Run and Tell That: Miss Saigon (2017 Broadway Revival)

Note: Okay so I once again repeat that I'm terrible at organizing my thoughts and editing my reviews and please excuse all the metaphors I used in this review (I was in a very creative mood. I'm also sorry if they don't make sense haha.) So just bear with me people. I also came down with a wave of heat sickness as I was coming home from the show so like I've stated before... bear with me people.

"... The sound as well as the special affects literally had me turning my head because I felt like an actual helicopter was landing inside the Broadway Theatre."

So I'm not going to give a whole back story like I normally do with my reviews, because a lot of you already know my connection with Miss Saigon and if you don't then check out my review for the 25th Anniversary Pro-Shoot. So let's get cracking shall we? First off seeing this show in person is a completely different experience from seeing it in a movie theatre. I sat in the first row mezzanine and so I got to see the whole stage and I really loved seeing all the little details that were carved into the sets, designed by the talented Totie Driver and

The view from my seat

Matt Kinley, such as the beautiful crisp dark red wood to the fading Bangkok signs on the sides. The proscenium alone made me curse the theatre gods for not giving this show a Tony nod for scenic design. Honestly them being robbed of a lighting nomination also needs to be discussed because they had some of the most beautiful lighting, designed by the genius Bruno Poet, I have ever seen in a show. Now let's talk about the best, and most underrated, sound design I have ever heard on stage designed by the brilliant Mick Potter. When Best Sound Design was tragically removed a few years back many shows were hurt because of it such as Hamilton and Miss Saigon shows that would have easily won this award and a well deserve win at that. The orchestra sound alone was brilliant. The sound was quite impressive in two specific parts of the show the first part was during "Back in Town/Coo-Coo Princess" when you hear the parade continuing outside the hut. The music actually sounded like it was coming from the back of the stage and gradually rose as if it was coming toward you. The second time was during "Fall of Saigon" the sound as well as the special affects literally had me turning my head because I felt like an actual helicopter was landing inside the Broadway Theatre. I was waiting for the chopper to just come flying onto the stage. That entire scene was just utter perfection from the lighting, sets, acting and blocking. Now since I just mentioned blocking that's a nice transition to talk about the director Laurence Connor who while overall did a great job did leave some parts of this puzzle untouched. I really only had two distinct problems with his blocking of this show. The first one was at the very beginning of the show when Kim, played by understudy Emily Bautista (Who I'll get into later,) after the bomb gets dropped on her village Kim normally gets knocked down by people running all over the place however that didn't happen when I saw it. (I personally felt that that really hurt the opening in a part that really shows the chaos of that time). The second was at the very end when Kim walks from upstage down with Tam right before she kills herself it was the exact same thing in the 25th

Nkrumah Gatling, Taurean Everett, Dan Horn,
Graham Scott Fleming and Casey Garvin

Anniversary pro-shoot. KIM LOOKED BORED!!! Now I realize that this wasn't the actors fault. I mean wouldn't Kim want to be getting the best moments with her son before she kills herself why would walk stiffly with Tam knowing this was her last moments with him. I mean that's just me, but Connor you have got to fix that somehow because if both Eva and Emily did it then it's not the actresses fault. Despite those two moments I overall loved the way Connor directed this production. I loved the grittiness of the show and the realistic depictions of the bar girls in Dreamland and exactly what these girls went through. I did notice how they made the violence a lot more intense than in the 25th. For example instead of Gigi just getting slapped by the Engineer she is literally thrown across the bar and then slapped. I really liked that addition because it made "The Movie in My Mind" all the more heartbreaking. There were also some small lyric changes here and there, but the most massive lyric change was in "The Wedding Ceremony" instead of the girls singing "Dju Vui Vai" I'm pretty sure they sang actual Vietnamese which was a really nice touch to the show. The piece of the show that really blew me away though was "Morning of the Dragon" I was absolutely terrified throughout that entire number from the vocals to the dancing, lighting, acting, etc. That number was absolutely frightening with its depiction of communism and how the Vietcong felt after the war was over. I had goose bumps up and down my arms for 5 minutes straight after that scene. I could just watch that performance on repeat for days it was so good! Anyway let's get cracking with the actors/actresses now! Now before I start talking about the main roles I have to give a shot out to the ensemble members of Miss Saigon. First off the women of Saigon who I think maybe two are over the age of 40 and in the ensemble as bar girls wearing bikinis and they both look fierce AF and look amazing for their age! Second we have Casey Garvin (A.K.A. daddy) who portrayed a gay Mormon during "What a Waste" and he was absolutely hilarious in this role (And quite the looker too.) I also have to give a shout out to Robert Pendilla who featured me on his Instagram story after the show and to Miss Viveca Chow who went on for Emily Bautista's tracks while she covered the role of Kim. The ensemble of Miss Saigon is ridiculous and all are insanely talented and attractive (Which really isn't fair. People you have to pick one be either attractive or talented you don't get both!) Alrighty now that I've said my peace about that let's get into the main roles. First up we have the magnanimous, the magnificent, humble, ridiculously talented and crazily underrated Rachelle Ann Go. There are just not enough words to describe how much Go has changed and how much she has

Rachelle Ann Go

grown from that first preview of Miss Saigon to now. Go is an absolute star from the minute she walks on stage every single moment of her life! Go is one of the kindest people you will ever meet with the best set of pipes to ever hit Broadway or West End. I really don't know what to say other than how beautiful her Gigi was. It was ridiculous how her Gigi went from being this fierce, growling sex fiend to a shy, timid young girl afraid of her own shadow in the bat of an eye. I honestly don't know quite how to describe the feeling of when Go sings. It's as if nothing else in the world exists, but that big belting voice. There were these two little blink and you'll miss them moments that Gigi had and they were absolutely heartbreaking the first moment was right after "The Dance" as Kim and Chris, played by the sexy Alistair Brammer (Who I'll also get into later,) go up to their room. Gigi looks up at them as she walks out of Dreamland alone, dejected and hurt and you feel the pain in Gigi's eyes. Gigi has just witnessed another girl lose her virginity to an absolute stranger and it breaks her heart. The second time was during "Exodus" at the end of act one when all the refugees are gathering onto the boat Go comes on in her Gigi "The Wedding Ceremony" outfit and notices The Engineer, played by the deliciously talented Jon Jon Briones (Again I'll get into him later,) and Gigi goes up to The Engineer to say hi and chat about old times, but The Engineer just throws her away

Devin Ilaw

without even looking at her. Gigi once again leaves feeling alone, dejected and hurt. Up next we have the role of Thuy played by the talented Devin Ilaw who while being a great actor was not an intimidating Thuy. It's really hard to follow in the footsteps of someone like Kwang-Ho Hong (The 2014 West End Revival Thuy) who could scare you to the core with his singing voice. I think the main downfall of Ilaw's Thuy was how his tone is a lot higher than that of Hong's and therefore it didn't have that creepy, dirty quality to it. While I'm sure Ilaw is a phenomenal actor after seeing Hong I don't think anyone will beat his portrayal of Thuy. If I could just put the voice of Hong into the body of Ilaw that would make for one terrifying Thuy and would also be an excellent Billy Bigelow in Carousel, but anyway onto the controversial character of Ellen portrayed by the brilliant Katie Rose Clarke. Clarke is a phenomenal Ellen and definitely my favorite that I've ever seen. I love Clarke's interpretation of Ellen! I love how much more emotional Clarke's Ellen is which is something that deeply lacked in previous Ellen's. Yes did they show emotion, but none like Clarke did. Clarke showed you the painful side of Ellen and how hurt she was the Chris wouldn't open up to her. Most Ellen's sing "I Still Believe" as if they are just patiently waiting for Chris to open up to them while Clarke was about ready to

Katie Rose Clarke

cry her eyes out because she loves him so much. Clarke was just sheer perfection from "Room 317" all the way to "The Confrontation." I just loved how sweet Clarke's Ellen was when she said "Don't turn the bed yet." when she confused Kim for the maid. You could just feel the awkwardness rise when Ellen realizes who Kim is. Ellen doesn't know how to handle this situation and you can see how she realizes that she messed up by telling Kim she was married to Chris. She literally breaks down crying when Kim leaves and just keeps sobbing "Oh god. What have I done? (Sweet Jesus what have I done? Become a thief in the night, become a dog on the run... Sorry I had to.)" This leads into Ellen's song "Maybe" which feels more right and fitting with Clarke's rendition, but it still feels out of pace with the rest of the show. However as I said in my review for the 25th there are just so many emotions and different ways to react in a situation like this that you can't possibly just narrow it down to one song. Although as I've said before I applaud Claude-Michel Schönberg and Alain Boublil for continuing to rewrite and work on the song to make it work. I think the best part of Clarke's Ellen was during "The Confrontation" when she finally confronts Chris about all his lying and calls him out on his shit. Clarke yells "GOD DAMMIT CHRIS SPEAK TO ME!!" as she blocks his path from leaving the room. She forces him to open up to her Clarke's Ellen challenged Chris and raised the stakes a ton. After seeing Clarke's Ellen live I can definitely say that she deserved a Tony nod for her turn as Ellen. Up next we have John played by the fantastic Nicholas Christopher who was the perfect John. While many of the John's played him as this uber pervy character Christopher went back to the Peter Polycarpou mold where John is more of a gentle giant. I mean don't get me wrong John was still a massive pervert in "The Heat is On in Saigon" it wasn't a monster like Hugh Maynard in the 25th, however I'm also going to assume this was also due to changes in direction. Christopher's

Nicholas Christopher

John got better and better as the performance progressed. Christopher's "Bui Doi" was absolutely stunning and sounded so much better without all of the riffs and the simplicity made it that much more beautiful and again those harmonies were orgasmic (Sorry that's just the only way to describe them.) I also liked how in "The Confrontation" he was trying to be the voice of reason by saying that Chris and Ellen staying in Bangkok and paying for Tam would only make things worse for Kim. Now while we're on the topic of Chris let's talk about the amazing Alistair Brammer. This was my third time seeing Brammer in Miss Saigon I first saw him in a bootleg (Oh grow up we all do it) of the 2014 West End Revival and then in the 25th pro-shoot and finally here on Broadway. I definitely think overall that Brammer has gotten better with his portrayal of Chris I have the opposite feeling about him then from the 25th. For the 25th I loved Brammer's first act Chris and felt his second act Chris was a little too violent for my liking. However this time around I preferred Brammer's second act Chris over his first. Here's why I felt his act one Chris was a little too messed up for act one. I felt that he was too damaged in the act. In my opinion I think Chris is just as innocent as Kim on some levels in act one. I also just wasn't feeling the chemistry between him and Bautista's Kim. I felt Bautista trying to make a connection, but Brammer just wasn't putting in the effort (This may be in part due to Emily being the understudy and this only being her 2nd or 3rd time on in the role). However, his Chris in act two has improved immensely from London. There were little things he added (Or maybe things I just noticed) that made his act two Chris all the better. For example the shaking of his hands in "The Revelation" while holding the report on

Alistair Brammer and Rachelle Ann Go

Kim to his hesitance to hold Kim in "Finale." His parts in "The Confrontation" were a thousand times better and it was no longer as violent and I think it felt that way in part due to Katie Rose Clarke raising the stakes on her end. It also helped that Clarke and Brammer had excellent chemistry because Clarke actually looked and felt like his wife whereas Tamsin Carroll's Ellen seemed to be much older than Chris in the 25th. One great part of Brammer's performance was getting to see his butt during the end of "The Dance" just as the lights went out. That was a plus in my book. Anyway onto the main man of the night Jon Jon Briones who's Engineer is like a fine wine, it just gets better with age. As I stated in my review for the 25th Briones was in the original West End cast and probably has the most performances under his belt of any Engineer having performed as the alternate in the original West End and Manila productions, was the understudy and eventually promoted to lead in a German production (Where he met his wife Megan who was Ellen) and he also starred in 2014 West End Revival, 2nd UK Tour, 2017 Broadway Revival and the 1st North American Tour. Briones knows how to work an audience like the Engineer knows how to work a crowd of men. Briones had the perfect comedic timing and he also knew how to be dramatic without going over the top. There is really not much else I can say about Briones that I haven't already said. I will forever be pissed at the Olivier's for not giving him the award which he deserved and the Tony's for not giving him the

