New breed of Filipino talents lead ‘Miss Saigon’ Manila run

Fil-Australian actress Abigail Adriano as Kim to be joined by Fil-Aussie actor Seann Miley Moore as The Engineer and homegrown talent Kiara Dario as Gigi for the “Miss Saigon” Manila cast | Photos from @kiaracdario/X and @abigailadrianoo/Instagram

PSA: Manila has a new Kim, The Engineer, and Gigi.

ICYMI: GMG Productions, the organizers of the recently concluded successful “Hamilton” Manila run, is bringing another musical hit to the Theatre at Solaire stage this March: “Miss Saigon”.

Upon learning the announcement that a new classic production is coming to Manila, fans of the musical hit immediately showed interest and excitement, especially since many Filipino talents—following Lea Salonga in her award-winning performance as Kim—have showcased their prowess throughout the years through the “Miss Saigon” stage.

Following the announcement of the staging on Oct. 13, 2023, the cast of the highly-anticipated return of “Miss Saigon” in the Philippines has finally been unveiled by GMG. The best part? More Filipinos are adding to the list of homegrown talents gracing the “Miss Saigon” stage.

Among them is Filipino-Australian actress Abigail Adriano. She will be reprising her role as Kim from the recently concluded Australia leg, which happened from Aug. to Oct. 2023. Meanwhile, Seann Miley Moore is also coming back as The Engineer from the Australia run, who has been making tides with their performance, being dubbed the “enginqueer.”

Nineteen-year-old Adriano announced her casting on her Instagram as well, saying, “It’s official Manila! I’m coming soon, family! Who’s ready for the heat in the Philippines?”

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by 𝐀𝐛𝐢𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐥 𝐀𝐝𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐧𝐨 ❀ (@abigailadrianoo)

While many of the cast are coming from the Australia tour, homegrown talent Kiara Dario—who many may have been seeing locally through her work as an actress and P-pop girl group Daydream member—is making her international tour debut as Gigi in “Miss Saigon’s” Asian tour. 

The cat’s out of the bag! I’m so honored to play Gigi in the New Asian Tour of Miss Saigon! 🚁 Sharing some pics of the journey so far ✨

I first encountered the music of Miss Saigon at 3 years old & I still remember growing up singing “a song played on a solo sexy phone”
(1/4) pic.twitter.com/DoYDe6QxiH

— Kiara Dario (@kiaracdario) January 18, 2024

Dario broke the news through her X (formerly Twitter) account. She even recounted her history with the musical, and how much of an impact it truly has on her through a thoughtful thread.