Cameron Mackintosh announced today that Ellie Fishman will assume the role of ‘Ellen’ beginning on September 24, 2019 at ASU Gammage in Tempe, AZ in his acclaimed new production of Boublil and Schönberg’s legendary musical Miss Saigon.
Ellie Fishman has appeared on National Tour in Finding Neverland, Off-Broadway in The Hello Girls and has performed regionally at Goodspeed, The Muny, Paper Mill Playhouse and Music Theatre Wichita.
Ms. Fishman joins original national tour cast members Red Concepción as ‘the Engineer,’ Emily Bautista as ‘Kim,’ Anthony Festa as ‘Chris,’ J. Daughtry as ‘John,’ Jinwoo Jung as ‘Thuy’ and Christine Bunuan as ‘Gigi.’ At certain performances, the role of ‘Kim’ is played by Myra Molloy.
New ensemble members joining the national tour include Philip Ancheta, Taylor Collins, Keely Hutton, Ilana Lieberman and Francesca Nong. Two new young actors taking on the role of ‘Tam,’ Smith Taeyang Carl and Ryker Huetter, also join the company which includes Devin Archer, Eric Badiqué, Brandon Block, Eymard Cabling, Joven Calloway, Rae Leigh Case, Matthew Dailey, Noah Gouldsmith, Keila Halili, Adam Kaokept, David Kaverman, McKinley Knuckle, Madoka Koguchi, Nancy Lam, Brian Shimasaki Liebson, Garrick Macatangay, Jonelle Margallo, Kevin Murakami, Jackie Nguyen, Matthew Overberg, Adam Roberts, Michael Russell, Julius Sermonia, Nicholas Walters and Anna-Lee Wright. The role of Tam is also played by Haven Je and Adalynn Ng.
See the current 2019/2020 tour route by clicking here.
Red Concepción received rave reviews as ‘The Engineer’ in the UK Tour of Miss Saigon. His many theatre credits in his native Philippines include ‘Adam/Felicia’ in Priscilla: Queen of the Desert for which he won the ALIW Award and Gawah Buhay Award, ‘Tommy’ in The Normal Heart and ‘Alan Strang’ in Equus, as well as the musicals West Side Story and Hairspray.
Emily Bautista made her Broadway debut in the Broadway revival of Miss Saigon where she understudied and played the role of ‘Kim.’ She has been most recently seen as ‘Éponine’ in the current national tour of Les Misérables.
Anthony Festa has most been recently been seen in NYC in the Outer Critics Circle Award-winning best musical, Desperate Measures. He has also toured with the companies of Wicked and Finding Neverland and played Tony in West Side Story in the West End and on International/UK Tour.
J. Daughtry has been seen on Broadway in Beautiful—The Carole King Musical and The Color Purple. His TV appearances include Boardwalk Empire, Law & Order: SVU, Elementary and Orange is the New Black.
Jinwoo Jung was born and raised in Korea and was most recently seen Off-Broadway in K-Pop. He has performed regionally in La Cage aux Folles (East West Players), The Christians (Mark Taper Forum) and will appear in M. Night Shyamalan’s upcoming new film Glass.
Christine Bunuan’s credits include the national tour of The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, Writers Theatre, Silk Road Rising, Goodman Theatre and Steppenwolf, Marriott Theatre.
Miss Saigon tells the story of a young Vietnamese woman named Kim, who is orphaned by war and forced to work in a bar run by a notorious character known as the Engineer. There she meets and falls in love with an American G.I. named Chris, but they are torn apart by the fall of Saigon. For 3 years, Kim goes on an epic journey of survival to find her way back to Chris, who has no idea he’s fathered a son. This new production features stunning spectacle and a sensational cast of 42 performing the soaring score, including Broadway hits like “The Heat is On in Saigon,” “The Movie in My Mind,” “Last Night of the World” and “American Dream.”
Cameron Mackintosh said “It’s hard to believe that it has been over 29 years since Miss Saigon first opened in North America but, if anything, the tragic love story at the heart of the show has become even more relevant today with innocent people being torn apart by war all over the world. This brilliant new production, directed by Laurence Connor and featuring the original dazzling choreography by Bob Avian, takes a grittier, more realistic approach that magnifies the power and epic sweep of Boublil and Schönberg’s tremendous score. Of all my productions, despite its popularity, Miss Saigon is the one that the public has had the least chance to see as it requires such a huge international cast of Asian and Western performers and a vast array of visually stunning sets. Now, for the first time in 19 years, as it continues to wow audiences in major cities around the world, theatregoers across America will be able to see one of the most spectacular musicals ever written in all its glory, in a new production that critics in London and on Broadway have embraced.”
Miss Saigon has music by Claude-Michel Schönberg with lyrics by Richard Maltby Jr. and Alain Boublil, adapted from 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. Production design is by Totie Driver and Matt Kinley based on an original concept by Adrian Vaux; costume design by Andreane Neofitou; lighting design by Bruno Poet; projections by Luke Halls; sound design by Mick Potter; and orchestrations by William David Brohn. Music supervision is by Stephen Brooker and James Moore, with casting by Merri Sugarman for Tara Rubin Casting.