Lea is the original cast who auditioned for west end, London premiere before premiering in broadway. She won a TONY award for this and lawrence olivier in London as best actress in a musical play.
The book (screenplay as you said) has changed over and over. The original London production was one thing, they made some changes before Broadway, they made changes before the revival, and possibly changes between the London revival and the transfer of the revival. The authors are the rights holders. It is not a studio. In the end, once the show closes it all reverts to the Composer, lyricist and Book writer/ And again, the Book writer is the person who writes the script in theatre terms
I believe the original show was first performed in London's Westend at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane. It stayed there for 15 years or so i think before it played its last performance in 1998 or 1999. Lea Salonga played Kim in that final weeks run at the Drury Lane. I was lucky enough to be in Row 4 in the stalls in that final week. It was an amazing show.
I know Lea returned to the broadway run right before it closed but I had no idea she did the same for the London show! I think it ran just under 10 years on broadway and just over 10 years in London.
Yes first opened on the Westend in London prior to Broadway. This is where Lea was part of the original cast at 18 years old. Winning the Olivier award. Then later the Tony on Broadway.
Lea never returned to the role in London. The final Kim in 1999 was Joanna Ampil. Her alternate was Cezarah Campos. A month before the final performance there was a 10th anniversary performance which Lea attended and she sang "sacred bird" after the show as an "encore", there is an audio clip of this on youtube too.
One of the definitions of DRAMA is the script or stageplay (written dialogue that tells/shows a story in live performance). A screenplay is similar but for the camera, recorded and archived for the big screen (cinema). In a musical we call the story (plot, theme, character, diction, and spectacle) 'The Book'. Lyrics are of course words written to and for the music to present the story 'musically' and the score is the music itself written for the orchestra. Book, lyrics, score. The entirety of this in musical theatre is called 'The Libretto', typically with vocals in the back-matter for the actors to reference during vocal rehearsals. But sometimes, the vocal book is separate from the libretto.
There's a new revival of Miss Saigon. This time, playing the Engineer is Joanna Ampil who played Kim in previous productions back in the late 90s and early 2000s.
Back then, even if you had money, you could not buy any performance footage to sell. My Musical coach is also from the Philippines and she also performed in Manila back then. Since I knew that I asked her to give me a copy. This video was not made for the public back then. It was made for other performers in the show to use that and learn the scenes. Kim and Chris met each other introduced by Chris's friend John and because of that night, Kim got pregnant but after the war finished there in Saigon. Chris with his troops went back to the US. A long time later, John and the Engineer found out about Chris and John told him he had a son but Chris already gotten married in the US. So they all went back to meet Kim and the child. After Kim found out Chris was already married, she decided to kill herself to give her child a chance to live with a better lifer with his father. It was a very sad musical. I watched that 11 times. That was my favorite musical of all time.
I think the overseas version of Broadway you’re talking about is probably the West End in London? It’s the only comparable place I can think of. It’s true that the theatre industry is largely more supportive and cooperative than the film industry. That is partly because unlike in Hollywood, the individual production companies don’t hold the rights to the plays - the licensing companies do. This means that any production company can lease the rights to any play, which results in different versions of the same play being done on all levels, from amateur to professional, all the time. With that many competitors, it kind of becomes pointless to go to war. Besides which, theatre culture (mostly) emphasizes ensemble work - teamwork and cooperation over competition. Hollywood is more cutthroat. Opera “screenplay” = libretto. I think that would be the appropriate term here. Non-operatic musicals have lyrics (sung lines) and book (spoken lines).
Book still exists in sung- through shows as it refers more to the dramaturgy and structure of the play eg. the overall plot of what happens in the story, and not the dialogue (a way in which the plot is conveyed). Book scenes are anything that move the plot forward, which in the average book musical nowadays usually includes song numbers too. Libretto refers to both the song lyrics and the script (dialogue + stage directions).
Although I feel sorry for you that your last reaction to Miss Saigon got banned, I am happier with this version, because it is the better one. It is Lea Salonga who once more makes the difference. Her ability not only to deliver vocally, but also to convince as an actress and to transport emotion is just unrepeatable. You have the gold standard in the main role of Kim.
Dude, I doubt anyone cares if you know technical terms or not. It's not even necessary to know that stuff to enjoy the show, the story, the music. Seriously. Saying "the lyrics" was a fine term to use, and we all get it, I'm sure. I was one of many who suggested you do this show, and this is the production that I saw online, too. (I've seen it LIVE in Boston too) The other version looked nice (the one you are doing on Patreon), but I'm glad to see you do this one too. I think you will enjoy it a lot. I joined your Patreon, just for this show, lol. So I'll definitely also watch that one. I am a huge fan of you.
@@reneeg9406 oohh and who decides who won? Is my first time with miss saigon (if we don't count Salvo's blocked video) so I am figuring it out specially bc English is not my first language. My bad
@@Rocio.Suarez "Raffle" just means a contest where people buy tickets, and each ticket has a number on it. The numbers are put in a bag, and someone (in this case, the Engineer), picks a number out of the bag to find out who wins.
Broadway is harsh with what they let out for free. The reason being it’s difficult for them to sell tickets, cds, downloads and such. They need people to pay for it to keep it going. So if it’s not bringing revenue. They are going to try to block it. I wish they would stream live Broadway shows. Id pay for it. I really love it. Going to see a live show is my favorite thing but it’s hard to get there and go. I live 10 hrs from nyc. So I think streaming live shows would do well.
This isn't the original version, it's just the original Kim, Lea Salonga, reprising her role years later. She was Kim's age when she originated the role in London. She looks the same here though. In the original version, the Engineer was played by Jonathan Pryce (the High Sparrow on Game of Thrones.)
You are thinking about West End, London's "Broadway". However, this is the MANILA tour version in 2000 where Lea Salonga among others, reprised their role from the original run in West End, particularly at the Drury Lane Theatre in 1989.
OK - The "Miss Saigon" thing...yes, on a literal level, she's the one who will be won in the lottery. Symbolically, she's the epitome of the desperation they all feel. It's irony, a sad sad irony.
So the production opened in London on the west end, which would be the equivalent to Broadway in London. And sometimes we have the same show on at the same time like phantom and hamilton. And then a lot of times musicals will originate it London. Like this one or six or every Andrew lloyd Webber musical. And they transfer to Broadway. And vice versa. turn.
I'm glad I watched your other reaction immediately. I also think that version was annoying. (I ended up watching it on Prime and it is NOT like the original with Lea. They changed a song and switched out a bunch of lyrics and dropped some stuff.) I think you'll enjoy this version much more.
