Miss Saigon

[theatermom4]

Posted: 2/20/05 at 2:53am

A couple of weeks ago I asked whether you thought I would be happy that I bought tix to Miss Saigon (a musical I had never seen)...and everyone seemed to like the show (if it was done well). Well, I just saw it and I LOVED it! It was fabulous...I can't wait to get a cast recording of it (I would love to have Lea Solonga's version if I can find it). Thanks for encouraging me to see the show!

[Type_A_Tiff]

Posted: 2/20/05 at 2:56am

I'm glad you enjoyed it. It's not my favorite musical, but it had many redeeming qualities. Did you see the non-eq tour or a regional production? Do try to get the OLC recording if possible.

[ShuQ]

Posted: 2/20/05 at 2:58am

Glad you enjoyed it. I assume you saw the US National Tour..as I did recently. Did we perhaps see the same guy play John? The guy who couldn't sing a lick and was horrible at staying on key during Bui-Doi?

[theatermom4]

Posted: 2/20/05 at 3:01am

No, I did not see the U.S. tour...it was regional theater. Very good singing (but it was hard to understand the words at the beginning of the show...that got a lot better later on). Great sets...loved the helicopter.

[apdarcey]

Posted: 2/20/05 at 3:07am

love the show. glad you enjoyed it. shuq, i saw the most recent national tour and yes, that guy could not sing. but the engineer was the best engineer i'd ever seen.

[Unmasked05]

Posted: 2/20/05 at 5:53am

I have never seen this show or listend to its music but I plan on buying the album in the near future.

[MouseInfo]

Posted: 2/20/05 at 12:12pm

Which regional show did you see? I am going next week to a show in Fullerton. Just wondering if it is the same production.

[LyTeMyCanDyI]

Posted: 2/20/05 at 12:34pm

I love that show. Glad you enjoyed it! The OLCR is fabulous!

[LaeloftheLakes]

Posted: 2/20/05 at 12:38pm

Yes, definitely buy the OLCR. Lea...wow. She's amazing. What a voice! Did anyone hear her on the Tonys a few years ago?

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 2/20/05 at 12:42pm

I agree that the OLCR is fabulous but if you're only going to get one I suggest the 95 studio cast with Ruthie Henshall. it's more updated, more complete and the cast is top notch. even without Lea and Jonathan...

[wickedrentq]

Posted: 2/20/05 at 1:10pm

I saw the US tour recently as well and I did enjoy it...I don't remember John being that awful, but I really loved both the Engineer and Kim. My friend I went with really didn't like the Chris, she might have influenced me a little. But yes, definitely get the OLCR! I actually have the highlights CD which I feel is enough, the only things I feel I'm missing are "Movie In My Mind" and the fact that it's weird that the CD ends on "American Dream" because the show of course ends on a much different note, but between the prices, I would recommend it. But I definitely love Lea, John, and Simon Bowman-he has a great voice.

[theatermom4]

Posted: 2/20/05 at 1:16pm

Yes, Mouseinfo, I saw the show in Fullerton. As I said, I have never seen the show (so I have nothing to compare it to), and didn't know what to expect. I'd be curious to hear what you thought of that production when you see it!

[ShuQ]

Posted: 2/20/05 at 1:19pm

Yes, the current national tour with Jennifer Paz is amazing. Does anyone know why Paz only plays the evening performances? Is it just too much of a demanding role?

And to theatremom...how did you regional production do the helicopter, did they have a real helicopter (a la Broadway) or a projection (a la Current Nat'l Tour)? The projection on the tour is done really well though, I'm sure there were some who couldn't tell, you could feel the theatre shaking.

[MouseInfo]

Posted: 2/20/05 at 1:32pm

Great! I am glad to hear the talent is right up there. I knew Kim would be fine because she did the 2nd National Tour and sounded great years ago. They have equity members for all of the major leads.

I am taking a couple of people who have never seen the show before and I am glad is it a well done production. I was scared the show I have told them so much about would be disappointing.

I am also wondering how they did the helicopter effect. I have only seen the Broadway version and never the projection.

I will definitly report on how I thought the show was. The last time I saw Miss Siagon was during the closing run with Lea Salonga. :)

[WISHIHADATONY]

Posted: 2/20/05 at 1:46pm

theatermom4! I am so very delighted you enjoyed the show. I love that show and it is indeed a modern masterpiece.

Unfortunately, so much "hype" was created over the years about the "helicopter" sequence, that folks that have never really seen the show often dismiss it as the "helicopter musical," or something silly like that.

Having seen the show you know now what everyone who really saw MISS SAIGON knows. It is a riveting and thrilling musical from the moment it starts. And the helicopter sequence is about 20 seconds long and not very important to the show.

