Actor uses own life tale in ''Miss Saigon'' musical

By Ruth Silverman

July 12, 2000 Web posted at: 12:10 PM EDT (1610 GMT)

CHICAGO, Illinois (Daily Herald) -- For some people, life imitates art. For Phong Truong, art imitates life.

The 25-year-old ensemble cast member sings and dances his way through "Miss Saigon," pausing only momentarily to recall that the story is similar to one he has actually lived. He's the first Vietnamese native to appear in the touring company of the production that opens Thursday at Chicago's Auditorium Theatre, 50 E. Congress Pkwy. and runs through July 23. His Chicago appearances will be his last in the show before he moves on to London's West End to join "The King and I."

Truong says he'll always have a warm spot in his heart for Chicago, where he discovered his interest in theater while still a sixth-grader in a summer program at the Disney Magnet School. From ages 3-14, he grew up in Logan Square, after he and his family fled Vietnam. Like thousands of others, they sought refuge from the North Vietnamese by boat.

While the Tony Award-winning "Miss Saigon" is a love story set during the fall of Saigon in 1975, Truong's own odyssey began in 1978.

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"In the beginning, I asked my parents about our experiences," he said. "My dad told me the story, which I was too young to remember. I've used some of their struggles in the nightmare scene."

He says the "boat people" did all they could to be noticed by passing ships, even holding up babies, including his sister, the youngest of the 17 on board, so people would throw them food. They boiled sea water and drank what condensed in the lid of the pot, rationing themselves to about a tablespoon each per day.

"We were skin and bones when we were rescued," said Truong.

When their craft's engines died, they were stranded for a month before floating on currents into Macao, where fishermen finally picked them up. Asked by local officials where they wanted to go, his dad, who had been a translator for American troops, glanced at a map and pointed to Chicago. They came here with just the clothes on their backs and soon found jobs as engineers.

His parents, now residents of Atlanta, have seen the show twice and reportedly loved it each time. They've happily served as resources for the company, answering a flood of background questions from cast members.

Two years ago, the family returned for a visit to Vietnam and regularly chat via e-mail with relatives they never thought they'd see again. It was the first time Truong saw his grandparents.He says they hope to return and try to do what they can to assist their family members who didn't leave when they did.

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