@@reneeg9406 The biggest disappointment was "It's Her Or Me" and or "Now That I've Seen Her" coming after "Room 317". (I think they started off with Now That I've Seen Her first.) WHAT was wrong with either of those songs to justify changing to the nonsense they ended up with?? Also, I don't like the dialogue change.
I love musicals, but I'm afraid Miss Saigon (apart from Lea's performance) has never been one of my favourites. I am prepared to give it another go, but if I remember my previous experience it was just like a few shows which often substitute noisy upbeat numbers for anything of real substance. Sorry guys!
West End what you were talking about towards the beginning. West End and Broadway are like sister territories. If a production begins somewhere and does well, it’ll usually get transferred to the other. Cats, Les Miserables, Phantom of the Opera, and Miss Saigon (the mega-musicals of the 80’s) all started on West End, and then made it to Broadway. Hamilton started on Broadway, and then opened in West End.
I do believe the term that you’re referring to as the “screenplay” is called the libretto. I hope this helps. Also, sorry if this has been covered. I’m watching this reaction in real time. Your moving reaction to the 10th Anniversary Concert for Les Miserables brought me here.
This was from when Miss Saigon was staged in Manila. They used a combination of the touring cast, the original 1989 West End (London) cast (Lea Salonga who originated Kim and Isay Alvarez who originated Gigi--apart from others who were cast for this production such as Jon Jon Briones and Robert Sena), and the original 1991 Broadway cast (Lea Salonga and Will Chase). Interestingly, when they were promoting the musical being staged in Manila, they used the tagline "Miss Saigon is coming home" because when it was staged in 1989, majority of the Asian cast were Filipinos. I was fortunate to watch this in various locations (including the 2000 staging in Manila).
a great movie on this topic of Miss Saigon is Oliver Stone's 'Heaven and Earth', the third movie of his Vietnam trilogy (the other two movies being Platoon and Born on the 4th of July). The story is told through the eyes of a Vietnamese girl who survived the War, met an American soldier, married him and came to America. A similar story as MS, but different. Kim in MIss Saigon sacrifices herself (the ultimate sacrifice) for her child (the story of 'Madame Butterfly', which the musical is based on. Aristotle's definition of tragedy in which the hero [heroine in this case] must die and at her death or near it come to terms with her tragic flaw. What's Kim's tragic flaw? Betraying her country, her culture, turning to foreign ways for survival. She dies b/c of it but we love her anyway b.c of her selfless sacrifice and in the case of this show, her purity and beauty of heart and of course the horrors of War. FYI- in Vietnam the war is called 'The American War'. If you ever visit Saigon (now Ho Chi Mihn City) go the the war memorial.
34:23 You should listen to Lea on the original cast recording. This whole section was a whole tone higher and she sings this line an octave lower. Her voice here obviously isn't as strong as it was then but she's still acting her ass off.
Yeah. This was originally a west end (London) production like les mis. Shows will transfer between Broadway and the west end. Producers are much more important in the theater scene. They are often the brand. The two most famous of all time are Hal Prince of Broadway and Cameron MacKintosh of the west end.
Cameron Mackintosh opened his shows in London for preview purposes to a 'stiff' UK audience (American musicals were considered low-brow affairs) for half the price of mounting the production in NY (original mounting budget for London 4.5 million pounds. Triple that once in the USA). Once Mackintosh worked out the kinks (rewrites galore on MS after initial West End preview) to the satisfaction of stiff Londoners, he would bring his shows over to the USA. A few minor adjustments after a short preview run, then the show was open to the general public. FYI- back in the 80s and early 90s, a Broadway house was 10k a day to rent for a show. Just the empty facility which had to be filled with paid staff, actors, crew, and of course, a paying audience. The Biz, as we call it. Cut throat to the dime and Mackintosh was good at navigating that both on the business front-end and on the creative side of marketing and staffing the right people.
In England they have the West End theater district is the equivalent to Broadway in NY. Some shows like Miss Saigon start in the West End then go to Broadway (& beyond) some stArt on Broadway and then travel to the West End…Lea Salonga was the original Kim in the West End and later played Kim on Broadway where I was lucky enough to see it live when it opened and the final US tour in Boston.
In terms of different productions of a show: this one started on the West End, which is like London's equivalent of Broadway. Then there was a Broadway version of essentially the same production -- same director, same costumes, same choreography, same lighting design, and so on. But not the same cast. It was still considered the same production, though, because all of that other stuff (what's known as the "creative team") were the same. (There were a few changes, some needed because it was a different theatre and different stage, and some just things they thought would work better, all done with the consultation and permission of the writers.) The Broadway production ran for years, with new cast members all the time, but still considered the same production. It closed after about ten years or so (I'd have to look up exactly how long). Then maybe another ten years later, there was a new Broadway production. So here it gets slightly complicated: the general rules for a new production is that there's a new director, new choreographer, new costumes, new lighting, etc. There will be similarities, of course, but unless it's specifically a "replica production," it won't look the same. (There can also be new arrangements on the music, but I don't know enough of the music terminology to be able to explain what changes can be done there.) And usually, it's the same script. The only way that a new production can make changes to the script or the lyrics is with the permission of the original writers and/or their estates, if they're no longer alive. (Assuming it's still in copyright -- if it's old enough to be public domain, then you can go ahead and do whatever.) The new Miss Saigon production did make some changes -- some of them were small things, but some were bigger. What you're watching here is a production from Manilla, in the Philippines, from before that second Broadway production opened. I think I spotted one or two really tiny changed lines that were different from the original, but nothing major. I think this is pretty close to the original costumes and choreography, but I'm not positive about that.
The last song in the clip, Sun and Moon was also used in an episode of the Sopranos. Season 2 Episode 6, the Happy Wanderer. meadow is doing it as a duet for something at school.
FYI, if you haven’t recorded the second part yet, a good place to stop for the next vid would be around the 52-53 minute mark…the next song after that is a long sequence that’s about 12 minutes long and it will lose some of its impact if you cut it in half! And there's no decent place to stop during it anyway, because it just keeps going...Unless you want to make the next video extra long, lol.
This is the Manila cast from 2000 - so definitely not the original cast. (with the exception of Lea Salonga). The show first opened in London in 1989 with Lea Salonga (Kim), Simon Bowman (Chris) and Jonathan Pryce (Engineer) as the main trio. So yes, the show has changed many times even between this and the 25th anniversary that you started previously. This is still 11 years after the original production, so a lot changed. So I would advise you to not name it the original cast as you will get lots of comments like this for fans of the show. :)
Definitely not the original cast, but there are three (3) original London cast members you'll see in this video: Lea Salonga, Isay Alvarez who plays Gigi (the woman who "wins" the Miss Saigon contest), and Robert Sena (he plays a role that you haven't seen yet). Isay Alvarez originated the role of Gigi in London. Robert Sena was in the ensemble in the London production and went on to play the role he plays in this production in other productions. Another fun fact: Isay and Robert met and fell in love during that original London production. They are still married and live/work in the Philippines! Jon Jon Briones shared the role of the Engineer with Leo Valdez in this Manila production, playing alternate performances. Jon Jon was also part of the original London production in the ensemble. He would eventually be part of other productions of MISS SAIGON and play other roles including the Engineer. Jon Jon played the Engineer in the London revival (2014) and the Broadway revival (2017).
