Signature’s Miss Saigon is Moving But Lacks Depth [Theater Review]

By Jenny Chen

It is the 1970s and Ho Chi Minh city is in shambles. American boots thunder throughout the city; the streets are crawling with the poor and destitute. This is the setting for Signature Theatre’s production of Miss Saigon – a play based on Giacomo Puccini’s opera Madame Butterfly, and the eleventh longest running Broadway show in musical theater history.

Signature Theatre’s rendition of the play is visually stunning and emotionally moving. The set was meticulously crafted with wooden beams, barbed wire fences, and lifted stages to realistically portray atmosphere. Lightening was expertly designed – hues of vivid reds and browns not only leant atmospheric ambiance to different scenes, but also provided coherence to the entire show.

The musical backdrop for the show was also stunning. The orchestra swelled with ballads such as “Sun and Moon.” Sound designers provided the hectic commotion for the infamous helicopter scene (without the helicopter). The orchestra also provided a strong backdrop for the new song written for the character of Ellen (played by Erin Driscoll) titled “Maybe,” which Boublil and Schonberg wrote to replace Ellen’s song, ““Now that I’ve seen her” in the original Broadway show.

However, director Eric Schaeffer made little effort to go beyond the usual cliches of West versus East. Choreography for the Vietnamese army, while entertaining, featured orientalized martial arts and the lecherous Uncle Ho (played by Thom Sesma) often became a caricature reminiscent of old American cartoons of the pigtailed, rat-faced Chinaman. It must be said however, that Sesma played the character with due energy and enthusiasm.

Lead characters Kim (Diana Huey) and Chris (Gannon O’Brien) had well-matched vocals. Huey’s crystalline soprano harmonized perfectly with O’Brien’s tenor. Although both their roles seemed a little overacted, they conveyed the essence of their characters.

Supporting actors Chris Sizemore and Joel Chen outshone their roles. Sizemore portrayed best friend John with an honesty and realism. Chen was one of three budding actors chosen to play Tam in the performance and he received a standing ovation at the end of the show.

Miss Saigon is Signature Theater’s “most technically demanding piece to date,” said Schaeffer. And while Richard Maltby writes in his program note: “The Miss Saigon you’ll see may be closer to the one we thought we were writing: a great epic love story set again, and defined by, a moment in history as complex as any the world has ever known,” the director neglected some of the greatest complications inherent in the storyline – that of race and gender. In Schaeffer’s version, Vietnam and Thailand is depicted as decrepit and whereas the hotel where Chris and Ellen occupy in Bangkok is clean and well lit. Everything in Asia is seedy and dirty. Aside from a cracked Statue of Liberty, which frankly comes out of nowhere, there is no attempt to problematize the American persons.

 

Schaeffer’s strength is clearly is ratcheting up emotions – as the curtain fell, I heard sniffles from all around me. But the emotion he strives for is vague and unmindful. How are we supposed to feel about “Miss Saigon,” her son and her “The Engineer”? Sorry? Are we to feel dislike for, Thuy, the man whom Kim was betrothed to as a child and who marches around with his army of Communists wearing tea-farmer hats? In Schaeffer’s production, we are asked to recoil at the Asian characters (aside from Kim of course) and sympathize with the white ones.

The play ended on a sobering note and for those who have not seen it yet, we will not give it away. Suffice it to say that the final tableau is one that reminds us at a time where war is still a very real reality, it is an endeavor where no one wins. If you’re looking for a emotional and visually stirring performance, go see Signature Theater’s Miss. Saigon. Just be aware, the critical thinking might be up to you.

Signature Theater’s production of Miss. Saigon has been extended to October 6. Tickets and more information at www.signature-theatre.org