Another Snag for ‘Saigon’ Production<i> ?</i> : Theater: The possibility of casting co-star Lea Salonga could create more problems in bringing the show to Broadway.

What does “Miss Saigon” producer Cameron Mackintosh really want?

While Actors’ Equity postponed until today its response to Mackintosh’s most recent request for more guarantees of artistic freedom before bringing the London hit to New York, speculation grew Wednesday that one of the key issues behind his statement was the casting of the title role.

In reversing an earlier decision which had led Mackintosh to cancel the New York show, the union last Thursday approved the importing of Jonathan Pryce as the Eurasian Engineer. The producer responded Tuesday by insisting that Equity “act responsibly so that we do not become victims of an inflexible casting process.”

While Pryce’s co-star Lea Salonga is Filipina, which might please some who had criticized Pryce’s casting because he is white, she is not American and is not a certifiable star in the sense that Pryce is. Under some circumstances, that might lead Equity to nix her casting, should producer Cameron Mackintosh request permission to bring her to Broadway.

Speaking from London, “Saigon” executive producer Nick Allott confirmed that Mackintosh wants the option of importing Salonga, “provided we couldn’t find anyone in America.” He said that previous casting efforts in the United States had netted “several possibilities” for the Salonga role, “but we haven’t examined their talents closely enough. We hope to find several Kims in America . . . but we have yet to find her.”

Does Salonga want to come to New York? “Is the Pope Catholic?” replied Allott. “Any actress would love to star on Broadway.”

If anyone protests the potential casting of Salonga, it probably would be the union, not the Asian-American activists who raised the issue of Pryce’s casting, judging from comments made Wednesday at a Los Angeles press conference held by Asian-American activists. “We would appreciate the casting of an Asian actress,” said actor Ping Wu.

Even Vietnamese-American actor Le Tuan, who noted that it was “funny” for a Filipina to play the title role in “Miss Saigon,” added that “it would be silly for us to demand that it be cast Vietnamese,” noting that there are only “a half dozen” working Vietnamese actors in the United States.

The participants in the press conference expressed skepticism about conciliatory comments in Mackintosh’s statement Tuesday.

Former “Star Trek” actor George Takei noted that “the theme of ‘Miss Saigon’ is to explore the responsibility of a wealthy, powerful country when it goes into a different culture” and added that Mackintosh “is going against the very theme of the play.”