Miss Saigon Review: Frustrating At Times, But Still One Of The Best Musicals
A new production of award-winning musical, Miss Saigon, has arrived in Singapore!
Presented in Singapore by Base Entertainment Asia in association with GWB Entertainment, Miss Saigon will play at Sands Theatre, Marina Bay Sands from now till 29 September 2024.
This musical has quite the reputation, winning Olivier Awards and Tony Awards, bringing Broadway legend Lea Salonga to the limelight, and regarded by many musical buffs as one of the greatest musicals of all time since its West End debut in 1989. After seeing it, I can see just why. Miss Saigon is the must-watch musical of 2024 in Singapore. Despite some problematic parts, it really is a complete triumph.
The Music
Photo from Daniel Boud
Miss Saigon has a heart-achingly beautiful and powerful score reminiscent of Les Misérables' music, and that's because they're both by the same composer, Claude-Michel Schönberg. Lyrics are by Richard Maltby, Jr. and Alain Boublil, adapted from original French lyrics by Alain Boublil, with additional lyrics by Michael Mahler.
Several songs from Miss Saigon, like Sun and Moon, are already in my Spotify playlist and has gotten plenty of play for years. Experiencing it on stage, however, with live singing accompanied by swelling music from a 17-piece orchestra, was transcendent.
Photo from Daniel Olivier
The Production
The music was enriched by an immersive visual spectacle that is the outstanding stage production. From start to finish, every single moment was captivating. It sucked me right into 70s Saigon with intricate sets and costumes, atmospheric lighting effects, dramatic transitions, and some impressive props that had me making the shocked Pikachu face.
Photo from Daniel Boud
Bringing the production to even greater heights was the talented cast including the charismatic Seann Miley Moore livening the stage with unhinged chaos as the Engineer, Nigel Huckle who portrays the unsympathetic Chris with surprising complexity, and Sarah Morrison who creates so much depth to her character, Ellen, in just one ballad. But the shining star of the ensemble was Abigail Adriano who gave such a raw performance as the tragic heroine, Kim, I was fighting back tears and left the theatre pondering her fate as if she was an actual person. The Filipino-Australian actor is only 19 years old and yet seems well beyond her age as she brings Kim to life through every stage from innocent girlhood to desperation and quiet strength in motherhood.
Photo from Daniel Boud
The Storyline
The storyline is the only part that doesn't get a 10 out of 10 from me. Set during the Vietnam War in the 70s, Miss Saigon recounts the life a 17-year-old Vietnamese prostitute, Kim, who falls in love with an American soldier, Chris.
It's based on and follows very similar beats to Giacomo Puccini's opera, Madame Butterfly, so it's doomed to have the same issues. Madame Butterfly has an irritating plot line that reeks of outdated ideals and a female protagonist who might as well be a piece of furniture, but the Miss Saigon musical, it's an improvement on it. Unlike in the opera, Kim is a fully realised character with her own agency, morals and values. She's vulnerable, but not a damsel in distress trope. She may have hopes for a better life with Chris, but he's portrayed as a genuine love interest and not her saviour.
Photo from Daniel Boud
There were only a few eyebrow-raising moments. One was when it was revealed that Kim could have avoided a life of prostitution by marrying her fiancé but chose not to, because it makes sense for a girl to reject a life of dehumanisation and abuse by one man and instead go for a life of dehumanisation and abuse by thousands of men. Another was when Chris had his PTSD nightmare moment. Good for him, but it's unfortunate that a PTSD scene was given only to him and not a single Vietnamese civilian character. Kim does get a trauma sequence, but it wasn't about the horrors she suffered in the war or about being a prostitute when she was barely (or not at all?) out of childhood. It was about *rolls eyes* Chris, being separated from him and her subconscious fear of abandonment by him via ghost of ex-fiancé.
My final gripe was with the first number in Act Two, when American soldiers sang about the children they fathered in Vietnam. Their performance was accompanied by a screened montage of children which was a touch heavy-handed. But what irked me was how the depiction of these soldiers was skewed positive, even somewhat honourable. It's a bombastic anthem that cues the audience to feel moved, and many of them did as they applauded. Meanwhile, I was recoiling in my seat at the thought of how some of these children might have been conceived; We know what happens to women and girls when their land is invaded. Let's say that war crime does not exist in the Miss Saigon universe. Well, the song is still uncomfortable because the musical spells this out: during the war, Vietnamese women and girls like Kim were forced into prostitution for survival. So, these soldiers invaded a country, left its girls little choice but to become sex workers, impregnated them, and then went on with their lives while the mothers and their mixed raced kids lived in suffering. But wait, they sang a song about how it's totally not fair and that they feel really bad about it, and thus we're supposed to clap for them? Food for thought.
That said, Miss Saigon ultimately did one major thing right: underline the terrifying consequences of war for the innocent Vietnamese civilians. The heavier themes were also deftly balanced with lighthearted moments and even comedic scenes without it feeling jarring.
In summary, watching Miss Saigon is like listening to your dear ol' granddad tell a riveting story. Sure, it's told through a traditional lens, but you understand he's a product of his time. His story is just too good and told so brilliantly that you get swept along for the ride and leave wanting to hear it again. Putting politics aside, this was hands-down one of the best musicals I've seen.
You might agree, or not, but you'll definitely enjoy it! Miss Saigon will show at Sands Theatre from now till 29 September 2024. Book your tickets on klook.com, marinabaysands.com or sistic.com.sg from $60.
P.S.: Have you heard? WICKED The Musical is coming to Singapore in 2025.
