Miss Saigon Parts
Miss Saigon Parts
#1Miss 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
millie_dillmount
Broadway Legend Joined: 4/22/04
#2Miss Saigon Parts
Posted: 9/9/13 at 6:26amJust 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
#2Miss Saigon Parts
Posted: 9/9/13 at 8:20amOh 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
Wynbish
Broadway Legend Joined: 4/27/12
#3Miss Saigon Parts
Posted: 9/9/13 at 9:21amIf stage time was not a factor, who would you rather play?
AEA AGMA SM
Broadway Legend Joined: 8/13/09
#4Miss Saigon Parts
Posted: 9/9/13 at 9:38amSo 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?
#5Miss Saigon Parts
Posted: 9/9/13 at 10:34amI 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.
Liza's Headband
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/28/13
#6Miss Saigon Parts
Posted: 9/9/13 at 10:39amAEA, that means the youngest school boys will be playing Saigon nightclub dancers.... Holy Hell. That's wrong.
#7Miss Saigon Parts
Posted: 9/9/13 at 2:36pmWhen 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...
#8Miss 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???
Wynbish
Broadway Legend Joined: 4/27/12
#9Miss Saigon Parts
Posted: 9/9/13 at 4:03pmApparently, the kind of director who chooses Miss Saigon for an all-boys school. A visionary!
#10Miss 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
Wynbish
Broadway Legend Joined: 4/27/12
#11Miss Saigon Parts
Posted: 9/9/13 at 4:26pmThe OP has seemed a little angry in other threads, so I'd pick Thuy
#12Miss Saigon Parts
Posted: 9/9/13 at 4:57pmI'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
millie_dillmount
Broadway Legend Joined: 4/22/04
#13Miss Saigon Parts
Posted: 9/9/13 at 5:01pmIf 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
#14Miss Saigon Parts
Posted: 9/9/13 at 5:53pmWhy 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?
#15Miss 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
#16Miss 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
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#17Miss Saigon Parts
Posted: 9/10/13 at 12:59amIt 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``
SporkGoddess
Broadway Legend Joined: 7/27/05
#18Miss Saigon Parts
Posted: 9/10/13 at 12:19pmThat 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!
Liza's Headband
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/28/13
#19Miss 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.
#20Miss Saigon Parts
Posted: 9/10/13 at 1:20pmGo for NUMBER 66!
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"In Oz, the verb is douchifizzation." PRS
OperaBwayLover
Broadway Star Joined: 5/17/07
#21Miss Saigon Parts
Posted: 9/10/13 at 2:09pmThis has got to be the most bizarre thread I've read in a while.
Liza's Headband
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/28/13
#22Miss Saigon Parts
Posted: 9/10/13 at 3:18pmFor some context, OperaBway: https://forum.broadwayworld.com/readmessage.php?thread=1063688
#23Miss Saigon Parts
Posted: 9/11/13 at 8:43amAs 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".
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