Homegrown triple threat Kiara Dario to play Gigi in all ‘Miss Saigon’ shows in Manila

The heat is on as “Miss Saigon” the Asian tour begins its Manila run on March 23, Saturday at The Theatre in Solaire.

Now the good news? Our very own Kiara Miren Dario, who plays Gigi, will be seen in all "Miss Saigon" shows until the Manila run ends in May.

“Yes, I will play Gigi in all eight shows every week once ‘Miss Saigon’ starts in Manila,” Dario confirmed with GMA News Online on Thursday night at the VIP preview of Sandbox Collective’s “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee: An Interactive Musical Comedy!” at the PMCS Blackbox Theater at Circuit Makati.

Dario debuted as Gigi Van Tranh in the “Miss Saigon” run at Adelaide Festival Theatre, Adelaide in South Australia in January. 

“I did four shows in Adelaide before I went back to Manila. I’m on a few weeks break before we open the show here on March 23 at The Solaire Theatre,” she said.

Kiara will have understudies from the Australian cast, but for now, what’s certain is she’s going to play Gigi the show girl in Dreamland bar until the final performance on May 12. 

“I can’t count how many shows would that be, all I can think of is how excited I am to do Gigi in all those dates,” she said.  

“Miss Saigon” has nightly performances from Tuesday to Sunday and matinee shows on Saturday and Sunday. That's a total of eight shows every week.

Playing Gigi is like a destiny for Dario. 

In previous interviews, she said she first auditioned for “Miss Saigon” back in 2016 during the Manila open call when she was only 18 years old. She didn’t even make it past the initial round.

The experience didn’t discourage her but challenged and inspired her to pursue theater.  

In 2018, she became part of the ensemble of “Ang Huling El Bimbo the musical” at the Newport Performing Arts Theatre. 

Dario was also part of Trumpets “Joseph The Dreamer,” playing the comic seductress character, Potiphar’s Wife, during the musical’s re-staging at the Maybank Performing Arts Theater in 2022. 

In the latter part of 2023, she played Snow White in Repertory Philippines “Snow White and The Prince”.

Upon the invitation of GMG Productions, Dario auditioned via video for the role of Gigi in October 2023. The following month, she was the only who was asked to fly to Melbourne for an in-person callback. The rest is history. 

“Miss Saigon” features music by Claude-Michel Schönberg with lyrics by Richard Maltby Jr. and Alain Boublil, adapted from the 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. 

The Asian Tour is produced by GWB Entertainment, while the Manila season is produced by GMG Productions, co-presented by Union Bank of the Philippines, with Philippine Airlines as the Official Airline Partner.

Shows in March are nearly sold-out but there are still plenty of tickets available in performances from April to May.

— LA, GMA Integrated News