NEWSFLASH

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LEA RETURNS TO BROADWAY AS KIM IN JANUARY

New York City, Oct. 19, 1998 - The Philippines' brightest star will shine on Broadway once more. Here is an official announcement from the producers of Miss Saigon.

LEA SALONGA, the original London and Broadway star of MISS SAIGON, who received unanimous critical acclaim for her performance, as well as every major theater award, will return to the Broadway production of the long-running hit musical on January 18th at the Broadway Theatre.

A native of Manila, Miss Salonga was originally chosen to play the show's powerful and demanding title role during an exhaustive worldwide talent search in 1988. Only 18 at the time, Miss Salonga left the Philippines and moved to London to begin rehearsals for the show's world premiere in September 1989 at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane. Both MISS SAIGON and Miss Salonga's performance were hailed as triumphs. Miss Salonga went on to receive the prestigious Olivier Award as Best Actress in a Musical.

Miss Salonga reprised her role for the show's Broadway debut in April, 1991, at which time Frank Rich of The New York Times wrote, "A spectacular performance," and Jack Kroll in Newsweek concurred, acclaiming, "A performance of remarkable power." Miss Salonga went on to sweep the 1991 New York theater awards, winning the Tony, Drama Desk, Outer Critics' Circle and Theatre World Awards as Best Actress in a Musical.

After leaving MISS SAIGON in March, 1992, Miss Salonga provided the singing voice for the character of "Jasmine" in Disney's "Aladdin," singing the hit song "A Whole New World," which she had the honor of performing on the 1993 Academy Awards ceremony. Miss Salonga came back to Broadway in 1993 to star as "Eponine" in Cameron Mackintosh's production of LES MISÉRABLES. Her performance in LES MISÉRABLES was widely acclaimed, and Mr. Mackintosh asked her to play the role in London's West End, as well as in the legendary 10th Anniversary Concert performance of the musical at the Royal Albert Hall in October 1995.

Miss Salonga's recordings include her platinum Atlantic debut album, "Lea Salonga", as well as the all-star recording of "The King and I", in which she sang the role of "Tuptim" opposite Julie Andrews and Ben Kingsley. Miss Salonga is also featured as the lead singing voice in the recent Disney film "Mulan".

In May of this year, Miss Salonga performed in an all-star salute to producer Cameron Mackintosh titled, "Hey, Mr. Producer" at London's Lyceum Theatre. Miss Salonga joined such stars as Bernadette Peters, Jonathan Pryce and Colm Wilkinson in the musical retrospective of Mackintosh's producing career to date. "Hey, Mr. Producer" was seen on PBS's "Great Performances" this August and will soon be released as a home video. The CD has recently been released.

Presented by Cameron Mackintosh, the producer of CATS, LES MISÉRABLES and THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA, and written by Alain Boublil and Claude Michel Schönberg, the creators of LES MISÉRABLES, MISS SAIGON is a passionate, epic love story about the relationship between an American G.I. and a young Vietnamese woman, set during the final days before the American evacuation of Saigon in 1975.

Now in its 8th year, MISS SAIGON is the longest-running show in the history of the landmark Broadway Theatre, as well as the 10th longest-running show of all-time. The show has played over 3,000 performances on Broadway and has grossed more than $265 million. In London, MISS SAIGON will celebrate its 10th Anniversary next September, where the show is already the greatest musical success in the history of the legendary Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, having surpassed the record-breaking run of MY FAIR LADY.

Internationally, MISS SAIGON has paralleled the success of Mackintosh's CATS, LES MISÉRABLES and THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA, having been seen by over 13 million people worldwide for a total gross of more than $900 million. Productions are currently playing in London, New York, San Francisco, Germany, Holland and Sweden. MISS SAIGON has also been seen in Japan, Canada, Australia, Denmark, Hungary, and more than 25 cities across the United States.

Miss Salonga will perform in MISS SAIGON Monday through Friday evenings and alternate playing Saturday matinees or evenings. As has always been the case with MISS SAIGON, a different actress will perform the role of "Kim" at one of the performances on two-performance days because of the intense vocal demands of the role. Miss Salonga's performance schedule will be available to ticket-buyers through three different methods: at the Broadway Theatre Box Office, via Telecharge operators, or on the show's website.

For tickets and information, visit the Broadway Theatre Box Office (Broadway and 53rd Street) or call Telecharge at (212) 239-6200 or (800) 432-7250, or visit the MISS SAIGON website at http://www.miss-saigon.com

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