Get to know Abigail Adriano, the Filipino-Australian actress who'll play Kim in 'Miss Saigon' 2024 in Manila
The production company of the award-winning musical Miss Saigon announced that Filipino-Australian actress Abigail Adriano is taking on the lead role.
In a Facebook post on Jan. 15, GMG Productions shared a photo of Adriano with the caption, “Introducing our incredible Kim for the #MissSaigonPH season, Abigail Adriano!”
According to the website of the performing arts company Opera Australia, she began her performance training at the age of six and eventually studied both classical and contemporary.
Adriano’s theater debut was in Tim Minchin’s Matilda the Musical, portraying the role of Alice.
On television, she starred in the drama series The Unlisted and joined the reality singing competition The Voice Kids Australia.
This also isn't Adriano's first time playing Kim as she took on the role for the Australia 2023 run of Miss Saigon.
Reacting to the announcement for the Philippine run, the 19-year-old called it an "honor and true blessing."
"It's official!!! Thank you [GMG Productions]. What an honour and true blessing it will be to tell this story in the Motherland country in March," she said in an Instagram story. "See you soon Manila family!"
"It's been 24 years since Cameron Mackintosh's Miss Saigon flew into Manila. With Philippines' rich history and deep connections to Miss Saigon, I am so proud and beyond excited to be on the stage as a Filipino woman playing Kim, whose character and life mean so much to so many people."
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 premiered at the Theatre Royal in London on Sept. 20, 1989, and closed after running 4,092 shows until Oct. 30, 1999, in 32 countries.
Filipino singer Lea Salonga portrayed the role of Kim in the musical when it arrived in Manila in 2000.
The musical started an extensive revival in different parts of the United Kingdom and Ireland in July 2023. It started its production in Australia in October, and it's currently running in Melbourne and Adelaide. It will arrive in the Philippines in March this year and will run until May 5.