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Post by TallPaul on Oct 25, 2017 13:09:20 GMT
It's not on the official website yet, but Bradford Alhambra is already selling tickets (to friends and groups) for Miss Saigon. It will be in West Yorkshire between 19 September and 20 October 2018, it's only stop, apparently, in God's Own County.
Public booking opens at 10am on Tuesday 31 October.
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Post by Mark on Oct 25, 2017 16:18:38 GMT
Also going to Sunderland 24 Oct-17 Nov
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Post by Paul on Oct 26, 2017 17:50:49 GMT
Seen this on Tuesday evening. Had tickets for the back of the upper circle but was moved to the front of the circle, as they closed the upper circle. I didn't notice too many changes to the production but thought it was a very good touring production. My friend who hadn't seen the show looked over at me in shock after Kim's nightmare.
Overall the cast were very good:
Sooha was very good as Kim, however her accent is quite thick and her voice is not as powerful as Eva's. I sometimes felt she had no connection with the lyrics she was singing as she did sound a bit emotionless at times, but she was still very good.
Ashley was probably the best Chris out of the three I have seen.
After reading a few comments on here about Zoe, I was expecting to be disappointed with her performance but I thought she was a much better Ellen than Tamsin or Carolyn.
I much preferred Red as the Engineer over Jon Jon. That said, the Engineer is not my favourite character, but overall I felt Red gave a more rounded performance.
Gerald Santos was fine as Thuy, a little wooden but he did the job.
Ryan O'Gorman was a very good John. Really enjoyed his performance. It was nice hearing Bui Doi without all those crazy riffs.
Na Young Jeon was quite good as Gigi, although her voice cracked slightly in the movie in my mind.
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Post by steve10086 on Dec 3, 2017 16:10:40 GMT
Saw this in Cardiff last night.
Very unimpressed with the sound quality in Act I. Sounded like an overamplified bootleg recording! Was better in Act II.
Didn’t like the guy playing the Engineer. Far far too camp, bordering on laughable. Kim was fantastic. And, apart from the sound, the production values were excellent as expected.
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Post by bimse on Dec 5, 2017 16:39:24 GMT
Saw this in Cardiff last night. Very unimpressed with the sound quality in Act I. Sounded like an overamplified bootleg recording! Was better in Act II. Didn’t like the guy playing the Engineer. Far far too camp, bordering on laughable. Kim was fantastic. And, apart from the sound, the production values were excellent as expected. I also saw Miss Saigon in Cardiff, on Monday 4th December, the house was just about full from what I could see in the stalls (admittedly I couldn't see the upper circle) . I thoroughly enjoyed the production , as spectacular and slick as the original production which I saw in 1989 . The helicopter scene is, if anything, more dramatic than the original , very well done. I agree with steve10086 the sound was very harsh at times, especially at the beginning , and most of the words were unintelligible, but it improved later on . I thought the opening was a bit frenetic too, it was hard to tell what was going on (especially since the sound wasn’t great. The performances were great though , especially Kim who was wonderful, and Chris, the engineer on the night I saw it was the “alternative” who had a tendency to over act and again wasn’t very intelligible most of the time . I think the Wales Millenium Centre is one of my favourite theatres, it’s a beautiful building inside and out and looks like it was just built yesterday. The auditorium is stunning with its wood and (I think slate) frontages to the balconies and boxes , the exterior is attractive and imaginative, and the foyers, bars and catering areas are spacious and clean , and I found the staff all round were friendly and polite . |
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Post by Paul on Dec 5, 2017 18:07:59 GMT
I feel like "the heat is on" choreography was very different on tour from when I saw this in London. Can anyone confirm the choreography has changed?
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Post by steve10086 on Dec 5, 2017 18:24:57 GMT
I think the Wales Millenium Centre is one of my favourite theatres, it’s a beautiful building inside and out and looks like it was just built yesterday. The auditorium is stunning with its wood and (I think slate) frontages to the balconies and boxes , the exterior is attractive and imaginative, and the foyers, bars and catering areas are spacious and clean , and I found the staff all round were friendly and polite . I second all of the above. The WMC is a fantastic theatre! Did have quite bad legroom on Saturday though, which surprised me as it’s always been great before. |
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Post by bimse on Dec 5, 2017 18:39:40 GMT
I think the Wales Millenium Centre is one of my favourite theatres, it’s a beautiful building inside and out and looks like it was just built yesterday. The auditorium is stunning with its wood and (I think slate) frontages to the balconies and boxes , the exterior is attractive and imaginative, and the foyers, bars and catering areas are spacious and clean , and I found the staff all round were friendly and polite . I second all of the above. The WMC is a fantastic theatre! Did have quite bad legroom on Saturday though, which surprised me as it’s always been great before. For future reference, where did you sit @steve1006? I was in the stalls row k, centre block to one side, but not actually in the side block. Leg room was fine , but I’m not tall anyway . |
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Post by tsxmitw on Dec 5, 2017 19:24:53 GMT
The problem with The Heat Is On - as with London - is the very loud shouting from the marines and the smacking of the steel chairs which makes a lot of the girl's solo lines hard to make out.