As mentioned previously, Gigi (played by Isay Alvarez) is also original cast from London. In my opinion, Isay Alvarez sang the first strong solo of the musicale.
For context - you really need to watch a quick documentary on the final days or the fall of Saigon. A lot of this will make a LOT more sense and hit a lot harder, if you understand what was going on. There's a serious reason why everyone is asking for visas or for the GI's to take them to America. I really like The Engineer in the other version - hope this one turns out good.
Chris and John are friends, both military police serving in Saigon. We meet them just days before the fall of Saigon. Chris is a romantic, John is a realist. They are NOT in competition for Kim’s affections, but tension over Chris and Kim’s relationship does arise because John interrupts Chris’s leave (which he uses to play house with his new love, Kim) by explaining that he better get his ass back to base. The shit has hit the fan and the US is pulling out of Viet Nam… as in IMMEDIATELY! BTW, this is a re-telling of the Opera MADAME BUTTERFLY, of course in Viet Nam, however, not in Japan.
There are some similarities to "Madame Butterfly," but I feel like there are so many differences to the stories that I wouldn' t consider MISS SAIGON a modern re-telling. In "Madame Butterfly" Pinkerton (a US navy lieutenant) marries Butterfly (a 15-year-old geisha) out of convenience. He doesn't love her though she loves him. He leaves soon after the wedding saying he will be back soon, but has no intention of returning. Butterfly has a rich suitor who repeatedly asks her to marry him but she refuses. There are slight differences from the short story "Madame Butterfly" and the opera MADAMA BUTTERFLY: in the short story Butterfly inadvertently finds out that Pinkerton is married and the couple intend to take the child back with them, and in the opera Pinkerton's friend (Sharpless) and wife talk to Butterfly (Pinkerton can't face her) to explain that they want to take the child. Both stories end with Butterfly killing herself. In the opera Butterfly says she will agree to give up her child if Pinkerton comes to see her, but she kills herself before he arrives. There are significant differences in MISS SAIGON: Kim was going to become a prostitute because she had no other options left. (And geisha are not prostitutes. Geisha are trained to be entertainers, conversationalists and hosts.) Chris was not using Kim and planning to abandon her from the start. Everything about Kim's suitor is very different from the short story and opera.
@@meredithchandler73 Thank you for your in depth and astute comparison. While I agree that is far too simplistic to assert that Miss Saigon is a new version of the story of Madama Butterfly set to modern music, it is, nonetheless, the story of a non-Asian exposed to a culture of which he has no understanding and, everyone’s motives aside, through his actions, creates a child with and brings about a tragic end for his Asian paramour. Further, though it is an important distinction to make that Geisha is not at all a moral or cultural equivalent to prostitute, to call Kim a prostitute (a virgin in her first day “on the job,” never turned a trick before, falls in love with her would be John cum lover) is also far too simplistic a characterization. Also, I would assert that the term “retelling” does not necessarily mean an exact, fact for fact, recount of an original concept or storyline. Certainly, Miss Saigon has more similarities with Madama Butterfly than, say, La Traviata or Carmen. 😉
Just to clarify, this isn't the original production, which opened in London in 1989, I believe. This is a production from Manilla (where Lea Salonga is from) in 2000. Chris is played by Will Chase and I believe the Engineer is played by Jon Jon Briones. And to answer your question as to why the Engineer keeps popping up...at that particular moment, Chris handed Kim some money, and the Engineer swooped in and took it... And contest of Miss Saigon is basically a popularity contest...whichever girl received the most applause would be crowned "the winner" and they drew the raffle ticket for which GI would receive a free night with Miss Saigon.
Lyrics is the correct term. Libretto if you’re fancy but lyrics works fine. I love that you keep saying “screenplay?” There’s no screen. Movies have screenplays. Television episodes have scripts. Plays also have scripts. Musicals often have both scripts and lyrics. Some musicals are like plays with songs interspersed throughout. Musicals like this are almost entirely sung with very few spoken moments.
The writers and producers own rights to their own stuff unless a movie is made or tv version is done. Then they sell their rights over and earn royalties. That’s why they protect and block everything. Cuz if everyone watches on your channel. They don’t get paid for it. So I see both sides. Only cuz they don’t make a ton of money off their stuff. They gotta get what they can while they can. You should link each artist channel that your watching I wonder if that would help ? Curious.
Yes. Lyrics. No. Screenplay. There is no movie made from this script (also known as a libretto). This is a production of the Musical called MISS SAIGON. There can be many different professional productions, going on at the same time around the world, besides the Broadway Company. On the West End in London, touring the US, touring Europe. The creators get royalties for everyone of these productions. Of course, this is no longer running on Broadway or in the West End.
Not sure if you are aware of the controversy surrounding the show especially with the UK original casing when it was first produced. Sadly it’s still courts controversy in the UK when new productions are suggested. The last time I saw it was on Broadway strangely enough the blocked version you started off with. I saw original version in London with Lea Salonga and this is more or less the version you are watching now but with different a different engineer and other cast members Looking at the cast list it looks like Lea was the only London cast member to be in the show when it transferred to NY
Correct, there was massive controversy over Jonathan Pryce playing the engineer when it came to Broadway and i think Cameron Macintosh was going to pull the plug on the Broadway run of Miss Saigon. Was something to do with the writers guild in America wanting more native people playing the parts, more vietnamese etc i think.
Lea and Jonathan Pryce both reprised their roles for the broadway transfer and both won Tony Awards as well. There was controversy over both of their casting: Jonathan because he was not Asian and playing a Eurasian role with yellow face. (Obviously, he was banned from using yellow face in the broadway production.) As for Lea, there are Equity rules for hiring non-Americans for broadway. The producers had to prove that she was a star of significant caliber (basically, no one else could play the part).
@@daveford12 Yeah, the controversy was that Jonathan Pryce was not Asian. The character of the Engineer was Eurasian, half French, half Vietnamese. I saw both Lea Solanga and Pryce.
@@daveford12 From what I recall, the compromise on Jonathan Pryce was that he was allowed to open the show on Broadway, with the agreement that anyone else cast in that role after him would be Asian or biracial with Asian ancestry.
