Video Friday: Sun and Moon

This video is one of my top picks for repeat viewings on good ol’ YouTube. I still watch it with a sense of wonder.

This is footage from Lea Salonga’s audition/callback for Miss Saigon. She’s only 17 years old in this video. She was 18 when she originated the role in London in 1989; two years later she debuted on Broadway.

We get to witness her hear the beautiful song, “Sun and Moon,” for the first time as Claude-Michel Schonberg, one of the writers, teaches her on piano. One of my favorite moments is at the end when the camera cuts to producer Cameron Mackintosh, director Nicholas Hytner, and writer Alain Boublil just staring with awe and speechlessness. They’ve found their Kim! They’re watching a star in the making!

Her voice is so beautifully innocent, young, and full of hope with the lightest touch of vibrato and that low note – chills. The song starts 00:51, but if you want to see the adorable opening moments of Lea asking for an autograph, start from the top.

Here is “Sun and Moon.” I hope you enjoy.