Joanna Ampil is returning to the 2023 version of Miss Saigon not as Kim, her previous role, but as the Engineer.
The portrayal of the Engineer by a woman is a first in the history of Miss Saigon—from its premiere in 1989 at the Theatre Royal in London to its debut in Broadway, various revivals and numerous restaging internationally.
Joanna will be launched as the Engineer—a hustler and owner of the nightclub Dreamland in Saigon that caters to American soldiers—in a new version by co-directors Robert Hastie and Anthony Lau to be staged at the historic Crucible Theatre in Sheffield, United Kingdom, in 2023.
In this exclusive interview with PEP.ph (Philippine Entertainment Portal), Joanna narrated to theater actor-talent manager Carlos Orosa how she landed the role of the Engineer.
She is currently playing the role of Bloody Mary in South Pacific during the musical play's 10-week UK and Ireland tour.
Joanna began, “A couple of weeks ago when I was in London having our break from South Pacific, I received an email from my agent asking for my availability for certain dates and, also, if I’d be willing to have a meeting with the artistic directors of The Crucible at Sheffield for a show they’ll be doing next year.
“I said yes in a heartbeat as I know how reputable and big a deal this theatre company is. It’s home to world-class productions such as the very recent and very successful Life of Pi, [which I saw by the way before all this happened].
“The best show I’ve seen this year!”
Joanne then recalled her first meeting with Anthony Lau, the assistant artistic director of Miss Saigon.
She said, “I was very confused. Surely, he wasn’t thinking of me as Kim. So, in my head, I was like, ‘Are you creating a new role in it like, a mother?’
“Then he immediately followed it by, 'We want you for the role of the engineer!'”
According to Joanne, it took her several minutes to understand what she just heard.
“I have to be honest that it took a while for it to sink in.
“He asked me if I have any concerns, and I said, my biggest worry then was to reimagine Miss Saigon, it will need an update, and an Asian director’s perspective.
“Which is solved having Anthony whose ancestry is from Hong Kong co-directing the show with Rob Hastie.”
Since Joanna will be playing a supposed-to-be male character, she shared the message that she wants to impart through her character.
“My goal personally is champion the Asian perspective and to hopefully give answers to the racial and misogynistic issues in this new staging.
“To execute a woman of strength, sensitivity, coloured with flaws, and a whole lot of heart.
“My engineer will be created from scratch so it’s not as if I’ll be trying to fit into the mold of what was done in the past.
"It will be a new character with a different background and back story.”
For the most part, Joanna felt elated knowing that the theater culture in the UK has attuned itself to the changing times.
She said, “I am so happy that the theatre industry in the U.K. is also updating classic and beloved shows from previous generations, and bravely updating them to make them more relevant today, and using this platform to reeducate us who were misinformed in the past with the new knowledge that’s available to us now.”
Joanna has also appeared in the musicals Jesus Christ Superstar, Les Miserables, Hair, Rent, and Cats.