Having at last caught up with Miss Saigon I feel compelled to add my own accolade to the critical record. It is another astonishingly accomplished production from Wellington Musical Theatre.

The strong and compelling story captures a key moral aspect of the Vietnam war: the issue of children fathered by American servicemen. The staging brilliantly evokes Saigon, Bangkok and middle America. Musically it is superbly served by the Vector Wellington Orchestra under the baton of Michael Nicholas Williams and the entire cast, directed by Grant Meese.

Ivy Rose Padilla makes an astounding debut as Kim, living every emotional moment with great authenticity. Matthew Pike’s Chris fully personifies the emotional naivety of a young soldier. Bothe he and Kim compel our empathy as they confront their moral dilemmas.

As John, Chris Crowe offers as strong a moral anchor as an American soldier in that appalling war can hope to muster. The all male a cappella opening to Act Two, ‘Bui Doi’, led by John, is unforgettable.

In total contrast character-wise, Waylon Edwards’ The Engineer perfectly captures the moral corruption endemic in occupied states. His evocation of ‘The American Dream’ is another high point, as is the stunning staging with red flags and a dragon after the fall on Saigon, now Ho Chi Minh City (choreographer Leigh Evans).

Gemma Boyle (Emma) and David Hoskins (Thuy) complete the impeccable line up of principles – along with the little boy, Tam (shared by three lads) – and the hard-working Company once more impresses hugely with their singing, dancing and acting skills.

Special mention to the follow-spot operators, Adam Harrison and Raewyn Mills, who (on Thursday night anyway) flawlessly held the principles in pinspots throughout, amid Paul O’Brien’s excellent lighting design.

I continue to be amazed at Wellington Musical Theatre’s capacity to stage works of this scale. The many challenges of Miss Saigon are met with alacrity.
_______________________________
For more production details, click on the title above. Go to Home page to see other Reviews, recent Comments and Forum postings (under Chat Back), and News. 

Copyright © in the review belongs to the reviewer

Based on Puccini’s Madame Butterfly, Miss Saigon premiered 21 years ago. It’s easy to see the reasons for the show’s longevity and appeal.

In Saigon, American marines are letting off steam. The US involvement in Vietnam is drawing to a close and the soldiers are enjoying themselves in a club in the Saigon red light district. A ‘Pretty Woman’ scenario is soon established when jaded GI Chris falls for new girl Kim.

The less than willing Kim appears to have been taken from her village and enlisted as a prostitute with the French-Vietnamese pimp known as The Engineer. So when Kim falls for Chris too, the phrase ‘Stockholm Syndrome’ flashes through my mind. And for all his protests, Chris doesn’t seem to put up too much protest about buying this seventeen year old virgin.

The storyline soon moves into darker and more complicated territory, particularly in the second act, from which there is a genuine “what if” sense of tension created.

The lead performers are harmoniously matched. Ivy Rose Padilla as Kim, and Matthew Pike as Chris, are particularly good. The same is true of Gemma Boyle as Ellen and Chris Crowe as John. Waylon Edwards is a little harsh as The Engineer, but it is difficult to know whether this is his singing style or if he has been directed to deliver his vocals in a more aggressive fashion.

The cast are well directed and choreographed by, respectively, Grant Messe and Leigh Evans. It’s a large cast and the volume provides a great visual texture for the large numbers. The music is delivered by the Vector Wellington Orchestra with direction from Michael Nicholas Williams.

From the simple combination of elegance and function in the authentically styled wooden buildings, to the wow factor produced by the helicopter, the sets are very impressive. The set manages to bring in several surprises, provoking an audible “ooh” from the audience on numerous occasions. Wellington set designer John Hodgkins is credited with Additional Set Design and it would be interesting to know how much of the set design is predefined and how much is his original work.

Watching a show of this magnitude and quality so soon after the International Arts Festival, one might be tempted to assume this was an overseas show being hosted at the St James Theatre. Not so – the cast and crew are all either from or have settled in New Zealand. This is a local production of a globally successful blockbuster with top production values.
_______________________________
For more production details, click on the title above. Go to Home page to see other Reviews, recent Comments and Forum postings (under Chat Back), and News. 

Copyright © in the review belongs to the reviewer

After successfully staging Les Miserables a few years ago Wellington Musical Theatre has triumphed with the staging of another multi-million-dollar-blockbusting-award-winning-mega-hit-sung-through pop opera.

Miss Saigon is a bit of a hybrid.It grew out of a mix of Pierre Loti’s Madame Chrysantheme, Puccini’s Madama Butterfly, and a story by John Luther Long which David Belasco turned into a melodrama, Madame Butterfly, in 1900. The melodrama is still there.

But it would appear that the hybrid is more than just East meets West as seen by Western romantics but it is also a Broadway hybrid with songs and scenes reminiscent of Oliver! amongst others but  mainly becausethe most interesting character in the show, Engineer (Waylon Edwards),  is remarkably like the sleazy Emcee in Cabaret.

His final big number, American Dream, though lacking the razor sharp power of the Emcee’s songs in Cabaret is still a good old-fashioned musical number instead of the repetitive pop opera music that pervades Miss Saigon.

Schonberg’s overpowering music inflates everything into portentous arias which all end with thumping great climactic chords and long-held notes that become tiring after a while. And so scenes that need quiet and true emotional currents are drowned out by very loud music.

And there are scenes that would be laughed at if they were played in a spoof of Victorian melodrama, while the syrupy lyrics were best described in the satirical Forbidden Broadway in its take-off of a song from Miss Saigon, ‘You are Hallmark/I postcard.’

However, the staging of the climactic helicopter rescue at the U.S. Embassy is excitingly done as is the dragon dance and the military precision of the North Vietnamese soldiers. And the performances, when not going over the top because of the demands of the music are well done, particularly Matthew Pike’s likeable Chris and Ivy Rose Padilla’s appealing Kim who avoids playing her as a poor pathetic waif but makes her a strong woman surviving in a terrible war until her son is taken away from her.

This Miss Saigon is magnificently staged, well performed, but it’s a pity about the music which doesn’t have anything like the appeal of the stirring songs that enlivened Les Miserables.
_______________________________
For more production details, click on the title above. Go to Home page to see other Reviews, recent Comments and Forum postings (under Chat Back), and News. 

Copyright © in the review belongs to the reviewer