Miss Saigon 2014
Last week, together with dad, mom and her closest couple friends, we watched London's West End revival production of Miss Saigon at Prince Edward Theatre. While waiting for the show to start, I've decided to buy the programme and souvenir brochure! Mom asked why not buy the CD instead and I told her that I have the CD of the 1989 Original London Cast Recording (with Lea Salonga, Jonathan Pryce, Simon Bowman, etc.) and the Complete Symphonic Recording and I'll see if I'm going to like the the changes made in the songs. After the show, I've decided that I'm sticking to the original! I've watched Miss Saigon before (3x I think!) in it's original home in Theatre Royal, Drury Lane before it closed in 1999 so forgive me if I made comparisons between the original production and the new production. Also, I apologise if I happen to give out some spoilers!
The Songs:
As stated in the reviews I've read, there are changes made. There was a change, too, in the original production. The CD has Sacred Bird as Kim's last song but when I saw the musical then, the song has already been changed to the reprise of This is the Hour, and there are other little changes, too, like in the Overture but the main songs stays the same so it's ok for me. Now, there's a new CD with the 2014 London cast but as I've said, I'm sticking to the original! It might be because I really love it and I know the songs by heart that I've even noticed that tiny change in lyrics in Sun and Moon (ex: original - ♫ made of sunlight.... moonlight ♫ / new production - ♫ we are sunlight.... moonlight ♫). There are also changes in The Movie in My Mind, The Last Night of the World, I Still Believe, etc. but the biggest change is Ellen's song in Act 2. From the original It's Her or Me (CD) / Now That I've Seen Her (the lyrics is different but the tune is the same - 1989) to Maybe (totally different - 2014). Kim and John's duet in Act 2 is also changed from Please to Too Much for One Heart and again, the tune is the same. The other things I noticed as well are there are now bits of dialogues in the new production compared to the original where they sing everything! Also some of Kim's song dialogues are now sang by the Engineer although it's just in those little song numbers so it doesn't really make much of a difference, it's just that I still remembered who sang who in the production I watched a few years ago and I noticed it ^_^
The Production Set/Scenic Design:
The stage on Prince Edward Theatre is much smaller than that of Theatre Royal, Drury Lane so of course they need to totally change the set. The new production has less stage sets. Gone is Kim and Chris' room where they held their "wedding" and the confrontation with Thuy and where they sang The Last Night of the World, it's now held in Dreamland (the bar). The room in which Chris and Kim spent their first night together in Act 1 is also a set design in Bangkok in Act 2 (it's a tiny room with stairs on the edge parallel to the stage) in this new production . Also gone is the huge golden statue of Ho Chi Minh while the Morning of the Dragon is performed but the helicopter scene is impressive as ever. I'm going to be honest and say that I much prefer the former set design than the new one.
The Cast:
Both the cast of the production I watched in the late '90s and the 2014 cast are excellent! I've cried my eyes out everytime I watch it a few years back. In this 2014 production, I don't know if it's because I'm so tired from work (it's the busiest time of the year at work for me) or maybe life has made me so hard and a bit cynical or because I know what's going to happen that I didn't shed a single tear and I even find myself not really focusing. Although, don't get me wrong, the cast is really great. We are near the stage so we can see it very clearly. Kim is played by the alternate, Tanya Manalang, and although there are lots of praise for Eva Noblezada, Tanya held her own and she is a great Kim. Alistair Brammer (Chris), Jon Jon Briones (The Engineer), Hugh Maynard (John), Tamsin Carroll (Ellen), Kwang Ho Hong (Thuy), Rachelle Ann Go (Gigi) and the rest of the cast are all great and deserves a standing ovation. Rachelle Ann Go is a very well-known, popular and a successful Filipina singer back in the Philippines who has a Miss Goody image, her transformation to her role of Gigi in the musical just might shock her avid fans...
Miss Saigon is still a brilliant musical and if ever it opens or tours around in your city, I highly recommend that you see it although I must say, the original production is "mild" compared to the new production which is quite a bit hardcore so the 2014 production is not for the weak-hearted, have weak sensibilities or those who is easily offended ^_^
The Songs:
As stated in the reviews I've read, there are changes made. There was a change, too, in the original production. The CD has Sacred Bird as Kim's last song but when I saw the musical then, the song has already been changed to the reprise of This is the Hour, and there are other little changes, too, like in the Overture but the main songs stays the same so it's ok for me. Now, there's a new CD with the 2014 London cast but as I've said, I'm sticking to the original! It might be because I really love it and I know the songs by heart that I've even noticed that tiny change in lyrics in Sun and Moon (ex: original - ♫ made of sunlight.... moonlight ♫ / new production - ♫ we are sunlight.... moonlight ♫). There are also changes in The Movie in My Mind, The Last Night of the World, I Still Believe, etc. but the biggest change is Ellen's song in Act 2. From the original It's Her or Me (CD) / Now That I've Seen Her (the lyrics is different but the tune is the same - 1989) to Maybe (totally different - 2014). Kim and John's duet in Act 2 is also changed from Please to Too Much for One Heart and again, the tune is the same. The other things I noticed as well are there are now bits of dialogues in the new production compared to the original where they sing everything! Also some of Kim's song dialogues are now sang by the Engineer although it's just in those little song numbers so it doesn't really make much of a difference, it's just that I still remembered who sang who in the production I watched a few years ago and I noticed it ^_^
The Production Set/Scenic Design:
The stage on Prince Edward Theatre is much smaller than that of Theatre Royal, Drury Lane so of course they need to totally change the set. The new production has less stage sets. Gone is Kim and Chris' room where they held their "wedding" and the confrontation with Thuy and where they sang The Last Night of the World, it's now held in Dreamland (the bar). The room in which Chris and Kim spent their first night together in Act 1 is also a set design in Bangkok in Act 2 (it's a tiny room with stairs on the edge parallel to the stage) in this new production . Also gone is the huge golden statue of Ho Chi Minh while the Morning of the Dragon is performed but the helicopter scene is impressive as ever. I'm going to be honest and say that I much prefer the former set design than the new one.
The Cast:
Both the cast of the production I watched in the late '90s and the 2014 cast are excellent! I've cried my eyes out everytime I watch it a few years back. In this 2014 production, I don't know if it's because I'm so tired from work (it's the busiest time of the year at work for me) or maybe life has made me so hard and a bit cynical or because I know what's going to happen that I didn't shed a single tear and I even find myself not really focusing. Although, don't get me wrong, the cast is really great. We are near the stage so we can see it very clearly. Kim is played by the alternate, Tanya Manalang, and although there are lots of praise for Eva Noblezada, Tanya held her own and she is a great Kim. Alistair Brammer (Chris), Jon Jon Briones (The Engineer), Hugh Maynard (John), Tamsin Carroll (Ellen), Kwang Ho Hong (Thuy), Rachelle Ann Go (Gigi) and the rest of the cast are all great and deserves a standing ovation. Rachelle Ann Go is a very well-known, popular and a successful Filipina singer back in the Philippines who has a Miss Goody image, her transformation to her role of Gigi in the musical just might shock her avid fans...
Miss Saigon is still a brilliant musical and if ever it opens or tours around in your city, I highly recommend that you see it although I must say, the original production is "mild" compared to the new production which is quite a bit hardcore so the 2014 production is not for the weak-hearted, have weak sensibilities or those who is easily offended ^_^