MISS SAIGON Cast Members Reunite and Reminisce!

Hello, I'm Richard Ridge for Broadway World

Miss Saigon is one of the world's most successful and beloved musicals of all time

And I'm here at Erbo for the biggest Miss Saigon reunion ever

where company members have flown in from around the world to be here, and I caught up with many of them

Give your name is for the first. Mark Oka, M-A-R-C-O-K-A. So Mark, tell us what's happening here tonight at Erbo

Oh my God, it's the 25th anniversary of Miss Saigon for the Broadway company

It's just been so amazing. Bob editor, our sound engineer on Facebook, said

well, we need to get a reunion together. And I said, well, I could do that

You know, I'm in The King and I, and I hurt my foot, and I had all this time in the world

And I said, well, you know, the age of Facebook, I'll just do it. So 15 minutes, I had a page up

And, you know, hours later, there were 200 people on this page

And we had to do two reunion dates tonight, and then September 21st for the people who couldn't come in

So, you know, people are coming in from all around the country. Leah's coming in from Manila tonight

You know, hopefully she'll be able to make it. She's going through customs, I think, right now

So it's just been amazing. It's just wonderful, but it's just to see all of these people

I haven't seen them in decades. And they have kids now. They have kids

And our TAMs are like 28 years old now. And I'm seeing these pictures

And look at this. Look at this. They all have kids. They all have kids. So we wanted them to bring all their children

It's just been such a wonderful experience. I've been having so much fun

Give me your history. You worked with the original choreographer Bob Avion, right

Yeah, I was the assistant to the choreographer Bob Avian for the original company

and the dance captain and the swing for the original show. And I was involved with a show for about nine years off and on

They allowed me to go off and do Fosse and other shows

bells are ringing and doing other things and such and I subbed for the second national tour and I put

all of these people into the show you know and back then you know Asian performers were it was really

hard to to cast the show because at that time there weren't a lot of Asian performers we had to go all

across the country pick them out of high schools you know we we advertised in all of the Asian

American newspapers and I had to teach these people how to dance. Some of them I had to teach

them what stage right, stage left, upstage, downstage, and now they've gotten such wonderful

careers from that. It's just, just makes me so proud, you know? How excited are you to be here

tonight for the reunion of Miss Saigon? Oh my God, I'm so, so excited. I know almost everybody

here, which is great. And you know, when Miss Saigon came out, there was a lot of controversy

but, you know, in the end, the Asian community had another show

because we've had Flower Drum. Of course, we have King and I, Flower Drum, and there's another show for us

And it's really, really important for our community, you know, that we're represented

And it ran for eight years, and it's been all over the world, and it's so exciting

And we're happy that King and I is back also, you know

Anyway, I've been involved with my company, which is National Asian Artist Project

And I formed that so that the Asian artist would be cast in shows that they would never do

So I've produced Oklahoma Carousel, Hello Dolly, and Oliver. And I have a choir of 40 Asian singers, because if they're not working in those three shows, what are they doing

They're singing with me. I love that. You know, going back to this, I was talking to Mark, who's Bob Avion's assistant at the time

and he said he had to teach a lot of Asians how to dance and do everything

and this was sort of the show that broke them out into really studying to get cast into a lot of shows

Absolutely. Absolutely. It was really important that they do break out because, you know

they're doing American Dream and all that... The choreography of Westerns rather than doing the King and I, you know

So it's really, really important. It's groundbreaking. Absolutely groundbreaking in every sense of the word for us, you know

And hopefully, allegiance. Oh, here we are at Erbo. Richie Bridge. I haven't seen you in so long. You're a superstar

Will you help make me one? Oh, please. Are you kidding? You were a superstar before I came along

Listen, you look sensational. We're here at Erbo for the Miss Saigon reunion. Tell me what tonight means to you

Well, it's interesting. It was just a fluke of timing. Mark Goka organized this whole thing

and what's so fascinating about it is there's one in August and one in September for the people that couldn't make perfect things

But to watch everybody come by and see all the kids and the babies or see Jodi Mocha and one of her daughters is in college

and I see Bob Belig over there, and I think Kevin's coming. And it's quite extraordinary in the heart of New York Times

1991 that show opened, you know? And look, I have all my dog tags that were from Broadway and the tours

and I'm going to give you one of these for your collection of them. But I save everything

I have jewelry through the ages. So anyway, so this is pretty great

My thing with Miss Saigon, and, you know, God bless Cameron. First of all, he puts so many people to work

But second of all, the controversy was the most painful thing about that show. For me, and you know, I love Les Mis

I am Le Maiz. You know what I mean? That's the way I feel about it. It's my life. It's my thing

But I don't know, the music to Miss Saigon kills me. and I feel like the score never got its due

because of all the controversy And then all the controversy which was about Leia Salonga and Jonathan Price they got the Tony Awards And then we lost Best Musical right to Will Rogers Follies

And there's Claude Michelle in the line in front of me and Cameron next to me. That was really, really sad

But the politics of that, the cancellation, the advance. You'd go home and go to bed, you'd be talking to Cameron in Australia

You'd wake up in the morning. You'd be talking to London. It's sort of tragic

And, of course, equity was feeling their oats back then. They were an all-time sort of raffle

rousing sort of stuff. And that's not a bad thing. I mean, anything that's worth fighting for is worth fighting for

But, you know, I feel like it was shifted, the focus of what it really should have been

But the score, like Leis Salonga, and I talk about this all the time, I still like, um..

