'Miss Saigon' 2024 reveals full cast, 4 Filipinos land main roles
The highly anticipated Manila production of Miss Saigon has unveiled its star-studded cast, and it features four powerhouse Filipino performers!
Announced through GMG Productions' social media accounts, the play will be led by Filipino-Australian actress Abigail Adriano as Kim, a Vietnamese woman who falls in love during the last days of the Vietnam War. Lea Salonga previously portrayed the role.
According to performing arts company Opera Australia, Adriano began her performance training at the age of six and eventually studied both classical and contemporary.
Her theater debut was in Tim Minchin’s Matilda the Musical, and on television, she starred in the drama series The Unlisted and joined the reality singing competition The Voice Kids Australia.
Filipino-Australian singer Seann Miley Moore is set to portray the Engineer, a French-Vietnamese owner of a nightclub called Dreamland.
Like Adriano, Moore had also tried their hand at joining a reality singing competition when he became a contestant in season 12 of the X-Factor UK and season 10 of The Voice Australia. The upcoming Miss Saigon musical will be their theater debut.
Kiara Dario, who will play a bargirl named Gigi, is another actress from the cast who is from the Philippines. According to her profile in Broadway World, she began her training for the theater stage under Repertory Philippines, the Marie Eugenie Theatre of the Assumption, and the UP Diliman Theatre Arts Department before making her debut at the age of 14 in Disney's CAMP ROCK play. Currently, she is a member of the P-pop girl group, DAYDREAM.
Meanwhile, Filipino-Kiwi performer Laurence Mossman will take on the role of Thuy, Kim's cousin and betrothed. Per Opera Australia, Mossman had been a resident performer at Resorts World Manila before he starred alongside Salonga in Atlantis Theatrical’s Fun Home in 2016.
Other actors include Nigel Huckle as Chris, Sarah Morrison as Ellen, and Lewis Francis as John.
The musical's producer Cameron Mackintosh expressed his excitement for the cast, highlighting how the performers have "incredible energy and heart who totally get the true story of Miss Saigon and its contemporary resonance."
GMG Productions’ CEO Carlos Candal promised that the Filipino audience "will undoubtedly be treated to the exceptional artistry and performances this company of world-class performers can deliver."
Based on the 1904 opera Madame Butterfly by Giacomo Puccini, Miss Saigon follows the story of a Vietnamese woman named Kim who gets abandoned by her American lover in Saigon during the Vietnam War in the '70s. It was created by Claude-Michel Schönberg and Alain Boublil.
Miss Saigon will arrive in the Philippines starting March 23 this year and will run until May 5 at The Theatre at Solaire in Parañaque City.