while i was browsing through youtube videos i could watch to pass the time months ago, i stumbled upon the making of the musical miss saigon. for a music-loving filipino, this is considered gold =) it's an 8-part series on the said website, and it recounts how Alain Boublil and Claude-Michael Schönberg went on a quest to find their kim - the 17-year old vietnamese girl forced to prostitute herself to G.I.'s during the vietnam war. i didn't realize that they conducted a worldwide search for this role - that just makes me extra proud of lea's accomplishment; that she nabbed this once in a lifetime role from hundreds, if not thousands of aspiring girls from all over.
when miss saigon hit it big in london and then had subsequent showings in broadway and eventually won her the laurence olivier award and tony award for best actress, she never looked back. i remember watching snippets of the show on channel 4 when i was a kid, then seeing her sing the national anthem for a farewell show with corazon aquino. this was a big deal for us, the first ever filipina who was not a politician nor had scandal to her name be recognized as a TALENT and a national treasure for all to see.
the very first time i went to new york city was 1992, miss saigon was playing and my aunt who lived in flushing took me to see it. i can still smell the biting cold wind while we walked from her house to broadway. the warmth of the theater, the excitement i felt while being seated in one of the balcony seats. i looked on feverishly from the top looking down below to the people anticipating a great show. then the piano starts and the show begins. it wasn't lea salonga who was kim in this matinee show, but i loved every single moment. the whole time i thought this was what she was living - the american dream.
the years that lea spent abroad were years of despondency in the local singing and acting industries. but whenever she'd come back to promote an album or invite people to a concert she'd staged for a benefit or otherwise, she's always been regarded with the utmost respect and adoration.
her wedding was televised - i cried when her husband cried, i cried when she cried. good times =) i guess having lived a life in the spotlight doesn't really mean you can shy away from it either. but i love the fact that she's been able to stay out of scandals; always being the prim and proper lady that i've known her to be.
some people say she's arrogant; i say she's just confident. who wouldn't be if you're that smart? her intelligence and wit may intimidate people, but i'm inspired by it. i try to be the same, and though i'm failing miserably, i still look up to her, i still think "what would lea do?" when i'm faced with tough decisions in my life.
her defining moment may have been miss saigon, but i'll always remember her as just lea. thank you, miss, for being a true inspiration!
No comments:
Post a Comment