Miss Saigon - Theatre Royal / Prince Edward / UK Tour

If anyone can no longer make closing night, happy to buy their ticket

I will really miss the show. London won't be quite the same without it.

Saw the show on Saturday afternoon. In extremely good shape - went with someone who had never seen it and knew little about it - she was absolutely bowled over with it and found it highly intense and emotional - as anyone with a heart should!!

Enjoyed seeing it in the Circle - although the helicopter scene is less effective up there (let's say some stage trickery is more visible!)

I thought the performances were marvellous.

Got to see JJB for the first time since the 2nd UK Tour! He is phenomenally good - so nuanced and a complete understanding of the light and shade of the role. Just a shame he has such a lisp!!

2nd understudy Sooha Kim was on. I thought she was mostly great. Her lack of experience did show but in some ways this enhanced her performance and felt more real than "acted" (much like Bjork in Dancer In The Dark) - the innocence and rawness really shone through. Her accent was strong though - it was the first time I'd heard Kim performed by a non Filipina in all the times I've seen it. SO used to that slightly American twang. Interesting - it made Kim seem more "foreign" - which is a good thing for the story and the perception, but it was sometimes at the cost of diction - especially on the faster and/or more emotionally charged parts of the libretto.

This was worse for the Thuy - I could barely understand a word he sung! Why would anyone cast someone who doesn't have clear enough diction to be heard in a highly amplified, sung-through musical?!? It seems ridiculous. His acting carried him well, but honestly, for anyone not knowing the lyrics, it would simply have been guesswork 90% of the time!!

Loved the Chris much more than ol' Brammer Balls! Better in every way! Stick to Casualty luvvie!
A greater presence, a richer voice and more chemistry with Kim.

Understudy was on for Ellen - even she was better than the woefully miscast Tamsin Carroll - nicer costumes too.

One thing my friend asked, which I couldn't answer clearly: in the final deal, were Chris and Ellen fully prepared to take Tam AND Kim with them? Genuinely? Surely not The Engineer too? (I thought he was rather deluded on that one)

Perhaps I have forgotten little strands of the plot but I haven't been able to quite piece out the final plan...

It is a wonderful show and such a shame it didn't have the legs to make it to a significant run in it's revival.

My theory is tonally it is out of step with the current zeitgeist of light hearted, non-dramatic, fluffy family-friendly musicals...

My understanding from the lyrics:

Ellen: If it were only Tam I'd take him now. He is your child we'd make it work somehow. But Chris she still loves you, how can I have her near?

Tam only - easy solution. Tam and Kim - no go. They decide to leave them both in Bangkok and support them there.

Kim recognises this having met Ellen, hence the tragic ending that gets me absolutely every time!

This always confuses me a bit. That was exactly Kim's plan.
5 minutes before, Kim asks Ellen: "You must take Tam with you". And then Ellen says "NO, can't you see, it won't work, it can't be". 

And a minute later, when Chris comes in, she says "If it was only Tam I'd take him".

Well, why didn't you say so to Kim? Then she wouldn't have killed herself.

Thanks for your review!

Totally agree the show is better from the stalls, especially the helicopter scene. I sat in J of dress circle on my third visit and noticed how much less intimate the show is.

I personally prefer all the original cast, except Ellen (the current Ellen is fantastic IMO). I think Chris Peluso is adequate, but vocally and acting-wise weaker than Alistair Brammar, and I think he lacks chemistry with Eva. I don't think it helps that he's extremely tall, and both Eva and Tanya need to reach upwards to kiss him, making those scenes a little hard to believe.

No, I don't think that's it at all. It's 'if it was only Tam we'd take him now' - but it's not only Tam, there's Kim too. They refuse to take Tam and separate him from his mother ('take a child from his mother, impossible, Kim').

So when both Kim and Tam are on the scene, they refuse to separate them, they refuse to take them both to America, so both of them have to stay in Bangkok and be supported there. So Kim takes herself out of the equation, meaning that is *is* only Tam, so Chris and Ellen will take him.

I agree on the accent. His vocals are fine, but nothing that can't be matched locally. Not sure why they decided with such a far away import. His predocessor, though, despite having an accent, was absolutely phenomenal. His voice was quite unbelievable. 

In terms of portrayal, Thuy was clearly the "bad guy" antagonist in the 80s version. I think they really needed to box people into categories back then, and he certainly fit the bill as the harsh, Asian baddie. In this version though, it shows you how he truly loves Kim and how conflicted he is about some of his choices (before he attempts to murder Tam, he closes his eyes and is shocked at his own actions, as if he really does not want to do this). This makes the scene even more tragic, as you feel bad for both her and Kim for having gone through this. 

Thuy is actually by far my favorite character in the show, and has some of the best musical moments in the score. 

I saw Ethan Le Pong (2nd understudy) as Thuy, who was average, which is a shame because he actually has a great voice in other things I've seen him in, but I think he was holding back here. Christian Ray Marbella was the understudy for a while, and he was absolutely unbelievlby horrible. Like a male sounding Angela Lansbury. 

So basically Kim and Ellen agree to take Tam to America, it's only Chris who goes against these 2 ladies

Does anyone happen to know if they're still doing day seats? A friend has asked me to check! Many thanks

Thanks done it before just wasn't sure if they'd stopped with it closing soon.