for many talents from the Philippines, including those residing in other parts of the world, such as Australia when the show was staged in Sydney in 1995. Broadway musical type shows became the new playground for many Filipino talents after the tremendous success achieved by Miss Saigon.
Many of the London original performers have successfully pursued their respective careers in the world of show business, while other Filipino talents were given the chance of showing their acting and singing prowess at various Miss Saigon productions held in Germany, across the United States, in Canada, Tokyo, Amsterdam, and other countries in Europe.
It is an accepted fact that Filipinos love to sing and entertain. Margaret Harris of the Sydney Morning Herald regarded the Filipinos, without question, as Asia and the Pacific region’s best singers’.
In an interview during the search for talent for the Australian Miss Saigon stage presentation, the ninth production since 1989, producer Cameron Macintosh said he was inspired by the ‘unique presentation of the Filipinos, their gestures and musical talents’.
This observation was confirmed by Filipino art critic Rosalinda Orosa, who said Filipinos have a talent to amuse and impress. Orosa added that talent is ‘inherent rather than cultivated among Filipinos. Scratch a Filipino and chances are you’ll find a singer or a dancer—or both’. Marvelling at Filipinos’ inborn talent, Philippines’ former First Lady Ming Ramos was quoted to say: ‘Put five Filipinos together and you have a singing group’.
The musical play, according to its creators, is not a musical story about the Vietnam War. It has a shade of Madame Butterfly story in a Vietnam generations setting. The play also symbolises the end of the vision of America as invincible and how it suffered defeat and was brutally humiliated.
In Australia, as soon as negotiation for the $15 million Australian production of Miss Saigon was finalised, auditions for the Australian cast composed of 48 roles started in Perth, followed by Melbourne, Brisbane and finally Sydney.
The search was the ‘largest and most exhaustive in Australian theatrical history’. In all these places, Filipinos were almost always competing with one another not only for the coveted Kim part but also for the other roles.
The hunt for talents turned up 34 locals, 16 of whom came from special training schools set up by Mackintosh. The last leg of the nationwide search for a talent to play Kim was held in Sydney, where a three day hectic audition took place. The Filipino community had turned out in force to audition for the show’s many of Asian roles.
Obviously, not all the Filipinos who auditioned passed the strict and demanding selection process for many of the Asian roles required in the musical presentation. At the end, producer Macintosh decided to import three of the six principals and 13 other supporting players.
Radiant Filipina actor Joana Ampil, a 19-year old who was then playing the role of Kim in London and Cocoy Laurel, a film and stage actor and graduate of the Julliard School of Music, who was back in Manila pursuing an active stage career were flown to Sydney for the show.
During the opening of Miss Saigon in Sydney, Ampil was praised for her ‘pure and powerful voice and a sustained and compelling characterisation.’ As regards Cocoy Laurel’s performance that night, guests were thrilled and considered his role as The Engineer as ‘rich in subversive charm’.
Yet another critic Marjory Bennet said: ‘Ampil, with a sweet, soaring voice, turned in a moving performance.’ The same critic added, ‘If anybody stole the show it was Cocoy Laurel as the engineer—the hip-rolling, sleazy pimp with the big roguish grin and even bigger aspirations. His American Dream scene, complete with dancing girls and flashing Cadillac, was a highpoint…’
Ampil started her stage career when she became the youngest finalist in the Voice of Asia competition, a winner of the popular Student Pop ’90. She began singing at the age of six. 1991 was a significant year for Ampil. It was the year when she was chosen as one of the Calendar Girls of that year in a show staged by a popular Filipino designer. Her luck continued, for in the same year, she was picked to play the lead role of Kim in London. It was Ampil’s voice, with Australian actor Peter Cousens, which was selected when the definitive world-wide album of Miss Saigon was officially released in Sydney in 1995.
Given a major break in their careers were Filipino-Australians Alex Fernandez, 36 year old and married to an Australian, Robert Vicencio and Dexter Villahermosa, both 18, fresh faced and straight out from the Miss Saigon school. The three lucky thespians were part of the fourteen Filipino artists selected from Australia and Manila.
The others included Ester Barroso, Cesarh Campos, Genaro G. Lopez, Bobby Martino, Natalie Jackson Mendoza, Rebecca Jackson Mendoza, Dean Salonga, Christine Sambeli, Rodel San Miguel, Racel Tuazon, Miriam Valmores, Joy Van Uden, and Ma-anne Dionisio as understudy. She was also the Kim in the Canada production of Miss Saigon. The stage presentation on London’s West End ended on 30 October, while the show in Stuttgart, Germany closed in 30 December. The only one remaining show at this time of writing is the one staged on Broadway, New York, where Lea Salonga, the first Miss Saigon, is playing the role. Excerpts from the new book Connecting Two Cultures: Australia and the Philippines by Renato Perdon, Sydney, 2014