I still taste your kisses. I died, no matter of minute. And sometimes I just put on the whole..

If I can't listen to all of Miss Saigon at once, I can't be paying bills or doing anything around the house

I have to listen to the whole thing. And it's transportive. and all the focus. And then to see all the Chris's and all the Kims and all the engineers

And it's amazing. And just, it's so interesting to bump into you tonight or to have you here

because I'm just in the process of transferring all my old VHS tapes

and all the Serino coin assembled footage. I have VHS tapes of all of that

And I'm just now in the process. So I saw the Seattle Company the other night

And so I got duplicates of everything so I could send people stuff

and their things are a TV special I did with Andrea McArdle

Nobody's overseen that easy to be hard about the homeless. So it's pretty great, but there's a lot of talented people

And also, you know, that era of the sung-through musical, Le Miz, Phantom Saigon, Sonset Boulevard, aspects of love

People went from show to show to show to show to show. And then all of a sudden the traditional book musical came back and people sort of withered away

You know what I mean? But a lot of people fell in love and stayed in love and got married and had kids

And that's what I'm seeing around here. But, I mean, I think everybody looks pretty damn good

Great. I think so. And I think Cameron's going to love watching this. Hi, Cam

Tell me what tonight means to you. Tonight is like coming home

To see these faces, some that I've not seen since I left the show

I was in the show, the first two years of the show, and some people have not seen since my final day

So many of us moved to New York, to do Miss Saigon. So whenever anybody would have a gathering, we would all move as a clump and did everything together for at least the first year

And so many of those same people are here tonight, it means the world to me. Okay, do you remember your callback

And when you got the call, who did you sing for? And what did you do for that callback

Okay, I, everything happened for me in a matter of a couple of days. I'd heard about Miss Saigon and all the rumors about, you know, equity getting involved

and it may not happen, may not happen, and all that kind of stuff. Anyway, so I flew to New York on Monday

I have my singers call, I think, at the Golden Theater in the afternoon

I was supposed to fly out that same night. They say, could you please, stay for the dance

call. I said, of course, I would change my stuff. Went to the Army Navy surplus store

on 42nd Street. Got some fatigue because I want to look like a GI. Went to the call back. Went back to Chicago where I was doing

I was in the chorus of South Pacific at the Marriott-Lincolnshire. And after a two-show day, I got a call at one in the morning from the

Vinny Lyft. And I thought it was a joke. And he said, Alton, this is Vinny. I said, this is really Vinny

He goes, yes it is. I go. I'm like, okay, I think it's one of my friends playing a joke because they knew how badly I wanted this

And he goes, how do you feel about moving to New York? And I was like, oh my God, oh my God

Also, how do you feel about understanding Hinton Ball in the role of John? I was like, oh my God, oh my God, my God, my God

And he was like, I was like, is this for real? Are you really Vinay Lift? He's like, yes, this is really Vinny Lift

Congratulations. I'll see you when you get to New York. And, dude, my life has never been the same

Oh, here we are at the Miss Saigon reunion. Tell me what tonight means to you. Well, it's very exciting

It was a big part of my life. I was in the show for three and a half years from 92 to 95

I loved the experience. and it's special to see old friends and wonderful actors

and this community. It's just a great thing to be here. Favorite memories for you over the time period of Miss Saigon

Well, a couple. My last performance was pretty amazing because the cast does a lot of very interesting things

They do a thing called lotioning, where they lotion everyone that is leaving the show

You get covered with it. And they also gave me, you know, the solo saxophone

At the end, I didn't know how to play a saxophone, and whoever's leaving the show, they throw the saxophone on them

and in the middle of the show you have to sit there and pretend like you know how to play it. But I was thinking of a story

When I had my put-in, I was one of the GIs on the fence, and I was one of the last people to go into the helicopter before it takes off

Well, we don't really go into the helicopter. We actually go up the stairs, grab a bar

and drop into a little booth underneath, and then head off. I'm giving the secret away

And there's no rehearsal because the pyrotech, you know, the tech of it is just too expensive

So they said, go up the stairs, grab the bar, and go. So I did. I went up the stairs

