Pinoy cast in 'Miss Saigon' wow Aussie audience

More than 18 years after taking part in it for the first time, Filipinos continued to dazzle audiences in the production of the play "Miss Saigon," this time in Australia. The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said Wednesday that the production of the musical hit had its Sydney premiere last Sept. 22 at the Lyric Theater at the famous Star City Hotel. Philippine Consul General Maria Theresa Lazaro mentioned that the new Australian production of Miss Saigon continued to receive rave reviews, particularly with the new Filipino-Australian performers led by Sydney-based Jennifer Trijo, cast as "Kim." The original Miss Saigon production made its premiere in Australia in 1995, the DFA said. "Directed by Laurence Connor and designed by Adrian Vaux and Andreane Neofitou, the Australian production of Miss Saigon features 34 talented Australian artists, plus two of the stars of the Miss Saigon international companies, namely Filipinos Leo Valdez as The 'Engineer' and Laurie Cadevida, who takes the lead role of 'Kim'. Also featured is Filipino-Australian RJ Resales, who is playing the role of 'Thuy' and was part of the 1995 Miss Saigon production in Australia," the DFA said. It added the new production of Miss Saigon uses cutting-edge computer-generated 3-D animation and a brand new set design to fit varying sized auditoriums around the world. The company has over 60 actors and musicians. In his recent review written for the newspaper The Sydney Morning Herald, Bryce Hallett describes the Australian version as one that is "as strikingly theatrical as the original yet more realistic and dynamic...The cinematic sound design and projections combine to make the helicopter landing as thrilling as ever but this Miss Saigon is a triumph for its humanity and passion." According to the Miss Saigon website, the musical has won 30 major theater awards including three Tony Awards, four Drama Desk Awards, three Outer Critics Circle Awards and one Theater World Award. - GMANews.TV