A CurtainUp 
London Review
London ReviewMiss Saigon
by Tim Sealey
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What's that I smell in the air? The American dream. . .— The Engineer
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Alistair Brammer as Chris and Eva Noblezada as Kim (Photo: Michael Le Poer Trench) |
It is rare to be in a theatre with an audience that have seemingly decided on what they think of a show before the curtain has been raised. The Mackintosh machine has managed to create immense hype about the production and even I, whom this show has managed to pass by completely, was taken in by the sheer excitement of the evening.
From the opening number of the 'Heat Is On' we are instantly transported to 1970's Saigon by the breath taking set. Mouth aghast for most of the evening, one will be reminded of what British theatre can achieve in both scale and quality. Yes, this show will have a huge production budget and quite literally an army of a production team but regardless of what one thinks of the show itself, the persistent round of applause that will accompany every little moment on stage has been pretty well earned by cast and crew alike.
Jon Jon Briones sparkles as the Engineer, the compere and light relief to the proceedings. His main numbers 'If You Want To Die In Bed' and 'The American Dream' are both excruciatingly catchy but are some of the most grandly staged and amusing. Eva Noblezada is mesmeric as Kim, the tragic heroine who is left by her husband Chris (Alistair Brammer) when he is evacuated from the war. Noblezada's voice has a beautiful and heart breaking quality and out of the chaos we are treated to lingering moments of retrospection through songs like 'I'd Give My Life To You' and 'Little God Of My Heart'.
This is an epic production with even the famous helicopter making quite a jaw dropping appearance for the evacuation scene. Due to its enormity though we never really fully engage with the story and the characters and they all get a little dwarfed by the magnitude of the staging. The concept of Miss Saigon still manages to be relevant with the inevitable comparisons but although you may be blown into a state of astonishment by the spectacle, not much will cause a lasting effect on the soul.
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| Miss Saigon
Music by Claude-Michel Schonberg Lyrics by Alain Boublil and Richard Maltby Jnr Produced by Cameron Mackintosh Directed by Laurence Connor Designed by Totie Driver and Matt Kinley Starring: Jon Jon Briones, Eva Noblezada, Alistair Brammer, Tamsin Carroll, With: Natalie Chua, Jon-Scott Clark, Callum Francis, Ashley Gilmour, Julia Abueva, Dale Evans, Hugh Maynard, Kwang-Ho Hong, Rachelle Ann Go, Jenny Ding, Maria Graciano, Simon Hardwick, Matthew Jeans, Kurt Kansley, Ela Lisondra, Mitch Leow, Jack Harrison Cooper, Kittiphun Kittipakapom, David Kar-Hing Lee, Carolyn Maitland, Tanya Manalang, Thao Nguyen, Saori Oda, Christian Rey Marbella, Kanako Nakano, Ariel Reonal, Jon Reynolds, Niall Sheehy, Marsha Songcome, Thao Vilayvong, Amadeus Williams, Romeo Salazar, Jordan Shaw, Kerry Spark, Eloisa Amalia Tan, Gerald Zarcilla Choreography: Bob Avian Lighting: Bruno Poet Musical Director: Alfonso Casado Trigo Sound: Mick Potter Running time: Two hours and 40 minutes with a 15-minute interval Box Office: 0844 826 4242 Booking to 25thApril 2015 Reviewed by Tim Newns based on 22nd May 2014 production at the Prince Edward Theatre, Old Compton St,W1D 4HS |
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Musical Numbers
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Act One
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Act Two
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