Review: Miss Saigon
Bob Compton photography, KC Starlight Miss Saigon
Miss Saigon at Kansas City's Starlight Theatre
The show opens with the sound of a helicopter approaching. You are transported to wartime Vietnam. Soldiers, fighting "in a place full of mystery that they never once understood," are finding ways to dull the pain and agony of a gruesome war. They find themselves at Dreamland, a strip club and bar in Saigon. John, one of the soldiers and best friend to a depressed G.I., Chris, purchases a night with a girl for his friend, hoping that will help ease his pain. Kim is the newest girl at Dreamland, an innocent sweet girl who lost her family in tragedy and wound up at the club. Kim and Chris fall in love. Miss Saigon is the tale of their love in the midst of war.
Note: This production is recommended for a parents' night out. The show is not appropriate for children. See details in the Tips Section below.
The twelfth longest running musical in the history of Broadway, Miss Saigon is a tragic love story, inspired by Puccini's opera, Madame Butterfly, taking audiences back to wartime Vietnam on an emotional and unforgettable journey. This weekend, my husband and I attended Starlight Theatre's production of the show. The show last appeared on the Starlight stage thirteen years ago and still holds the record for highest ticket sales ever at Starlight. One of the most powerful productions I have ever witnessed at Starlight, Miss Saigon is moving, compelling, and emotional. As we ponder the position our soldiers are in, fighing on foreign soil, and the relationships that are created during war and the implications of foreign love, Miss Saigon raises so many challenges. War leaves so many victims, but the forgotten victims are the torn love stories, the children born of the pain of war, people forced to make hurtful decisions, and families torn apart.
I'm American, how could I fail to do good?all I made was a mess, just like everyone elsein a place full of mystery that I never once understood!I wanted back a world I knew
Miss Saigon
- Sept. 7-13 at 8 p.m. Buy Tickets online
- Starlight Theatre. Driving directions to Starlight Theatre and Parking Information for Starlight.
When Chris is forced to leave Saigon during an emergency evacuation, Kim is left behind. Neither know then that she has conceived Chris' child. As the story unfolds, John learns of the boy three years later after he and Chris are both living new lives in America. Chris has married an American girl, and Kim is living in Bangkok providing for their son while working at a club - a son who is rejected by both his mother's culture and his father's. John sings of these children in a powerful solo, "Bui Doi." An excerpt:
War isn't over when it endsSome pictures never leave you mindThey are the faces of the childrenThe ones we left behindThey're called Bui-DoiThe dust of lifeConcieved in hellAnd born in strifeThey are the living remindersOf all the good we failed to doWe can't forgetMust not forgetThat they are all
Our children too
Miss Saigon is an epic production. With elaborate sets, spectacular costumes, and special effects - most notably the arrival of a helicopter on stage (this scene did not disappoint), the power of the story is told in its fabric: powerful music and lyrics, and intense emotional dialogue. Each character's back story is revealed bit by bit and you find yourself drawn in and sympathizing, understanding how each arrived where they are world they do not understand. The story is intense and plays like an American Opera with tragedy, drama, and love.
The sets for the show were magnificent. Screens, flags, lighting, barbed wire fences, neon lights, and the helicopter... the helicopter. No matter how many times you see it or read about it, it still remains one of the most powerful scenes in musical theater.
The cast for this production was outstanding. Manna Nichols as Kim offered a beautiful vocal talent to the stage and captured the emotional growth of Kim as young girl, woman in love, and mother. Chris, played by Charlie Brady, does an outstanding job. But, my favorite performance of the evening was that of John, played by Nkrumah Gatling, friend and fellow soldier, with his solo "Bui Doi."
Miss Saigon was outstanding, compelling, and tragic.... Starlight's grande finale to a wonderful season of shows!
Tips for Starlight Theatre:
- Keep Hydrated and cool: You may bring 1 sealed bottle of water per guest into the theater. Complimentary water stations are located at the North and East Guest Relations. Water misters are placed throughout the theater for guest convenience. And, Starlight has drinking fountains throughout the theater. You may also want to bring a fan too keep cool.
- Is the show appropriate for Children: From Starlight, "Parents should be advised that Miss Saigon is a musical with adult themes and is not appropriate for children. This show strives to portray authentic wartime events through artistic expression. Miss Saigon includes prostitution, suggestive dancing, profanity, frightening and intense scenes, drug and alcohol use, firearms and smoking. Only you know what’s best for your family. We want to make sure you have the right information to make your decision."
- Preshow Tours: Arrive early and get a free, behind-the-scenes look at Starlight and learn about Starlight’s rich history in Kansas City. Tours begin before each performance at three convenient times: 6:30 p.m., 6:45 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. Patrons interested in touring Starlight Theatre should report to the top of the theater behind Terrace Section 1 to begin their facility tours.
- Interpreted Performances: Saturday performances at Starlight Theatre are described for the blind and visually impaired by Kansas Audio-Reader Network. Devices for this service are available at the Audio-Reader table behind Terrace Section 2. Sunday performances at Starlight Theatre are interpreted for the deaf and hard-of-hearing. Two interpreters are positioned on stage, house right. Patrons can view the interpreters from sections 4 and 6 of the Orchestra and Plaza sections. Deaf and hard-of-hearing patrons may purchase tickets by calling the Kansas Relay Center at 800.766.3777 or Relay Missouri at 800.735.2966.
- Assisted listening devices: Assisted listening devices are available free of charge for every performance. Visit the Ovation gift store and leave your driver's license in exchange for one of the listening devices. Following the performance, please return the device to the store and pick up your ID.
- Courtesy shuttles: This summer six-passenger shuttles patrol the main parking areas, providing assistance for those who most need it.
- Wheelchair assistance: Wheelchair assistance is available from all gates to the guest's seating location and back to the gate point after the show.
- Emergencies: An EMT is on Starlight premises for all events and can be reached by radio through any of the contacts noted above.
- Preshow Dining: A delicious dinner buffet is offered before the show. Learn more about preshow dining.
