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Miss Saigon CSR cast list

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#1

Miss Saigon CSR cast list

Posted: 9/22/08 at 3:06pm

Does anyone know the cast list for the CSR of Miss Saigon? I know Henshall was Ellen but who else was there?

Goodbye Sister Disco

#2

re: Miss Saigon CSR cast list

Posted: 9/22/08 at 3:29pm

Peter Cousens was Chris, Joanna Ampil was Kim, Hinton Battle was John, Kevin Gray was the Engineer, Charles Azulay was Thuy, and the Ensemble was Emy Baysic, Sylvia Dohi, Rona Figueroa, Lydia Gaston, Sonya Swaby, Margaret Gates and Zoie Lam.

I'm sure there are others I'm missing, but that should get you started.

#3

re: Miss Saigon CSR cast list

Posted: 9/22/08 at 3:40pm

...

Updated On: 9/22/08 at 03:40 PM

#4

re: Miss Saigon CSR cast list

Posted: 9/22/08 at 3:41pm

Its a great cast, I much prefer it to the London cast. my only 2 hickups are Chris (sounding a little too gay at times) and John (some diction problems), oh and Ellen somehow goes astray at the end of "now that i've seen her" leaving out "always" and loosing her timing, not sure if it was an accident, but it throws off the whole ending of that song.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/27199361@N08/ Phantom at the Royal Empire Theatre

#5

re: Miss Saigon CSR cast list

Posted: 9/22/08 at 4:30pm

I don't like the CSR. Minus Joanna Ampil, the cast is meh and the orchestrations aren't as good.

Jimmy, what are you doing here in the middle of the night? It's almost 9 PM!

#6

re: Miss Saigon CSR cast list

Posted: 9/22/08 at 4:39pm

I absolutely love Hinton Battle on this recording.

#7

re: Miss Saigon CSR cast list

Posted: 9/22/08 at 5:05pm

jewishboy, I said I knew Henshall was on the cast list but I didn't know the rest.

I had thought that Hinton Battle was on there but I wasn't 100 per cent sure.

Goodbye Sister Disco

#8

re: Miss Saigon CSR cast list

Posted: 9/22/08 at 7:33pm

The only redeeming qualities about the CSR are Ruthie Henshall as Ellen and Hinton Battle as John. The only songs that I prefer on this recording are "The Confrontation" and "Now That I've Seen Her."

Ooops, sorry!

Updated On: 9/22/08 at 07:33 PM

#9

re: Miss Saigon CSR cast list

Posted: 9/22/08 at 7:38pm

I don't like Hinton Battle as John, even. He makes it sound too much like RENT, IMO.

Jimmy, what are you doing here in the middle of the night? It's almost 9 PM!

#10

re: Miss Saigon CSR cast list

Posted: 9/23/08 at 4:47am

Joanna Ampil never sings touch, she sings Dutch. Ergo "You will not dutch him, don't dutch my boy!" It cracks me up all the time.
Honesty prefer the OLC, and I honestly think Ruthie is the best part of the CSR.

Popular...You're gonna be Popuular....;)

#11

re: Miss Saigon CSR cast list

Posted: 9/23/08 at 3:10pm

Give me Lea and Jonathan anyday

I can't STAND Simon Bowman and Peter Cousens is only slightlty better IMHO. Is there any decent Chris out there on record?! *lol*

The only real redeeming quality of the CSR is a) it's complete and b) it has the other lyrics and NOW THAT I'VE SEEN HER.

"TO LOVE ANOTHER PERSON IS TO SEE THE FACE OF GOD"- LES MISERABLES--- "THERE'S A SPECIAL KIND OF PEOPLE KNOWN AS SHOW PEOPLE... WE'RE BORN EVERY NIGHT AT HALF HOUR CALL!"--- CURTAINS

#12

re: Miss Saigon CSR cast list

Posted: 9/23/08 at 3:50pm

a bit off topic, but if you buy the OLC Highlights, they have Clarie Moore singing "now that i've seen her" where as the full OLC has her singing "her or me" wierd. but her version of "NTISH" is wonderful, and ends properly
"who'se the man that i've ALWAYS trusted, now I have to know"
where as the CRS left out Always.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/27199361@N08/ Phantom at the Royal Empire Theatre

#13

re: Miss Saigon CSR cast list

Posted: 9/23/08 at 5:21pm

I think that Peter Cousens is even worse than Simon Bowman. It's like he's trying to do a Simon Bowman impression. He also has very little emotion and you can tell that he and Joanna Ampil never actually did the show together (AFAIK).

Janki: Haha, she does sound like she has a cold when she sings, doesn't she?

Jimmy, what are you doing here in the middle of the night? It's almost 9 PM!

#14

re: Miss Saigon CSR cast list

Posted: 9/23/08 at 7:42pm

actually... i believe Peter Cousens never performed the role of Chris until after he recorded the CD... i read that somewhere... i forgot where.. initially john barrowman was signed on to be Chris but he couldn't do it... which i think makes sense because Peter Cousens (IMHO) is completely wrong for the role... voice wise he is acting like he's some tough guy in the war.. i get no sense that he's some confused young man in love with KIM....

yeah and as for the OLC... i have the CD and they sing HER OR ME but the lyrics are for NOW THAT I'VE SEEN HER in the liner notes... before i bought the CD i bought the show on casette tape (eek does anyone have casettes anymore?? haha) and it was in reverse... HER OR ME was in the liner notes and NTISH was in the tape...

and i NEVER understood why Ruthie Henshall didn't complete the lyrics on the CSR... why she forgets ALWAYS really bugs me...

other than that.. i LOVE the CSR but prefer the OLC... i listen to the CSR when i want to hear the complete score

#15

re: Miss Saigon CSR cast list

Posted: 9/23/08 at 8:45pm

Oh, I think Simon Bowman is incredible. His singing, while a little shaky at times and very thin in "The Confrontation," has plenty of intensity and passion to spare. Cousens, while vocally good, is very awkward as Chris and does not make anywhere near the same arch that Bowman does.

