By Seth Rudetsky
08 Jun 2009
Then I had Lea Salonga for the second part of the show. I, of course, asked her how she got her big break in Miss Saigon and turns out, they really did look all over the world for a Kim. Claude-Michel Schönberg had heard some Filipino singers on TV singing western music well, and he thought that his Kim would probably be Filipino, but he didn't think he'd have to travel to the Philippines to find her! But after auditioning in England, New York, L.A. and Hawaii, they went to the source. Lea was a pre-med student at the time and went to the audition straight from class. She sang "On My Own" from Les Miz, but the auditioners weren't that impressed. Rude. They asked for something else, but all she had with her was a book on the Alimentary Canal (my embellishment…but essentially true). She told them that she could sing the Whitney Houston version of "The Greatest Love of All" (she wasn't being retro...this was the late eighties). She walked over to the pianist, hoping that he would know it by heart and, crazily, there on top of the piano was the sheet music to "The Greatest Love of All"! It was very Oprah's "The Secret" mixed with VH-1's "I Love the 80's." Lea was petrified that it would be in the wrong key, but as soon as the piano began she knew it was the right one for her! Soon, they flew her to London for a final call-back…along with another girl who was up for the same role. Why do they always do that? Ever hear of separate flights? It's one thing to have to be in the waiting room with your competition, but I don't want to take a six-hour-flight sitting in the middle seat between Mario Cantone and Alice Ghostley. PS, why are we all up for the same role?
Lea got to try out on the stage of the Royal Albert Hall…with no mic! She said that you don't need any amplification in a lot of those old theatres because they have such amazing acoustics. She got to sing opposite Simon Bowman (who wound up playing Chris) and lots of woman auditioning for Ellen…including Frances Ruffelle, the original Eponine, whom Lea said sounded great! The other woman from the Philippines auditioned and was told that she would be understudying the role of Kim. Lea was told that she was cast…but they didn't know what part. When she heard the news, she didn't know what to think. She was in the middle of her pre-med program and even though she knew it would be cool to perform on the West End, she didn't know if it was worth leaving school for. All of the women who auditioned had a photo call for a Daily Mail story about the audition process, and a few days later, it came out. Lea picked up a copy at the newsstand and saw a picture of herself. Underneath, it said she was playing Kim!!!! What a crazy way to find out. It reminds of me of a devastating version of that kind of story. Scott Wise, the fantastic (and great-looking) performer told me that he was in Dream out of town and was excited about it coming to New York. He was waiting and waiting to get his offer to do the Broadway version and didn't know what the delay was. One day, he was in a rehearsal building and saw some of the other cast members…rehearsing the show for Broadway! That's how he found out that he wasn't doing it. Hmm…I like Lea's version better.
During Miss Saigon Lea was constantly hinting that she wanted to play Eponine by singing Eponine's big song. Whenever there was an event where Lea had to sing, she'd always launch into "Rue Plumet"…I mean, "On My Own." Finally she was offered the role and was the first non-traditional lead in that show. She then came back to the recent revival and graduated to Fantine. I assume her next stop is the 2040 revival playing Mme. Thenardier. That reminds me of something that happened a few years back. I wrote the lyrics to a big opening number for Nothin' Like a Dame that was set to West Side Story's "America." At the end Chita Rivera came out, dressed as Anita and sang and danced. Of course, the audience went crazy, and on her way off the stage I ran up to her and said, "They love you!" Then I pointed to her (she was dressed in full Anita drag) and said, "I smell revival!" She nodded sarcastically and said, "Yeah…I'll play Doc." Hilarious.
Okay, I'm on my way back from Harrisburg, and the last two shows were sold out. Delicious! Next, I have Nothin' Like a Dame on June 15. The line-up is now official: Betty Buckley, Audra McDonald, Andrea McArdle, Kelli O'Hara and Bebe Neuwirth; tix at ActorsFund.org. Then, next Monday I'm hosting a fundraiser for Surflight Summer on Long Beach Island, NJ…where I spent three summers when I was in college; tix at www.surflight.org. Tony Award details next week!
(Seth Rudetsky is the host of "Seth's Big Fat Broadway" on SIRIUS Satellite Radio and the author of "The Q Guide to Broadway" and the novel "Broadway Nights." He has played piano in the orchestras of 15 Broadway musicals and hosts the BC/EFA benefit weekly interview show Seth's Broadway Chatterbox at Don't Tell Mama every Thursday at 6 PM. He can be contacted by visiting www.sethrudetsky.com.)
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| Lea Salonga and Seth Rudetsky
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| photo by Robb Johnston |
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