Cheers and applause vote for the crown of Miss Saigon - tickets are sold all night which just means the winner only pays for a ticket instead of full price for sex and the engineer makes more money off the ticket pile then off a single sex act. The loser really turns out to be Miss Saigon as she doesn’t get the money she just gets the crown and to “service” another GI who isn’t gonna rescue her. Cue “movie in my mind” right after the “win.”
What we say to a person who is exploring classical and musicals for the first time is "Welcome." There is no shame in learning. In musicals there is a Script, and a Book, sometimes in older pieces or from Opera days, a Libretto, which is Italian for 'Little Book', so it's still "the Book". The Book contains the music and the arrangements for all of the lyrics and musical cues within the show. The Script contains the blocking (movement on stage) and the dialogue. Also in modern times and productions the Book can be referred to as the Score, although the Score is usually the instrumental parts laid out for the instruments and the conductor, but when it's a musical like Miss Saigon which is sung-through, Book, Script, Score... it all kinda ends up together because there's not really much dialogue, it's all singing. As others have said, depending on which version you watch/listen to/see performed, there will be changes since lyrics and social concerns have evolved and some items got corrected to better lyrics here and there... nothing major, nothing usually in the spotlight moments of arias and solos and love duets. Just the connective stuff has some altered transitions and color. Now, there's another musical from just before Miss Saigon's run called CHESS, and Chess had completely different plots between the West End production in London, the US production for Broadway, and then everyone kinda made up their own preferred version by mixing the two plots, until finally the composer and playwright got together and decided on a unified, definitive plot and music. But fans of one version or the other still go back and listen to their favorite, because it's a completely different ending plot. Wikipedia will give you the answers you seek on any musical and the twisted path of development and different versions that it takes to make it to stage, and notes on where and when different recordings were taken by whom and why.
I’m kind of bummed that the first copy of chess I got my hands on was the 88 broadway so that one is more imprinted on the part of my brain that ate musicals as a teen. I prefer the 84 in a bunch of logical ways but the cheese of the broadway is the one I can sing along to easier. Man - I haven’t dug that show up in at least 20 years. Now I know what weird sh*t I’m cleaning my house to today. Not much between despair and ecstasy.
@@VonPatzy As the crazy wheel slows down, where will I be? Back where I started. You should search UA-cam for Chess In Concert with Idina Menzel as Florence and Josh Groban as the Russian. The full show is there, they semi-staged it and present the unified plot/score, which managed to finally integrate the best parts of all versions, IMHO. Yeah, the first one we listen to etches itself on our mind forever, but the combined show is worth it! Besides, what's not to love about a musical where the score was written by ABBA members?
I am SO HAPPY you are reacting to this version!!! The engineer here is the same person as in the film version: Jon Jon Briones. He and another person shared the role in the Manila production but Jon Jon was the one filmed. CORRECTION: I’m wrong! This is not Jon Jon Briones! Thank you, Maria!
Ang dal dal mo!!! You're soooo talkative. Your reaction is somewhat off. I don't understand you. You said you wanna know the dynamics of John's and Chris' relationship. Just watch so you'll understand. ...
It's super easy for things to move really fast when a 35 year-old sergeant from America has just slept with a virginal, traumatized seventeen-year-old overseas. After paying for those services. I absolutely adore this musical and have the 25th anniversary myself. It's one of my all-time top 10 favorite shows. But to not call almost every aspect of the story problematic would be unfair to it
Chris is 26. And the events and the story of the bargirls really existed. What this show does so beautifully is that it is war that's problematic and that everyone is a victim.
@@mariavanschie7946 Is Chris even that old? It sounds like this is his second tour. If he went in at 18 and served a 2 year tour.....he could be as young as 21 or 22.
@@mariavanschie7946 if I've been misinformed about his age or what I looked up was about a very specific production that simply decided he was that age, or perhaps the actor playing him was that age, then I apologize. But I stand by what I said. For a disenfranchised man in his twenties to hear his best buddy called the young prostitute jailbait and still sleep with her makes it no less skeevy. But you are mostly still right. I did a very bad essay back in high school about what the American dream was for an English paper, and I chose Miss Saigon as my source material telling about what foreigners coming from a different background would have believed it to be and interpreted as. The engineer still sucks though LOL. One of those lovable hateful villains.
@@leadingblind1629 There's an interesting comparison to be made with South Pacific, but I can't really go into details on my thoughts about that without major spoilers for Salvo. Maybe I'll remember on the last video.
@@callalily3994 I've seen the South Pacific remake with Glenn Close, Harry Connick Junior, and Rade ( Serbianlast name I sadly can never remember how to spell or pronounce. But people know him is the homeless guy from Batman Begins.) I completely hate that musical. The only good thing about that musical in general is the usually cut song. You know the one I'm talking about I'm sure.
Lea is the original cast who auditioned for west end, London premiere before premiering in broadway. She won a TONY award for this and lawrence olivier in London as best actress in a musical play.
There's no spoken dialog in this musical, like Les Miz. Will Chase is at his vocal best here (if you get to his Roger in Rent). Lea is a wonder
I'm glad you got blocked! This version, and Lea Salonga in it, is fantastic. I watch it frequently, and hope you enjoy reacting to it.
This is going to be a ride. Best musical for me. Love it and love Lea to bits. Cheers mate
The book (screenplay as you said) has changed over and over. The original London production was one thing, they made some changes before Broadway, they made changes before the revival, and possibly changes between the London revival and the transfer of the revival.
The authors are the rights holders. It is not a studio. In the end, once the show closes it all reverts to the Composer, lyricist and Book writer/
And again, the Book writer is the person who writes the script in theatre terms
Thanks for always reacting to the legend Ms Lea Salonga. She is always amazing and incredible in her performances..have a great day!❤️❤️❤️🇵🇭🇵🇭🇵🇭
Into the woods on UA-cam should definitely be next
Yesss definitely not the movie version
I believe the original show was first performed in London's Westend at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane. It stayed there for 15 years or so i think before it played its last performance in 1998 or 1999. Lea Salonga played Kim in that final weeks run at the Drury Lane. I was lucky enough to be in Row 4 in the stalls in that final week. It was an amazing show.
I know Lea returned to the broadway run right before it closed but I had no idea she did the same for the London show! I think it ran just under 10 years on broadway and just over 10 years in London.
Yes first opened on the Westend in London prior to Broadway. This is where Lea was part of the original cast at 18 years old. Winning the Olivier award. Then later the Tony on Broadway.
