"BENVENUTO ALLA MIA PAGINA" - Pensieri Del Panda

Miss. Saigon is quite a 'heavy' musical, not one I would recommend for young kids (swearing, murder, suicide, skimpy costumes) or for casual fans. It is a "through-composed" musical, which means there is no spoken dialogue, everything is conveyed through song.

The musical is set in the 1970s Vietnam war, beginning in Saigon April 1975, just before the American forces leave the country. We return to the same city - now renamed Ho Chi Minh City - three years later to pick up on the story and the first act ends there. The second act begins with a brief number set in the USA in 1978, then most of the action takes place in Bangkok in October 1978 - apart from one flashback section to 1975.

The story (based on Madame Butterfly) is basically a tragic romance. An American G.I. called Chris meets Kim, a Vietnamese prostitute and they fall in love. But the war forces them apart, only to meet again three years later, when their lives have both changed. I don't want to go into any more detail on this, in case it gives too much away. It might lessen the impact, if you already know what happens.

Miss. Saigon is probably best known for its inclusion of a helicopter coming down onto the stage and taking off again. Rather disappointingly, this production didn't use a real helicopter but instead opted to achieve the effect by using film of a helicopter accompanied by visual and sound effects.

In every other aspect though, the staging and set were excellent. The gaudy and vulgar sets of the seedy bars were an impressive contrast to the dark grey sets of the drab streets. Light and dark, colours and grey were all used effectively. The large red flags of the military parade and the paper dragons provided good 'pointers' to the tone of the scene.

The set I was most impressed with was during the flashback sequence in the second act. The changing position of the high gates to the American Embassy in Saigon were moved around the stage, enabling the audience to feel as though they were inside then outside, emphasizing with the viewpoints of both the American military and the Vietnamese people screaming for help.

Overall, everything about the show was top-notch: the actors, the costumes, the lighting, the sound, music, and technical presentations. The video of a helicopter landing and taking off is one of the most spectacular things you'll see in a stage production.