Finally Miss Saigon has returned to London's West End and is in fine form as always.
A must see for any theatre goer, Miss Saigon tells the story of Kim, a Vietnamese girl trying to survive in the midst of the Vietnam war and Chris a US Marine, fighting but trying to find meaning in the war ravaged place he has ended up. Kim and Chris fall in love but circumstances tear them apart and the musical follows their story as the years pass and Saigon falls.
Written by Alain Boublil and Claude-Michel Schoenberg, the writing duo of Les Miserables, and loosely based on Madame Butterfly and inspired by photos and stories of orphaned children after the Vietnam War, this musical is not only powerful in story but is beautifully written in music. Boublil and Schoenberg capture the love of the couple, the torment of the war surrounding them but also provide light relief in The Engineer. A fantastically crafted character who is desperately seeking a visa to America and orchestrates situations to find his 'American Dream'.
The current show is well casted, seeing a majority Asian cast and some strong leads but the best for me was Jon Jon Briones who returns to Saigon in the role of The Engineer. His comic timing is sublime, he is very crafty but also very convincing in his acting. The casting of Eva Noblezada as Kim, discovered in the US on a High School Musical reality show and Alistair Brammer as Chris, whilst vocally strong ('Why God' a particular highlight) I didn't feel like their voices blended together well. It didn't detract from the performance but that is me being picky!
As for the sets and the ensemble, as always an absolute treat. The set designers of course treated us to the famous helicopter and car (if you are not aware of these, be wowed!) but particular exciting was the The Army of the Dragon scene, choreographed extremely well and with such powerful music and impact of the dancers, it really was an amazingly crafted scene.
Another highlight and an incredibly moving scene and song is Bui Doi. A song about the orphaned children, a majority of which had been fathered by the US Marines during their confused time in Vietnam. Another returning cast member Hugh Maynard plays John and sang this very well. I was a little worried he may be vocally tired or was holding back but then he produced some incredibly improv and let rip towards the end of the song. A great moment!
This truly is a 5 star show and one not to be missed.
A particular warning though.... If you do go to see this show, make sure you have lots of tissues. Definitely a weeper this one!!
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