‘Miss Saigon’ Pinoy talents win international acting awards
by Leony R. Garcia
Cameron Mackintosh’s megahit musical ‘Miss Saigon’ won a record-breaking nine awards at the recent Whatsonstage Awards. Three Filipino lead stars also bagged top honors.
First timer Eva Noblezada, who plays Kim, won Best Actress in a Musical, while Jon Briones (The Engineer) and Rachelle Ann Go (Gigi) triumphed as Best Actor in a Musical and Best Supporting Actress in a Musical, respectively.
The record haul follows the musical’s return to the West End last year, 25 years after it premiered in London.
The awards, focusing predominantly on London theater, are voted for entirely by members of the public.
The new production of Miss Saigon won nine of its 12 nominations including Best West End Show and Best Revival of a Musical, among others.
“I’ve always known that the public knows best,” said the show’s producer Sir Cameron Mackintosh, adding that he was particularly thrilled “by the extraordinary achievement of our leading Asian performers winning the top acting awards.”
The musical, set during the Vietnam War and based on the opera Madame Butterfly, opened in London at the Prince Edward Theatre last May. It tells the story of a young Asian woman (Kim) who falls in love with an American soldier, only to be abandoned when he returns to the US.
The musical is ongoing at Prince Edward Theatre in London, with an extended run until the end of this year.
On her Instagram post, Rachelle was clutching her trophy and posted:
