The Gene Kelly Awards recently marked 25 years of empowering high school students in musical theater. Earlier that month, a Kelly alum transported that confidence overseas when he took over a leading role on the London stage.
“Winning that award helped boost my confidence as performer, and confidence is one of the most important things about being a successful actor,” said Chris Peluso, 31, who in May joined the cast of the West End revival of “Miss Saigon.” The North Allegheny High School grad and Broadway veteran won the 2001 Gene Kelly Award for best actor.
Mr. Peluso joins the first revival cast of “Miss Saigon,” which originally opened on the West End in 1989 and played on Broadway from 1991 to 2001. The musical is based on Giacomo Puccini’s opera “Madame Butterfly.”
It is the doomed love story of an American G.I. and a Vietnamese bar girl who meet in Saigon during the Vietnam War.
Mr. Peluso took over the part of G.I. Chris Scott, first played in the revival by Alistair Brammer (“Les Miserables,” both on stage and on screen). After a successful first half year (the musical set a new record in opening-day ticket sales), “Miss Saigon” extended its run on the West End at the Prince Edward Theatre through Feb. 27, 2016.
Mr. Peluso was working on Broadway when the posting for “Miss Saigon” came up. He had an hourlong auditionwith the director, which was filmed and sent to the producers and creatives in London. When he was approved, he gave his four-week notice to “Beautiful: The Carole King Musical,” in which he was an understudy in multiple roles.
He then headed off to London to rehearse with the cast of “Miss Saigon” for about five weeks before his first performance.
“I’d done it once before with the role of Sky in “Mamma Mia!” on Broadway, so I already knew the replacement process. But what was nice about this was that they didn’t necessarily need me to fit the mold of the past part the previous person created. I was able to re-create the character to suit my own choices,” Mr. Peluso said.
The role of Chris is “very vocally demanding, not just because of the singing, but there’s a lot of shouting or yelling. There’s a lot of very highly intense emotional scenes that require a lot of voice,” Mr. Peluso said. The vocal challenge reflects the emotional challenge as well, as “Miss Saigon” features scenes where Chris has to re-live the stresses of the Vietnam War.
“It’s emotionally and vocally demanding, but that’s a good thing,” Mr. Peluso said. “Those types of challenges are what make actors want to take the role because a challenging role is the most rewarding role.”
Before joining the cast of “Miss Saigon,” Mr. Peluso worked on four Broadway productions and regional shows acrss the country.
He began his performance career as a child at the 1994 All-Star Game in Pittsburgh, singing with “The FanFest Kids” during the All-Star Week festivities. He then got involved with the Pittsburgh CLO Mini Stars, and continued to train and perform with Pittsburgh CLO until he left for the University of Michigan.
“It was the guidance and motivation of my teachers [at Pittsburgh CLO] that made me consider performance as a career rather than just a hobby,” Mr. Peluso said.
At Michigan, he was initially a dual major in chemistry and musical theater. He originally left school to perform on Broadway, but returned and finished his bachelor’s of fine arts degree in musical theater in December.
He said the opportunities he had in Pittsburgh and in regional productions found through his Pittsburgh CLO connections were key to his decision to pursue performance as a career.
“I enjoy telling stories and pretending to be these characters, but it’s a combination of my love for it and my ability to get new work and new projects. Without the opportunities, I probably wouldn’t have pursued it,” Mr. Peluso said.
Looking forward, Mr. Peluso may well end up on Broadway again if he stays with the cast of “Miss Saigon.” Sir Cameron Mackintosh, the producer for the revival, announced that the show will be opening on Broadway in the next two years. Once it completes its run at the Prince Edward, “Aladdin” will take its place. Mr. Mackintosh said shows will open in Germany and Australia as well as on Broadway.
As for Mr. Peluso, playing this role on the West End might be better.
“When I was a kid, one of my main dream roles was Chris in ‘Miss Saigon.’ I’m getting to play it in the biggest arena that you can, because it originated in the West End,” Mr. Peluso said.
His next goal: to originate a character in a Broadway or West End production.
Caelin Miltko: cmiltko@post-gazette.com, 412-263-1707 or on Twitter @caelin_miltko.
First Published: July 21, 2015, 4:00 a.m.
