Miss Saigon Edinburgh – one4review.com

Review by Geoff Evans

What can be said about Miss Saigon that hasn’t been said numerous times before? Everyone knows that this record breaking Boublil / Schonberg musical is the tragic love story set in the latter days of the Vietnam War. Everyone knows that it ran for years in the Theatre Royal Drury Lane in London. Everyone knows that it is a lavish hi-tec production with an excellent lib and book. 

What people may not know, is that this extravaganza is on tour, having enjoyed a season in Manchester, this production has landed at the Edinburgh Playhouse and is there until 25 January.

I did wonder if the spectacular effects that were on show in London could successfully translate into a touring production, but I need not have worried. Although the Edinburgh Playhouse stage seems smaller than that in London everything is still there. This together with the excellent music and superb acting and singing brings this experience to a whole new audience.

I have now seen this musical four times over some eight years, and each time I have witnessed it Junix Inocian has been in the mainstay role as The Engineer. Junix obviously has vast experience and hence is as relaxed with his character as it is possible to get. Yet throughout this period, I’ve never seen his characterisation flag. He is only doing ‘certain’ performances in Edinburgh, I’ve just been lucky to have seen him twice. I would be happy to see ‘the other’ Engineer though, so as I had someone to compare with.

Both Ima Castro and Miriam Valmores-Marasigan play the very demanding and harrowing role of Kim. Although both ladies did well, for me the performance of Ms Castro was as good as I have ever seen and heard. She has the voice of an angel and looks to match. Her performance as the naive bargirl that grows into the feisty mother and ‘wife’ is a credit to her.

David Shannon undertakes the romantic lead role of Chris. He certainly looks and sounds right as the romantic lead. His voice can cope with the soaring ballads and the more up-tempo numbers equally.

Cornilla Luna’s small but crucial role of Ellen, takes her from the trusting young wife through the turmoil of her husband Chris’s unspoken past, to her meeting with Kim. Both the duet’s and her solo are sung beautifuly.

Following the recent cast change the role of John is undertaken by Hugh Maynard. It is always for me a test of  ’John’s’ singing voice as to the ease in which they cope with Bui-Doi. Not only does Hugh cope, he handles the song with consummate ease, as he does with the rest of his involvement in the show.

Robert Vicencio takes on the role of Thuy. He manages to portray the menace of Kim’s former fiance who has now become a North Vietnamese Commissar and combine this with the torment of his love for this girl. 

The rest of the ensemble is more than equal to the task of portraying bar girls, GIs, Vietnamese refugees and Bangkok tourists. 

So, if you have been on the moon for the last ten years or so and don’t know the story a brief synopsis is that Chris, a GI, falls for Kim, a somewhat naive bar girl in ‘Dreamland’, a club run by ‘The Engineer’. Chris promises to take Kim with him on the evacuation of Saigon, but circumstances conspire that this doesn’t happen.

Following the invasion from the North, Thuy, who enlists The Engineers services to track her down, seeks Kim out. Following the meeting of Kim and Thuy, which ends tragically, Kim, Tam her son & The Engineer escape to Bangkok as the first step on The Engineers planned journey to his American Dream. 

John, who runs an agency to assist in the repatriation of GI children learns of Kim’s position and informs Chris of the situation. John, Chris and his new wife Ellen travel to Bangkok and it is there that the story reaches it’s conclusion. 

This musical has been well received wherever it has played throughout the world over the last few years, and judging by the audience reaction on the two occasions I have seen this production in Edinburgh, it is still going down a storm. This could be your last chance to see it in Scotland, so grab your chance while you can.