Post by rcolemanuk on Feb 14, 2008 19:57:48 GMT 1
Here is my review taken from my site. This is from the 2006 UK tour of Miss Saigon.
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How can we go so far in just one night? Boublil and Schonberg's Miss Saigon (produced by Cameron Mackintosh) is quite simply a masterpiece. It is a show about passion, love and the ultimate sacrifice. I was left so stunned by the nights proceedings, the story, the visuals, the morals that I hardly spoke on the whole 1 and a half hour journey back home.
The story starts off in Saigon at the end of the Vietnam War. Kim an ordinary 17 year old girl has been forced to go and fend for herself because her parents have been killed. She is taken in by 'the Engineer' a local man who runs a prostitute bar. There she meets Chris an American GI who she falls in love with. But before he can get her back to America he is forced to pull out leaving her behind where she bears him a son whom she pledges to give her life for. While in America Chris remarries and after three years hears that Kim is still alive and in Bangkok. He and his wife fly out to Bangkok where Chris' wife confronts Kim and tells her that they cant take the child to America. Kim goes back to her flat and says an emotional goodbye to her son before shooting herself just before Chris gets there to give her son a better life in America.
An impressive set design adds to the effects of the whole piece, from the moving buildings and impressive visual animations you really get the feel that you are in a war torn Saigon in 1975. The helicopter, which you hear fly over the audience before appearing in front of you is cleverly thought out even with the soldiers getting into the helicopter and somehow disappearing behind the projection screen into the chopper. But even harder hitting than all the effects was Ima's performance of Kim, with whom you feel for from the start. As a 17 year old girl who had her life planned for her to be thrown into a world with no parents and no where to go she clearly is uncomfortable being forced into prostitution just so she can live. You really feel for her when she finds happiness with Chris before having it snatched away from her and being left to fend for a son whom she will do anything for. The Engineer, played by Jon Jon Briones, portrays the cheeky character also seeking a better life with so much passion its hard to find a fault. Ramin Karimloo who plays Chris was superb at playing the torn GI stuck in the middle of his two loves. You really go through the emotions in this seamless masterpiece.
At times I felt the music was a bit quiet (even though I was third row from the front) but it was there when it needed to be. If you wish to go to a high quality show with deep meanings and thought provoking storylines then this definitely is the show for you. However if you wish to go and watch a no story show which needs no brain then you had best stay at home and watch Postman Pat. Definitely one to see that I hope keeps going for years to come. How can we go so far in one night? Go see Miss Saigon, that's how.
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How can we go so far in just one night? Boublil and Schonberg's Miss Saigon (produced by Cameron Mackintosh) is quite simply a masterpiece. It is a show about passion, love and the ultimate sacrifice. I was left so stunned by the nights proceedings, the story, the visuals, the morals that I hardly spoke on the whole 1 and a half hour journey back home.
The story starts off in Saigon at the end of the Vietnam War. Kim an ordinary 17 year old girl has been forced to go and fend for herself because her parents have been killed. She is taken in by 'the Engineer' a local man who runs a prostitute bar. There she meets Chris an American GI who she falls in love with. But before he can get her back to America he is forced to pull out leaving her behind where she bears him a son whom she pledges to give her life for. While in America Chris remarries and after three years hears that Kim is still alive and in Bangkok. He and his wife fly out to Bangkok where Chris' wife confronts Kim and tells her that they cant take the child to America. Kim goes back to her flat and says an emotional goodbye to her son before shooting herself just before Chris gets there to give her son a better life in America.
An impressive set design adds to the effects of the whole piece, from the moving buildings and impressive visual animations you really get the feel that you are in a war torn Saigon in 1975. The helicopter, which you hear fly over the audience before appearing in front of you is cleverly thought out even with the soldiers getting into the helicopter and somehow disappearing behind the projection screen into the chopper. But even harder hitting than all the effects was Ima's performance of Kim, with whom you feel for from the start. As a 17 year old girl who had her life planned for her to be thrown into a world with no parents and no where to go she clearly is uncomfortable being forced into prostitution just so she can live. You really feel for her when she finds happiness with Chris before having it snatched away from her and being left to fend for a son whom she will do anything for. The Engineer, played by Jon Jon Briones, portrays the cheeky character also seeking a better life with so much passion its hard to find a fault. Ramin Karimloo who plays Chris was superb at playing the torn GI stuck in the middle of his two loves. You really go through the emotions in this seamless masterpiece.
At times I felt the music was a bit quiet (even though I was third row from the front) but it was there when it needed to be. If you wish to go to a high quality show with deep meanings and thought provoking storylines then this definitely is the show for you. However if you wish to go and watch a no story show which needs no brain then you had best stay at home and watch Postman Pat. Definitely one to see that I hope keeps going for years to come. How can we go so far in one night? Go see Miss Saigon, that's how.