Cameron Mackintosh Planning London Revival of Miss Saigon for 2014

With the release of Les Misérables only two weeks away, all eyes are on uber-producer Cameron Mackintosh—who, according to The Philippine Star, is already looking ahead to his next mega-musical endeavor: a revival of his 1989 West End hit, Miss Saigon.

“I’m going to restage Miss Saigon in London as soon as I find the theater. We have started preliminary auditions,” Mackintosh told reporters during the Tokyo premiere of Les Miz, confirming that six Filipino actresses were deemed "finalists" to play the lead role of Kim in the Vietnam War-era musical.

“When we did the show in London 25 years ago, we spent over a year looking for the cast,” Mackintosh continued. “I hope that in the next 18 months it would be back in London. The new version has just opened here in Japan, and it’s a phenomenal success. It’s going to be a different production but still the same great Miss Saigon.”

Miss Saigon was penned in 1989 by composers Claude-Michel Schonberg and Alain Boublil, the duo behind Mackintosh’s other big-budget hit Les Misérables. The show opened on Broadway in 1991, earning ten Tony Award nominations (and winning three, including one for show star Lea Salonga).

The London stage isn’t the only place Miss Saigon might be headed: Mackintosh has previously confirmed the rumors that should Les Misérables prove to be a cinematic success, a Miss Saigon movie would be fast-tracked down the pipeline. ("If Les Miz is a success then Miss Saigon will be made into a film," he said in September.) Given the pre-release reception of Les Miz, it sounds like we’ll be seeing Saigon on the big screen in no time at all!