Posts with the label miss saigon
Showing posts with label miss saigon. Show all posts
Showing posts with label miss saigon. Show all posts
Monday, 14 May 2018
Miss Saigon, Palace Theatre, Manchester (UK Tour) | Review
Miss Saigon (UK Tour)
Palace Theatre
Reviewed on Thursday 10th May 2018 by Olivia Mitchell
★★★★★
Boublil and Schönberg's Miss Saigon is one of my all time favourite musicals. I saw the show twice at the Prince Edward theatre and have watched the 25th Anniversary film countless times. The stunning music, moving story and all round spectacle, makes it one of the most emotive, moving and timeless musicals.
Telling the story of 17 year-old Kim, this classic musical set during the Vietnam War, is a story of love, pain and heartache. After watching her village burn, Kim is forced to accept a job in a Brothel, run by the Engineer. There she meets Chris, a GI, and their doomed romance begins.
Adapted from Puccini's opera, Madame Butterfly, this features one of the most swooping and virtuosic scores. Boublil and Schönberg's music draws you in from the opening notes and perfectly accompanies the high emotion and mental state of the characters. Expertly played by the outstanding orchestra, it's a complete and utter joy to hear the intricately stunning music live. The orchestrations are worth the ticket price alone.
At this performance the role of Kim was played by alternate, Joreen Bautista who's natural youth and vulnerability shines through from the moment she steps on stage. Vocally she is extremely strong but there were a few times where I was longing for just a bit more oomph. However, there's no denying that Joreen is a star in the making and at only 17 I'm sure she has an amazing theatrical career ahead of her. Kim's love interest, Chris, is played by Ashley Gilmour who is perfectly torn in the role. Ashley's vocals are outstanding, especially his performance of Why God Why? The two have great chemistry with one another and bounce off each other throughout the whirlwind romance.
Ryan O'Gorman plays Chris' fellow GI and later on crusader for the Bui Doi, John. Again the duo have a clear chemistry and genuinely seem like very close friends. Ryan's vocals are supremely strong and his character development throughout is fantastically clear and well thought out.
As the infamous engineer, Red Concepción is wonderful. His constant transitions from friendly to evil, mean you can never decide whether he's a 'goodie' or a 'baddie'. Red has perfectly mastered the humourous side of the role and has balanced it well with the mean, calculating side to create a well-rounded, multi-layered character. His performance of The American Dream is one of the most memorable theatrical experiences.
The supporting cast are equally as impressive, Gerald Santos as Thuy, Aicelle Santos as Gigi and Elana Martin as Ellen do a wonderful job of progressing the story, emoting their scenes and delivering stellar vocals.
Miss Saigon is musical theatre at it's best. A direct transfer from Broadway, this touring production has lost none of it's sparkle and is full of so many intricacies that the experience is visceral and moving.
Miss Saigon begins a 6 week run at the Bristol Hippodrome from May 16th.
photo credit: Johan Persson
Friday, 14 October 2016
Miss Saigon: 25th Anniversary Performance (film) | Review
Movie musicals often get a bad rap and with some previously released ones its not surprising, so I was cautious about how the spectacle that is Miss Saigon would translate to film. Before watching the movie I thought that a production as big as this could only really be experienced live in the flesh... I was wrong. This is a momentous and immersive triumph like no movie musical I've seen before.
Universals HD recording brings every moment of Miss Saigon to life; we hear the background conversations and see all the facial expressions which could easily be missed live at the Prince Edward Theatre. Every breath, song and moment of choreography is perfectly framed with a mix of close-ups and wide angles making the whole production visually stunning. Every magical feature of Bruno Poet's lighting design and Totie Driver and Matt Kingley's fantastic set design is highlighted and glorified.
The whole thing isn't just watching a musical filmed live from a theatre, its a cinematic experience where one feels truly immersed in the production and can relate and attach to the characters even more. I truly have no faults with this film and for the majority of it being filmed in front of a live audience on one night, its really mind boggling how perfect the team have managed to make it!
Of course a review of Miss Saigon would not be complete without mentioning the insane talents of the cast. Although I saw this cast twice live at the theatre, I was even more in awe of their talents watching this recording. The extreme close ups show every emotion that crosses their faces and you can truly see how much they commit making their characters as realistic and provocative as possible.
Eva Noblezada's voice as Kim is just on another level; it actually depresses me how young and talented she is and I can only dream of being so flawless one day. Every note that comes out of her mouth is golden and its worth going to see the film purely to hear I'd Give My Life For You which sent chills down my spine! Jon Jon Briones gets the comedy and depth of the hilarious but calculating engineer down to a tee and I will never be over his performance of The American Dream. Alistair Brammer is the perfect lead, his voice soaring with ease and complementing Eva's dulcet tones entirely. If I could mention every cast member I would but I'm afraid that would take forever so I'll just say that every performance is remarkable and each individual truly shines in this recording.
Whether you've seen the production before or not, you must go and see this film. If you saw the show at the Prince Edward you'll get to see it in an entirely new light and if you haven't seen it before you'll be introduced to one of the most fantastic works of musical theatre in complete and utter style. Its definitely a must-see for musical theatre fans but I am almost certain that anyone will enjoy it. This is a production which is truly, completely and utterly unforgettable and altogether an impeccable cinematic experience. ★★★★★
Miss Saigon will be at cinemas on Sunday 16th October 2016 and will then be released on DVD.
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