Push Admin

Lea Salonga on stardom following 'Miss Saigon' success

Article (news)

E. Kristhoff Cagape

<p>Lea Salonga took a trip down memory lane and recalled her experience starring in her first international stage musical <em>Miss Saigon</em> on West End when she was a teenager.</p><p>In a chat with her <em>Request sa Radyo</em> fellow headliner Dolly de Leon uploaded on the State of the Arts YouTube channel, Lea admitted that starring in an original production abroad at a young age felt intimidating initially.</p><p>&quot;Given that it was an original production of something we had no idea if it was going to be a hit or not. It was frightening, it was intimidating, it was overwhelming, it was all of these things, and I was a kid,&quot; she recounted.</p><p>The singer credited her mother Ligaya and her co-stars in <em>Miss Saigon</em> for helping her navigate that stage in her life when she was still 18 years old.</p><div><iframe width="670" height="377" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/TZEtHjO2AN4" title="Lea &amp; Dolly (PART 1) UNPLUGGED : Just Us Talking" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></div><p>&quot;Thankfully there was a lot of us who went, thankfully my mom was also there to take some of the pressure off but here is this country that sending you off with well wishes and hopes for the best and you&#x27;re over there in the other side of the world, kind of like flying blind a little bit. Is what we&#x27;re doing working?&quot; she recalled.</p><p>Lea also pointed out that she had a different path before joining the musical. She was taking a pre-medical course in college before she landed the role of Kim in <em>Miss Saigon, </em>so she had to keep up. <em></em><br/></p><p>&quot;I wasn&#x27;t trained in the same way that let&#x27;s say a lot of theater kids that went to college, with all the technique, with all the knowledge. I didn&#x27;t have that. I was in college for something completely different so it was like, so I had to really depend on the director, thank goodness he was a genius, our producer, the creative forces behind the music and the lyrics. You just try and navigate this. It was nuts. It was a crazy time,&quot; she recounted.</p><div><br/></div><div><iframe class="instagram-media instagram-media-rendered" id="instagram-embed-18" src="https://www.instagram.com/p/C8ojSlksgXN/embed/captioned/?cr=1&amp;v=14&amp;wp=540&amp;rd=https%3A%2F%2Fent-workbench-web.abs-cbn.com&amp;rp=%2F#%7B%22ci%22%3A18%2C%22os%22%3A15119188%2C%22ls%22%3A793329.7000000002%2C%22le%22%3A793333.7000000002%7D" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="" frameBorder="0" height="817" data-instgrm-payload-id="instagram-media-payload-18" scrolling="no" style="background:white;max-width:540px;width:calc(100% - 2px);border-radius:3px;border:1px solid rgb(219, 219, 219);box-shadow:none;display:block;margin:0px 0px 12px;min-width:326px;padding:0px"></iframe></div><script async="" src="//www.instagram.com/embed.js"></script><div><br/></div><p>When asked how she was able to navigate well that kind of stardom she experienced at such a young age, Lea shared: &quot;I think it helps when the authority figures in your life never ever did the, &#x27;Ang galing-galing mo,&#x27; because I&#x27;ve seen that happen to some of my contemporaries from childhood and that can mess you up because the real world is not that.</p><p>&quot;And so I think because I wasn&#x27;t treated with that kind of quote and quote admiration from that young age, my entry into the real world, it felt more normal because I knew that no one was going to indulge this 18-year-old and if I needed a stern talking too, I would get one even when I was over there,&quot; she added.</p><div><a href="https://push.abs-cbn.com/2024/9/4/lea-salonga-to-release-holiday-album-sounding-joy-in-november-1349" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><strong>Lea Salonga to release holiday album ‘Sounding Joy’ in November</strong></a></div><p>Lea starred as Kim in <em>Miss Saigon</em> in London in 1989. She won the 1990 Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Musical following her performance.</p><p>In 1991, she again <span id="isPasted" style="color:rgb(65, 65, 65);letter-spacing:normal;orphans:2;text-align:left;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;white-space:normal;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-color:initial;display:inline !important;float:none">headlined </span>the musical as Kim on Broadway and won several awards including the Drama Desk, Theatre World, and <span id="isPasted" style="color:rgb(65, 65, 65);letter-spacing:normal;orphans:2;text-align:left;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;white-space:normal;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-color:initial;display:inline !important;float:none">Outer Critics Circle </span>awards. She also won a Tony Award for her performance.</p>

<p>Lea Salonga recalls her experience starring in her first international musical 'Miss Saigon' when she was a teenager. She also discusses how she was able to navigate stardom at such a young age following the musical's success. </p>

Lea Salonga recalls her experience starring in her first international musical 'Miss Saigon' when she was a teenager. She also discusses how she was able to navigate stardom at such a young age following the musical's success.

Lea Salonga shares how she navigated stardom as a teen following 'Miss Saigon' success

News

Entertainment

Lifestyle

Sports

Metro.Style

More

Sudoku

Word of the Day

Lotto

Horoscope

Showbiz

Lea Salonga shares how she navigated stardom as a teen following 'Miss Saigon' success

Toff C.

Published September 11, 2024 09:05 PM PHT

Read More:

Lea Salonga

Miss Saigon

West End

Broadway

celebrity news

entertainment news

musical news

ABS-CBN is the leading media and entertainment company in the Philippines, offering quality content across TV, radio, digital, and film. Committed to public service and promoting Filipino values, ABS-CBN continues to inspire and connect audiences worldwide.

Corporate

Investors

Governance

International Distribution

Corporate

Governance

Investors

International Distribution

NPC Seal of Registration

Privacy Policy

AI Policy

Terms of Service

Advertise with Us

© 2026 ABS-CBN Corporation. All Rights Reserved.

NPC Seal of Registration

Privacy Policy

Terms of Service

AI Policy

Advertise with Us

© 2026 ABS-CBN Corporation. All Rights Reserved.

NPC Seal of Registration

Privacy Policy

Terms of Service

AI Policy

Advertise with Us

© 2026 ABS-CBN Corporation. All Rights Reserved.