Lea never returned to the role in London. The final Kim in 1999 was Joanna Ampil. Her alternate was Cezarah Campos. A month before the final performance there was a 10th anniversary performance which Lea attended and she sang "sacred bird" after the show as an "encore", there is an audio clip of this on youtube too.
@@mariavanschie7946 Thanks for this info! I didn't think Lea returned to the original London production.
One of the definitions of DRAMA is the script or stageplay (written dialogue that tells/shows a story in live performance). A screenplay is similar but for the camera, recorded and archived for the big screen (cinema). In a musical we call the story (plot, theme, character, diction, and spectacle) 'The Book'. Lyrics are of course words written to and for the music to present the story 'musically' and the score is the music itself written for the orchestra. Book, lyrics, score. The entirety of this in musical theatre is called 'The Libretto', typically with vocals in the back-matter for the actors to reference during vocal rehearsals. But sometimes, the vocal book is separate from the libretto.
There's a new revival of Miss Saigon. This time, playing the Engineer is Joanna Ampil who played Kim in previous productions back in the late 90s and early 2000s.
Back then, even if you had money, you could not buy any performance footage to sell. My Musical coach is also from the Philippines and she also performed in Manila back then. Since I knew that I asked her to give me a copy. This video was not made for the public back then. It was made for other performers in the show to use that and learn the scenes. Kim and Chris met each other introduced by Chris's friend John and because of that night, Kim got pregnant but after the war finished there in Saigon. Chris with his troops went back to the US. A long time later, John and the Engineer found out about Chris and John told him he had a son but Chris already gotten married in the US. So they all went back to meet Kim and the child. After Kim found out Chris was already married, she decided to kill herself to give her child a chance to live with a better lifer with his father. It was a very sad musical. I watched that 11 times. That was my favorite musical of all time.
I think the overseas version of Broadway you’re talking about is probably the West End in London? It’s the only comparable place I can think of.
It’s true that the theatre industry is largely more supportive and cooperative than the film industry. That is partly because unlike in Hollywood, the individual production companies don’t hold the rights to the plays - the licensing companies do. This means that any production company can lease the rights to any play, which results in different versions of the same play being done on all levels, from amateur to professional, all the time. With that many competitors, it kind of becomes pointless to go to war. Besides which, theatre culture (mostly) emphasizes ensemble work - teamwork and cooperation over competition. Hollywood is more cutthroat.
Opera “screenplay” = libretto. I think that would be the appropriate term here. Non-operatic musicals have lyrics (sung lines) and book (spoken lines).
Book still exists in sung- through shows as it refers more to the dramaturgy and structure of the play eg. the overall plot of what happens in the story, and not the dialogue (a way in which the plot is conveyed). Book scenes are anything that move the plot forward, which in the average book musical nowadays usually includes song numbers too. Libretto refers to both the song lyrics and the script (dialogue + stage directions).
Although I feel sorry for you that your last reaction to Miss Saigon got banned, I am happier with this version, because it is the better one. It is Lea Salonga who once more makes the difference. Her ability not only to deliver vocally, but also to convince as an actress and to transport emotion is just unrepeatable. You have the gold standard in the main role of Kim.
So glad you found "a way" around the copyright. Really looking forward to enjoy this with you!
Dude, I doubt anyone cares if you know technical terms or not. It's not even necessary to know that stuff to enjoy the show, the story, the music. Seriously. Saying "the lyrics" was a fine term to use, and we all get it, I'm sure. I was one of many who suggested you do this show, and this is the production that I saw online, too. (I've seen it LIVE in Boston too) The other version looked nice (the one you are doing on Patreon), but I'm glad to see you do this one too. I think you will enjoy it a lot. I joined your Patreon, just for this show, lol. So I'll definitely also watch that one. I am a huge fan of you.
Miss Saigon is voted on by round of applause. Loudest cheers determine the girl, raffle determines who gets her for the night
Raffle is the owner of that place?
@@Rocio.Suarez no. Raffle that they bought tickets for. The winner was ticket number 66
@@reneeg9406 oohh and who decides who won? Is my first time with miss saigon (if we don't count Salvo's blocked video) so I am figuring it out specially bc English is not my first language. My bad
@@Rocio.Suarez "Raffle" just means a contest where people buy tickets, and each ticket has a number on it. The numbers are put in a bag, and someone (in this case, the Engineer), picks a number out of the bag to find out who wins.
Broadway is harsh with what they let out for free. The reason being it’s difficult for them to sell tickets, cds, downloads and such. They need people to pay for it to keep it going. So if it’s not bringing revenue. They are going to try to block it. I wish they would stream live Broadway shows. Id pay for it. I really love it. Going to see a live show is my favorite thing but it’s hard to get there and go. I live 10 hrs from nyc. So I think streaming live shows would do well.
This isn't the original version, it's just the original Kim, Lea Salonga, reprising her role years later. She was Kim's age when she originated the role in London. She looks the same here though. In the original version, the Engineer was played by Jonathan Pryce (the High Sparrow on Game of Thrones.)
Indeed, the original version with Lea was in London in 1989. This Manila recording is from 11 years later.
High Sparrow can sing?!
The 2 main Theater districts are Broadway, here in the US, and the West End in London.
You are thinking about West End, London's "Broadway". However, this is the MANILA tour version in 2000 where Lea Salonga among others, reprised their role from the original run in West End, particularly at the Drury Lane Theatre in 1989.
So excited you started watching this again, I think you will love it!!!
OK - The "Miss Saigon" thing...yes, on a literal level, she's the one who will be won in the lottery. Symbolically, she's the epitome of the desperation they all feel. It's irony, a sad sad irony.
So the production opened in London on the west end, which would be the equivalent to Broadway in London. And sometimes we have the same show on at the same time like phantom and hamilton. And then a lot of times musicals will originate it London. Like this one or six or every Andrew lloyd Webber musical. And they transfer to Broadway. And vice versa. turn.
I'm glad I watched your other reaction immediately. I also think that version was annoying. (I ended up watching it on Prime and it is NOT like the original with Lea. They changed a song and switched out a bunch of lyrics and dropped some stuff.) I think you'll enjoy this version much more.
Same. His reaction was the first time I saw the other version. I wasn't a big fan of the lyric changes🥴
@@reneeg9406 The biggest disappointment was "It's Her Or Me" and or "Now That I've Seen Her" coming after "Room 317". (I think they started off with Now That I've Seen Her first.) WHAT was wrong with either of those songs to justify changing to the nonsense they ended up with?? Also, I don't like the dialogue change.
I love musicals, but I'm afraid Miss Saigon (apart from Lea's performance) has never been one of my favourites. I am prepared to give it another go, but if I remember my previous experience it was just like a few shows which often substitute noisy upbeat numbers for anything of real substance.
