Casting Revealed for the New National Tour of Miss Saigon | Pressroom

Pittsburgh Cultural Trust Media Contact:

Robin Elrod, Director of PR and Communications

Casting Revealed for the New National Tour of Cameron Mackintosh’s Dynamite Revival of Broadway Boublil and Schönberg’s legendary musical

Miss Saigon

Red Concepción, Emily Bautista, and Anthony Festa Lead North American Tour

Premiering in Pittsburgh at the Benedum Center February 4-9, 2020 as Part of the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust’s PNC Broadway in Pittsburgh Series

Casting for Cameron Mackintosh’s acclaimed new production of Boublil and Schönberg’s legendary musical Miss Saigon—a smash hit in London, Broadway and across the UK—has been announced for its highly anticipated engagement as part of the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust’s PNC Broadway in Pittsburgh Series at the Benedum Center for one week, February 4-9, 2020. To purchase tickets, visit TrustArts.org, call (412) 456-6666, or visit the Box Office at Theater Square. Tickets start at $33.

For announced tour dates and to see a video preview, please visit miss-saigon.com.

Red Concepción will lead the tour as ‘the Engineer’ direct from the UK Tour, Emily Bautista will play ‘Kim’ having also performed the role in the most recent Broadway production, and Anthony Festa will play ‘Chris.’ Joining them will be Ellie Fishman as ‘Ellen,’ J. Daughtry as ‘John,’ Jinwoo Jung as ‘Thuy’ and Christine Bunuan as ‘Gigi.’ At certain performances, the role of ‘Kim’ will be played by Christine Hwang.

They are joined by Philip Ancheta, Devin Archer, Eric Badiqué, Brandon Block, Eymard Cabling, Joven Calloway, Rae Leigh Case, Taylor Collins, Matthew Dailey, Noah Gouldsmith, Keila Halili, Keely Hutton, Adam Kaokept, David Kaverman, McKinley Knuckle, Madoka Koguchi, Nancy Lam, Ilana Lieberman, Brian Shimasaki Liebson, Garrick Macatangay, Jonelle Margallo, Jackie Nguyen, Francesca Nong, Matthew Overberg, Adam Roberts, Michael Russell, Julius Sermonia, Nicholas Walters, Anna-Lee Wright, and Warren Yang. The role of Tam is played by Smith Taeyang Carl, Tyler Dunn, Haven Je, and Adalynn Ng.

Red Concepción and Jinwoo Jung are appearing with the support of Actors’ Equity Association. The Producers gratefully acknowledge Actors’ Equity Association for its assistance with this production.

Red Concepción received rave reviews as ‘The Engineer’ in the UK Tour of Miss Saigon. His many theater credits in his native Philippines include ‘Adam/Felicia’ in Priscilla: Queen of the Desert for which he won the ALIW Award and Gawah Buhay Award, ‘Tommy’ in The Normal Heart, and ‘Alan Strang’ in Equus, as well as the musicals West Side Story and Hairspray.

Emily Bautista made her Broadway debut in the Broadway revival of Miss Saigon where she understudied and played the role of ‘Kim.’ She has been most recently seen as ‘Éponine’ in the current national tour of Les Misérables.

Anthony Festa has most been recently been seen in NYC in the Outer Critics Circle Award-winning best musical, Desperate Measures. He has also toured with the companies of Wicked and Finding Neverland and played Tony in West Side Story in the West End and on International/UK Tour.

J. Daughtry has been seen on Broadway in Beautiful—The Carole King Musical and The Color Purple. His TV appearances include Boardwalk Empire, Law & Order: SVU, Elementary and Orange is the New Black.

Ellie Fishman has appeared on National Tour in Finding Neverland, Off-Broadway in The Hello Girls and has performed regionally at Goodspeed, The Muny, Paper Mill Playhouse and Music Theatre Wichita.

Jinwoo Jung was born and raised in Korea and was most recently seen Off-Broadway in K-Pop. He has performed regionally in La Cage aux Folles (East West Players), The Christians (Mark Taper Forum) and will appear in M. Night Shyamalan’s upcoming new film Glass.

Christine Bunuan’s credits include the national tour of The 25^th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, Writers Theatre, Silk Road Rising, Goodman Theatre and Steppenwolf, Marriott Theatre.

Miss Saigon 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 3 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.”

Cameron Mackintosh said “It’s hard to believe that it has been over 28 years since Miss Saigon first opened in North America but, if anything, the tragic love story at the heart of the show has become even more relevant today with innocent people being torn apart by war all over the world. This brilliant new production, directed by Laurence Connor and featuring the original dazzling choreography by Bob Avian, takes a grittier, more realistic approach that magnifies the power and epic sweep of Boublil and Schönberg’s tremendous score. Of all my productions, despite its popularity, Miss Saigon is the one that the public has had the least chance to see as it requires such a huge international cast of Asian and Western performers and a vast array of visually stunning sets. Now, for the first time in 19 years, as it continues to wow audiences in major cities around the world, theatregoers across America will be able to see one of the most spectacular musicals ever written in all its glory, in a new production that critics in London and on Broadway have embraced.”

