Miss Saigon Parts

#1

Miss Saigon Parts

Posted: 9/9/13 at 5:36am

Hi, I was just wondering what would be the best lead male part to play in Miss Saigon?
The Engineer or Chris?
Which has the better songs? Which is on stage more? and Which do the audience appeal and like more? I really need to chose the best part as it is my final year in the school show and i want to go out with a bang! Thanks

#2

Miss Saigon Parts

Posted: 9/9/13 at 6:26am

Just curious, have you even listened to any of the cast recording or done any research on the show? It sounds like you don't really know anything about it. I think you can appeal to the audience regardless of what part you play.

---

"We like to snark around here. Sometimes we actually talk about theater...but we try not to let that get in our way." - dramamama611

#3

Miss Saigon Parts

Posted: 9/9/13 at 8:20am

Oh OF COURSE I have looked at the show and done a bit of research but it always comes out the same! Who's better Chris or the engineer!!! Thats why i'm asking people her that would definable know! Like I know Chris has Why God Why and Sun and Moon which are amazing songs but the Engineer has the american dream! so i need help! I have been Thenardier in Les Mis before and Freddy in Chess and I've been already told I'm the lead this year so i just want to know who has more stage time

#4

Miss Saigon Parts

Posted: 9/9/13 at 9:21am

If stage time was not a factor, who would you rather play?

#5

Miss Saigon Parts

Posted: 9/9/13 at 9:38am

So your all-boys school, which has the youngest boys play the female roles, according to your thread asking us to help you find an appropriate show, chose Miss Saigon?

#6

Miss Saigon Parts

Posted: 9/9/13 at 10:34am

I think the Engineer has it all over Chris. He gets better songs and has more of a chance to make an impression with the audience. Chris is a very passive character, and not nearly as sympathetic to me as the authors clearly intended him to be.

#7

Miss Saigon Parts

Posted: 9/9/13 at 10:39am

AEA, that means the youngest school boys will be playing Saigon nightclub dancers.... Holy Hell. That's wrong.

#8

Miss Saigon Parts

Posted: 9/9/13 at 2:36pm

When my drama group did Miss Saigon I was a pole dancer in the Bangkok scene, and I'm male... But that is a different story entirely...

#9

Miss Saigon Parts

Posted: 9/9/13 at 3:56pm

"I've been already told I'm the lead this year"

What kind of director is this? Who goes around telling people they have the lead in the bag before they even audition for a show or have seen all of the other possibilities? What is this world coming to???

#10

Miss Saigon Parts

Posted: 9/9/13 at 4:03pm

Apparently, the kind of director who chooses Miss Saigon for an all-boys school. A visionary!

#11

Miss Saigon Parts

Posted: 9/9/13 at 4:18pm

I would say go for Gigi.

Or Tam.

Tam is a good part.

---

....but the world goes 'round

#12

Miss Saigon Parts

Posted: 9/9/13 at 4:26pm

The OP has seemed a little angry in other threads, so I'd pick Thuy

#13

Miss Saigon Parts

Posted: 9/9/13 at 4:57pm

I'm gonna have to go with Tam. When you think about it, the whole show really does revolve around him!

---

"You drank a charm to kill John Proctor's wife! You drank a charm to kill Goody Proctor!" - Betty Parris to Abigail Williams in Arthur Miller's The Crucible

#14

Miss Saigon Parts

Posted: 9/9/13 at 5:01pm

If you really want to make an impression with the audience, I'd opt to play the helicopter.

---

"We like to snark around here. Sometimes we actually talk about theater...but we try not to let that get in our way." - dramamama611

#15

Miss Saigon Parts

Posted: 9/9/13 at 5:53pm

Why has no one addressed the fact that an actor who would be ethnically appropriate for the role of Chris would not be appropriate for the Engineer and vise versa? How can one actor be up for both roles?

#16

Miss Saigon Parts

Posted: 9/9/13 at 5:56pm

Man, can you imagine the poor guy who has to play Kim?

In drag and yellowface.

---

....but the world goes 'round

#17

Miss Saigon Parts

Posted: 9/9/13 at 5:58pm

"I've been already told I'm the lead this year" <---- apparently depending on how old he is, he could be Kim!

---

"Are we being attacked or entertained?" - MST3K My theatre poster/logo portfolio: http://www.listenterprises.com/

#18

Miss Saigon Parts

Posted: 9/10/13 at 12:59am

It depends on what type you are and what skills you have. If you're a young leading man type who plays romance well, then you'd obviously want to be Chris. If you're more of a character actor or interested in not being the typical young lead, then go for The Engineer. But ultimately, you should read/listen to/get to know the show and she which you relate to more and feel drawn to. Its kind of silly to choose a role based only on the size and in my experience, you will be more successful in the role if you connect with it.

---

“I regard the theatre as the greatest of all art forms, the most immediate way in which a human being can share with another the sense of what it is to be a human being.” ``oscar wilde``

#19

Miss Saigon Parts

Posted: 9/10/13 at 12:19pm

That earlier comment made me wonder if Chris could be portrayed by an Asian actor. But then I realized that Tam is clearly supposed to be half white, so probably not.

---

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

#20

Miss Saigon Parts

Posted: 9/10/13 at 12:52pm

"How can one actor be up for both roles?"

By using the same logic the school uses to justify its casting of young, caucasian boys as the girls of the nightclub.

#21

Miss Saigon Parts

Posted: 9/10/13 at 1:20pm

Go for NUMBER 66!

---

"Carson has combined his passion for helping children with his love for one of Cincinnati's favorite past times - cornhole - to create a unique and exciting event perfect for a corporate outing, entertaining clients or family fun."

"In Oz, the verb is douchifizzation." PRS

#22

Miss Saigon Parts

Posted: 9/10/13 at 2:09pm

This has got to be the most bizarre thread I've read in a while.

#23

Miss Saigon Parts

Posted: 9/10/13 at 3:18pm

For some context, OperaBway: https://forum.broadwayworld.com/readmessage.php?thread=1063688

#24

Miss Saigon Parts

Posted: 9/11/13 at 8:43am

As a former high school theatre director, let me say that I would not cast a student at all who simply felt that he wanted to play whatever role has the most stage time. What a pathetic excuse for an "actor".