Thursday 30 October 2014

Miss Saigon

Playing at the Prince Edward Theatre, Miss Saigon follows the life of one seventeen year old girl whose village and family were destroyed during the Vietnam war. After being brought to work for the Engineer, a sleazy Saigon bar manager, she meets Chris, an American GI and the two soon fall in love.

From the team behind Les Miserables, Miss Saigon returns to the West End 25 years after its first appearance in 1989 with Lea Salonga as Kim.

Eva Noblezada, is a fresh faced American actress who makes her debut in this production, very much mirroring the choice for the original Kim. She beautifully portrays youthful innocence yet as the show progresses she grows stronger in her character. Her voice shows just how young she is but this works in her favour as she does not struggle much emotion she puts behind every word.

The Engineer provides the comic relief for this show. The greasy bar owner who pimps out Vietnamese girls to American GIs. The Engineer is obsessed with the 'American dream' and will try at all costs to make his way to America. Played by Jon Jon Briones, his big song The American dream is highly entertaining to watch as he is so disillusioned by the glitz and glamour of his dream.

American GI, Chris, played by Alistair Brammer  often appeared quite reserved in his emotions unless it was anger. Luckily for Brammer he had enough opportunities to act out his anger, most spectacular being while he sang Why God Why? where he starts to realise there is more to Saigon than the war. Without spoiling the plot, there is a certain point at the end of the show where his reaction was not strong enough and needed a lot more power.

Chris' GI friend, John played by, Hugh Maynard is not particularly likable in the first act. John opens the second act with Bui Doi, a song informing an audience of the children affected by a war torn Vietnam. Maynard's take on the song is stunningly chilling and really conveying his pain. This completely redeemed his character from act one.

Another bar girl, Gigi played by Rachelle Ann Go deserves to be acknowledged for her solo in the song The Movie in my Mind. Before seeing Miss Saigon this was a name that was circling around due to the sheer talent in this woman's voice and every word is completely justifiable. An absolutely sensational performance!

Once again Alain Boublil and Claude-Michel SchĂ–nberg team up to create music and lyrics that are simply unforgettable and completely flawless. The choreography is absolutely exquisite too.

Just a wholehearted performance from all the cast and crew!


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