Abueva, Manalang to Cover--Not to Alternate for--Role of Kim

New York, November 28, 2013--Contrary to an earlier report, young actors Julia Abueva and Tanya Manalang, recently announced to be playing ensemble in the record-breaking West End revival of "Miss Saigon," will be covering--not alternating for--the female lead, Kim.

17-year-old American actress Eva Noblezada will take on the coveted lead role--her first foray into professional musical theater--when the production opens at the Prince Edward Theatre (Old Compton St., London W1D 4HS, United Kingdom) on Saturday, May 3, 2014.

Noblezada will lead the principal cast, which includes "Miss Saigon" original London cast alumnus Jon Jon Briones as the Engineer; "Les Miserables"-the movie cast member Alistair Brammer as Chris; Australian stage actress Tamsin Carroll as Ellen--who has a brand new solo song in the musical; the United Kingdom's "X Factor" find Hugh Maynard as John; and double-platinum recording artist Rachelle Ann Go as Gigi.

Abueva and Manalang, on the other hand, will join the company made up of triple threat talents from the United Kingdom, Australia, Holland, Korea, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and the United States: Natalie Chua, Jon-Scott Clark, Rob Compton , Callum Francis, Ashley Gilmour, Maria Graciano, Simon Hardwick, Jack Harrison-Cooper, Matthew Jeans, Kurt Kansley, Kittiphun Kittipakapom, David Lee, Mitch Leow, Ela Lisondra, Christian Rey Marbella, Kanako Nakano, Thao Therese Nguyen, Saori Oda, Ariel Reonal, Jon Reynolds, Romeo Salazar, Jordan Shaw, Marsha Songcome, Eloisa Amalia Tan, Christian Tanamal, Thao Vilayvong, Amadeus Williams and Gerald Zarcilla.

Cameron Mackintosh-produced "Miss Saigon" has recently broke records for the largest single-day ticket sales in theater history when its public bookings opened in London. "Miss Saigon" sold more than £4.4m ($7.1M) on Monday, September 9, breaking the records set by the original London production of "The Book of Mormon," which had its largest single-day ticket sales at around £2.1m ($3.4M) in March, and the original Broadway production of "The Producers," which had its largest single-day ticket sales at around $3M (£1.9m) in 2001.

"Miss Saigon," which celebrates its 25th anniversary next year, features music by Claude-Michel Schönberg with lyrics by Richard Maltby Jr. and Alain Boublil, adapted from the original French lyrics by Boublil.

This new production of "Miss Saigon" will be directed by Laurence Connor with musical staging by Bob Avian and additional choreography by Geoffrey Garratt, production design by Totie Driver and Matt Kinley, based on an original concept by Adrian Vaux, costume design by Andreane Neofitou, lighting design by Bruno Poet, sound design by Mick Potter and orchestrations by William David Brohn.

Musical supervision is by "Les Miserables"-the movie's Stephen Brooker and John Rigby; musical direction is by Alfonso Casado Trigo.

Set in 1975 during the final days of the American occupation of Ho Chi Minh City (formerly Saigon), "Miss Saigon" tells the epic love story between Chris, an American G.I., and Kim, a young Vietnamese bargirl, which is loosely based on Giacomo Puccini's "Madame Butterfly."

Since its London premiere in 1989, "Miss Saigon," which originally starred Tony and Olivier Award winner Lea Salonga as Kim, has become one of the most successful musicals in history, and enjoyed a phenomenal 10-year run at Theatre Royal, Drury Lane. The mega-musical has been performed in 28 countries and in more than 300 cities in 15 different languages. It has won more than 40 awards, including two Olivier Awards, three Tony Awards and four Drama Desk Awards. It has been seen by more than 35 million people worldwide.

For tickets (£27.50 [$42.99] to £67.50 [$105.53]), call 0844-482-5155 or visit miss-saigon.com.

Photo by Curtis Brown Literary and Talent Agency