Sorry guys!
West End what you were talking about towards the beginning. West End and Broadway are like sister territories. If a production begins somewhere and does well, it’ll usually get transferred to the other. Cats, Les Miserables, Phantom of the Opera, and Miss Saigon (the mega-musicals of the 80’s) all started on West End, and then made it to Broadway. Hamilton started on Broadway, and then opened in West End.
I do believe the term that you’re referring to as the “screenplay” is called the libretto. I hope this helps. Also, sorry if this has been covered. I’m watching this reaction in real time. Your moving reaction to the 10th Anniversary Concert for Les Miserables brought me here.
This was from when Miss Saigon was staged in Manila. They used a combination of the touring cast, the original 1989 West End (London) cast (Lea Salonga who originated Kim and Isay Alvarez who originated Gigi--apart from others who were cast for this production such as Jon Jon Briones and Robert Sena), and the original 1991 Broadway cast (Lea Salonga and Will Chase). Interestingly, when they were promoting the musical being staged in Manila, they used the tagline "Miss Saigon is coming home" because when it was staged in 1989, majority of the Asian cast were Filipinos. I was fortunate to watch this in various locations (including the 2000 staging in Manila).
a great movie on this topic of Miss Saigon is Oliver Stone's 'Heaven and Earth', the third movie of his Vietnam trilogy (the other two movies being Platoon and Born on the 4th of July). The story is told through the eyes of a Vietnamese girl who survived the War, met an American soldier, married him and came to America. A similar story as MS, but different. Kim in MIss Saigon sacrifices herself (the ultimate sacrifice) for her child (the story of 'Madame Butterfly', which the musical is based on. Aristotle's definition of tragedy in which the hero [heroine in this case] must die and at her death or near it come to terms with her tragic flaw. What's Kim's tragic flaw? Betraying her country, her culture, turning to foreign ways for survival. She dies b/c of it but we love her anyway b.c of her selfless sacrifice and in the case of this show, her purity and beauty of heart and of course the horrors of War. FYI- in Vietnam the war is called 'The American War'. If you ever visit Saigon (now Ho Chi Mihn City) go the the war memorial.
34:23 You should listen to Lea on the original cast recording. This whole section was a whole tone higher and she sings this line an octave lower. Her voice here obviously isn't as strong as it was then but she's still acting her ass off.
Yeah. This was originally a west end (London) production like les mis. Shows will transfer between Broadway and the west end. Producers are much more important in the theater scene. They are often the brand. The two most famous of all time are Hal Prince of Broadway and Cameron MacKintosh of the west end.
Cameron Mackintosh opened his shows in London for preview purposes to a 'stiff' UK audience (American musicals were considered low-brow affairs) for half the price of mounting the production in NY (original mounting budget for London 4.5 million pounds. Triple that once in the USA). Once Mackintosh worked out the kinks (rewrites galore on MS after initial West End preview) to the satisfaction of stiff Londoners, he would bring his shows over to the USA. A few minor adjustments after a short preview run, then the show was open to the general public. FYI- back in the 80s and early 90s, a Broadway house was 10k a day to rent for a show. Just the empty facility which had to be filled with paid staff, actors, crew, and of course, a paying audience. The Biz, as we call it. Cut throat to the dime and Mackintosh was good at navigating that both on the business front-end and on the creative side of marketing and staffing the right people.
In England they have the West End theater district is the equivalent to Broadway in NY. Some shows like Miss Saigon start in the West End then go to Broadway (& beyond) some stArt on Broadway and then travel to the West End…Lea Salonga was the original Kim in the West End and later played Kim on Broadway where I was lucky enough to see it live when it opened and the final US tour in Boston.
In terms of different productions of a show: this one started on the West End, which is like London's equivalent of Broadway. Then there was a Broadway version of essentially the same production -- same director, same costumes, same choreography, same lighting design, and so on. But not the same cast. It was still considered the same production, though, because all of that other stuff (what's known as the "creative team") were the same. (There were a few changes, some needed because it was a different theatre and different stage, and some just things they thought would work better, all done with the consultation and permission of the writers.)
The Broadway production ran for years, with new cast members all the time, but still considered the same production. It closed after about ten years or so (I'd have to look up exactly how long). Then maybe another ten years later, there was a new Broadway production. So here it gets slightly complicated: the general rules for a new production is that there's a new director, new choreographer, new costumes, new lighting, etc. There will be similarities, of course, but unless it's specifically a "replica production," it won't look the same. (There can also be new arrangements on the music, but I don't know enough of the music terminology to be able to explain what changes can be done there.) And usually, it's the same script. The only way that a new production can make changes to the script or the lyrics is with the permission of the original writers and/or their estates, if they're no longer alive. (Assuming it's still in copyright -- if it's old enough to be public domain, then you can go ahead and do whatever.) The new Miss Saigon production did make some changes -- some of them were small things, but some were bigger.
What you're watching here is a production from Manilla, in the Philippines, from before that second Broadway production opened. I think I spotted one or two really tiny changed lines that were different from the original, but nothing major. I think this is pretty close to the original costumes and choreography, but I'm not positive about that.
This is.the original Miss Saigon.This launched Lea's broafway career and internstionsl stardom which also earnef her a Tony Awards.
Tip: make notes, write down questions and save it til the end of the reaction.
At last, so happy to see you.react to this version.
There are of course different companies producing a show sometimes throught the world simultaneously.
The last song in the clip, Sun and Moon was also used in an episode of the Sopranos. Season 2 Episode 6, the Happy Wanderer. meadow is doing it as a duet for something at school.
FYI, if you haven’t recorded the second part yet, a good place to stop for the next vid would be around the 52-53 minute mark…the next song after that is a long sequence that’s about 12 minutes long and it will lose some of its impact if you cut it in half! And there's no decent place to stop during it anyway, because it just keeps going...Unless you want to make the next video extra long, lol.
Great reaction. Looking forward to more.
This is the Manila cast from 2000 - so definitely not the original cast. (with the exception of Lea Salonga).
The show first opened in London in 1989 with Lea Salonga (Kim), Simon Bowman (Chris) and Jonathan Pryce (Engineer) as the main trio.
So yes, the show has changed many times even between this and the 25th anniversary that you started previously. This is still 11 years after the original production, so a lot changed.
So I would advise you to not name it the original cast as you will get lots of comments like this for fans of the show. :)
Definitely not the original cast, but there are three (3) original London cast members you'll see in this video: Lea Salonga, Isay Alvarez who plays Gigi (the woman who "wins" the Miss Saigon contest), and Robert Sena (he plays a role that you haven't seen yet). Isay Alvarez originated the role of Gigi in London. Robert Sena was in the ensemble in the London production and went on to play the role he plays in this production in other productions. Another fun fact: Isay and Robert met and fell in love during that original London production. They are still married and live/work in the Philippines!
