#nigel huckle

[love-little-lotte]

Miss Saigon in Manila!

Here in the Philippines, even if you're not a fan of musical theatre, you'd definitely know about Miss Saigon and Lea Salonga. That's how big this show is to many people here. The last time this show was in the country was way back in 2000, with Salonga herself playing the role of Kim. It also blessed us with a full pro shot available on YouTube, giving me and my fellow Gen-Z theatre fans a glimpse of Salonga in her most acclaimed role.

Fast-forward to 24 years later, and Miss Saigon is finally back, stopping in the Philippines for their international tour. My mother has been such a huge fan of Miss Saigon. As a child, I remember her playing her Original London Cast cassette (double tapes, of course, one of each act) and singing along to "I Still Believe." In 2014, she also bought me the cast recording of the West End revival, and I used to play this a lot because I was obsessed with Eva Noblezada's voice.

So, of course, there's no way we're going to miss Miss Saigon in Manila (even if we had to travel miles and ride a plane!) Along with us was also my older brother and his girlfriend. Watching this musical with my family was so, so exciting and certainly just too much for one heart.

This is my third show in the Solaire theatre, and so far, Miss Saigon has been the first to blow me away with its production. Don't get me wrong, the Phantom's Lair from POTO and the revolving stage from Hamilton were amazing, but Miss Saigon's production was so extravagant and spectacular that my mouth was just hanging open the entire time — especially during "Kim's Nightmare." That helicopter scene was just so fricking cool.

The story itself can still be a hit or miss. While some aspects are not as offensive as the original run (changing the lyrics in The Wedding Ceremony to actual Vietnamese words, for example), the show is still far from perfect and has so many dated themes... which I fear could never be corrected properly even in the future. There's simply no way you can make productions of this musical without including the problematic parts, so I understand why some people don't like this show. However, I'd argue that the show is not a white savior story. Is Chris really a white savior if he didn't get to save Kim in the end? He's not the hero of the story. (No one is; it's a tragedy.)

Nonetheless, there are still so many things to like about Miss Saigon, especially the score. Les Misérables is one of my favorite shows of all time, but Miss Saigon's music kicks its ass any day. While Les Mis has better individual songs, Miss Saigon's overall score always brings a chill up my spine. In addition to "Kim's Nightmare," "This Is The Hour" is one of my favorite moments and that's all because of the soaring music and the ensemble.

I also enjoyed the incredible cast during our show. Everyone was superb and amazing at bringing this show to life. Abigail Adriano, who played Kim, astonished me; how that powerful voice came out of such a small girl is beyond me! She's only 19, but wow, she commanded the stage like a pro and transported the audience to another dimension with her vocal chops alone. Her versions of "You Will Not Touch Him" and "I'd Give My Life For You" were too good. Her acting was also on-point. Adriano's Kim was so gentle yet strong and fearless. My family and I also got to stagedoor (my first time!) and when we approached her, I jokingly said, "You made me cry!" to which she replied, "I'm sorry!"

I was so looking forward to watching Seann Miley Moore as the Engineer ("EnginQueer," if you will). Instead, we got Nicholas Kong, who was such a great scene-stealer! His version of "The American Dream" absolutely gagged me — and not just because of the visuals. His Engineer also reminded me so much of the Thenardiers from Les Mis than other versions I've seen: funny but also a scheming menace.

Nigel Huckle played Chris in this performance and was also terrific. See, I've never warmed up to Chris in other versions. Some Chris actors are too aggressive, and I feel like they don't really care about Ellen in Act 2. But Huckle was different; he also even actually made me feel sorry for Chris. I can feel his desperation and confusion in "Why God Why." He also shared really good chemistry with Adriano; their "Sun and Moon" was too perfect.

Another performance that I was so looking forward to was Kiara Dario, who played Gigi. I've been seeing a lot of her tweets and simply loving her theatre-girl energy so much. A homegrown Filipina talent, she showcased everything: her impressive dance moves (no wonder she's part of a girl group here in the Philippines), her vocals, and of course, her acting. I'd love to see her in another big role soon or even grace the Broadway stage.

Here are some pictures from my first stagedoor (I wish we'd had more but we got so overwhelmed and frankly, we got tired from the very long day):

Overall, just a really fun night in the theatre with my family and so many wonderful performances. Definitely one for the books!

[laissezferre]

HELP nigel huckle was on my fyp reading out a review of him as enjolras in les mis manila and i just KNEW id read the same thing before djfjdk so i did some digging and it turns out it was yours 😭😭😭 youre an icon (https://vt.tiktok.com/ZSFLDVN27/)

SCREAMING ohmygod. does he have this review printed and posted on his wall? lmfaaaoooo. i mean far be it from me to assume that anything in the internet can be truly buried but nigel honey, past is past and this was hardly ever meant for mainstream consumption anyway

and yeah you did miss a few notes, i have audio

[milliondollarbaby87]

Toast (2010) Review

Nigel Slater is nine years old in 1967 living in Wolverhampton he truly adores his mother but she is not a very good cook at all. It nearly always ended up with it being toast instead. He has a flair for cooking himself and gets very passionate about it. The death of his mother would only be the start.

⭐️⭐️

(more…)

[castledoon]

Nigel Huckle - Feuilly - u/s Enjolras

Part 3

I’m not usually web vocal but meeting Nigel was a dream!☆  My aunt saw him as Chris from Miss Saigon at Midtown Arts Center in 2014 (which I was supposed to see but my flight from TN to CO got delayed), I was only able to watch the video instead. He’s such a spectacular actor and his voice is really (x1000) my favorite since Day 1. The more I see Les Mis the more I adore his talent. I love our Marius but there’s nothing I wouldn’t give to see Nigel as Marius (I think he’s meant to be him in another lifetime). I also heard that he was such an amazing Enjolras and I’m extra desperate to witness him as E as well. Out of all people, I hate favoritism...but he really is my favorite it’s inevitable (!!!). I chose not to tell him that I’ve actually known of him before Les Mis Manila because I’m embarrassed (idk why, really!); the whole time I still cry about the fact that I finally met him because I almost halted my plans in seeing the show and what are the odds of meeting him in the Philippines instead? He’s the sweetest (& coolest)  ever and I wonder how he survives my presence when all I’ve ever been was an exasperating child. He’s been such a ball of sunshine to everyone and I’m very thankful to have met him. Oh and he also gives the best hi and goodbye hugs!! ♡

“I enjoyed the meetings, too. It was like having friends.” - Luna Lovegood

[castledoon]

Nigel Huckle - Feuilly - u/s Enjolras

Part 2

Nigel with his ‘funny face’ - which is crazy because he actually looks adorable.

[castledoon]

Nigel Huckle - Feuilly - u/s Enjolras

Part 1

[laissezferre]

Nigel Huckle (u/s Enjolras), Paul Wilkins (Marius), Hugo Chiarella (Grantaire)

[laissezferre]

i got an enjolras understudy!