Miss Saigon closing; Broadway next

I'm surprised it's closing already. I thought it was selling well and it really is a stunning production. I just hope they recast John or at least redirect pretty much all of his performance. He was a parade of bad performing choices and was hugely distracting.

"I'm surprised it's closing already. I thought it was selling well and it really is a stunning production. I just hope they recast John or at least redirect pretty much all of his performance. He was a parade of bad performing choices and was hugely distracting."

It's been discounting for a while and Cameron mentioned that he wants to use the set for the Broadway production.

Mister Matt, you want to see a John with bad choices, watch this!

I am sad to see this revival closing, but I had a feeling it was coming with the reports of Disney eying the Prince Edward Theatre for Aladdin. I'm sure we can all expect Eva Noblezada to play Jasmine.

Tag - That performance was actually quite subtle compared to Hugh Maynard currently in the London cast. This video is from a year before I saw the show, but it's a pretty accurate representation of what I saw (he also sports the dreds in the show and I couldn't help but wonder how common they would have been in the 70s):

The self-indulgent Baptist revival interpretation of that song crept in shortly after the Broadway run began and then it just spiraled into a show-within-a-show thereafter. I used to love the song, but ever since it turned into a number all about the gospel stylings of the actor, I just wish it had been cut entirely as it just takes the audience completely out of the show for no reason other than to milk an ovation.

And Hugh Maynard is just as over the top in EVERY moment and line he has throughout the entire show. I would love to ask whoever allowed that to happen on stage why they think it's a great idea. Or is just going doing what he wants? Whatever it is, it almost destroys the show.

Updated On: 7/14/15 at 12:42 PM

Just watched, and actually thought Maynard's version was pretty good and not too far over the top. Porter's performance is just so disconnected. Either way, I'm not a fan of the speak-singing that both of them do throughout.

Why are all these guys so over the top? Here is the best version, completely in the right spirit, with depressing pictures in the background and an interesting example of an English actor trying to do an American accent.

Updated On: 7/14/15 at 02:38 PM

beilis32 - Yay! That's what the song used to be back when it was effective and part of the show! Seeing that video really makes me miss that song. The emotional intensity of the song came from the sharp focus of simple staging and a well-directed performance with a sense of occasion and awareness. Now, it's just a mini-concert within a musical, not unlike Telly in Matilda (except less entertaining). It's basically a warm-up number prior to the actual start of the second act.

"Sad to see it go; it was such a wonderful revival. Is the cast transferring over to Broadway, or they starting off fresh with a new cast?"

I would assume that this would be a completely different cast, with the exceptions of Kim, The Engineer and possibly Gigi. Eva and Jon Jon are Cameron's shining stars. Lea was handpicked for London and transferred to Broadway and I think Eva is the same. Plus, she received critical acclaim for her performance. In addition, Jon Jon was nominated for an Olivier. The only reason why I would say that Gigi might be the same because Rachelle's contract for Les Mis ends in June and it would be an easy transition. Plus, it was a big deal in the Philippines when Rachelle was announced for London and it would even be a bigger deal if Rachelle did the show on Broadway.

He looks good in his army costume lol

Thank you guys for all the answers! I would love to see Eva transfer (which sounds like she will), and I'm glad we'll be getting a new Chris (Alistair Brammer was miscast, in my opinion).

So I looked into some articles about Miss Saigon's move to Broadway and although the revival will be smaller, they will need significant wing space and I assume a seating capacity similar to the Prince Edward Theater which has 1600 seats. I think that narrows it down to the Shubert, Imperial, Winter Garden, Lyric, Majestic and the Broadway. But because of Phantom and Matilda, we can cross the Majestic and Shubert off the list. Also ATG owns the Lyric so Miss Saigon would never play there. So that narrows it down to the Imperial, WInter Garden, and Broadway. Now we just have to wait and see which shows survive. But I doubt they would put on the revival in their original home if it will be a smaller production but that does not mean it is not possible. It said that there are three theaters with enough wing space to house Saigon - The Broadway, The Lyric, and the Winter Garden. What's it going to be?

Updated On: 8/30/15 at 06:06 PM