Jon Jon Briones shared the role of the Engineer with Leo Valdez in this Manila production, playing alternate performances. Jon Jon was also part of the original London production in the ensemble. He would eventually be part of other productions of MISS SAIGON and play other roles including the Engineer. Jon Jon played the Engineer in the London revival (2014) and the Broadway revival (2017).
As mentioned previously, Gigi (played by Isay Alvarez) is also original cast from London. In my opinion, Isay Alvarez sang the first strong solo of the musicale.
For context - you really need to watch a quick documentary on the final days or the fall of Saigon. A lot of this will make a LOT more sense and hit a lot harder, if you understand what was going on. There's a serious reason why everyone is asking for visas or for the GI's to take them to America. I really like The Engineer in the other version - hope this one turns out good.
Chris and John are friends, both military police serving in Saigon. We meet them just days before the fall of Saigon. Chris is a romantic, John is a realist. They are NOT in competition for Kim’s affections, but tension over Chris and Kim’s relationship does arise because John interrupts Chris’s leave (which he uses to play house with his new love, Kim) by explaining that he better get his ass back to base. The shit has hit the fan and the US is pulling out of Viet Nam… as in IMMEDIATELY!
BTW, this is a re-telling of the Opera MADAME BUTTERFLY, of course in Viet Nam, however, not in Japan.
There are some similarities to "Madame Butterfly," but I feel like there are so many differences to the stories that I wouldn' t consider MISS SAIGON a modern re-telling. In "Madame Butterfly" Pinkerton (a US navy lieutenant) marries Butterfly (a 15-year-old geisha) out of convenience. He doesn't love her though she loves him. He leaves soon after the wedding saying he will be back soon, but has no intention of returning. Butterfly has a rich suitor who repeatedly asks her to marry him but she refuses. There are slight differences from the short story "Madame Butterfly" and the opera MADAMA BUTTERFLY: in the short story Butterfly inadvertently finds out that Pinkerton is married and the couple intend to take the child back with them, and in the opera Pinkerton's friend (Sharpless) and wife talk to Butterfly (Pinkerton can't face her) to explain that they want to take the child. Both stories end with Butterfly killing herself. In the opera Butterfly says she will agree to give up her child if Pinkerton comes to see her, but she kills herself before he arrives.
There are significant differences in MISS SAIGON: Kim was going to become a prostitute because she had no other options left. (And geisha are not prostitutes. Geisha are trained to be entertainers, conversationalists and hosts.) Chris was not using Kim and planning to abandon her from the start. Everything about Kim's suitor is very different from the short story and opera.
@@meredithchandler73 Thank you for your in depth and astute comparison. While I agree that is far too simplistic to assert that Miss Saigon is a new version of the story of Madama Butterfly set to modern music, it is, nonetheless, the story of a non-Asian exposed to a culture of which he has no understanding and, everyone’s motives aside, through his actions, creates a child with and brings about a tragic end for his Asian paramour. Further, though it is an important distinction to make that Geisha is not at all a moral or cultural equivalent to prostitute, to call Kim a prostitute (a virgin in her first day “on the job,” never turned a trick before, falls in love with her would be John cum lover) is also far too simplistic a characterization. Also, I would assert that the term “retelling” does not necessarily mean an exact, fact for fact, recount of an original concept or storyline. Certainly, Miss Saigon has more similarities with Madama Butterfly than, say, La Traviata or Carmen. 😉
Just to clarify, this isn't the original production, which opened in London in 1989, I believe. This is a production from Manilla (where Lea Salonga is from) in 2000. Chris is played by Will Chase and I believe the Engineer is played by Jon Jon Briones.
And to answer your question as to why the Engineer keeps popping up...at that particular moment, Chris handed Kim some money, and the Engineer swooped in and took it...
And contest of Miss Saigon is basically a popularity contest...whichever girl received the most applause would be crowned "the winner" and they drew the raffle ticket for which GI would receive a free night with Miss Saigon.
The Engineer here is actually Leo Valdez 🙂
@@RobotShowtunes oh my bad! I read they alternated the role, and the video didn’t mention who was playing it for filming…
@@emilythorkildson8514 No harm done 😁
Lyrics is the correct term.
Libretto if you’re fancy but lyrics works fine.
I love that you keep saying “screenplay?”
There’s no screen.
Movies have screenplays.
Television episodes have scripts.
Plays also have scripts.
Musicals often have both scripts and lyrics.
Some musicals are like plays with songs interspersed throughout. Musicals like this are almost entirely sung with very few spoken moments.
My favorite musical ever!!!!
Lea Salonga won a Tony for this role.
And the Olivier, Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle and Theatre World Awards!
Watch the 2014 version in the UK
You overthink unimportant details…
The writers and producers own rights to their own stuff unless a movie is made or tv version is done. Then they sell their rights over and earn royalties. That’s why they protect and block everything. Cuz if everyone watches on your channel. They don’t get paid for it. So I see both sides. Only cuz they don’t make a ton of money off their stuff. They gotta get what they can while they can. You should link each artist channel that your watching I wonder if that would help ? Curious.
Lea Salonga who plays Kim (Miss Saigon) is from the original and is the original Miss Saigon cast
Productions play around the world, all authorised by the rights holder.
this consist the original ms. saigon cast
Yes. Lyrics.
No. Screenplay.
There is no movie made from this script (also known as a libretto).
This is a production of the Musical called MISS SAIGON. There can be many different professional productions, going on at the same time around the world, besides the Broadway Company. On the West End in London, touring the US, touring Europe. The creators get royalties for everyone of these productions. Of course, this is no longer running on Broadway or in the West End.
The word I think you're looking for instead of "lyrics" is "libretto" :)
Gigi was original cast in London
I've seen the original version stage back in 93
In London England
does anybody have the link for the video? Thanks
What tier of your patreon are the miss Saigon reactions available to?
14:23 Dude, have you never seen a wet T-shirt contest? Same deal! Just keep watching, it all makes sense eventually. 🤦♂
The lyrics or the libretto should be correct ….?
She was 17 in this. D
Not sure if you are aware of the controversy surrounding the show especially with the UK original casing when it was first produced. Sadly it’s still courts controversy in the UK when new productions are suggested. The last time I saw it was on Broadway strangely enough the blocked version you started off with. I saw original version in London with Lea Salonga and this is more or less the version you are watching now but with different a different engineer and other cast members Looking at the cast list it looks like Lea was the only London cast member to be in the show when it transferred to NY
Correct, there was massive controversy over Jonathan Pryce playing the engineer when it came to Broadway and i think Cameron Macintosh was going to pull the plug on the Broadway run of Miss Saigon. Was something to do with the writers guild in America wanting more native people playing the parts, more vietnamese etc i think.
