‘Miss Saigon’ in Manila opens audition for child character Tam

MANILA, Philippines – Your child might be the next theater star! Producer GMG Productions announced on Friday, January 5, that they’ve opened auditions for the child character Tam in the upcoming Miss Saigon musical in Manila and other Asian territories. 

Inspired by the 1904 opera Madama Butterfly by Giacomo Puccini, Claude-Michel Schönberg and Alain Boublil’s Miss Saigon centers on the romance between American sergeant Chris and a Vietnamese bar girl named Kim amidst the 1970s Vietnam War. 

Tam is Kim and Chris’ child. Tam was raised alone by his mother. 

“The character is male identifying, of Vietnamese heritage with a playing age of three years,” GMG Productions said about the character. 

According to the producers, the role can be portrayed by any gender aged four to eight. However, auditionees with long hair may be required to cut their hair if cast for the musical. 

Only those who are 115 cm tall and below can audition. GMG Productions noted that while they’re flexible in the age and gender of the auditionees, they’re strict with the height restriction. 

Those interested to portray Tam must be confident and have basic understanding of the English language. They must also be able to remain still and silent as the role doesn’t have singing or speaking lines. 

GMG Productions also listed that while there’s no preparation required for the audition, auditionees can expect to play games during the casting call. 

Interested auditionees should pre-register via the form found in GMG Productions’ website until January 9, 6:30 pm. Walk-in auditionees will not be entertained on the day of the audition. 

Auditions will be held on January 11 to 12 at The Theater at Solaire. 

Rehearsals and performances for the Manila run will run from around March 21 to May 5 while June 1 to July 14 for the potential further dates in Asia, so auditionees should be available during that time frame. 

“The schedule rotates, with each child being present in the theater for a number of shows each week,” they noted. 

The latest production of Boublil & Schönberg’s Miss Saigon will be available to Filipino audiences starting March 23, 2024 at the Theatre at Solaire in Parañaque City. It will run until May 5. 

Laurence Connor will direct, with musical staging by Bob Avian and additional choreography by Geoffrey Garratt. 

Meanwhile, other details about the cast for Miss Saigon in Manila have yet to be announced. – Rappler.com