Enchanted by Moonlight: An Evening with 'Miss Saigon'

Dear Readers,

In the embrace of Manila's evening splendor, the Solaire Resort stood regal and inviting, a beacon of grandeur and opulence by the bay. Its Theatre, a grand auditorium arrayed with modern, comfortable seats swathed in rich orange velvet, promised an evening of stirring melodies and profound performances beneath its impressive proscenium arch.

As twilight kissed the horizon, we arrived, hearts aflutter with anticipation. The air was perfumed with a sense of grandeur, each hushed conversation a prelude to the night’s majesty. The Theatre at Solaire, resplendent and vast, beckoned us into its fold, a modern-day shrine to the art of storytelling, where the echoes of applause are the heartbeat of its hallowed halls.

Hours before the curtain's rise, as the Solaire hummed with the quiet prelude to the night's enchantment, serendipity smiled upon us. Amidst the buzz and murmur of the common grounds, as he made his way to a café, we happened upon Seann Miley Moore. The evening's star, destined to animate the Engineer with a breath of life, he walked with an air that blended the rich narrative of his Filipino ancestry with the vibrant pulse of the theater. His journey from the screen's glow to the stage's spotlight was as compelling as the story he was soon to weave into our memories.

My dear readers, I must confess a prior skepticism. The 'Miss Saigon' I had beheld at the dawn of the millennium was etched in memory—a tableau vivant of emotion painted by luminaries like Lea Salonga. To revisit this narrative was to disturb the sanctity of those cherished recollections.

Yet, as the curtains unveiled the world of 'Miss Saigon' once more, skepticism gave way to wonder. Seann Miley Moore, with a voice as bold as his spirit, reimagined the Engineer with a vibrancy that illuminated the theatre. His portrayal, a fusion of strength and an undeniable grace, transformed the 'American Dream' into a spectacle of unabashed splendor and heart.

Abigail Adriano, our Kim, was nothing short of a revelation. Her voice, a clarion call of resilience and hope, filled the expanse with such veracity that the very walls seemed to resonate with her character's plight. Through her, the narrative was not merely sung but lived—each gesture, each glance, a stroke of authenticity painting Kim's story in vivid hues.

The evolution of the performance since those early days was a marvel to behold. The technical artistry that now graced the stage brought forth a new dimension to the tale, each scene a canvas where light, sound, and spectacle danced in harmony.

What unfurled before us was no longer the 'Miss Saigon' of a distant past but a reincarnation, breathing with the pulse of its new cast and the luster of modern theatre's magic. The distance between a dream and its realization had diminished; the stage was alive with a vision once relegated to the realm of cinematic fantasy.

The night's end found us amidst a sea of applause, the joy of witnessing such artistry a tangible force in the theatre. The performance, a poignant reminder of the transformative power of dreams, had not just entertained but moved us, stirred the very depths of our souls.

This 'Miss Saigon', against the backdrop of Solaire's splendor, was a love letter to the endurance of stories, to their ability to cross oceans and decades, and to their power in capturing the very essence of our shared humanity.

And so, to you, my dear readers, I offer this reflection—a keepsake from an evening when the boundary between the imagined and the realized became indistinct, a tribute to the splendor of the arts. From 'just a movie in my mind' to a living, breathing mosaic of performance, let this recollection of 'Miss Saigon' inspire you with the notion that within the theatre, every dream harbors the potential to ascend and dance among the stars of the extraordinary.

With the affection only a night at the theatre can evoke,
YRB