Soon to be the first Filipino artist to receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, I first heard her voice long before I knew the story behind it. It was sometime in the late ’90s when I stumbled upon a worn-out cassette tape, the original London cast recording of Miss Saigon.
I didn’t know much about musicals then, but from the moment that voice sang “Sun and Moon,” I was hooked. There was something hauntingly beautiful in it, something raw and young and utterly believable. That was how I met Kim – through Lea Salonga’s voice, a full decade after she first stepped into the role.
Curious, I began to dig. What I found was one of the most fascinating stories of talent, timing, and a dream that crossed oceans.Back in 1988, the creators of Les Misérables, Claude-Michel Schönberg and Alain Boublil, were developing a new musical based on Puccini’s Madame Butterfly, but set during the Vietnam War. They needed someone to play Kim, a young Vietnamese girl caught in a tragic love story with an American soldier. They had searched in London, New York, and Los Angeles, but no one quite fit. Eventually, their search brought them to Manila.
And there she was… Lea Salonga. Seventeen years old, already a star in the Philippines, but still largely unknown to the rest of the world. At the Manila auditions, she sang “On My Own” from Les Misérables, and the creative team reportedly fell into stunned silence. Her voice didn’t demand attention… it commanded it. There was no pretense, no exaggeration, just pure emotion and clarity. They knew they had to bring her to London.
And so they did. She flew halfway around the world to audition again, this time for the final round. Surrounded by more experienced, more “connected” actors, Lea was the outsider. But the moment she sang “Sun and Moon” for the team, there was no more debate. The role of Kim was hers.
Miss Saigon opened in 1989 in London’s West End, with a production so ambitious it became legendary. One of its most talked-about scenes involved a life-sized helicopter landing on stage, a technical marvel at the time that stunned audiences night after night. But even with all the lights, the set pieces, and the dramatic staging, nothing was more unforgettable than Lea Salonga’s performance. Her portrayal of Kim was heartbreakingly real, not just a character, but a beating heart at the center of a war-torn love story.
I listened to that cast recording over and over, but one song always stood out to me more than the rest: “Bui Doi.” It wasn’t even Kim’s solo, but it pierced straight through me. The haunting chorus – “They’re called Bui Doi, the dust of life, conceived in hell. And born in strife. They are the living reminders of all the good we failed to do” sung for the forgotten children of American soldiers and Vietnamese women, was devastating and beautiful all at once. Every time I hear it, I remember how theatre, at its best, can make you feel the weight of history through melody. Lea was barely 18 when she took on that role, and yet she delivered a performance that would go on to win her the Laurence Olivier Award in London and, later on Broadway, the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical, making her the first Asian woman to ever win the prestigious honor. In doing so, she not only made history for the Philippines but shattered boundaries for Asian performers around the world.
And now, decades later, she continues to blaze trails. This 2025, Lea Salonga is set to become the first Filipino artist to receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame — an honor that’s long overdue for someone who has contributed so much to global theater and entertainment. From stage to Disney films, to concerts and mentoring the next generation, her influence has spanned genres and continents.
Looking back, I realize that what I stumbled upon in that old cassette tape wasn’t just a musical. It was history. It was legacy. It was the sound of a young girl from Manila breaking through the world stage — not with noise, but with grace and power. That’s how I met Lea Salonga. That’s how I discovered Kim. And that’s how I came to understand why, even today, the world still remembers her as Miss Saigon. – Carl Taawan
