Direct from its smash London run, Cameron Mackintosh's stunning new production of Boublil and Schonberg's legendary musical Miss Saigon lands on Broadway in March, 2017, featuring its acclaimed stars Eva Noblezada and Jon Jon Briones.
Set in 1975 during the final days of the American occupation of Saigon, Miss Saigon is an epic love story about the relationship between an American GI and a young Vietnamese woman. Orphaned by war, 17-year-old Kim is forced to work as a bar girl in a sleazy Saigon nightclub, owned by a notorious wheeler-dealer known as "The Engineer." John, an American GI, buys his friend Chris the services of Kim for the night- a night that will change their lives forever.
Don't miss this "thrilling, soaring and spectacular" (The Times of London) musical when it returns to Broadway this spring for a limited engagement.
But then the unrelieved hyper-emphasis of Laurence Connor's direction basically squashes whatever might be good in Miss Saigon. Certainly the rather delicate (if leather-lunged) performance of Eva Noblezada as Kim doesn't get far across the footlights; you can hardly find her half the time. Indeed, none of the signposts and pointers an audience might look to for advice about what's going on work properly: The sound is unspecific, the lighting is overbusy, and the set makes it seem as if everyone in the cast lives in everyone else's hovel. It is only in that Constructivist parade, and a few similar scenes, that the pressure is equalized between the overwrought style of the production and its overwrought content. But it's not a good sign when the most cogent parts of a musical about American perfidy are the ones that borrow a totalitarian aesthetic.
It's not as if such stories don't still have the power to stir suspense and tears. But this eventful, sung-through production out of London, directed by Laurence Connor, feels about as affecting as a historical diorama, albeit a lavishly appointed one. (The lurid postcard set is by Totie Driver and Matt Kinley, from a 'design concept' by Adrian Vaux.) This despite the hard and dedicated work of its earnest cast, which includes a slithery Jon Jon Briones as an enterprising Vietnamese pimp, a dewy Eva Noblezada as a heroic country girl and Alistair Brammer as the American soldier who loves and leaves her. Though it sets off inevitable topical echoes with its tableau of asylum-seeking refugees, the show still mostly comes across as singing scenery.
1989 | West End |
Original London Production West End |
1991 | Broadway |
Broadway Production Broadway |
2002 | US Tour |
Big League Productions US Tour |
2002 | Milburn, NJ (Regional) |
Paper Mill Production Milburn, NJ (Regional) |
2004 | UK Tour |
Touring Revival UK Tour |
2014 | West End |
West End Revival West End |
2017 | Broadway |
Broadway Revival Production Broadway |
2018 | US Tour |
US Tour US Tour |
Year | Ceremony | Category | Nominee |
---|---|---|---|
2017 | BroadwayWorld Awards | Best Featured Actress in a Musical | Rachelle Ann Go |
2017 | BroadwayWorld Awards | Best Revival of a Musical | Miss Saigon |
2017 | BroadwayWorld Awards | Broadway's Backbone Best Musical Ensemble | Miss Saigon |
2017 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Actor in a Musical | Jon Jon Briones |
2017 | Drama League Awards | Distinguished Performance Award | Eva Noblezada |
2017 | Drama League Awards | Outstanding Revival of a Broadway or Off-Broadway Musical | Miss Saigon |
2017 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding Revival of a Musical (Broadway or Off-Broadway) | Miss Saigon |
2017 | Theatre World Awards | Outstanding Broadway or Off-Broadway Debut Performance | Jon Jon Briones |
2017 | Theatre World Awards | Outstanding Broadway or Off-Broadway Debut Performance | Eva Noblezada |
2017 | Tony Awards | Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical | Eva Noblezada |
2017 | Tony Awards | Best Revival of a Musical | Miss Saigon |
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