"How could we fail to do good?" (Miss Saigon)

Member Name: QueenElf

Product:	Miss Saigon
Date:	19/01/06 (1066 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Looking at the musical, telling a story.

Disadvantages: Some people will class this as opera.

I’ve always loved musicals, even the older (now dated) ones, such as Carousel, but from my very first trip to London to see my first modern one I was hooked for life. “Miss Saigon” was the third one I went to see and luckily it was one of the first few performances with the original cast. That was back in 1989 with my (then) partner. I went again in 1994, this time with my best friend Ann and it was almost as good as the first time.
Brought to the theatre by Cameron Mackintosh, it was an instant hit and continued to run at The Drury Lane theatre in London for an astonishing ten years, with cast changes who gave wonderful performances. I think my fond memories of the first performance were biased as there is nothing quite like seeing the original cast and knowing you are experiencing history in the making.

The Background to the Show.
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“Miss Saigon” was heavily influenced by the opera “Madam Butterfly, but few people know of the other influence, the French book called “Madame Chrysantheme” which was translated into English by Alan Boublil who wrote some of the lyrics for the musical along with Richard Maltby Junior. Claude- Michel Schonberg made another influence, which put Puccini’s opera in a completely different setting when he saw a photograph of a young Vietnamese mother handing her part-American son over to his father at the airport. From then on the rest is history. Produced by Cameron Mackintosh, with Claude-Michel Schonberg (also providing the music), casting began as soon as the musical was in its final stages of preparation.

The biggest problem was the casting of the lead character Kim and her supporting female characters. Kim needed an exceptional voice but although Lea Salonga (a Philippine girl) had the voice, she was not prepared to appear on stage in skimpy clothes. Eventually a way was found around the problem and the script was hastily changed to accommodate this. This actually worked much better than the original script and lead to one of the musical’s most poignant moments.

The Story.
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Set in the final days of the American presence in Vietnam, the focus of the story is on an instant romance with Kim and Chris, an American soldier. Forced by the loss of all her family, Kim has been sold into a brothel run by the “Engineer”, a shady Frenchman who has already profited by the years of upheaval in Vietnam. The show opens with a raunchy song by the girls who have spent much of the war prostituting themselves for a few measly dollars and in the hope of maybe meeting an American soldier who will take them away from their war-torn country.
Kim is brought on-stage in a white gown, which covers her body, a temptation by the “Engineer” to soldiers who want a virgin. The idealistic Chris falls heavily for her and pays to keep her with him for the remaining time he has before the fall of Saigon. He even goes through a ceremony that binds him to Kim and this produces some of the best songs in the entire musical.

The story picks up three years later with Kim still with the Engineer and hiding Chris’s son, Tam in the hope that one-day Chris will return for her. At this stage the audience doesn’t know why Kim has been abandoned but the Engineer sees Tam and Kim as his passport to the USA.
In the meantime, John, Chris’s friend from his time in Vietnam, is campaigning for the American soldiers to recognise the children they left behind. Many of who are living in camps for “half-breeds”. Learning that he has a son, Chris flies to Bangkok where Kim is now living, accompanied by his American wife Ellen.

A showdown is inevitable but before this happens the audience finally finds out what happened to both Kim and Chris in the fall of Saigon. I’ll leave the ending open for those who haven’t yet seen the musical but there is a heavy price to pay for everyone involved.

My Impressions.
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There are some wonderful songs in the musical, from the haunting duets between Chris and Kim to the wonderfully outrageous songs from the Engineer. Look out for the hilarious “The American Dream” and the opening song, “The heat is on in Saigon”.
I’m a real sucker for the romantic and “Sun and Moon”, “The Last Night of the World”, (with its amazing saxophone solo), really had me stunned.
Of course there are more songs, which deserve a mention, I couldn’t fault one but everyone has their favourite.
The one that really moved me and spoke volumes about the American presence in Vietnam was the moving “Bui-Doi”, sung by the character of John.
“Bui-Doi” is the Vietnamese word for “the dust of life” and the lyrics say it all.

“They’re called Bui-Doi, the dust of life, conceived in hell and born in strife,
They are the living reminder of the all the things we failed to do,
That’s why we must, we must not forget, they are all our children too.”

I think this moved me so much because of the real-life footage showing in the background of the children in these “camps” abandoned by everyone and hated by the new regime who abhorred the intervention of the American troops.

