Opera Australia has announced an extraordinary full-cast of talented performers representing all corners of Asia-pacific in Cameron Mackintosh’s new production of Boublil and Schönberg’s Miss Saigon. The iconic musical will premiere at the Sydney Opera House for a strictly limited season of 9 weeks from August 2023.
The casting team spent six months engaging with performers, artists, singers, dancers and acrobats in an effort to find more than 40 talented individuals, representing a diverse range of skills, backgrounds and experiences.
Opera Australia CEO Fiona Allan had the opportunity to sit in on several auditions and said, “I was blown away by the exceptionally high standard of the performers, I knew then that we were going to end up with a remarkable cast for this new production of Miss Saigon.”
Leading the stellar cast is Seann Miley Moore as the Engineer, Abigail Adriano as Kim, Nigel Huckle as Chris, Kerrie Anne Greenland as Ellen, Nick Afoa as John, Laurence Mossman as Thuy, and Kimberley Hodgson in the role of Gigi.
Completing the company is Billy Bourchier, Elizabeth Chan, Shannon Cheong, Celine Cleveland, David Duketis, Natasha Dumlao, Gelina Enriquez, Annie-Lenore Hanman, Sara Haruta, Leyton Holmes, Mikaila Imaguchi, Graeme Isaako, Patrick Jeremy, Hamish Johnston, Nicholas Kong, Winchester Lopez, Grady Lynch, Robbie Mejica, Matthew Nguyen, Bailey Nathan-Park, Tetsuya Okubo, Atsushi Okumura, David Ouch, Tony Oxybel, Sam Richardson, Annabelle Rosewarne, Jack Connor Rowan, Trevor Santos, Kara Sims, Asmara Soekotjo, Simon Tichelaar, Tamsyn Thomas, Louisa Vilinne and Sam Ward.
“This show is Asian excellence and this cast is giving Slay-Asian pride! Miss Saigon is a story that resonates with so many of us and our families so seeing all of us together, ready to tell this story is really empowering. The spotlight is now on our community, and we are going to own the stage and tell our truth,” said Internationally acclaimed performer Seann Miley Moore.
Sharing his excitement for this cast, Cameron Mackintosh said, “This is a cast with incredible energy and heart who totally get the true story of Miss Saigon and its contemporary resonance,” he said.
“I can’t wait to see them up on the Sydney Opera House stage as I have no doubt it’ll be one of the most unforgettable productions of Miss Saigon we have ever seen,” said Mackintosh.
Miss Saigon has won 70 major theatre awards, including three Tony Awards and two Olivier Awards and has been performed in 15 different languages, in over 32 countries and 350 cities.
The musical tells the story of a young Vietnamese woman named Kim, who is orphaned by war and forced to work in a bar run by a notorious character known as the Engineer. There she meets and falls in love with an American G.I. named Chris, but they are torn apart by the fall of Saigon. For three years, Kim goes on an epic journey of survival to find her way back to Chris, who has no idea he’s fathered a son.
This new production features stunning spectacle and a sensational cast of 42 performing the soaring score, including Broadway hits like The Heat is On in Saigon, The Movie in My Mind, Last Night of the World and American Dream.
Miss Saigon is presented by Opera Australia and Cameron Mackintosh and is supported by the NSW Government through its tourism and major events agency Destination NSW.
Miss Saigon
Joan Sutherland Theatre – Sydney Opera House, Bennelong Point, Sydney
Season: 17 August – 13 October 2023
Bookings: www.opera.org.au
For more information, visit: www.miss-saigon.com.au for details.
Image: Kimberley Hodgson as Gigi, Nick Afoa as John, Abigail Adriano as Kim, Seann Miley Moore as the Engineer, and Laurence Mossman as Thuy in Opera Australia’s 2023 production of Miss Saigon – photo by Daniel Boud