Rachelle Ann Go clinches role of Gigi for West End's ‘Miss Saigon’ in 2014

Filipina singer and GMA contract artist Rachelle Ann Go is set to reprise the role of Saigon bar girl Gigi Van Tranh in the upcoming revival of "Miss Saigon" at London's West End in 2014. 

 

The British news site Daily Mail reported Thursday (Friday in Manila) that Go has been chosen to appear as Gigi in the musical, which will also feature Filipino theater actor Jonjon Briones as The Engineer.

 

News of Ms. Go's inclusion in the "Miss Saigon" cast has also been confirmed by the Broadway news site Broadwayworld.com.

 

Tony Award winner and Filipina singer Lea Salonga, who first portrayed the lead role of Vietnames bar girl Kim in the original London premiere of Miss Saigon in 1989, expressed her elation over Go's inclusion in the cast on Twitter.

 

"To @gorachelleann RACHELLE ANN GO! Iwagayway and bandilang Pilipino! Congratulations on being cast in the West End revival of MISS SAIGON!" Salonga tweeted.

 

Go, meanwhile, said on Twitter that she thought she was still dreaming when she received news that she is going to be part of the musical.

 

"Good morning!!! I just woke up...i think i'm still dreaming! Totoo na po pala talaga...thank You Lord God. Thank You...," she tweeted.

 

Actress Isay Alvarez, who originally played the role of Gigi in the 1989 "Miss Saigon" production, also congratulated Go and Twitter and told the 27-year-old singer that being part of the cast is an "experience of a lifetime."

 

"hey rachelle!! Congratulations!! I'm pretty sure you will have a great time there. It'll be an experience of a lifetime!!!Gbu (God bless you)," Alvarez tweeted.

 

Go was among the six Filipina aspirants who were shortlisted for the musical during the Philippine leg of the casting search held last year by executive producer Trevor Jackson and director Laurence Connor.

 

Music supervisor Stephen Brooker, who was part of the audition panel, told BroadwayWorld Philippines that "over a thousand people" auditioned to become part of the musical during the four-day casting call in Manila.

 

The musical, which is loosely based on Giacomo Puccini's "Madame Butterfly", tells the tragic love story between Kim and the American soldier Chris in the final days of the American occupation of Saigon (now Ho Chi Minh City) during the Vietnam War in 1975.

 

Since its West End premiere in 1989, "Miss Saigon" has gone on to become one of the most successful musicals in history, with several performances in 15 different languages in over 300 cities worldwide.

 

On its 25th anniversary, "Miss Saigon" will be staged at Prince Edward Theatre in London's West End beginning May 3, 2014.

 

Other cast members include Alistair Brammer as Chris, Hugh Maynard as John, and Tamsin Carroll as Ellen. Salonga's role will be reprised by 17-year-old American student Eva Noblezada. — Xianne Arcangel / KDM, GMA News