Review by: Paul Towers, 12 July 2017
Miss Saigon by Alain Boublil & Claude-Michel
Schineberg
A Cameron Mackintosh production
Curve 1 – 22 July 2017 and then touring
“a spectacular, romantic story of love against all odds”
I first saw Miss Saigon in the 2014 London revival and, it
has to be said, I was blown away by the spectacle of a show that was firmly ensconced
in a West End theatre. So I was prepared to be a little disappointed by a touring
production. How mistaken was I? This new touring version not only matches the
production values but, dare I say it, exceeds some of them. The role of The
Engineer has been tweaked to make him even more slimy and manipulative. Hats
off to Red Concepcion, who plays him like an immoral MC from Cabaret.
Miss Saigon originally opened in the Drury Lane Theatre in
1989 and was inspired by Puccini’s opera Madam Butterfly. Like the authors’ previous
work, Les Miserables (yet another Cameron Mackintosh production), Miss Saigon
was originally written in French and translated into English.
Set in Saigon as the Vietnam war is closing and US troops
are withdrawing from the country, this is a spectacular love story that is
inevitably doomed for crossing the race divide.
Chris, an American soldier (Ashley Gilmore) tasked with helping to evacuate Saigon, seems
to be above the rampant debauchery of the girls and their pimps trying to
scratch a living and also find a way to get to the promised land of America. A
new virgin, Kim (Sooha Kim), falls into the immoral clutches of The Engineer
(Red Concepcion), so called because he can twist, manipulate and engineer any situation
to his advantage. Naturally the two fall in love, despite the cultural obstacles,
and wed. But Chris is called home and has to leave Kim.
Fast forward three years and Chris has married a white American
girl and is settled into home life. Then his best mate delivers some astonishing
news. Not only is Kim alive but she has Chris’ son. So begins a fight to bring
them both to America, ostensibly to create an extended family.
The set is, I wouldn’t be surprised to find, probably
largely the London set transported to us in the provinces. Most people who know
anything about the production know about the helicopter. In fact it is the
iconic symbol of the show. Well, it flies in just as expected, full size and
able to transport fleeing soldiers. What I had forgotten is the outrageously
camp fantasy sequence, complete with showgirls and a limousine, as The Engineer
dreams of his American Dream.
All in all this is West End/Broadway standard musical
theatre at its very best. It is a spectacular, romantic story of love against
all odds.
Miss Saigon is on at Curve until 22nd July and
then on tour. The rest of the run is completely sold out but any returns are
released on the day only by applying in person at the box office.
If you can’t get to see it at Curve it is on at the
Birmingham Hippodrome from 26 July til 23 September.
First published on Western Gazette
First published on Western Gazette
