Audience at the Prince Edward Theatre in London were treated with a big surprise when Lea Salonga appeared on stage at the close of the “Miss Saigon” show on Monday (Tuesday in Manila), in celebration of the well-loved musical’s 25th anniversary.
The 1989 cast Salonga, Simon Bowman, and Jonathan Pryce returned to the West End stage as their respective characters in the Cameron Mackintosh production, and performed with their current counterparts.
Salonga, who played Kim in the 1989 debut of “Miss Saigon,” was then joined on stage by fellow Filipino Rachelle Ann Go — the 2014 run’s Gigi — to perform “The Movie in My Mind.”
Bowman, the original Chris, then emerged to sing “Last Night of the World” with Salonga.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n8NsupONFLk&feature=youtu.be
The current Kim and Chris, Alistair Brammer and Eva Noblezada, shortly joined the number and swapped partners with their 1989 counterparts.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P1LCpn_WhK8
Mackintosh and composers Alain Boublil and Claude-Michel Schönberg took turns giving speeches at the end of the number, with the original and current cast members of “Miss Saigon” surrounding them.
The gala performance will be broadcast on BBC Radio 2 on October 3.