Miss Saigon has music by Claude-Michel Schönberg with lyrics by Richard Maltby Jr. and Alain Boublil, adapted from original French lyrics by Alain Boublil, with additional lyrics by Michael Mahler. The new production is directed by Laurence Connor with musical staging by Bob Avian and additional choreography by Geoffrey Garratt. Production design is by Totie Driver and Matt Kinley based on an original concept by Adrian Vaux; costume design by Andreane Neofitou; lighting design by Bruno Poet; projections by Luke Halls; sound design by Mick Potter; and orchestrations by William David Brohn. Music supervision is by Stephen Brooker and James Moore, with casting by Merri Sugarman for Tara Rubin Casting.

Since its London premiere in 1989, Cameron Mackintosh’s production of Alain Boublil and Claude-Michel Schönberg’s epic musical Miss Saigon has become one of the most successful musicals in history. The original Broadway production of Miss Saigon opened on April 11, 1991 with what was the largest advance sale in Broadway history ($37 million). The show went on to play for nearly ten years with 4,111 performances and was seen by more than 5.9 million people. Miss Saigon has been performed in 32 countries, over 350 cities, in 15 different languages, has won over 70 awards including 2 Olivier Awards, 3 Tony Awards and 4 Drama Desk Awards and been seen by over 36 million people worldwide.

The new production of Miss Saigon opened in London in May 2014 to record-breaking advance sales and critical acclaim. The Daily Telegraph wrote, “This thrilling new production spills out beyond theatre and speaks directly to the times we live in—magnificent performances.” The Daily Mail said, “The greatest musical of all-time just got even better!” The London Times called the production “thrilling, soaring and spectacular.” NY1 proclaimed “the new Miss Saigon soars to the rafters!” And The New Yorker called Miss Saigon “a dynamite Broadway revival!”

Cameron Mackintosh announced in 2015 that the production would transfer for a limited Broadway run from March 1, 2017 to January 14, 2018 before launching its national tour at the Providence Performing Arts Center in Providence, RI in September 2018.

The new production of Miss Saigon just completed a triumphant UK/International tour that played 19 months and visited 14 cities. Additional productions will open during the next few years in Asia.

The full backstage story of how the new production was created, The Heat Is Back On, is now available on DVD by Universal and is one of the most comprehensive insights into how a big musical is put together that has ever been filmed.

# # #

Official show site: miss-saigon.com

Facebook: facebook.com/MissSaigonUS

Twitter: twitter.com/MissSaigonUS

Instagram instagram.com/MissSaigonUS

The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust has overseen one of Pittsburgh’s most historic transformations: turning a seedy red-light district into a magnet destination for arts lovers, residents, visitors, and business owners. Founded in 1984, the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust is a non-profit arts organization whose mission is the cultural and economic revitalization of a 14-block arts and entertainment/residential neighborhood called the Cultural District. The District is one of the country’s largest land masses “curated” by a single nonprofit arts organization. A major catalytic force in the city, the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust is a unique model of how public-private partnerships can reinvent a city with authenticity, innovation and creativity. Using the arts as an economic catalyst, the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust has holistically created a world-renowned Cultural District that is revitalizing the city, improving the regional economy and enhancing Pittsburgh’s quality of life. Thanks to the support of foundations, corporations, government agencies and thousands of private citizens, the Trust stands as a national model of urban redevelopment through the arts. TrustArts.org | @CulturalTrust on Facebook · Instagram · Twitter

Broadway Across America (BAA) is part of The John Gore Organization family of companies, which includes Broadway.com, The Broadway Channel, BroadwayBox.com and Group Sales Box Office. Led by 13-time Tony-winning theater producer John Gore (Owner & CEO), BAA is the foremost presenter of first-class touring productions in North America, operating in 44 markets with over 400,000 subscribers. Presentations include Disney’s The Lion King, Wicked, The Book of Mormon, The Phantom of the Opera and Hamilton. Current and past productions include The Band’s Visit, Beautiful, Cats, Chicago, Dear Evan Hansen, Hairspray, Mean Girls, The Producers and Waitress. Broadway.com is the premier theater website for news, exclusive content and ticket sales. For more information please visit BroadwayAcrossAmerica.com and Broadway.com.

The PNC Foundation joins the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust in bringing the best of Broadway to entertain, enlighten, and complement the rich experiences that add to the region’s exceptional quality of life. The seven season presentations and four specials in the 2018-19 PNC Broadway in Pittsburgh series contribute to the city’s reputation as a major destination for the arts, culture, and world-class entertainment.