Christian Maynard as Chris and Desdemona Cathabel as Kim
Shirley and I went to see "Miss Saigon" at The Crucible Theatre in Sheffield this evening. It's not a musical I had ever seen before and I only had half an idea about its plot.
It's mostly set at the time of the American retreat from Vietnam in the mid-1970's. For me, the show was like the proverbial curate's egg - good in parts. I wasn't knocked out by it and partly that was to do with the quality of sound. In my opinion, it needed to be crisper and probably a little louder.
There was some clever stagecraft and a long metal staircase dominated the acting space. It was multi-functional but at it its dramatic best during the airlift from Saigon with Vietnamese citizens clinging to the structure desperate to get away as helicopter blades whirred noisily overhead. Very well done.
Written by by Claude-Michel Schönberg and Alain Boublil, with lyrics by Boublil and Richard Maltby Jr., the songs that progress the plot are not as catchy and memorable as one might expect in a top tier musical. Even so it has its moments and at The Crucible there were some very good individual renditions most notably by Joanna Ampil as The Engineer and Desdemona Cathabel as Kim.
While watching "Miss Saigon", I couldn't help thinking of the pointlessness of The Vietnam War, the personal tragedies that were caused and what the hell America was doing there in the first place. What on earth did they hope to achieve?
It is of course very tragic that 58,300 members of the American military died in Vietnam but it is more tragic that 0ver a million Vietcong fighters were killed, 230,000 South Vietnamese soldiers died and over two million Vietnamese citizens lost their lives. And all for what?
Many armed forces members suffered for the remainder of their lives.
ReplyDeleteDonald Trump didn't suffer because he dodged the draft.
Delete"All for what?"
ReplyDeleteWell, all for the cold war and, as you put it in a recent post, the USA's (ostensible, at least) role as a "beacon of democracy."
They should have been able to read history. It was an unwinnable war so why fight it?
DeleteI have never seen Miss Saigon and have no wish to. I wonder about that stupid war too and why did Australians get drawn into it. My ex went over at 18 and I met him after he came back. He needed therapy but no one realised and he didn't get any until well after we divorced.
ReplyDeleteSo there is a sense in which The Vietnam War had a massive impact upon your life too Elsie.
DeleteMen's egos? Power, control, money. Plus ca change I'm sad to say.
ReplyDeleteIt is a tale told often.
DeleteAnd the Australians and British who also died, never mind the mental health and addiction issues. War is horrible but what else to do when leaders like Putin act?
ReplyDeleteI am not sure if I read it or thought it myself, but Saigon seemed rather like Madame Butterfly.
One of the best things Harold Wilson ever did was to keep Great Britain out of The Vietnam War.
DeleteFor nothing. There's a moment in Young Sheldon when his Vietnamese friend comes for dinner and Sheldon's dad asks where he is from, and then blurts out "Viet Nam. I spent some time over there. Army." Says a lot.
ReplyDeleteWhen it was over what could America say? It was not a just war to be proud about.
DeleteI wouldn't have thought of you as someone who would enjoy a musical, YP.
ReplyDeleteThis one obviously didn't light your fire.
Well you would be wrong about me then JayCee. I have thoroughly enjoyed several great musicals.
DeleteWar never proves who is right, just who is left.
ReplyDeleteIs that your own quote Mr Penguin? It's a good one.
DeleteI'll never forget going to my friend Ross's funeral at a huge military memorial cemetery here and as soon as the buglers had played Taps and saluted and folded the flag and handed it to Ross's wife and started walking away with crisp precision, a recording of Ross speaking began to play and it started out with these words: "The Vietnam War was a mistake."
ReplyDeleteSome in high places would be happy to sweep Vietnam under the carpet.
DeleteI think I have used this comment before, Neil:
ReplyDelete"War, ...
What is it good for?
Absolutely nothing"
That reminds me of a song Ellen.
DeleteI have never seen Miss Saigon either but I have heard Lea Salonga's versions of the soundtrack to the Broadway version of it many times over the years. Filipinos hold her very dear to their heart.
ReplyDeleteThrough knowing the songs you might well appreciate "Miss Saigon" more than I did.
DeleteYour last line applies to so many, many wars. But yes, Vietnam was a pointless exercise that accomplished nothing.
ReplyDeleteThe majority of men and women who fought in WWII thought it was a just war. They were fighting for freedom and hope.
DeleteAll for nothing. Sadly, reading about the Vietnam war led me to the Malayan Emergency. There seems to be no end to the horror humans are willing to subject others to.
ReplyDeleteIt's like Groundhog Day when it comes to War.
DeleteFutility. DDE, JFK, LBJ and RMN all have all that blood on their hands.
ReplyDeleteI imagine that you lost some of your contemporaries Bruce. Nobody wants to die in war but if you are going to die - let it at least be for a cause you believe in.
DeleteI had similar thoughts about the production to you Neil. I couldn't hear many of the words and 'lost' important links in the story because of the sound issues, but I did enjoy the visuals for the most part. The child playing Tam had an incredible presence the night I was there; I understand he was only four. I did see it in the West End about thirty years ago and scenes from that production are still vivid in my memory (especially the 'real' helicopter landing on stage), but the predominant things that stay from this one are the deeper implications of PTSD, the children who have grown up with no knowledge of their fathers, and the veterans back in their home country whose own families have suffered because of their war experiences; nobody was a winner. In that sense, the Crucible production achieved a more considered outcome.
ReplyDeleteThanks for calling by Elizabeth. I wanted to be lost in "Miss Saigon" - thrilled by it but at least it did give me food for thought.. Our "Tam" was also surprisingly well schooled.
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