I seem to have developed a bad habit of procrastinating until the last minute to see Broadway shows, barely squeezing them in before they close. That was the case for Les Mis, American in Paris, and now again for Miss Saigon. Well, better late than never.
Unlike many of the other musicals I've seen, I was not too familiar with either the music or the story of Miss Saigon initially -- I never played any of the music in high school orchestra, and the story is not widely referenced or known in pop culture. However, a good friend of mine walked down the aisle to an instrumental version of "Sun and Moon" a few years ago, and I immediately fell in love. I became even more obsessed when I learned that Queen Lea Salonga was the original Kim.
Here, just listen:
You're welcome.
Anyway, long story short, I was super ecstatic when about a year ago, I saw signs in Times Square announcing the return of Miss Saigon to Broadway. I foolishly thought I'd have a lot of time to go see it; fast forward a year later...I found out the show's ending in January 2018 and then scrambled to get tickets.
Miss Saigon is one of those shows where there aren't that many songs (rather, many songs are based on just a few of the same melodies/themes), but they're all beautiful and lyrical and touching and emotionally charged, whether it's a sweet love song or an angry fight. I enjoyed the show just for the experience of listening to the music and didn't even care that the current cast may not all be the strongest singers (then again, who can compare to Lea?). Some of my friends felt that there wasn't much plot or character development in the first act (there isn't; you just jump in and assume the love story is a given), but the second act makes up for some of the plot holes, and I think you still go on an emotional journey with the characters if you just accept the plot line.
Overall, I'm so glad I managed to see it. For those in NYC, you have about another month before the show ends here, and then it's going on a national tour for those of you in the rest of the U.S.
Unlike many of the other musicals I've seen, I was not too familiar with either the music or the story of Miss Saigon initially -- I never played any of the music in high school orchestra, and the story is not widely referenced or known in pop culture. However, a good friend of mine walked down the aisle to an instrumental version of "Sun and Moon" a few years ago, and I immediately fell in love. I became even more obsessed when I learned that Queen Lea Salonga was the original Kim.
Here, just listen:
You're welcome.
Anyway, long story short, I was super ecstatic when about a year ago, I saw signs in Times Square announcing the return of Miss Saigon to Broadway. I foolishly thought I'd have a lot of time to go see it; fast forward a year later...I found out the show's ending in January 2018 and then scrambled to get tickets.
Miss Saigon is one of those shows where there aren't that many songs (rather, many songs are based on just a few of the same melodies/themes), but they're all beautiful and lyrical and touching and emotionally charged, whether it's a sweet love song or an angry fight. I enjoyed the show just for the experience of listening to the music and didn't even care that the current cast may not all be the strongest singers (then again, who can compare to Lea?). Some of my friends felt that there wasn't much plot or character development in the first act (there isn't; you just jump in and assume the love story is a given), but the second act makes up for some of the plot holes, and I think you still go on an emotional journey with the characters if you just accept the plot line.
Overall, I'm so glad I managed to see it. For those in NYC, you have about another month before the show ends here, and then it's going on a national tour for those of you in the rest of the U.S.
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