MISS SAIGON is very rare in that you can fall in love with it and be enthralled with it upon first viewing it, with no prior knowledge of the score. This of course is not true for most Sondheim shows and Les Mis and many other primarily "through sung" shows. Most are really difficult to enjoy and appreciate the first time you see them. In reality, most folks fall in love with these musicals from the recordings. Almost every Sondheim show and shows like Les Miz simply play better on tv or recording because they are so intricate and can be terribly boring in the LIVE theater. That is why in order to truly love a Sondheim show or a show like Les Miz, it is vitally important to be familiar with the recording or the video prior to seeing it LIVE in the theater. BORING is the word most often attributed to Les Miz and almost every Sondheim musical to those seeing them for the first time without being familiar with the score, etc....

But, for some reason, MISS SAIGON is rivetting upon first view. As I said, it usually takes repeated listenings or viewings of most through sung musicals to truly love them. The people of MISS SAIGON made that show accessible and entrancing for audiences without them needing to be familiar with the show's cd or video or even a prior knowledge of the story line. BRAVO to MISS SAIGON!

and thanks for sharing your thoughts on the show! hopefully, it will encourage others to see this Treasure of a musical and truly enrich their lives.

Updated On: 2/20/05 at 01:46 PM

[iwearshoes]

Posted: 2/20/05 at 1:50pm

i just saw the show for the first time on thursday and thought that it was amazing. It was a regional theater, but it was a great cast. I knew some of the music but i didn't know the masssive amount of songs that there were in that show, wow!

[WISHIHADATONY]

Posted: 2/20/05 at 2:03pm

iwearshoes, I am thrilled that you found a regional theater production of MISS SAIGON "amazing." It is indeed a spectacular piece of work. Hopefully comments like yours will encourage more folks to see this masterpiece and to understand that it is not "the helicopter musical."

When I love something like this, I just want everyone to know so they can have the chance to love it too!!! thanks for sharing your thoughts iwearshoes :)

[MouseInfo]

Posted: 2/20/05 at 2:09pm

I haven't heard many people call it the "Helicopter Show". Instead, I think people are curious as to how the effect is achieved during different productions.

[WISHIHADATONY]

Posted: 2/20/05 at 2:17pm

Mouseinfo, I am sure there are productions without any special effect at all.......it is not necessary for the show.

MISS SAIGON is a very strong show and in years to come we will certainly have concert versions, and "black box" productions of the show such as the current revival of CHICAGO.

[theatermom4]

Posted: 2/20/05 at 4:01pm

In the show that I saw in Fullerton, the helicopter was "real"...not projected. I was amazed by it (like I said before, I knew nothing about this show, so I never heard hype about that scene). The surround sound in the theater was great..you could "feel" it in your seats. They did project pictures of little Vietnamese/American children on a screen above John during his "Bui-Doi" song. They also had a great pink 1959 Cadillac for "American Dream".

I thought the show was easy to follow even though I was unfamiliar with the music (the first time I saw Les Miz I was in the back of the theater and really didn't know what was going on part of the time). I do think, tho, that being familiar with Miss Saigon's music would be good...but not completely necessary to enjoying the show. The only time I had trouble understanding the lyrics was at the very beginning of the show...but I still "got it".

The role of Kim is so demanding!! Yes, this part was played by Kristine Remigio, who was on the 2nd National Tour. The Enineer (Franc - Anton Harwart) was great, but he doesn't have the * by his name, indicating he is Equity...so I'm not sure.

Anyway, hope you all enjoy the show

[kangaroo]

Posted: 2/20/05 at 4:19pm

This is my favorite musical, and I'm glad you had a chance to see it. I would also reccommend the OLC with Lea Salonga as Kim. I think it's the best one.

[eatlasagna]

