New ‘Miss Saigon’ even better than 2000 Manila run
The heat is definitely on in this “Saigon.”
Writers Claude-Michel Schönberg and Alain Boublil aren’t just hyping when they say, in the show’s tour book, “This production continues this journey at the highest level.” Ditto producer Carlos Candal when he says, “This production is more thrilling than ever before.” They are flexing.
Magnificent, dynamic, moving, this “Miss Saigon” is a total sizzler and is even better than the 2000 original Manila run. Yes, the one starring Lea Salonga.
Back then, the Olivier- and Tony-winning star, because of the entire narrative around her, from her legendary “discovery” in Manila to her record-setting triumphs at the world’s biggest theater awards, was so front and center, so dominant a force, it often felt like she was the show, and not exactly as Kim but as the Lea Salonga. It might as well have been called “Lea Salonga’s Miss Saigon.”
Free of that baggage, or distraction, this second staging in the Philippines—coming almost a full 25 years from the first one and 35 years from its debut at the Theatre Royal in Drury Lane—gives local audiences the opportunity to finally appreciate the show more for what it really is, and not just as a star-making vehicle.
Undeniable classic
What it is is one of the very best war-set musical theater pieces of all time in which history, or, more to the point, herstory, storytelling and production come together to create something truly indelible. And as the show proves, despite the criticisms about its many character stereotypes and narrative tropes, especially during its early years, “Miss Saigon” is an undeniable classic that’s both of its time and timeless, as it finds renewed relevance and resonance in the war-torn 2020s.
Based on the 2014 West End revival, “Miss Saigon” version 2.0 fires on all cylinders. The pop-operatic music is as gorgeously grand and grandly gorgeous as it has ever been, the set and staging even more eye-poppingly dynamic, and the lighting and sound design more imaginative and immersive (you can literally feel the entire theater rumble during the centerpiece helicopter scene).
And then there are the uniformly phenomenal performances. Filipino Australian Seann Miley Moore is knock-out-of-the-park fantastic as he reengineers with go-for-broke energy and style the role of the Engineer from a greedy, greasy seen-and-done-it-all veteran pimp whose American Dream seems more like a retirement plan than anything else, to a flamboyant EnginQueer, a sleazy, snaky will-do-it-all young opportunist whose desperation to relocate to America seems as much about escaping his godforsaken life as it is about furthering his career.
“Miss Saigon” marks the 31-year-old’s theater debut, and he got onboard this Australian production only last year, but you wouldn’t know it based on his performance. It looks, sounds and feels like he has been doing the show for years.
With Moore’s flashy and brashy bring-the-house-down performance that sparklingly puts the spotlight on his character’s cunning mind and provides the show its thespic razzle-dazzle, it’s very tempting to call him the production’s MVP (most valuable performer).
Most valuable performer
But that honor belongs to Abigail Adriano, who is deeply captivating and tremendously compelling in the title role.
Like Moore, she is a Filipino Australian who joined “Miss Saigon” only last year, with the show marking her first lead part.
Needless to say, Adriano has the lungs of steel the show’s wide-ranging sung-through score demands for Kim. But what’s truly impressive is how the 19-year-old navigates it like a seasoned pro, gliding effortlessly, intelligently and assuredly from ballads to upbeat tunes, sometimes within the same scene.
And her mighty vocal work is not even all there is to her performance. As Kim demands to be felt as much as to be heard, Adriano scores in the drama, too.
Gloriously locating the show’s beating heart and bruised soul, she plumbs the depths of what makes Kim “sing”—her grief, stubbornness, resilience, desperation, naivete, bewilderment, heartbreak, hope—and presents a finely limned portrayal that makes Kim come off as a full-bodied young woman who is both fragile and fierce, often at once. And with insightful interpretation, quivering passion and an arsenal of creative expressions (a musical “cry” here as when she tells Chris the tragic fate of her family, a sustained and emphatic but breathy delivery of the word “world” there as when she lovingly promises her son something to conquer when he’s grown, and lots of grace notes everywhere), the performance is a total slam dunk.
It’s what packs the real emotional heat in this “Saigon.” —ERIC CABAHUG
“Miss Saigon” runs until May 12 at The Theatre at Solaire.