Lea and Jonathan Pryce both reprised their roles for the broadway transfer and both won Tony Awards as well. There was controversy over both of their casting: Jonathan because he was not Asian and playing a Eurasian role with yellow face. (Obviously, he was banned from using yellow face in the broadway production.) As for Lea, there are Equity rules for hiring non-Americans for broadway. The producers had to prove that she was a star of significant caliber (basically, no one else could play the part).
@@meredithchandler73 I didn’t realise it was about both of them and thought Pryce didn’t get to go to Broadway
@@daveford12 Yeah, the controversy was that Jonathan Pryce was not Asian. The character of the Engineer was Eurasian, half French, half Vietnamese. I saw both Lea Solanga and Pryce.
@@daveford12 From what I recall, the compromise on Jonathan Pryce was that he was allowed to open the show on Broadway, with the agreement that anyone else cast in that role after him would be Asian or biracial with Asian ancestry.
To think throughout Miss Saigon Lea never had a boyfriend, never been kissed and yet she had to do all these intimate scenes.
Libretto
Cheers and applause vote for the crown of Miss Saigon - tickets are sold all night which just means the winner only pays for a ticket instead of full price for sex and the engineer makes more money off the ticket pile then off a single sex act.
The loser really turns out to be Miss Saigon as she doesn’t get the money she just gets the crown and to “service” another GI who isn’t gonna rescue her.
Cue “movie in my mind” right after the “win.”
What we say to a person who is exploring classical and musicals for the first time is "Welcome." There is no shame in learning.
In musicals there is a Script, and a Book, sometimes in older pieces or from Opera days, a Libretto, which is Italian for 'Little Book', so it's still "the Book". The Book contains the music and the arrangements for all of the lyrics and musical cues within the show. The Script contains the blocking (movement on stage) and the dialogue. Also in modern times and productions the Book can be referred to as the Score, although the Score is usually the instrumental parts laid out for the instruments and the conductor, but when it's a musical like Miss Saigon which is sung-through, Book, Script, Score... it all kinda ends up together because there's not really much dialogue, it's all singing.
As others have said, depending on which version you watch/listen to/see performed, there will be changes since lyrics and social concerns have evolved and some items got corrected to better lyrics here and there... nothing major, nothing usually in the spotlight moments of arias and solos and love duets. Just the connective stuff has some altered transitions and color.
Now, there's another musical from just before Miss Saigon's run called CHESS, and Chess had completely different plots between the West End production in London, the US production for Broadway, and then everyone kinda made up their own preferred version by mixing the two plots, until finally the composer and playwright got together and decided on a unified, definitive plot and music. But fans of one version or the other still go back and listen to their favorite, because it's a completely different ending plot.
Wikipedia will give you the answers you seek on any musical and the twisted path of development and different versions that it takes to make it to stage, and notes on where and when different recordings were taken by whom and why.
I’m kind of bummed that the first copy of chess I got my hands on was the 88 broadway so that one is more imprinted on the part of my brain that ate musicals as a teen. I prefer the 84 in a bunch of logical ways but the cheese of the broadway is the one I can sing along to easier.
Man - I haven’t dug that show up in at least 20 years.
Now I know what weird sh*t I’m cleaning my house to today.
Not much between despair and ecstasy.
@@VonPatzy As the crazy wheel slows down, where will I be? Back where I started.
You should search UA-cam for Chess In Concert with Idina Menzel as Florence and Josh Groban as the Russian. The full show is there, they semi-staged it and present the unified plot/score, which managed to finally integrate the best parts of all versions, IMHO. Yeah, the first one we listen to etches itself on our mind forever, but the combined show is worth it!
Besides, what's not to love about a musical where the score was written by ABBA members?
Hi! This is London's original casts.
ua-cam.com/video/JOJCgegMcUg/v-deo.html
I am SO HAPPY you are reacting to this version!!! The engineer here is the same person as in the film version: Jon Jon Briones. He and another person shared the role in the Manila production but Jon Jon was the one filmed. CORRECTION: I’m wrong! This is not Jon Jon Briones! Thank you, Maria!
No, the engineer here is Leo Valdez.
@@mariavanschie7946 thanks for the correction! I edited my comment.
Whilst Lea Salonga is great, I do miss Jon Jon Briones as the Engineer, think he’s better than the actor in this performance.
Why do a vlog on a musical play when you are not familiar about it ? Do a little research before you dive into these.
Plenty of people watch shows without background knowledge.
Ang dal dal mo!!! You're soooo talkative. Your reaction is somewhat off. I don't understand you. You said you wanna know the dynamics of John's and Chris' relationship. Just watch so you'll understand. ...
It's super easy for things to move really fast when a 35 year-old sergeant from America has just slept with a virginal, traumatized seventeen-year-old overseas. After paying for those services.
I absolutely adore this musical and have the 25th anniversary myself. It's one of my all-time top 10 favorite shows. But to not call almost every aspect of the story problematic would be unfair to it
Chris is 26. And the events and the story of the bargirls really existed. What this show does so beautifully is that it is war that's problematic and that everyone is a victim.
@@mariavanschie7946 Is Chris even that old? It sounds like this is his second tour. If he went in at 18 and served a 2 year tour.....he could be as young as 21 or 22.
@@mariavanschie7946 if I've been misinformed about his age or what I looked up was about a very specific production that simply decided he was that age, or perhaps the actor playing him was that age, then I apologize. But I stand by what I said. For a disenfranchised man in his twenties to hear his best buddy called the young prostitute jailbait and still sleep with her makes it no less skeevy. But you are mostly still right. I did a very bad essay back in high school about what the American dream was for an English paper, and I chose Miss Saigon as my source material telling about what foreigners coming from a different background would have believed it to be and interpreted as. The engineer still sucks though LOL. One of those lovable hateful villains.
@@leadingblind1629 There's an interesting comparison to be made with South Pacific, but I can't really go into details on my thoughts about that without major spoilers for Salvo. Maybe I'll remember on the last video.
@@callalily3994 I've seen the South Pacific remake with Glenn Close, Harry Connick Junior, and Rade ( Serbianlast name I sadly can never remember how to spell or pronounce. But people know him is the homeless guy from Batman Begins.) I completely hate that musical. The only good thing about that musical in general is the usually cut song. You know the one I'm talking about I'm sure.
If I go to your patron and subscribe and pay will I see al your reactions to miss Saigon 25th anniversary
Can someone tell me where could I find this version uncut?