Miss Saigon

Miss Saigon is a musical by Claude-Michel Schönberg and Alain Boublil. It premiered at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, in London on 20 September 1989, closing after 4264 performances on 30 October 1999. On 11 April 1991, it opened at the Broadway Theatre in New York, again running for over 4000 performances.

Plot summary

Miss Saigon is a 'modern' adaptation of Puccini's "Madame Butterfly." The setting is often said to be the Vietnam War, but in actuality the events center more on post-war Vietnam. The story takes place during 1975 and 1978, and as such the war is only referred to as a past event.

Related Topics:
Puccini - Madame Butterfly - Vietnam War - Vietnam - 1975 - 1978

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The show was inspired by a photograph inadvertently found by Schönberg in a magazine of a Vietnamese mother leaving her child at a departure gate at Tan Son Nhat Airport to board a plane for the United States of America where her father, an ex-GI, would be in a position to provide a much better life.

Related Topics:
Tan Son Nhat Airport - United States of America - GI

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The plot is based on this real-life episode, and tells the story of Chris an American GI who meets Kim, a beautiful, war orphan Vietnamese prostitute in a Saigon brothel. The two have a reluctant sexual encounter, but end up falling in love despite their initial apprehension. Chris is eventually forced to return to the United States and during the next three years the two struggle to deal with the emotional aftermath of their affair.

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Simultaneously the plot follows the adventures of Tran, a Vietnamese pimp and Kim's boss who is refered to as the Engineer. Tran dreams of moving to the United States and living the American dream, but after the war ends his ambitions are crushed under Vietnam's new Communist government.

Related Topics:
Pimp - Communist

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Lea Salonga originally starred as Kim, with Simon Bowman as GI Chris. There was a controversy when the production transferred from the West End to Broadway when Actors' Equity refused to allow Jonathan Pryce, the white British actor who had played the Engineer, to recreate the role because "it would be an affront to the Asian community". However, after pressure from the producer Cameron Mackintosh, the general public, and many of its own members, Actors' Equity was forced to reverse its decision, and Pryce starred alongside Salonga and Willy Falk (as Chris) when the show opened.

Related Topics:
Lea Salonga - West End - Broadway - Actors' Equity - Jonathan Pryce - Asian - Cameron Mackintosh

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