Lexi Webster
Miss Saigon, the popular musical set in the final days of the Vietnam War, premiered in the West End in 1989 and has since been staged in at least 25 countries. The show first opened in Australia at the Capitol Theatre in Sydney in July 1995. Almost three decades later, in 2023, it was announced that the musical would be returning to Australia at the Sydney Opera House, presented by Opera Australia.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Date | 29 July 1995 |
| Location | Capitol Theatre Sydney |
| Cast | Joanna Ampil, Peter Cousens, Cocoy Laurel, Milton Craig Nealy, Darren Yap, and Silvie Paladino |
| Current Status | Returning to the Sydney Opera House |
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What You'll Learn
Miss Saigon's 2023 return to Sydney, Australia
Miss Saigon, the iconic musical set in the final days of the Vietnam War, is indeed making a return to Sydney, Australia, in 2023. The show, which premiered in London's West End in 1989, has been staged in at least 25 countries and translated into 12 languages. Now, Cameron Mackintosh's huge production is coming to the Sydney Opera House, presented by Opera Australia.
The plot centres on 17-year-old Kim, who is forced to work in a Saigon bar and brothel called Dreamland, run by a French-Vietnamese hustler known as The Engineer. There, she meets and falls in love with an American GI named Chris. However, the fall of Saigon tears them apart, and Kim embarks on a three-year journey to find Chris, unaware that he is the father of her son. The show also features a memorable evacuation scene, with Americans escaping from the Embassy roof by helicopter while abandoned Vietnamese people watch on in despair.
The role of Kim has proven to be a career-defining one, with many performers going on to achieve stardom and critical acclaim. For the 2023 Sydney production, the role will be played by Abigail, who began singing at a young age and has since performed in Tim Minchin's Matilda the Musical and on The Voice Kids Australia. The rest of the stellar cast includes Seann Miley Moore as The Engineer, Nigel Huckle as Chris, Kerrie Anne Greenland as Ellen, Nick Afoa as John, Laurence Mossman as Thuy, and Kimberley Hodgson as Gigi.
The casting team spent six months searching for the perfect performers, engaging with artists, singers, dancers, and acrobats from across Asia-Pacific. The result is a diverse cast of over 40 talented individuals, each bringing their unique skills and experiences to the production.
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The show's debut in Australia in 1995
Miss Saigon debuted in Australia at the Capitol Theatre in Sydney on 29 July 1995. The musical is based on Giacomo Puccini's 1904 opera, Madama Butterfly, and tells the tragic tale of a doomed romance involving an American lieutenant and a geisha. This story is replaced by a romance between a United States Marine and a 17-year-old South Vietnamese bargirl in the musical.
The show highlights the evacuation of the last Americans in Saigon from the Embassy roof by helicopter, while a crowd of abandoned Vietnamese people screams in despair. It also showcases the frenzied night club scene at the time of the defeat and the victory parade of the new communist regime. The plot centres on a Vietnamese mother who makes the "ultimate sacrifice" by leaving her child at an air base so that the child can go to America, where the child's father can provide a better life.
The Australian debut of Miss Saigon in 1995 starred Joanna Ampil as Kim, Peter Cousens as Chris, Cocoy Laurel as The Engineer, Milton Craig Nealy as John, Darren Yap as Thuy, and Silvie Paladino as Ellen. The musical had previously premiered in the West End at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, London, on 20 September 1989, closing on 30 October 1999 after 4,264 performances. It then made its Broadway debut at the Broadway Theatre on 11 April 1991 and ran for 4,092 performances before closing on 28 January 2001.
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Cameron Mackintosh's production at the Sydney Opera House
Cameron Mackintosh's acclaimed new production of Boublil and Schönberg's award-winning musical Miss Saigon premiered at the Sydney Opera House in August 2023. The show is inspired by the 1904 opera Madama Butterfly and tells the story of a young Vietnamese woman named Kim, who is orphaned by war and forced to work in a bar run by a notorious character known as the Engineer. Over 38 million people worldwide have seen this epic love story of passion and tragedy, which has been performed in 15 different languages, in over 32 countries and 350 cities.
The original production of Miss Saigon premiered in London in 1989 and later opened on Broadway in 1991, where it played for nearly ten years. The show has had a successful run in Australia as well, with the original production premiering in 1995 and returning in 2007. Mackintosh's new production opened in London in 2014 to critical acclaim and broke box office records at the Sydney Opera House when it toured Australia.
Miss Saigon has won 70 major theatre awards, including two Olivier Awards, three Tony Awards, and four Drama Desk Awards. It has been hailed as one of the greatest musicals of all time and described as "spectacular," a "musical masterpiece," and "mind-blowingly brilliant" by critics. Mackintosh's new production showcases a talented cast and is a must-see for theatre enthusiasts.
