MISS SAIGON TO MAKE ITS LONG-AWAITED DEBUT IN HONG KONG

There are generally considered to be four classic stage musicals of the late 20th century – and Hong Kong’s culture lovers will have had the chance to see all four of them on home ground when Cameron Mackintosh’s Miss Saigon makes its long-awaited debut in Hong Kong on 18 May.

The other three –- Cats, The Phantom of the Opera and Les Misérables –- have already played in Hong Kong to huge acclaim in recent years, helping Hong Kong cement its reputation as the “Events Capital of Asia”.

With Miss Saigon now completing the illustrious quartet, Hong Kong residents and visitors have the opportunity to see a musical that has previously delighted over 28 million people in 12 countries and 71 cities, enjoying long runs in London’s West End and on New York’s Broadway. It has been performed in eight different languages and received numerous awards worldwide, grossing box office receipts in excess of HK$10 billion.

Brought to Hong Kong by international events management company IMG, Miss Saigon is a “Spotlight Hong Kong” event promoted by the Hong Kong Tourism Board and has Cathay Pacific Airways as title sponsor.

Miss Saigon was written and composed by Alain Boubil and Claude-Michel Schönberg, who also created the stage version of Les Misérables, and is set during the final days of the Vietnam war. A love story based loosely on Belasco/Puccini’s Madame Butterfly, it tells the tale of a young Vietnamese girl, Kim, and a US marine guard, Chris, who become separated in the evacuation of Saigon (now Ho Chi Minh City) in 1975, not realising that Kim is pregnant with their child. The story then moves on a few years to when Chris returns to Vietnam with his new wife, Ellen, and meets his son Tam for the first time.

Hong Kong showgoers will be able to see a top-class production with a cast headed by Scott Anson and Deedee Lynn Magno, both international “veterans” of the leading roles. Scott played Chris in the West End production of Miss Saigon for two years from 1997 to 1998, while Deedee has played Kim both on Broadway and on the road with the Second National Touring Company. Musical director Guy Simpson, too, has been involved in Miss Saigon productions as far apart as London and Sydney.

At the same time, though, there will be a true Hong Kong flavour to the production with three local four-year-olds having been chosen to alternate in the part of Tam.

An added attraction of the Hong Kong production is that it will use the entire original stage set and props from the Broadway show, which ended its run of almost 10 year this January. The set and props are being transported in 33 sea containers and include a helicopter built to 75% full size and weighing nearly 4,000 kg; a full-sized Cadillac; and a 5.5 metre, 270 kg statue of Ho Chi Minh.

For a limited season beginning on 18 May, performances will be staged six nights a week (Tuesday to Sunday) at the Grand Theatre of the Hong Kong Cultural Centre, in addition to matinees every Saturday and Sunday (except 19 May). Ticket prices range from HK$295 to HK$695, with special rates for students.

Visitors who would like to secure their seats ahead of their trip to Hong Kong can contact the presenter booking hotline at +852 2815 1516.



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The Hong Kong Tourism Board was formerly known as the Hong Kong Tourist Association (HKTA). The change took effect from 1 April 2001 and reflects a change to the tourism body’s constitutional structure. Its primary re sponsibilities for marketing and promoting Hong Kong as a destination worldwide, and for providing visitors with assistance when they arrive, remain unchanged.