Looking past the negatives
Miss Saigon still draws the crowds
by John Hall
I had the opportunity to see Miss Saigon at the Wang Centre
in Boston during the summer of '93. Unfortunately, events transpired
against me, and I missed the production. Since that time, I have heard
many people whose opinions I respect say the same things to me about
Miss Saigon: "Good acting, bad songs", "Intense mood, not sure
if I liked it", and "Wonderful sets, but, in the end, not very
memorable". If all of these are true, I thought, why is it still so
popular? I therefore made it a point to catch a performance at the
Broadway Theatre in New York the last week of January.
The original cast of Miss Saigon has long past moved on to
other projects, and it is sufficient to say that the current cast is
able to hold its own on stage. Nonetheless, the acting in the first
act can only be described as wooden and hollow compared to the
brilliance of the second act. The musical numbers also follow this
pattern; those of the second act are vibrant and engaging (especially
"My American Dream"), while the first act's numbers are flat and lack
any real energy. Thus, by the end of the play, I was confused; had I
really enjoyed what I had just experienced? From the snippets of
conversation I was picking up around me, other members of the audience
felt as I did. Once again, I found myself faced with the question, "In
the face of all the negative reviews of Miss Saigon, why is the
play still having sold-out performances?"
My first thought as to the popularity of the show was that perhaps
the second act was enough to carry the play. It is true that Act Two
left a very strong impression on the audience members sitting around
me, and I might even recommend Miss Saigon solely on the basis
of the second act to those of my friends who are absolutely addicted to
Broadway. However, I do not know of many people who would willingly sit
through an hour or so of lifeless acting and tiresome musical numbers
just to see the dazzle of the second act, which is actually shorter in
duration than the first. Therefore, I could not accept this as the
reason so many people crowd the theatre at show time.
I also pondered over the story line of Miss Saigon, thinking
that its strengths might actually make the rest of the play's flaws
unimportant. I quickly realized, though, that this was patently untrue.
The heart of the story is the love that blooms between Chris, an
American GI, and Kim, a Vietnamese prostitute, during the final three
weeks before the American withdrawal from Saigon. The basis for this
love, though, is given not more than 10 minutes of stage time in Act
One! Essentially, Chris and Kim sleep together and awaken the next
morning completely devoted to one another. Thus, their love is
unbelieveable from its inception, which hinders the audience's ability
to accept it, even when the feelings between Chris and Kim are better
explored in the second act.
At this point, I felt there was nowhere to turn. If the heart of
the entire play was not even worth regarding, what other element of the
production could wield enough power to draw in audience after audience?
Finally, I realized that I had not considered a few things even more
basic than those I had previously examined - the characters within the
story and the settings which bind them all together. In fact, the
characters and their settings share something even more elementary than
they themselves - reality. All of the characters, no matter how badly
they are portrayed by some of the actors, are real. They breathe,
walk, talk, laugh, love, and die on the stage that is a mirror-image of
our world. Some fall in love, while some languish and wallow in
gluttony and greed. In the end, though, it is the fact that all of
them have the capacity to dream and hope that grants them the
priviledge of being called real. However, the tones and moods which
color their actions all come from the settings the characters dwell in,
and these, too, are real. The chaos of war, the glittery facades
covering the moral decay of Saigon and Bangkok, and the rigid, mindless
parade of fanaticism are all major settings which dominate the stage.
The spectre of American involvement in Vietnam binds it all together,
and as such, it is difficult to ignore. Nonetheless, it is the
deceptively simple back rooms and hotels which dominate the life of the
characters, and in which all that is true in the play takes place.
This, then, is what draws people into Miss Saigon. Life is on
stage, and, like the people we know, the characters are only trying to
make their way through the obstacles placed in front of them the best
they can.
Therefore, despite the many flaws in the play, and a first act that
is badly done, Miss Saigon still attracts theatre-goers. In my
final analysis, I would have to say that I did enjoy the play, but it
takes time to put the entire experience in perspective, for, like life,
Miss Saigon can be slow and tiresome. However, if you can look
past the negatives, the taste of life this play provides is truly worth
the ordeal.
Miss Saigon is currently playing at the Broadway Theatre,
1681 Broadway (the corner of Broadway and 53rd), NYC. (212) 239-6200.
Call the Broadway Line at (212) 563-2929 for show times and more
information.
