Miss Saigon

[LyTeMyCanDyI]

Posted: 11/5/04 at 6:00pm

I noticed that not many people here post about Miss Saigon. It's been one of my favorites since the first time I saw it when I was 8. I was curious as to your opinions on it.

[chinkie azn jai]

Posted: 11/5/04 at 6:02pm

I love the music, but i have not seen the show live . I regret not seeing the recent tour when it came to my hometown.

[BroadwayDiva]

Posted: 11/5/04 at 6:04pm

I absolutely love the music. It's SO beautiful. It's always played in my house, and I know the whole score. I love this show, even though I never saw it.

[Broadway_Bound_Star]

Posted: 11/5/04 at 6:06pm

I LOVE Miss Saigon, but I have only seen it once and that is with Ma-anne Dianisio as Kim, Ma-anne is SO good, you should hear her sing Sun and Moon. she is excellent!!

[Mr. Tuttle]

Posted: 11/5/04 at 6:11pm

Use the search feature and you'll see many posts on MS by people who don't post much about MS.

[EponineThenardier]

Posted: 11/5/04 at 6:55pm

I absolutely adore the score, it's so sad at the end (as forbidden broadway says: "Miss Saigon will leave you numb"). Then again I happened to see this show with my mother and she looks down on sad musicals a bit. She doesn't see the beauty of death in theater or film, she takes everything as seriously as can be.

That said I'd like to see it again without someone poo-pooing it next to me!

[Type_A_Tiff]

Posted: 11/5/04 at 6:56pm

Your mother must HATE Les Mis!

[DottieD'Luscia]

Posted: 11/5/04 at 7:00pm

Will anyone be seeing the tour next week in DC? I plan on going.

[LyTeMyCanDyI]

Posted: 11/5/04 at 7:06pm

I love Miss Saigon. When I was 8 or 9, I saw it with my mom, and came out loving it so much. It was a bit much for an 8 or 9 year old, but it was amazing! My grandmother wanted to see it, so we took her for her 80th birthday. Once it ended, she couldn't get out of her seat because she was crying so hard. The story is so deep and emotional. I don't understand why there are so many people who don't like it. It's nice to hear from people who feel the same way I do.

[EponineThenardier]

Posted: 11/5/04 at 8:36pm

Tiff- yea she does! Lucky her I'm in dorm and not at home so she doesn't have to hear it everyday!

I tried to explain the plot of Sweeney Todd to her at one point and she said, "Oh...thats nice dear.." soo funny.

[jmaclover]

Posted: 11/5/04 at 9:57pm

Hi,

I am sorry - I kept missing my chance to see it. Recently a friend just copied the CD(s) for me -
I went online to find the libretto but none of them seem to follow the Cd!

Ma-anne? Isn't (wasn't) she in the tour of LM? She's following LEa lol!

Thanks for the help!

[Type_A_Tiff]

Posted: 11/5/04 at 10:01pm

I'm not a big fan of Miss Saigon, but in keeping with the positivity on this thread (that's so rare nowadays!), I really thought the sets on tour were beautiful. The art direction was spectacular.

[Roxie]

Posted: 11/5/04 at 10:03pm

Can you say obsessed? Cause that's what I am with this musical...seriously. I'm so happy you posted this cause I always thought that as well. It's music, lyrics and emotion are so overwhelming. I listened to it every night and day straight for like months. I love Lea Salonga so much. The talent ahh. I still cry every time I hear the ending. I have never seen it but I have to before I die lol. I'm glad someone shares my love.

[Type_A_Tiff]

Posted: 11/5/04 at 10:09pm

Lea Salonga really is amazing. I wish I'd seen her Eponine as well, but I think she would really embody Kim.

[Broadway Matt]

Posted: 11/5/04 at 10:33pm

same as Davis Gaines, she loses points for getting plastic surgery. very stupid getting a nose job, being someone whose career is in their vocal abilities. there's no reason for a stage actor to get facial work done unless they've been in a fire or something.

[Type_A_Tiff]

Posted: 11/5/04 at 10:36pm

Lea got plastic surgery?

[Broadway Matt]

Posted: 11/5/04 at 10:38pm

look at her in the Les Mis concert, then look at her anytime after that. compare it with Hey Mr Producer. I forget the actual reason she gives but she has a smaller, more anglo nose since 1996-ish. she's lucky the doctor knew what he was doing. that's the reason streisand refused to ever have any work done, didn't want to risk hurting the instrument.

[Type_A_Tiff]

Posted: 11/5/04 at 10:40pm

so she admitted to having it done?? her nose looked fine in mr. producer!

[Broadway Matt]

Posted: 11/5/04 at 10:42pm

yeah, it's not something she could really lie about. it's actually pretty noticeable at the right angles. you can really tell when you see her onstage. when I saw Flower Drum, I wasn't sure it was her until she sang.

[Type_A_Tiff]

Posted: 11/5/04 at 10:46pm

that's so sad! did she say it was for aesthetic reasons or what?

[BlueWizard]

Posted: 11/5/04 at 11:52pm

I'm a huge fan of Miss Saigon. I thought it was a very worthy successor to Les Miz. Boublil & Schonberg's fervent score is beautiful and instantly memorable (the overture still haunts me). I flew to New York specifically to see Lea Salonga in her 1999 return engagement, and she was spectacular.

I'm always surprised by all the hoopla involving the helicopter, because I didn't think it was a big deal. There's a lot more to the show than its theatrical effects. For all the naysayers, I think people should be grateful that this was one of the few Broadway musicals to feature a predominantly Asian cast. (You can count those all on one hand.)

[eatlasagna]

Posted: 11/5/04 at 11:59pm

oh man... i can go on and on and on about Miss Saigon... i've never seen it on broadway... but i've seen the national tours a total of 17 times... first time in 1995 with Jennifer Paz here in Los Angeles and then for the 17th time in 2004 with Jennifer Paz in the role again!!!

and don't get me started on the stuff i'm not supposed to have... with those i've heard nearly EVERY woman who's every played the role of KIM and Lea Salonga is honestly the best!!!

and i agree... and like i've always said... the helicopter distracts too much from what the core of the show is... a simple moving love story with beautiful music... oh and i'll admit... some rather STUPID lyrcics... but not enough for me to really complain about the show... ha

[EponineThenardier]

Posted: 11/6/04 at 12:13am

why Lea?! That makes me mad, she's always been lovely. Look at my icon, she's got a gorgeous nose! My God Lea, we love you no matter what you look like.

Grrrr. Sorry but I hate it when people do that.

[Irrational Number]

Posted: 11/6/04 at 9:39pm

Love the score. Wish I could play pit piano/keyboards for it.

[kates]

Posted: 11/6/04 at 10:27pm

The tour came to Atlanta a long long time ago when I was 10 or so, and this was when the tour was good and had the real helicopter, and my dad got his company's tickets for the 2nd nite. Me and my sister loved it so much that he had to take the tickets for the rest of the week and bring us back for 5 consecutive performances. I guess the guy really loves us because near the end, he looked like he was gonna hit something if he heard any of the songs any more (we also insisted on listening to the music and the way to and from the theater, we were a tad bit obsessed)

I saw it last fall in Boston and was so disapointed. I brought a friend who was not a theater fan at all, swearing this would change her. Well at the end, I was near tears, but because such a beautiful show had been so masterfully butchered.

Interesting tidbit, my parents saw the show in previews and opening nite on Broadway, and if I remember correctly, the man playing the engineer was of Latino descent, not Asian and apparently some members of the Asian community were very angry that the part didn't go to an Asian actor. Apparently it was a pretty big deal, but I was really young at the time and don't remember much of the details...