Three Hamilton Actors to Star in Local Productions of 'Miss Saigon,' 'Legally Blonde'

Three local actors will star in two upcoming performances at Governor’s Academy, including Ian Shain of Hamilton, who is playing the lead role of "John" in Miss Saigon.

Boston Children’s Theatre is putting on performances of “Miss Saigon” and “Legally Blonde.” In addition to Shain, the performances include Hamilton actors Alex Pecoraro and Lucy Perrotta.

Both productions will run in rotation Aug. 2–5 at The Governor’s Academy in Byfield.

Most recently, Shain starred as “Aaron Fricke” in Boston Children’s Theatre world premiere production of “Reflections of a Rock Lobster.” Shain has also appeared in Boston Children’s Theatre productions “Spring Awakening,” “A Year with Frog and Toad,” “The Velveteen Rabbit,” “The Drowsy Chaperone” and “The Diary of Anne Frank.”

He is a graduate of and will be attending the University of Southern California in the fall.

Pecoraro, 17, will be playing the role of “Grand Master” and “Frat Boy” in “Legally Blonde.” His extensive theater credits also include roles in “Urinetown” and “En Velo” at , as well as “The Drowsy Chaperone,” “Seussical, Jr.” and “Miss Nelson is Missing” with Boston Children’s Theatre.

Pecoraro has also performed extensively with the Neverland Theatre in such shows as “High School Musical 2,” “Grease,” “Cats” and “Godspell.”

Perrotta, 14, will be seen as a “Harvard Student” and understudy for the role of “Enid” in “Legally Blonde.”

Perrotta was previously in Hamilton Wenham Regional High School’s production of “Urinetown,” and has performed with Boston Children’s Theatre in “The Wedding Singer.”

“Miss Saigon,” which was nominated for 10 Tony Awards, is based on the opera “Madame Butterfly” and tells a similarly tragic story of a relationship between an America GI and a Vietnamese girl. Written by Claude-Michel Schonberg and Alain Boublil, with lyrics by Boublil and Richard Maltby, Jr., “Miss Saigon” is directed by Burgess Clark with musical direction by Austin Davy.

On the other end of the musical theatre spectrum, “Legally Blonde” is based on the wildly popular film starring Reese Witherspoon as “Elle Woods.”  Woods is a pink-loving effervescent sorority girl who enrolls at Harvard Law School to win back her ex-boyfriend, and gains a lot more in return. Nominated for seven Tony Awards, “Legally Blonde” was written by Heather Hach with music and lyrics by Lawrence O’Keefe and Nell Benjamin. Boston Children’s Theatre Executive Producer Toby Schine directs this high energy, leave-the-theater-humming musical with choreography by Carl Rajotte, Artistic Director of the Palace Theatre in Manchester, N.H.

“Miss Saigon” will be performed at The Governor’s Academy, 1 Elm St. in Byfield. Performances are Friday, Aug. 3 at 8 p.m.; Saturday, Aug. 4 at 2 p.m. and Sunday, Aug. 5 at 8 p.m.

“Legally Blonde” will also be performed at The Governor’s Academy. Performances are Thursday, Aug. 2 at 8 p.m.; Saturday, Aug. 4 at 8 p.m. and Sunday, Aug. 5 at 2 p.m.  Tickets are $25 and $20 for adults and $15 and $10 for students. For tickets and information, visit www.bostonchildrenstheatre.org.