Miss Saigon @ The Grand Opera House Review

‘Miss Saigon’ was in the Grand Opera House since the 10th of March, and its final performance was on 21st March.

I was lucky enough to get tickets to go and see it on the 20th of March, so in this blog, I’m going to review it.

Set during the end of the Vietnam War and its aftermath, ‘Miss Saigon’ begins during a Friday night in April 1975.
Following the story of Chris, an American male G1, who takes pity on a young Vietnamese orphan called Kim, who works as a bar-girl and prostitute, and later falls in love with her, they later get married in a civil ceremony, but are later separated. But after Chris is evacuated out of Vietnam, without fulfilling his promise that he will bring Kim over to America, Kim doesn’t give up hope.
Hanging on to hope that she and Chris will reunite, Kim later gives birth to Chris’s child, who she names Tam, and raises by herself. Meanwhile, the Vietcong take over Saigon, and Chris, presuming Kim dead, moves on and marries an American woman called Ellen.
Years later, the story shifts to Bangkok, where Kim flees to in hopes of a better life for her and her son, with help from the Engineer who owned the club she used to perform at at the beginning of the show. But despite hardship and pressure, she still remains devoted to Chris and refuses to give up hope.
When Chris begins to grapple with his unresolved guilt and memories of the war and learns that Kim may still be alive and he might have a son, he is told he must go to Bangkok so that he and Kim can decide how best his bui-doi son can be supported and raised.
When they finally reunite, Kim is overjoyed, believing Chris has come to Bangkok to bring her and Tam to America. However, she is later left heartbroken once she discovers Chris is in fact married and has built a new life with Ellen.
Coming to the reality that she must make a difficult decision, Kim ensures Tam will have a better and safe future in America with his father, even if she cannot be part of it. In the final scene, we witness her handing Tam off to his father, before taking her own life, and dying in Chris’s arms.

The cast included:

• Seann Miley Moore as The Engineer.
• Aaron Teoh as The Engineer (Understudy)
• Julianne Pundan as Kim.
• Bea Ward as Kim (understudy).
• Jack Cane as Chris.
• Daniel J Brian as Chris (Understudy).
• Dom Heartly-Harris as John.
• Emily Langham as Ellen.
• Mikko Juan as Thuy.
• Thao Therese Nguyen as Gigi.
• Jamil Abbasi as Ensemble.
• Aaron Aisoni as Ensemble.
• Ann-Marie Craine as Ensemble.
• Luoran Ding as Swing.
• Ben Fenwick as Ensemble.
• Arron Gonzalez as Ensemble.
• Owen Johnston as Ensamble.
• Caleb Lagayan as Ensemble.
• Rayhan Lee as Ensemble.
• Zina Lin as Ensemble.
• James Mateo-Salt as Ensemble.
• Shania Montevalde as Ensemble.
• Ryan Ocampo as Swing.
• Riko Nakazono as Ensemble.
• Juliius Sahr as Ensemble.
• Tonny Shim as Swing.
• Kerry Spark as Swing.
• Aimee Sue as Swing.
• Carmen Zhu as Ensemble.

So what did I think of the performance overall?

Well, I loved the realistic graphics, animations, videos of soldiers marching, costumes and set design that filled the stage, and I feel like all of these elements combined transformed the audience back through history. I was especially blown away with how realistic the gun fire / smoke was, as it really made you feel like it was about to come out to the audience and cover you.

The lighting was also really emotive, whether it be the deep red lighting of the bar, the calm lighting of houses, or the dramatic lighting I saw during the flashback to when Chris was evacuated and lifted out of Vietnam, while other women and wives were left behind.

But despite all of this, nothing compares to the top level singing, acting and overall skill portrayed by the actors, whether in emotional scenes, dramatic scenes or other humorous ones.

Bea Ward was amazing as Kim, and she played the role with such might that I could feel the tension she felt in every scene

Likewise, I also loved how Daniel J Brian played Chris, and how every other actor or actress also attracted the same emotions.

However, the performance of the actor who played Tam was also exceptional, especially for a boy who looked from where I was sitting to be so young.

So overall, I would rate the entire performance and production 10 stars, even if I did take the ending as a bit of a shock, because I hadn’t had time to read up on it first for various reasons.

It is definitely not at the top of my favourite performances I’ve seen live, and I would happily go to see it again.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️