There’s another song towards the end where Chris tries to explain to his wife, Ellen, about the unrealistic situation in Vietnam at the time. It never fails to remind me of the futility of war and what the soldiers actually felt about it. The words “We were Americans, how could we fail to do good? In a world where nothing seemed to be right, everything was misunderstood.”

This is no mere song to be included to show the American soldiers in a good light, half of the time they never knew exactly why they were there. I’m sure that the script was written to put this message over and it worked so well on many different levels. Simply because it is a musical doesn’t mean to say that it’s a light-hearted story just about star-crossed lovers.

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Of course the most amazing thing about the Drury Lane performance was the use of a real helicopter in the fall of Saigon. I dare anyone not to be impressed by this magnificent feat of theatre. I felt I was really there and experiencing all the traumas of both the American personnel and the wives and lovers left behind.
There was an equally amazing scene with the Engineer riding on stage in a white Cadillac towards the end of the show. This was theatre at it’s best! It provided the audiences with some light relief but it also highlighted the dreams of all the people caught up in “The American Dream”, where life was seen through rose-tinted glasses and in the end melted away like the lotus blossoms worn in the hair of the innocent girls left behind.

It was doubly powerful with the complete contrast to the ending and for ages after I couldn’t help but wonder at the timing and just how well it worked.
I remember struggling to my feet after the final curtain came down (to rapt applause) and not realising that tears were running down my face as I waited for my partner to buy the sweatshirts and the vinyl recording of the show.
I went out into the cool evening air and stumbled along, not wanting to go back to the real world just yet. We had a drink in the nearest bar before going to our hotel and I found myself humming along to some of the tunes as I slowly came back down to earth. It was an experience I will never forget and I’m so glad I was privileged to see the performance.

I told my friend all about it when I arrived home, but it wasn’t to be for many years before we went together to see it. During that time we wore my record out, (although I still have it). I bought the double CD many years later after I watched it again. Although I knew what was about to happen I still felt much of the early wonder and my friend’s face was a picture when she stumbled out much as I had done all those years ago.

It finally closed its London run in October 1999 and has since gone on to tour in the UK, America and abroad. In smaller theatres a film backdrop has replaced the helicopter sequence but I don’t think this would deter people from experiencing the same emotions as mine.

Summary.
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It’s almost superfluous to sum this up and yet I still feel that some people would class this as “opera” and miss out on one of the best musicals ever to captivate and keep capturing audiences across the world. It’s not just a women’s thing either. My partner enjoyed it so such he recommended it to many of his friends and they agreed it appealed to both sexes. I don’t think it was just the skimpy costumes either. This is a musical that appeals to men and women, young and old, although it certainly isn’t suitable for younger children.
It is one of those special events, which just have to be seen, and it’s not stuffy or something to appeal to only theatre “buffs”.

If I haven’t convinced you by now look up the rave reviews on the Internet and ask yourself, “Why is a musical going into its 17th year and still going strong?”
It’s based on a slice of history that still resonates with ever film made about the Vietnam War. Sure, it has singing and dancing, but the message is as relevant today as when I first saw it.
Ladies you will weep, gentlemen you may ogle the women and laugh yourself silly at some of the lyrics (which are still very near to the bone), but I bet you come away totally enchanted and that is what good theatre is all about.

The Necessary Bits.
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When writing my review the only thing I had to look up was the current performances and where it’s showing in the UK. It’s just closing in Manchester but bookings are now being taken for the Birmingham Hippodrome. Prices vary and it’s worth shopping around for a good deal.
The majority of my review is based on memory alone, can anyone fail to see the significance in that? If it eventually makes it back to near my hometown then I wouldn’t hesitate to see it again, that’s how much I enjoyed it.

Original Cast.
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Engineer……… Jonathon Pryce.
Kim……………..Lea Salonga.
Chris…………….Simon Bowman.
John………………Peter Polycarpou
Ellen………………Claire Moore.
Tam………………..various children.

All gave sterling performances but Jonathon Pryce is still the “Engineer” in my book and always will be. Just think of the character who played “Fagin” in “Oliver” and you’ll know what I mean.

As always, thanks for reading.
© Lisa Fuller. January 2006.

Summary: A timeless love-story with a heart-felt meaning.