I grabbed what I thought was the bar, dropped. And I'm sitting in the booth going, why are my hands all warm

And suddenly I got out of there and I'm covered in blood. I cut my hands open

Grab the wrong bar. Not a good thing. We are here tonight at the Miss Icon reunion

Bob, tell me what tonight means to you. This is so great because it's been almost 25 years since we first started Miss Saigon

And over the time that I was involved with it for the 10 years that it ran in New York

we did the Broadway company, we did two national tours, we did a Tokyo production

we did Toronto. And so we have a huge family of Saigonites

and it's wonderful and we're spread all over the world really and so it's great to have a night

where everybody can come back and we can see each other people we haven seen in in years Some people I haven seen in you know 20 years So it fantastic

It's great seeing all these people again. So you were originally working on Le Miz when you heard about Miss Saigon

Tell me how you got Miss Saigon to musical direct. Well, I was fortunate enough to be asked to be music director of Le Miserab

which is very exciting in itself. And then I heard, you know, while we were doing this

working on Les Mis, I knew that Claude Michelle and Alain were doing, working on Miss Saigon

They were getting ready to open that in London. And I said to Claude Michelle one day, I said, I would love to do to work on Miss Saigon when it comes to Broadway

And he said, okay, we'll make that happen. And so I got to go and go to the Open the Night performance in London and see that

invited to an orchestra rehearsal to see them working on the orchestrations

and then got to go back and actually watch performances and study the show

and work with Martin Koch, who is the music director in London

and really study the show and learn it to be able to do it in New York

So here we are at the Miss Saigon reunion. Is it surreal

It is. It's so much fun to see all of our old kids. castmates and everyone looks amazing. I mean, everyone looks the same. I mean, not me, but everyone

looks the same. You look the same. Now, you were at Kim. How did you join the show? I was in the

original cast. Cameron and the creative team found me in Hawaii before London. And they

couldn't take me to London, so they brought me in for the Broadway. So I was in the original Broadway

company. Do you remember your call back in that phone call you got that you were cast in

Saigon? Yes. Vinny Lyft called me and said, you know, they love you. They, they love you. They

want to have you in the ensemble and be a Liz understudy

And I was like, is this really happening? Because, you know, you don't ever think that that's going to happen

You know, I was working at a hotel in Hawaii, and now I'm going to move to New York

And I kept my apartment in New York, and I, I mean, in Hawaii, and I said, oh, I should be gone maybe three months

And it's been 25 years now. So, yeah. What was it like learning this score

I mean, Alon and Claude. Tell me about that. And working with Cameron

Oh my God, well, you know, Cameron really believed in the show, and he spent a lot of time, and because I had never done anything before, he paid for me to have voice lessons for the whole time I did the show. It paid for me to train, and, you know, they were all so great, and, you know, learning the music from Claude Michel, who's, like, the most passionate musician ever. I mean, fantastic, you know. So you learn it from, you know, the people who created it, and we've stayed in touch because my husband still works for them

So we're going to talk about this. So you met your husband in the show. He was your Chris

Yes. After I left the Broadway company, I went to do it on the tour

And I was playing Kim as the Kim alternate. And they brought in Peter to play Chris there

And it was sad because when Peter first came in, he replaced Eric Coonzie, who I really loved

And Eric and I were crying in the dressing room. I was like, I don't want you to go

Who's this stupid Peter Lockyer? And then the next thing you know, we're married

So, yeah. And yeah, we've been together 20 years. So it's been..

So Cameron kind of, you know, gave me a new life in New York

and, you know, I met my husband doing that. So, yeah. You had a favorite story

You were, like, medical swing? Tell me about that in this show. I was called into swing for Saigon

because we had the highest rake, more, higher than the cat's, you know, stage

And I called... I was called in to swing for injuries. And ultimately they realized that we needed to have some sort of contractual thing

It wasn't official, but it wasn't like an official, it wasn't like an official, it's just a swing swing, but a medical swing

Because, you know, I mean, a lot of these dance shows with Jerome Robbins Broadway and a lot of the more dancer shows like Chorus Line also, you know, you really need to have that

So it was important for equity to realize that, and I think they did. I think they did

Crazy a story. Didn't something happen we had to bring someone off the stage and finish the scene? Yes

So one night, during, you know, one of these scenes, one of the girls tripped on this rake stage

And she tripped so that, you know, where the, where the, the scene, the doorway, you could see her body

And I was like, oh, my gosh. She cannot be there while the principals are singing

So I decided to just take her legs and just pull her into the wings

so that she would not be seen while you're doing the loved way. And everybody was just cracking up, but I said

you know what? Something needs to be done, not just laughing, but like, you know, something needs to be pulled off

And she was just terrified, you know, because she was like, she fell and she was hurt

And you finished the scene? We finished the scene. Yeah. So here we are at the Miss Saigon reunion

