Miss Saigon helicopter question

[Marway44]

Posted: 10/19/16 at 1:24pm

Hi all,

Could someone please refresh my memory as to how it flew I and landed on Broadway.  For the life of me I can't recall.  I know after it took off to leave Saigon and cleared the stage it went straight up and to the right to store above the stage.  I just can't recall what controlled it and how it flew.  Was it on an arm or something, like a hydraulic lift?  I remember it wasn't working once due to hydraulic fluid leaking so it has to be along those lines.  I know it wasn't done with wires.  I even went backstage several times and was shown how it worked but my memory if failing me on this one.

Thanks to anyone who can shed some light.

[Justin D]

Posted: 10/19/16 at 2:16pm

Its kind of what you described, its sort of wheeled on in the dark, moved up and down, then rolled back off again in the dark. The lighting is very important to getting it to look decent

[Marway44]

Posted: 10/19/16 at 2:17pm

Well someone who shall remain nameless, just pm'd me that it actually flew in and out. That's quite impossible as it had bungee cords for blades!

[Justin D]

Posted: 10/19/16 at 2:23pm

 






 


now this might very well have been from the tour but I assume its a similar thing

the photos of the original model show the intent, something that comes in from a track at the back and then the boom lifts it up. I would assume thats how it ended up being done as it does not seem that complicated.

 

 

Updated On: 10/19/16 at 02:23 PM

[Marway44]

Posted: 10/19/16 at 2:34pm

Thank you for this Justin D!  It is coming back to me now.  I remember something about the lift leaking fluid.  So it had to be lifted on the arm for it to "fly".

[carolinaguy]

Posted: 10/19/16 at 2:40pm

I remember reading a book on the creation of the show that said the team's nickname for the mechanism was "Goalpost" because the mechanism that held the chopper model kind of looked like that. It was hollow with no tail and the smoke, sound, and lighting did the rest. 

The book also said that originally they planned to blow bits of debris off the stage for realism, but there were concerns about them getting lodged in the instruments. (I'd also have been concerned about them getting lodged in audience members, but the book didn't mention that.)

[artscallion]

Posted: 10/19/16 at 2:57pm

The last time I saw it on tour, the chopper was a screen projection. It was pretty effective. But I was disappointed that it was not the "real" chopper i"d seen in previous tours.

[broadwayghost1]

Posted: 10/19/16 at 3:11pm

check this out

https://youtu.be/jVdGqqRP73c

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 10/19/16 at 3:19pm

It may be simple by today's standards, but it's so much more effective in my opinion than the projection or 25th anniversary version.

[Marway44]

Posted: 10/19/16 at 3:25pm

It's amazing you found that Broadwayghost! That  answers my question. 

By the way, I saw a very effective projection too once at a dinner theatre!

I am so looking forward to seeing this again, back home at the Broadway! April 1st can't come fast enough! The changes don't thrill me though  At least with Les Mis there were no lyric changes, but now there will be, including pulling a song and replacing it with another! Updated On: 10/19/16 at 03:25 PM

[Phantom of London]

Posted: 10/19/16 at 3:32pm

If they do the same as the London revival, it will be projections.

[littlemouse921]

Posted: 10/19/16 at 3:37pm

Phantom of London said: "If they do the same as the London revival, it will be projections.

 

"

I thought the revival had used an actual set piece, but I could be mistaken...

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 10/19/16 at 3:39pm

They used both.

[brian1973]

Posted: 10/19/16 at 3:40pm

In London there were projections of it, and then the screen flew out to reveal the helicopter hovering above the stage. It then lifts/wobbles up and then moves upstage into darkness.

Like the whole production- it's not a patch on the original in any way.

 

enjoy it Broadway!

[Marway44]

Posted: 10/19/16 at 3:42pm

I have not seen how it looked in London but does the projection before the reveal add or detract to the effect?

[brian1973]

Posted: 10/19/16 at 3:47pm

Well it certainly doesn't add to it. 

I saw a preview in London so who knows, maybe they restated that moment and it's not quite the same now.

[jimmycurry01]

Posted: 10/19/16 at 5:16pm

Phantom of London said: "If they do the same as the London revival, it will be projections.

 

"

If you watch The Heat is Back On, you will see that it is not projected at any point in the show. It is a practical effect that is made to fool the audience into believing it is projected until the scrim is lifted to reveal the copter. I'm nit sure why they made that choice,but they do talk in great detail about it.

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 10/19/16 at 6:07pm

In the London revival, there is a sound effect of the helicopter timed with the projection to make it appear as though it flies quickly overhead and then off into the distance (similar to the 2003 tour).  The sound then queues the return of the helicopter as a set piece (like the original production).  I thought it was effective.  To me, this revival had moments that were inferior to the original, but also moments that were better than the original.  I enjoyed it much more that I thought I would and my boyfriend, having never seen the show before, was really wowed by it, especially the nightmare sequence.  

[broadwayrocks2]

Posted: 10/19/16 at 7:04pm

There were two vertical steel tracks welded to the upstage pilasters at the Broadway it flew in and out on these tracks with an automation winch with a counter weighted arbor .  It did have some sort of bungee or some other material that when it revolved looked like propellers. There were some sort of hydraulics as well.

[Marway44]

Posted: 10/19/16 at 7:40pm

And that would explain why there was hydraulic fluid leaking one night. Of the 300 plus times I saw it only once did it not work. The swirling lights weren't that bad. 

[RockStarNYC]

Posted: 10/19/16 at 9:36pm

Allow me to point out that just because the recent London production ad certain changes from the original does not necessarily mean the Broadway production will be identical. It's possible that the creative team may have decided to switch things up. Case in point,  the 25th anniversary PHANTOM tour here.

[Marway44]

Posted: 10/19/16 at 9:48pm

That's a good point but I think it will be a carbon copy of London. It worked before and it will work again. 

[veronicamae]

Posted: 10/20/16 at 12:47am

I want to see that outdoor production in Georgia that has an actual helicopter fly in for it.

[Dancingthrulife2]

Posted: 10/20/16 at 2:26am

I'm seeing the Japanese production during the Thanksgiving week. From the photos they posted on twitter, it seems to be a carbon copy of the London revival. I'm particularly interested in how this production offers insight into adapting the staging designed for a rather small theater (Prince Edward) to a more roomy theater like The Imperial Theater in Japan and The Broadway where the next March's revival will be.

[Skywalker3]

Posted: 10/20/16 at 5:59am

broadwayghost1 said: "check this out

https://youtu.be/jVdGqqRP73c

 

"

I believe this is from the London production. Near the end, you can see the sets on the right. And it looks like the sets used in the Dutch and London production.  

Also the stage manager is talking British..