Miss Saigon at Signature Theatre

[LesMiz24601]

Posted: 8/19/13 at 2:19pm

Has anyone seen it? Very interested in hearing thoughts.

[kdogg36]

Posted: 8/19/13 at 8:15pm

Yes, I saw it yesterday. It was a very solid production, but nothing too spectacular. It was good to see the show again after so many years.

Major assets include Thom Sesma as the Engineer, who was so much more natural and accessible than Jonathan Pryce (the only other Engineer I've seen!); Diana Huey as Kim, whose acting and singing was stunning throughout; and interesting and effective scenic and lighting design. There are a lot of very authentic-looking set elements.

The biggest minuses were Erin Driscoll as Ellen, who needed to grab our attention and sympathies a bit more, and Christopher Mueller as Thuy, who I doubt is capable of being the menacing presence that is called for.

I saw an understudy as Chris, who was solid but had some vocal difficulties in places. I'm sure he hasn't had a lot of opportunity to rehearse.

The new song for Ellen, "Maybe," had a very pretty melody but somewhat confusing lyrics. I'm not sure that it's an improvement over "Now That I've Seen Her," though I'd gladly listen to it as a song in its own right.

SPOILER

For the helicopter effect, we see only the bottom of the helicopter and some of its lights lower towards the stage. A breeze is blown into the audience so we feel like the Vietnamese people trapped on stage as the helicopter leaves. The sound balance (sorry if that's the wrong terminology) shifts as the helicopter leaves, making it seem like it's moving towards the back of the theater.