Production heavyweight Cameron Mackintosh has revealed that he wants the timeless Miss Saigon back on the West End stage and also on the big screen after the huge cinematic success of Les Misérables.
Miss Saigon, produced originally by Sir Cameron, is based on Puccini’s opera Madame Butterfly, and tells the story of an ill-fated romance involving an Asian woman abandoned by an American soldier. The musical is set in 1970s Saigon during the Vietnam War and opened in London in 1989 going on for 10 years and racking up over 4000 performances. When the show went global it received criticism from the Asian community and although it received 10 Tony awards the Broadway production was almost cancelled after the Actors Association threatened to ban a lead character from inclusion.
In 2009 a film version of the hit Broadway show was reported to be in the early stages of development with Paula Wagner rumoured to be teaming up with Mackintosh and Lee Daniels but the buzz seemingly fizzled away. Mackintosh continued to fan the flames however in 2012 stating the production depended on the screen success of Les Misérables.
Mackintosh has revealed that he will restage Miss Saigon as soon as he finds an available theatre and even went so far as to reveal that preliminary auditions had already taken place. In the last stage version, launched 25 years ago, they spent over a year searching for the cast and uncovered unforgettable performances. Mackintosh has aimed at opening the doors to the British public within 18 months.
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