It was a reunion of sorts for some past Miss Saigon cast members at the gala opening of the hit musical’s restaging in Manila held on 26 March at The Theater at Solaire.

The likes of Cocoy Laurel, Robert Seña, Jenine Desiderio, Pinky Amador and Bobby Martino represented the original 1989 West End cast. Back then, they started out in the ensemble playing all sorts of bit parts until they bagged bigger roles: Laurel as the Engineer, Seña as Thuy and Desiderio as Gigi then eventually Kim.

Those from the other productions that came after the huge success on West End also turned up at the gala opening: Jamie Rivera played Kim a few years after Miss Saigon opened on West End and stayed until 1993. Carla Guevara also played Kim on West End from 1995 to 1996. Jake Macapagal joined the ensemble in the 1994 to 1999 German production and continued with the UK National Tour in 2001 to 2002. Gerald Santos played Thuy in the UK/International Tour, which ran from July 2017 to march 2019.

Conspicuously absent in the star-studded event was Lea Salonga, who originated the role of Kim. She also won for her excellent performance on both West End and Broadway the Best Actress in a Musical nod from Olivier Awards and Tony Awards, respectively.

In a press interview last February, Salonga shared her thoughts on the lasting appeal of Miss Saigon: “Thirty-five years on, there are folks that are still able to connect to the story and to the history and to the music. I think any generation that has experienced, or even witnessed on television or through mass media, armed conflict that is still ongoing and that there are innocents that are caught in crossfires, that is something I think that everybody is able to relate to.

“So, for as long as that is still happening and that is not a distant experience, there will be folks that will still be able to look at the show and think, ‘Yeah!’ I think the connection is multi-layered. It isn’t just the music, it isn’t just the story, it isn’t just, ‘Oh, the guy who made Les Miz created this other musical.’

“I think because of in that original company, there were so many of us that came from here that went over there, and generations followed. There are still folks who had come from here who are still recruited to go and perform various roles in different productions… It’s one of those legacy things.”