Tickets for Miss Saigon at the Sydney Opera House started at $75, and the show promised to be a stunning theatrical experience. With a complex narrative, brilliant musical score, and talented cast, Miss Saigon at the Sydney Opera House offered a powerful and moving experience for audiences. The show highlighted the depth of Asian-Australian talent and provided a platform for exciting local performers to showcase their skills.
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Miss Saigon's international staging
Miss Saigon has been staged in at least 25 countries and translated into at least 12 languages. New theatres were designed specifically for the show in Tokyo, Stuttgart, and The Hague. The musical has been staged in Toronto, Australia, Bømlo (Norway), Arlington, and London, among other places. The London production at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, closed after 4,264 performances in October 1999.
Miss Saigon is currently on an international tour in Asia. The show has also been staged in Korea, Japan, Brazil, Utrecht in the Netherlands, and Vienna during the pandemic. The 2014 return to the West End saw the show win the 'What’s on Stage' Best Set Design award.
The creative team behind Miss Saigon has worked on productions in numerous countries, including the UK, Ireland, Australia, Dubai, Manila, Korea, the USA, Brazil, Tokyo, Mexico, and more.
Internationally, community members have objected to productions of the show, arguing that it is racist and misogynist. Despite this, Miss Saigon remains a popular musical that has been staged internationally with great success.
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The plot and characters of Miss Saigon
Miss Saigon is a musical by French musicians Claude-Michel Schönberg and Alain Boublil, with lyrics by Boublil and American lyricist Richard Maltby, Jr. It is based on Giacomo Puccini's opera Madame Butterfly, which tells the tragic tale of a doomed romance involving an Asian woman and her American lover during the war. Miss Saigon relocates the plot's setting to 1970s Saigon during the Vietnam War, and Madame Butterfly's story of marriage between an American lieutenant and a geisha is replaced by a romance between an American soldier and a Vietnamese bargirl.
The musical was inspired by a photograph that Schönberg found in a magazine. It showed a Vietnamese mother leaving her child at a departure gate at Tan Son Nhut Air Base so that the child could board a plane to the United States, where the child's father, an ex-GI, could provide a better life. Schönberg considered this mother's actions for her child to be "The Ultimate Sacrifice", an idea central to the plot of Miss Saigon.
The plot of Miss Saigon centres around Kim, a seventeen-year-old peasant girl who works as a bargirl in a Saigon bar and brothel called "Dreamland". The highlight of the show is the evacuation of the last Americans in Saigon from the Embassy roof by helicopter while a crowd of abandoned Vietnamese people scream in despair. Kim falls in love with Chris Scott, a sergeant disenchanted by the club scene. The two meet during a competition for the title of "Miss Saigon", where the winner is raffled to a Marine. Touched to learn that Kim is an orphan, Chris offers to take her to America with him. The two consummate their relationship, after which Chris tries to pay Kim, but she refuses, saying that it is her first time sleeping with a man. Chris and Kim get married in a "wedding ceremony" held by the bargirls, with Gigi toasting Kim as the "real" Miss Saigon. However, Thuy, Kim's cousin and betrothed, arrives to take her home, disgusted to find her with a white man. When Saigon falls, the lovers are forced apart, and years later, when Chris returns to Vietnam with an American wife, Kim is left raising their son, Tam, alone. In the end, Kim shoots herself, and as she lies dying in Chris's arms, they share one last kiss.
Miss Saigon has received criticism for its racist and sexist overtones, including protests regarding its portrayal of Asians and women. There has also been controversy over the casting of white actors in Eurasian/Asian roles, with some drawing comparisons to "minstrel shows". Despite this, Miss Saigon has been staged in at least 25 countries and translated into at least twelve languages.
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Frequently asked questions
Yes, Cameron Mackintosh's production of Miss Saigon is coming to the Sydney Opera House.
Miss Saigon first opened in Australia at the Capitol Theatre in Sydney on 29 July 1995.
The cast includes Seann Miley Moore as the Engineer, Nigel Huckle as Chris, Kerrie Anne Greenland as Ellen, Nick Afoa as John, Laurence Mossman as Thuy, and Kimberley Hodgson as Gigi.
Miss Saigon is about a 17-year-old girl named Kim, who falls in love with an American GI named Chris in the last days of the Vietnam War. They are torn apart by the fall of Saigon, and Kim goes on a journey to find Chris, who is unaware that he has fathered their son.
You can buy tickets for Miss Saigon in Australia through the Opera Australia website.
