MISS SAIGON  by Carol Kaufman Segalchris

           

Miss Saigon, a musical by Claude-Michel Schonberg and Alain Boublil with lyrics by Boublil and Richard Maltby Jr. is playing at the Pantages Theatre in Hollywood.  Based on Puccini’s opera Madame Butterfly, the story is very similar only it is set in another country and another time.

            

The play begins in Saigon, April, 1975, near the end of the Vietnamese war in a brothel run by a disreputable pimp known as The Engineer (Red Concepcion).   Kim (Emily Bautista) a young South Vietnamese girl who lost her family in the war, is forced to work for the Engineer.  She appears uneasy and frightened.  Of the many G.I.’s at the brothel, Chris (Anthony Festa) appears depressed, triggering his friend, G.I. John (J. Daughtry) to buy a night for him to spend with Kim. 

           

By morning, Chris is deeply in love with Kim and, suddenly, they join in a ceremonial wedding which is interrupted by Kim’s beau, Thuy (Jinwoo Jung).  Thuy is made to leave as the ceremony is concluded, and the two lovers make their plans for their future.    

           

Suddenly, it is April, 1978, the war is over, North and South Vietnam are under communist rule, and Saigon is now Ho Chi Minh City.  The Engineer no longer runs a brothel but when Thuy, who has become a man of power, asks him to find Kim for him, he discovers her living on the street.  Thuy proposes marriage, having never forgotten her.  But no matter what he offers, she refuses, even when he threatens her. 

           

Finally, Kim tells Thuy that she will never forsake Chris, because she has his child, their son Tam (Adalynn Ng, open night, shared by Tyler Dunn, Haven Je, Fin Molding).  When Thuy threatens to kill Tam, Kim shoots Thuy.  The Engineer is privy to everything that has occurred and offers his help to Kim and Tam, not for their sake, but hopefully, to find his “ticket” to America through Chris.

           

Chris had returned alone to America and married Ellen (Stacie Bono), a lovely young woman.  To offer the results of their visit back to Ho Chi Minh would be a disservice to anyone by revealing the outcome of that visit.  However, those who are cognoscente of Madame Butterfly, most likely have a good idea of the outcome of this heart breaking tragic story.    

            

The music in this production, though not memorable, is superb and certainly adds to the story, all performed with wonderful voices by the cast of this outstanding national touring company, directed by Lawrence Conner, adapted from the original French text by Alain Boublil, with additional lyrics by Michael Mahler.  

            

Miss Saigon plays Tuesdays and Fridays at 8 PM, Saturdays at 2 PM and 8 PM, and Sundays at 1 PM and 6:30 PM, at the Pantages Theatre, 6233 Hollywood Blvd., Los Angeles through August 11.  Tickets are available online at HollywoodPantagees.com.  For more information, call (800) 982-2787.

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