Likes and Love : Miss Saigon, West End London

Sunday, 19 October 2014

Miss Saigon, West End London

Last night my lovely inlaws took me and the Boy to see Miss Saigon at the Prince Edward Theatre in the West End, something we were keen to see after we saw a snippet of the songs at West End Live (a free day at Trafalgar Square showcasing the top West Ends shows - see my blog here). If you like the music in Les Mis, then I think you'll like Miss Saigon as the music has the similar kind of dramatic, theatrical style of songs.

the legendary Miss Saigon

Seeing as I didn't know the plot at all before going, except that it was based on the Vietnam war, I was surprised (in a good way) about how political, how sad and also how sexually suggestive the show was! But all this combined made it up to be a really great production!

waiting for the show to begin!!!

The essence of the show is the love story between an American marine who falls in love with a Vietnamese prostitute and vows to return to Saigon to bring her back to the USA. However, because no true love story can be without pain and a struggle to return to your loved one, the reunion of the two is not an easy one. I don't want to give anything away for those that haven't seen it, but the ending is certainly not one that I was expecting! This is not your standard happy ending, it is not all sunshine and roses! But because of this, it made it pretty refreshing and keeps the audience on their toes in my view!

Without getting too deep for a Sunday evening, in reflection I was actually really impressed how this musical broached the difficult topic of war, the political sensitivities and how it negatively affects the everyday person. When you think about it, it is actually so so sad how it was the normal citizens who payed the biggest price and sacrifice, including families torn apart.

the Boy always has to get a program!

picture from The Telegraph

Most musicals are generally happy, a love story against all odds or based on fantasy so it was refreshing too see something a little different. The leading lady, Kim, had an amazing voice too and the songs were a mix of upbeat showstoppers (American Dream sung by my favourite character the engineer was my top song) to emotional slow ones. I also loved the scene when the Americans are leaving Vietnam - a mini helicopter actually appeared from the ceiling!