Posted: 2/20/05 at 6:13pm

warning... warning.... bad grammar... i'm tired for some reason

hey theatermom4.... it was the Feb. 19 Saturday night show you saw? if so... i was there too!!! this was my 18th time see the show but my first regional production... i was amazed at how closely they followed the original staging of the broadway production... the sets were also very nice (except for the Why God Why and Sun and Moon sequence... yuck)... i do like how they actually built a huey helicopter for the show... so amazing... and they actually got a cadillac for the American Dream number... i'm telling everybody... Miss Saigon is such a great piece of musical theater that people overlook the simpleness of the music and plot because they're too in awe of the spectacle of the helicopter and the sets... Miss Saigon is such an intimate show and this production (as well as the current tour) prove that... i'm taking three friends to see the show again next weekend (they've never seen it) and my friend went with me last night who has only been to one show in his entire life was really impressed at how powerful the show is, especially the nightmare sequence and the ending... when we left the theater he said "i didn't realize it ended so awful.." ok... so with the likes come the dislikes.... maybe because it was the 2nd performance so i'll see how they do when i come back next weekend... but the ensemble looked lost and unfocused for some of the show... during the morning of the dragon number (which is an exact copy of the broadway version), you could visibly see one of the ensemble two or three steps behind the others... she kept watching the dance movements like she was unsure of what came next... this was even more noticeable when the two acrobats came out... the guy's head turned to his partner during the whole sequence... it looked bad.. same thing during the American Dream... oh and my friend noticed that one of the girls boobs fell out during that number and she danced like nothing happened... hahaha.... my other faults lie with the director... maybe i'm particular because i love this show with all my heart... but i don't think she gets how fast pace and moving this show needs to be... there were way too many blackouts for me... nothing flowed well and there were points when no one was one stage... everything is supposed to be moving... there were also too many moments of blackouts silence... for example... right before the girls come on to sing "one of us will be miss saigon" the stage is just empty with the set coming out... looked like someone missed a cue or something... moving on... after the song Sun and Moon most audience clap and then there's the brief "paper unicorns lines..." and whatnot.. the director then has another blackout after that line with no music and then The Telephone Song... felt extremely awkard... then after Last Night of the World, they sing the song and then he takes her to the bed and then lights out... music stops... clap clap clap... then Morning of the Dragon... it felt so awkward... i'm so very used to it being one continuous musical moment... that really irked me... then I Still Believe... you can see all the refugees running in trying to get into place... looked awkward as well... what else... same thing after Sun and Moon Reprise... Kim sings and then clapping... she just sits there doing nothing... same thing with after the Confrontation of John, Chris and Ellen, which was staged poorly because all the three did was like stand there and look at each other... there was no emotion, no connection between anybody... hmmm... oh i like that in the national tour the actors (or heck, they could be stage crew dressed up as characters) brought the sets in... here they had noticeable crew members in all black with microphones and hats just move the stuff in... i didn't care for that... am I a little too picky? you could say that... but whatever... i love this show and love everything about it... i loved this production but felt the director clearly missed some things that are essential to this show... Miss Saigon is a rare clapping show for me... it was like the director was saying... audience, clap at EVERYTHING i do in this show... which annoyed my friend.. he felt the clapping was unncessary in most parts and it ruined the mood of the show...

oh well... viva la Miss Saigon...

and by the way... San Diego Starlight Musical Theater is doing miss saigon in September... which will be VERY interesting to see... for those of you who are unfamiliar with that theater, they do awesome productions... the only problem is that the theater (which is open air), is located directly under the flight path of the airport... so when you're watching a show, the actors will literally freeze on stage (you can see a red light green light on the corner somewhere) for about 1 minute and then resume like nothing has happened... it's funny for like the first time... but then gets TRULY annoying during the night... like i say... some traditions are meant to be broken!!!

[theatermom4]

Posted: 2/20/05 at 6:34pm

Yes, I was there last night, the 19th. Wow, you are really observant!!! I did notice more clapping than necessary...the songs seemed very moving...too moving to applaud at the end...but there was nothing else going on, so the audience clapped. Funny, though, I did notice that acrobat who kept looking at the other other to make sure he was doing the right thing! (didn't see the wardrobe malfunction, tho!) I hope your friends like the show when you go again!

I sent my husband out to find the cast recording with Lea for me...hopefully he can find it...I guess otherwise I'll check online.

I have one question...was Chris dating Ellen while he was in Viet Nam? I thought they said they had been together for 2 years, but Tam was 3 years old. I was wondering whether Chris actually "cheated" on Ellen or did he just not mention Kim to her. I think Ellen said she had been lied to? In any event, I felt so sad for them all...and I cried...couldn't even talk right away after the show because my throat was so chocked up. (I'm just too sentimental!)

[apdarcey]

Posted: 2/20/05 at 7:03pm

chris met ellen after he came home, he did not cheat on her with kim, he just never told her the truth about what happened in vietnam. i know les mis gets all the attention, but this is boublil and schoenbergs best musical. it is utterly amazing. i thought jennifer paz was fine, but not great when i saw it this time around. the guy who was chris was so annoying and not a good actor. but the engineer on the current touring cast is unbelievable and truly owns the show.

[eatlasagna]

Posted: 2/20/05 at 7:08pm

yeah... John sings during Please... "please he went crazy when he lost you, spoke to no one for a year, then he finally said I'm home now, my life has to go on here." so yeah, i'm assuming after that year he finallyl met Ellen... dated for a year... the married...

go to www.half.com and you can find the OBCR with Lea Salonga for cheap...