Interview: Red Concepción of MISS SAIGON Talks Love and Survival in the Midst of War

Regardless of whether or not you're a fan of musicals, you've probably heard of Miss Saigon. This world-famous Broadway classic is coming to East Lansing's Wharton Center for the Performing Arts for just one week from March 12th through 17th. Featuring music and a book from Les Misérables playwrights Alain Boublil and Claude-Michel Schönberg, as well as additional lyrics from Richard Maltby, Jr., Miss Saigon is a story of love and survival towards the end of the Vietnam War. After opening on the West End in 1989, Miss Saigon played to packed houses on Broadway from April 11, 1991 to January 28, 2001. Before the U.S. national tour makes its way to Wharton Center, BroadwayWorld Detroit had a chance to interview Red Concepción, who plays the Engineer in this production. You can read our interview below.

Can you give our readers a brief introduction to you and your background in theatre?

Red Concepción: I'm from Manila, Philippines, and I've been an actor in Southeast Asia for about 15 years. I'm actually coming off of the Miss Saigon U.K. tour where I played the Engineer as well. I was in that show for about a year and a half, and when they asked me if I wanted to transfer to the U.S. tour, I said, "Sure, why not?" It'd be crazy not to do it.

What was your introduction to Miss Saigon?
Miss Saigon was very big in the Philippines growing up because the first Kim, Lea Salonga, was Filipino. There's been a long list of Filipinos who have been involved in the show. As a kid, I had the cassette tapes of the original cast recording. Funnily enough, I would never listen to the Engineer songs because they're not very kid-friendly.

In your own words, how would you describe the story of Miss Saigon?

It's set towards the end of the Vietnam War, and it follows these three people, Kim, Chris, and the Engineer, as they each deal differently with the aftermath, or the repercussions, of war. Miss Saigon is about finding love in such tragic circumstances, but also how that love propels people and how love gives people the strength to endure such horrible times.

What is your favorite part about playing the Engineer?

He's very different from me. He's got a lot more swagger and he's a lot more confident than I am. At the same time, he's also a very unsavory character. He does a lot of very questionable things; his moral compass is all out of whack. He really wants to survive, and he's going to do everything he can not just to survive, but also to try to have a better life.

What's your favorite part about being in the show overall?

What I love most about being in the show, both in the U.K. and the U.S., is that they make it a point to have the cast as diverse as possible. We have people from Australia, from the Philippines, from Japan, from Malaysia, and we're all coexisting and living fantastically together on tour. I always say that Miss Saigon, backstage and onstage, is like a microcosm of what the world could possibly be if everyone worked through their differences and learned to work together.

Do you have a favorite song in the show?

"American Dream" is fantastic, and I also really like "Bangkok." However, my absolute favorite song in the show is "I Still Believe," sung by Ellen [Stacie Bono] and Kim [Emily Bautista]. It's fantastic. The power of these two women, and how their love helps them endure and how steadfast they are in their love, it's amazing.

Miss Saigon is an iconic Broadway musical that's very well-known across the world. What do you think makes this classic show still relevant in 2019?

It's about these two worlds coming together, and the love between Kim and Chris. That is already very relevant, seeing through differences and finding love despite the differences. We live in a very divisive world right now.

Also, it's always good to be reminded of the horrors of war and what kind of people come out of it. I think Miss Saigon is a reminder that no one comes out of war unscathed. My late grandfather lived through the Japanese-Filipino war, and it's very interesting how, when he talked about it, he divided his life between before and after the war. War changes people, and people forget about that. Plays like Miss Saigon give us a glimpse of this, and there have even been veterans who have come up to us and tell us that it was how it really was, being in that war.

What would you say to someone with no prior exposure to Miss Saigon to get them to come to the show?

I would tell them that, if you like musical theatre, this is some of the most epic and lush music that you'll ever hear. More than that, this musical comes to you guys straight from Broadway. Cameron Mackintosh and his company spared no expense in bringing this show on tour. It's as spectacular as you would ever see on stage, and I'm sure you'll have a wonderful night. You'll laugh, you'll cry; it takes you through the whole gamut of emotions.

Do you have any social media accounts you'd like our readers to follow?

Yes! I'm on Twitter at @Red_Concepcion, and I'm on Instagram at @red_concepcion.

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Tickets are on sale now at Wharton Center's official ticketing outlets: online at whartoncenter.com, at the Auto-Owners Insurance Ticket Office at Wharton Center, or by calling 1-800-WHARTON.

Connect with Miss Saigon on Twitter at @MissSaigonUS, on Instagram at @misssaigonus, on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/MissSaigonOfficial/, and at https://www.miss-saigon.com/.

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