#16

re: Miss Saigon CSR cast list

Posted: 9/23/08 at 9:02pm

I also know that there were some orchestration changes that went on with the show. I think it was during the transfer between London and Broadway that they did them but I am not sure. For example, the intro to The Telephone Song is different on the CSR then the OLC. I remember watching the show at the archives at the performing arts libaray and the same song started with the intro that you hear on the CSR.

"If you try to shag my husband while I am still alive, I will shove the art of motorcycle maintenance up your rancid little Cu**. That's a good dear" Tom Stoppard's Rock N Roll

#17

re: Miss Saigon CSR cast list

Posted: 9/23/08 at 10:24pm

i believe Simon Bowman said in an interview that he was sick when they recorded Miss Saigon... once again dont know where... and i'm not making it up!

secondly... the CSR has the lyrics and music reflected when the show moved to Broadway and then national tours... becuase the london stage was massively huge, they needed more music for the sets to come on and off... in London i believe they still used the long intro to the Telephone Song (not sure about this i'd have to relisten to my tapes) and I Still Believe (this one for sure i know they used the longer intro)... they also used the extended ending of Last Night of the World...

other things... in America, during the nightmare sequence, John sings "chris don't be an ass the ambassador is leaving now"... in london they still used "chris don't be a schmuck the ambassador is leaving now".... also during What a Waste, some of the lyrics are inverted... in America at the end the chorus sings "come try the treats in every venue with tricks you pick right off the menu"... in London i believe those lyrics are reversed...

i know... i'm obsessed with this show... i used to be really bad when i was in college but it subsided now... but these random pieces of info NEVER leave you! it's almost scary how into this show i was... haha...

#18

re: Miss Saigon CSR cast list

Posted: 9/23/08 at 10:47pm

I didn't even like Peter Cousens vocally. He sounded very whiney to me.

I'm obsessed, too, so don't worry!

The "Overture" is changed, too. Like "Is this the way you make a chest?" is gone and they changed "Men pay a lot for virgin ass" to "Men pay the moon to get fresh meat." Unless they changed that before coming to the US; I never saw the London run.

Jimmy, what are you doing here in the middle of the night? It's almost 9 PM!

#19

re: Miss Saigon CSR cast list

Posted: 9/23/08 at 10:52pm

oh man.. the opening of this show went through TONS of changes... i have several audios from the preview performances and the lyrcis changed so much... heck even after the show officially opened the opening went through changes... it just seems like they weren't happy with it for the longest time...

and on i side note... i REALLY miss kim's soliloquy that they took out when the how went to broadway... it as sung right after THIS IS THE HOUSE and led into IF YOU WANT TO DIE IN BED... but i can see why they took it out... it slowed the show down...

#20

re: Miss Saigon CSR cast list

Posted: 9/23/08 at 10:55pm

The finale changed a lot, too! I sort of miss "Sacred Bird," tbh.

Jimmy, what are you doing here in the middle of the night? It's almost 9 PM!

#21

re: Miss Saigon CSR cast list

Posted: 9/23/08 at 11:08pm

yeah... i actually love The Sacred Bird... but i can also see why they took it out too...

i'm also a fan of Little God of My Heart...

i really wish the OBC had a cast recording... that way we could've gotten all three endings recorded officially (not counting Japanese version of Little God of my Heart)... plus it would have been nice to hear Lea Salonga's voice change from London to Broadway when her voice became more mature and polished... there is a HUGE difference when she started in the show vs. later in the run... it didn't get any worse, you could just tell that her technique had changed dramatically...

#22

re: Miss Saigon CSR cast list

Posted: 9/24/08 at 10:53am

"I think that Peter Cousens is even worse than Simon Bowman. It's like he's trying to do a Simon Bowman impression. He also has very little emotion and you can tell that he and Joanna Ampil never actually did the show together (AFAIK)."

I don't believe they had performed together at the time the recording was made...but they have performed together. Joanna Ampil and Peter Cousens were chosen for the CSR to coincide with their starring in the Australian production. The CSR was released around the opening of that production. Originally, from what I understand, Peter Lockyer was supposed to play Chris on the recording, but Cameron Macintosh didn't like the way he sounded and that's when the decision was made to use Peter Cousens. Since both Cousens and Ampil were in the Australian production, they sort of made it like an unofficial Australian cast recording, and delayed its release outside Australia for a few months.

Updated On: 9/24/08 at 10:53 AM

#23

re: Miss Saigon CSR cast list

Posted: 9/24/08 at 4:26pm

the fact they didn't perform opposite each other really shows on the CD... as for Peter Lockyer... he was my first Chris... i quite liked him but i can see why they wouldn't want him on the CD... he does sound kinda... robotic...

#24

re: Miss Saigon CSR cast list

Posted: 9/24/08 at 6:13pm

Well, thank God for youtube, right? Because there you can find clips and see how much Lea Salonga's voice opened up from when she played Kim in London to when she opened in New York. Her vocal technique improved by leaps and bounds from the OLC by the time she was doing the show on Broadway.

#25

re: Miss Saigon CSR cast list

Posted: 11/26/08 at 9:41am

Is there any chance someone could post the lyrics to 'little god of my heart?' I adore miss saigon, but I have never heard the lyrics to this number, thank you to whoever can help!

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