Abigail Adriano to Headline Manila’s Miss Saigon Broadway Show
Producer GMG Productions announces Filipino-Australian theater actress Abigail Adriano will be headlining the upcoming Miss Saigon musical in Manila.
The Manila season of award-winning musical “Miss Saigon” opens in March 2024 and GMG Productions has finally introduced “Kim.”
Abigail Adriano, the 19-year-old Filipina-Australian portraying Kim in the Australian production of the musical, will also join the Manila cast.
In a post on Instagram, Abi shared backstage photos from “Miss Saigon” along with the caption, “IT’S OFFICIAL MANILA! IM COMING SOON FAMILY! who’s ready for the heat in Philippines?”
According to her artist bio in the Opera Australia website, Adriano began her performance training when she was just six years old. She also studied classical and contemporary music under renowned voice teacher Peter Bodnar.
Her first role in theater was playing Alice in the Tim Minchin production Matilda the Musical.
Aside from theater, Adriano has also appeared in the Netflix/ABC television series The Unlisted and competed in The Voice Kids Australia.
Portraying Kim is her first professional lead role.
The Very First Miss Saigon
The role of Kim has proven to be a career-defining role in musical theatre, launching many performers to stardom and earning them critical acclaim.
In a separate post on Facebook, GMG Productions shared a video of Abi receiving a special video message from the original Kim herself, Lea Salonga.
Additionally, Filipino Broadway diva Lea Salonga, who first played Kim in the musical’s 1989 iteration and was discovered by Cameron Mackintosh, also sent a message to Adriano.
Reminding that the role is a “mammoth undertaking,” Salonga told Adriano that the young star should be “fully aware of what is required of [her] in portraying her role.
The Tony Award winner also left a piece of advice: “Enjoy every moment of the process of creating this character. Create something that you can call that is absolutely yours.”
Salonga added that she hopes Adriano’s run would be one of the most successful.
The New Cast of Miss Saigon
Aside from Adriano, GMG Productions has also announced that Seann Miley Moore will portray the Engineer, Nigel Huckle will play Chris, and Kiara Dario will play Gigi.
Laurence Connor will direct, with musical staging by Bob Avian and additional choreography by Geoffrey Garratt.
Inspired by the 1904 opera Madama Butterfly by Giacomo Puccini, Claude-Michel Schönberg and Alain Boublil’s Miss Saigon centers on the romance between American sergeant Chris and a Vietnamese bar girl named Kim amidst the 1970s Vietnam War.
GMG Productions in Association with GWB Entertainment present Cameron Mackintosh’s acclaimed new production of Boublil and Schönberg’s award-winning musical Miss Saigon.
Seen by 38 million people worldwide, this production is more thrilling than ever. Critics are calling it “spectacular” (The Times UK), a “musical masterpiece” (Classic FM UK), and “mind-blowingly brilliant’” (Magic FM UK).
From the creators of Les Misérables, the soaring musical score features hits including “The Heat is On in Saigon”, “The Movie in My Mind”, “Last Night of the World” and “The American Dream”.
Miss Saigon in Manila 2024
The latest production of Miss Saigon will be available to Filipino audiences starting March 23, 2024 at the Theatre at Solaire in Parañaque City.
‘Miss Saigon’ Manila extends run for two more weeks, will close in May 2024.
Miss Saigon in Manila has six ticket options, with prices ranging from P2,116 to P8,464.
For ticket availability, visit the Ticketworld website.
