When it comes to big stage musicals (on Broadway and in London), The Phantom of the Opera kicked off a big, ostentatious era of elaborate spectacle. ("We're going to crash a chandelier on the stage right before your eyes!") That era peaked with Miss Saigon's "hold my beer" presentation of a freaking helicopter hovering above the stage in a pivotal scene. If you know one thing about Miss Saigon, it's that helicopter moment. Not any song from it, not any of the characters, probably not even that its an adaptation of Madame Butterfly -- but you've heard about the helicopter. It might be nice to be free of the burden of that knowledge, because the play is a bit of a slog to get that scene. Or at least, to get to the second act.
Unlike many musicals, which build an elaborate and entertaining situation in act one and then lose momentum in act two, Miss Saigon sort of meanders around for most of the first act before finally starting to get interesting. The first hour or so is a forgettable love story not made any more interesting by the setting, featuring a bunch of repetitive and interchangeable songs of the romantic leads singing their feelings emphatically into each other's faces. Only when time jumps ahead for the final stretch of act one, following main character Kim as she tries to protect her child Tam from the horrors of her life, does it start to engender interest.
Then after intermission is when things really get going. Side characters step more into the spotlight, delivering a moving act opener about who and what American soldiers left behind in the war, tracking a devious character known as the Engineer as he tries to scheme his way out of communist Vietnam, and exposing the complicated feelings of Ellen, the woman who married soldier Chris after the war (only to learn along with him of his secret love child).
And, of course, that helicopter scene. Dead center in Act Two is an extended flashback to the final evacuation of Americans from the embassy in Vietnam, an amazing and over-the-top scene that puts a dozen actors trying to scale a fence as a freaking helicopter (complete with whirring blades) hovers above the stage for people to jump into. It's awesome -- it literally inspires awe. (Though the emotional content of the scene really lands too.)
The touring production spared no expense in making that moment (and several other big set piece numbers) a feast for the eyes. Still, I had been ready to pan the entire show as of intermission. It was the second act that really saved it. Emotional, raw, and complex, it was everything that the shallow, cliche first act was not.
It's possible that the casting and not the show was at least partly to blame. Actor Anthony Festa, who played Chris, had a fine singing voice but zero charisma. With act one featuring him heavily and turning on his character falling in love, the show was a repetitive bore. Emily Bautista, as main character Kim, had more personality -- but still sort of just had a bag of two or three moves she repeated throughout the show. (Let's just say that the poor little kid who played her son Tam is likely to develop hearing loss from her constantly mashing his head against hers and belting her songs straight into his ear.)
But with act two featuring Red Concepcion as the conniving Engineer, J. Daughtry as Chris' guilt-driven friend John, and Stacie Bono as Chris' wife Ellen, the show really took off. Those three actors all took their secondary characters and made moments more compelling than anything featuring the leads.
With a more tightly edited first half, I think I'd have found Miss Saigon one of the more moving stories I've seen on stage in a while. As it was, I'd say it works out to about a B. If you're a fan of big, spectacular musicals, you may want to catch it before it leaves town (or if it comes to yours).
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