Filipino actress Julianne Pundan has been cast as Kim in the United Kingdom staging of Miss Saigon.
Pundan shared the good news and expressed her excitement about playing the role on her Instagram account on Thursday, June 19.
“I am so excited to FINALLY announce that I will be making my professional lead debut as KIM in The Miss Saigon [UK] and Ireland tour !!! I can’t believe [I’m] finally going to be living my dream, my dream role,” she wrote in a post.
“This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that I will forever be grateful for, feeling so blessed, this is so surreal, thank you God,” she added, before thanking the production team, as well as her friends and supporters who carried her on the journey.
“I can’t believe this is happening, I am SO excited to begin and become a part of such a legendary musical,” she concluded.
In the cast announcement video posted by Miss Saigon UK, Pundan shared that a documentary about the original Kim, Lea Salonga, was her inspiration to pursue a career in musical theater.
“When I was younger I watched the documentary of Lea Salonga, and that was actually my inspiration to pursue musical theatre as well. And this was the documentary of her auditioning for Miss Saigon. And ever since I saw that, I kind of had that push that I could do the same thing. And to think we were, like, both Filipino, and that we’re both 17 turning 18, auditioning for Miss Saigon. And to think that I have the role now is like, unreal,” she said.
“I feel very privileged, very honored as well, because Miss Saigon is this insane musical. The score complements the storyline so well. It is just so beautiful, and the fact to play Kim, I’m so blessed. I’m very, very grateful,” she added.
Also part of the principal cast is Filipino-American Mikko Juan who will play Thuy, and Filipino-British Seann Miley Moore, who will play The Engineer.
Other cast members include Jack Kane as Chris, Dom Hartley-Harris as John, Emily Langham as Ellen, ACE as Gigi, Bea Ward as alternate Kim/ensemble, and Aaron Teoh as alternate Engineer/ensemble.
The ensemble consists of Jamil Abassi, Aaron Aisoni, Daniel J Brian, Ann-Marie Craine, Ben Fenwick, Aaron Gonzales, Owen Johnston, Evita Khrime, Caleb Lagayan, Rayhan Lee, James Mateo-Salt, Shania Montevalde, Ryan Ocampo, Julius Sahr, Tonny Shim, Anh Khoa Tran, Yiling Yang, Aimee Yue, and Carmen Zhu.
Pundan studied at The BRIT School and Sylvia Young Theatre School. Some of the productions she played roles in while training include Just So at BRIT School, Fangirls at Lyric Hammersmith, and A Brighter Sound at Royal Albert Hall.
Based on the 1904 opera Madame Butterfly by Giacomo Puccini, Miss Saigon follows the story of a Vietnamese woman named Kim who gets abandoned by her American lover in Saigon during the Vietnam War in the ’70s. It was created by Claude-Michel Schönberg and Alain Boublil.
Miss Saigon UK will run from October 2025 to August 2026.