Jon Jon Briones with Ensemble

nomination he deserved. Now before I start to talk about Emily Bautista as Kim I want to add a quick note. I was on twitter the other day and someone made a note of Miss Saigon saying that they realized the tag of "The Epic Love Story of Our Time." was not about Kim & Chris' romance it was about Kim and Tam's romance. The "Epic love story" is about a mother's love for her child so I looked at the role of Kim in a completely different perspective this performance. Now that I've said my peace on that it's onto the main woman of the night Emily Bautista (Who is the Kim understudy in this revival). I've known Bautista for a few months now and I really wanted to see her as Kim because she went to Ithaca College (Where I'll be attending in the fall) and I wanted to see her interpretation of the role. Plus I had already seen Eva in the 25th and saw Lianah at the Kelsey theatre. I prefer my Kim's to have ridiculous powerful belts such as Julia Abueva or Joan Alemedilla, but with Bautista I got a gentler approach to Kim (Which I surprisingly loved). Bautista's tone is higher than that of other Kim's I've seen. That higher tone actually supported her Kim it made her more vulnerable and more innocent and more haunting. That lighter tone made "I'd Give My Life for You" into a creepy lullaby especially with how Kim held Tam in her arms the entire number and it was really creepy. Instead of chills being sent down my spine with the amazing vocals (Which Emily does have) chills were sent down my spine by the hauntingness (Yay making up words) of that number. I absolutely love this rendition especially after that whole "Epic love story" of our time tweet. Bautista's Kim is like a stained glass window. In

Emily Bautista

the beginning you have this beautiful work of art that all you want to do is gaze and admire, but you have to remember to keep a gentle touch with the art work or it will break. When it breaks that is when the beautiful stained glass becomes deadly because now that its edges are no longer smooth they're jagged which will cut you and harm you. Bautista's Kim just like that stained glass while beautiful as a whole it is deadly when broken. We see a small crack appear in "The Heat is On in Saigon" and the small crack gradually increases throughout "The Movie in My Mind" and both Chris and Thuy receive a little cut in "This Money's Yours" and "Thuy's Arrival/Thuy's Intervention" then you finally see that beautiful stained glass window again in "Sun and Moon" and "Last Night of the World." However that beauty doesn't last forever. That beautiful stained glass cracked even more in "Back in Town/Coo-Coo Princess" and is broken in half during "Thuy's Death/You Will Not Touch Him" where we first see the true deadly nature of this piece when Thuy shoots Kim and that beautiful stained glass window is nothing but a weapon with pretty colors protecting Tam during "I'd Give My Life For You." During the second act we see that beautiful stained glass now with sanded edges and you can see the beauty again, but you also see the age in the piece. Finally when that beautiful piece is about to become whole again when she is reunited with Chris she meets Ellen who drops the stained glass and shatters it into a million pieces. That beautiful piece of glass is now broken and beyond repair and with no way to repair it, it gets discarded or in Kim's case she kills herself so Tam can have his best life. Emily Bautista's Kim is vastly different from every other Kim I've seen and I love it. She breathed a new life into this role and she practically blew Kim's lungs out with how much of a breath she gave. I have to say bravo/brava to everyone involved in this absolutely stunning production! Don't forget to check this show out! It runs until January 15, 2018 so buy your tickets here and don't forget that a national tour that is planned to start after the Broadway run ends!

"One man to head us! Each girl, each boy, one voice to lead us in a song of joy! This is the hour! This is our land!"