Fil-Aussie Abigail Adriano to play Kim in ‘Miss Saigon’-Manila
FOR the Philippine staging of the award-winning musical, Abigail Adriano is taking on the role of Kim, the character originated by Lea Salonga in the West End in 1989.
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FOR the Philippine staging of the award-winning musical, Abigail Adriano is taking on the role of Kim, the character originated by Lea Salonga in the West End in 1989.
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Filipino-Australian Abigail Adriano will take to the stage anew as Kim in the Manila production of the Tony Award-winning musical Miss Saigon.
The 19-year-old singer is set to play the coveted lead role in the musical originated by Lea Salonga at The Theater at Solaire in March 2024. Adriano first portrayed the role during Miss Saigon's Sydney Opera House production last year.
"It's official Manila! I'm coming soon family! Who's ready for the heat in the Philippines?" Adriano wrote on Facebook.
"It's a dream come true that I'm even able to perform such an iconic role. It was crazy that it came around because, at that point in my life, I was focused on just getting through my academic side of things. And I enjoyed school — so much that I got into law school. I did a year of it and paused performing completely. But one day, my singing teacher reached out to me and said, 'I remember you telling me that Miss Saigon's your favorite musical — their auditions are closing tomorrow if you still want to submit something," Adriano said in an interview with Sydney's Concrete Playground.
Adriano, a former child actress, previously appeared in the musical Matilda and The Voice Kids Australia. She also played the role of Rose Aquino in Netflix's The Unlisted.
Miss Saigon was last staged in the Philippines in 2000 at the Cultural Center of the Philippines. The role, which Salonga originated at London's West End in 1989, went on to win for her both London's Olivier Award and the Tony for Best Actress in 1991, when the show transferred to Broadway.
Miss Saigon has seen numerous Filipino artists taking part in its worldwide productions, among them Jon Jon Briones and Red Concepcion as the Engineer, Rachelle Ann Go as Gigi and Joanna Ampil, a former Kim herself, as the Engineer — the first woman to play the traditional male role — in the Sheffield Theatres' revamped version of the musical in the UK.
Other notable actresses to take on Kim include Monique Wilson, Ima Castro and Filipino-American Eva Noblezada, who first played the role at the West End before reprising it on Broadway.
Miss Saigon, a retelling of Giacomo Puccini's classic opera Madame Butterfly, follows a young woman named Kim who falls in love with American soldier Chris during the Vietnam war.
The Tony and Olivier award-winning musical has been seen by 38 million people worldwide, staged in 32 countries in over 350 cities and in 15 different languages over the past 34 years.
The Manila season is presented at The Theatre at Solaire by GMG Productions. Tickets are on sale through TicketWorld. Exclusive first access is offered by UnionBank of the Philippines as its official sponsor and pre-sale partner.