What does tonight mean to you? Oh my God. It means love family and friends

creative people. Life goes on. And just a magical time that we all did meet through Miss Saigon

Because you were there with Bob Avion from the beginning. You assisted him on the New York production here in New York, right

New York production here. And in London, I went over. and we worked on things Bob evolved the show each time he worked on it which was a great privilege to be around So yeah he also had another assistant Maggie Goodwin and Maggie and I were good friends and the three of us

we tripped around and just kept on choreographing and enhancing the show and making it better and better

And what we did in New York then went to London, and what we did in London went to New York

So it was all one big happy time. Very creative. Very creative and easy

It was very easy and calm. Did you know early on when you got involved

that this was going to be something really special? Yes, I just didn't know it would go that far

I mean, you knew it was special just because of all the controversy that went on before it even hit

And I think because of the people that were in charge, it was going to be special also

What was it like being a part of this show? A lot of shows are special

but I've heard so many incredible stories about how this show changed people in so many ways

It was a period in our history that we sort of wanted to forget

And the love story just was such an amazing part of this craziness that was happening all around these two lovers

And so there hasn't been, I mean, there have been plays about Vietnam, but not a really successful musical like this

and by two composers and writers that were just amazing, you know, from Les Mizz

And, you know, I think it's just, it's a masterpiece. And it changed people's way of looking at the war, I mean, because of the love story around it

and that he had to leave this girl behind. And yet, you know, what happened to her with having this son and him trying to find her

And so many, it was real because this happened to so many GIs, so many men and women

over there and years later and that's the impact when you look at that picture

that inspired this show you know I mean you just well up inside because you can

see you know what this woman is going through having to give her child up and

you know why that you know how they how they wrote this incredible music and

and this great story which you know is an old you know classic I mean it's that's

not new we've had these stories around forever but I think the combination of

this war and everything that sort of hovers around it and this beautiful music

And being in the original company with Jonathan Price and Hidden Battle and Laosalonga

and Liz Calloway, who are all, some are here, not all of them, and working with Nick

Heitner and that was just something really special that any time you do an original piece

and you get to create something, it stays with you, it stays in your heart and it's

just something special forever. So here we are. What does this reunion mean to you tonight

Oh my gosh, this is so amazing to see so many people that I haven't seen in so long

so many great memories. It's just like coming home. It's really like coming home

You all look sensational. Thank you. So you're the longest running Ellen on Broadway, right

Yes, from what I know, I think I did it the longest on Broadway from what, yeah, from what

What was it like playing that role, what it means you personally and creatively? Oh, it was really such a dream come true

I actually was lucky enough to come to the opening night and go to the opening party

when I saw Liz Calloway do it. And who doesn't love Liz Calloway? Amazing

And a beautiful voice of an angel. And just really, it was a dream come true

And Vinnie Lyft, who God rest his soul, beautiful man, you know

helped bring me in for people to see. And when he gave me a phone call and I knew that I got the job, it just was a dream

Yeah. So tell me what tonight means to you. Wow, it's just great to see so many people that I haven't seen

The show closed, I guess it's 16 years ago now, and some of these people I haven't seen since then

You know, so what I did, the final performance is on YouTube

I never knew that until somebody told me. So I watched it before I came just to, you know, to get those memories back

So it feels great to be here. So you started in the first national tour, right

I started in the first national tour in the ensemble and eventually got a understudy of John

Got John on the First National. I closed it. We closed that in Vancouver

And shortly after that, I got a chance to come to Broadway. And I did the last eight months of John on Broadway

And there were so many things happening because I think, I don't know if it was the 2000s performance or something happened around that time

And there was a big party on Chelsea Pier. You know, so, and then closing it and working with Leah, it was great

And Will. Yeah. Yeah. Here we are. What does tonight mean to you

Oh my God, it's like, this is my first Broadway show, and the people are just like family

It's so wonderful seeing everyone. I mean, everyone's good and healthy, and, you know, it's great

Take me back to the beginning. First Broadway show to remember your call back or when the call came in saying, you've got it

Oh, yeah. Me and my roommate got Broadway shows at the same time. She got Le Miz and I got Miss Saigon

So it's like, how often does that happen in an apartment? You know, so, yeah, I'll always remember that

So what was your last callback like? We had a dance for Bob Avian, and then we had to sing too

So Vinny Lyft is an amazing cast. I miss him dearly. Yeah, I miss him dearly

That must have been a great phone call to find out that you got cast, right? Yeah, definitely, definitely

Amazing phone call. Remember the first night you went on, because you were hired as a swing, right? Yes, I was a swing

I covered 22 different guys and 10 different girls. Then I became dance captain, so I talked

to show to all the new people. My first night on, Sean McDermott was going on for Chris

so I went on for Sean, and it was for about a two-week period of time, actually. So it was nice