Why is the show called "Miss Saigon"?
Why is the show called "Miss Saigon"?
Why is the show called "Miss Saigon"?#1
Posted: 8/11/12 at 11:08pm
Kim, the protagonist, isn't actually crowned the title; Gigi Van Tranh, a minor character, is. For a while I thought it might be a play on the word "miss," which can also mean to feel the loss of something/someone. Saigon was renamed Ho Chi Minh City upon the end of the war, so "Miss Saigon," I figured, was meant to be a longing for the time before the Communists took over. Kind of like Gone with the Wind is a reference to the dissolution of the antebellum South. I don't know.
Anyone?
Vita, dulcedo, et spes nostra
Salve, Salve Regina
Ad te clamamus exsules filii Eva
Ad te suspiramus, gementes et flentes
O clemens O pia
Why is the show called #2
Posted: 8/11/12 at 11:28pmBut in the scene just before "Dju Vui Vay," the bar girls all informally re-crown Kim as Miss Saigon because she's the one of them who ended up with an American soldier -- they all think she's getting out of the country so she's the one who is going to succeed.
Why is the show called #2
Posted: 8/11/12 at 11:30pmOP: Because...because...shut up! Don't question it!
Why is the show called #3
Posted: 8/11/12 at 11:32pmI wish they'd either do the damn movie or bring the show back.
Why is the show called #4
Posted: 8/11/12 at 11:45pmIt was a play on words near the end of the run. I remember the ads saying something like "get your tickets today before you miss Saigon."
Why is the show called #6
Posted: 8/12/12 at 12:13amWhat is a Meta for?
Broadway Legend Joined: 11/4/04
Why is the show called #8
Posted: 8/12/12 at 12:44amBecause Miss Cleveland just didn't sound right.
Broadway Star Joined: 11/24/04
Why is the show called #9
Posted: 8/12/12 at 1:17amAlain Boublil wanted a show title that would reference a beauty pageant and the Dreamland and Dju Vui Vay scenes supported Boublil's wish to come true.
Why is the show called #10
Posted: 8/12/12 at 6:34amIt's also a reference to Madama Butterfly, on which the story is loosely based.
Why is the show called #11
Posted: 8/12/12 at 7:34am
^That was my first thought.
Broadway Legend Joined: 8/30/08
Why is the show called #12
Posted: 8/12/12 at 8:08amThis has already been jokingly covered, but I think naming the show "Miss Saigon" was effectively naming the show "Character Representing Vietnam". Similarly, Chris = the US.
Why is the show called #13
Posted: 8/12/12 at 11:05am
Yeah, some people have viewed the characters as representing their countries. Chris (the US) tries to help Kim (Vietnam) but ends up leaving and stranding her in a horrible situation.
Of course, the Vietnam War was a complicated and horrific situation, whereas Chris was just an idiot. "They'll give us plenty of word when the VC attack," really??
But I mostly see it as Lizzie's explanation: Gigi wins the contest, but Kim wins a GI who will take her away, which is the real prize in the eyes of the girls at Dreamland.
Why is the show called #14
Posted: 8/12/12 at 1:42pm
Because during the "Dju vuj vay" scene Gigi literally says:
"So now who's really Miss Saigon". Because Kim seems to be the girl that gets what they all dream of.
Why is the show called #15
Posted: 8/12/12 at 2:33pm
Along with the Beauty Pageant reference, and the madame butterfly basis, the story is supposedly influenced by a photograph of a Vietnamese mother leaving her child that Schonberg found. According to history, Saigon was the former name of Ho Chi Minh City which is the largest city in Vietnam. During the Vietnam war, The Fall of Saigon marked the end of the Vietnam war and the last of the American Soldiers were evacuated. This is one of the main highlights in the show and Kim being the main character remains in Saigon and watches her love Chris evacuate away.
Being the main character and "the girl that gets what they all dream of" during the fall of Saigon but yet remaining in the city while her love flees, Kim's connection with Saigon truly seems to make her a Miss Saigon in my opinion :)
Broadway Legend Joined: 2/9/04
Why is the show called #16
Posted: 8/12/12 at 5:41pm
Why is it called ON THE TOWN?
I would hardly call New York City a town and "on" just sounds so...lewd.
Why is the show called #17
Posted: 8/17/12 at 3:06pmI didn't like this show for a long time. I agree that it would be nice to see a movie made. But I think I would rather the show came back, because it really is a great story. With OR without a helicopter.
Broadway Legend Joined: 4/27/12
Why is the show called #18
Posted: 8/17/12 at 3:09pmI've only seen a touring production with a video of a helicopter flying away.
Why is the show called #19
Posted: 8/17/12 at 3:16pm
I saw the original tour and the tour you are referring to. Now I seem to stand alone in this in most conversations I have about it, but I felt that the projection of the chopper, whilst not as breathtaking as the first time I saw the chopper in the original production, I really felt it work.
However, I don't necessarily think seeing the helicopter is necessary.
Broadway Legend Joined: 4/27/12
Why is the show called #20
Posted: 8/17/12 at 3:19pmYeah, it didn't affect my opinion of the show. It's one of my favorite cast recordings, so I was pumped.
Why is the show called #21
Posted: 8/17/12 at 4:57pmI just recently saw the Hungarian production on video and was very impressed. Everyone in the cast was white and since it's a nice recording with close ups it was a little odd to watch at first. But I felt the cast was great. With the exception of the longest curtain call I have ever seen ANYWHERE!
Broadway Star Joined: 3/26/07
Why is the show called #22
Posted: 8/18/12 at 8:25am
With the exception of the longest curtain call I have ever seen ANYWHERE!
Ever seen any Takarazuka productions?
Why is the show called #23
Posted: 8/18/12 at 12:00pm
Why is a musical about Rose Thompson Hovick called "Gypsy"?
Incidentally, a friend of mine was the understudy for the Engineer in the Miss Saigon tour with the video helicopter. He recently starred in King & I at the Walnut Street Theatre opposite Rachel York.
Why is the show called #24
Posted: 8/18/12 at 6:09pmWell, the original title was "Underage Saigon Prostitute Gets Pregnant and Her Baby Daddy Leaves So She Becomes Disillusioned and Kills Herself - The Musical", but "Miss Saigon" just had a better ring to it, and went over better with investors.
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