I saw Miss Saigon years ago in London, and while I enjoyed it then, I really had no great interest in seeing it again. However, I've been a fan of Lea Salonga for a long time and when I heard that she would be returning to the Broadway production in the role she originated (Kim) and I was going to be in New York at the same time, I decided I really wanted to see her. She didn't disappoint. I've seen a lot of amazing performances in my theatre-going experiences, but I have to put Lea as Kim very high on the list. Every moment was exquisite, and I could certainly understand why she received such acclaim for this role. I also remembered how much I enjoyed the score to this show. It had been so long since I had really listened to it or paid any attention to it, and I spent most of the evening saying (to myself, of course!), "Oh, I had forgotten that song was in this show! I love that one!" Unfortunately, I wasn't as thrilled with the rest of the show. The production seemed kind of tired, in the way that long-running shows often do. It was sold out (I had to wait in the cancellation line and didn't get a ticket until about 2 minutes to eight!) but I think that had more to do with the fact that it was a Monday night and nearly every other theatre on Broadway was dark than with anything else.

Lea Salonga as Kim

Luoyong Wang as the Engineer

I was especially disappointed in Luoyong Wang as the Engineer - he overplayed everything horribly. He also had a very heavy accent which at times made it difficult to understand him, which was too bad. The rest of the cast was fine and solid, but no one really stood out for me one way or the other (with one exception being Yancey Arias as Thuy, who was excellent). Will Chase was fine as Chris (although he was a jerk at the stage door, but not to me, and I try not to judge a performer on stage by his or her behaviour off stage). I did quite like Margaret Ann Gates as Ellen, and was very intrigued by the casting of an Asian woman as Ellen. It changes a lot of things in the second act butI think it was a casting choice that really works.

Will Chase as Chris

This show certainly wasn't terrible. I enjoyed it, and seeing Lea Salonga in this role was worth every penny I spent. But I wouldn't run back to this production or this show now that I've seen it. And I would run to see Lea Salonga in anything else. She's amazing. I did go to the stage door afterwards and get her autograph, but didn't think to get a picture with her. She was very sweet, but obviously exhausted, and just went down the line on either side signing playbills until she reached her car. That was, incidentally, my first experience with barricades at the stage door. :-)

Go back.