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Post by bimse on Dec 5, 2017 19:39:12 GMT
The problem with The Heat Is On - as with London - is the very loud shouting from the marines and the smacking of the steel chairs which makes a lot of the girl's solo lines hard to make out. I would agree, there seemed to be way too much going on both visually and vocally, which, without prior knowledge, would make it difficult to understand what was going on . For a setting the scene routine it’s very noisy and frenetic, but I guess that’s how it would be in reality. |
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Post by steve10086 on Dec 5, 2017 19:48:58 GMT
I second all of the above. The WMC is a fantastic theatre! Did have quite bad legroom on Saturday though, which surprised me as it’s always been great before. For future reference, where did you sit @steve1006? I was in the stalls row k, centre block to one side, but not actually in the side block. Leg room was fine , but I’m not tall anyway . Centre of Row C in the Lower Stalls, which is actually the last row of the front block of seats, before the wide aisle that runs across the stalls area. I’ve always been pleasantly surprised by the legroom as WMC, so hadn’t expected it. |
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Post by Deleted on Dec 5, 2017 21:23:39 GMT
Not being able to hear the words always seems to be a big problem in Miss Saigon. Never sure if it's sound problems or the way the lyrics are written. I am never massively aware of it as I know all the words backwards. But whenever I take anyone else they invariably say that they can't understand what's being said!
And I agree the opening scene is overly busy. But it is a fabulous production. And the best currently on tour IMHO.
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Post by cheesy116 on Jan 14, 2018 23:39:57 GMT
Does anyone know if its still Thursdays and Saturday matinees that the alternate Kim is on ? I did search for it on this thread but just in case the schedule has changed since. I am going this Sunday afternoon so was wondering if it will be Sooha or Joreen (or even the understudy).
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Post by daniel on Jan 15, 2018 0:24:33 GMT
Does anyone know if its still Thursdays and Saturday matinees that the alternate Kim is on ? I did search for it on this thread but just in case the schedule has changed since. I am going this Sunday afternoon so was wondering if it will be Sooha or Joreen (or even the understudy). traditionally Saigon hasn't done Sunday shows (it's rare for Cam Mack shows). When Saigon has been on the "normal" schedule, the alternate would do the Thursday evening and Saturday matinee, so that the lead Kim isn't doing a two show day, but also so that the matinee crowds still have the opportunity to see the lead, as wouldn't be the case if the alternate did both matinees. I wouldn't have thought the extra matinee would affect this but who knows. The alternate Engineer typically would do the Monday evening - whether this will move to the Sunday matinee or another of the weekday evenings I don't know. |
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Post by cheesy116 on Jan 15, 2018 1:59:56 GMT
Does anyone know if its still Thursdays and Saturday matinees that the alternate Kim is on ? I did search for it on this thread but just in case the schedule has changed since. I am going this Sunday afternoon so was wondering if it will be Sooha or Joreen (or even the understudy). traditionally Saigon hasn't done Sunday shows (it's rare for Cam Mack shows). When Saigon has been on the "normal" schedule, the alternate would do the Thursday evening and Saturday matinee, so that the lead Kim isn't doing a two show day, but also so that the matinee crowds still have the opportunity to see the lead, as wouldn't be the case if the alternate did both matinees. I wouldn't have thought the extra matinee would affect this but who knows. The alternate Engineer typically would do the Monday evening - whether this will move to the Sunday matinee or another of the weekday evenings I don't know. Thanks Daniel, I assume it will be Sooha then but you never know  |
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Post by daniel on Jan 15, 2018 8:47:12 GMT
traditionally Saigon hasn't done Sunday shows (it's rare for Cam Mack shows). When Saigon has been on the "normal" schedule, the alternate would do the Thursday evening and Saturday matinee, so that the lead Kim isn't doing a two show day, but also so that the matinee crowds still have the opportunity to see the lead, as wouldn't be the case if the alternate did both matinees. I wouldn't have thought the extra matinee would affect this but who knows. The alternate Engineer typically would do the Monday evening - whether this will move to the Sunday matinee or another of the weekday evenings I don't know. Thanks Daniel, I assume it will be Sooha then but you never know I'm going to the Saturday matinee which I'm expecting will be the alternate (seen Sooha twice already so would be nice to see a new interpretation!) |
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Post by cheesy116 on Jan 30, 2018 1:33:08 GMT
Thanks Daniel, I assume it will be Sooha then but you never know I'm going to the Saturday matinee which I'm expecting will be the alternate (seen Sooha twice already so would be nice to see a new interpretation!) I'm back on this thread and I'm now wondering what Kim you saw ? It was Sooha on for the Sunday matinee but we had the alternate engineer on, he was excellent. |
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Post by daniel on Jan 30, 2018 9:55:15 GMT
I'm going to the Saturday matinee which I'm expecting will be the alternate (seen Sooha twice already so would be nice to see a new interpretation!) I'm back on this thread and I'm now wondering what Kim you saw ? It was Sooha on for the Sunday matinee but we had the alternate engineer on, he was excellent. We had Joreen as Kim on Saturday evening which surprised me. But I thoroughly enjoyed her portrayal, and I saw Sooha twice back in Birmingham so was pleased to see someone new  I'm glad you enjoyed the alternate Engineer - I saw him back in August and really didn't like him for the most part. |
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Post by Dave25 on Feb 11, 2018 13:08:01 GMT
I am hearing incredible things about this production. Everyone I hear about it is raving.
In a Facebook post I read that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle visited the show this week. Does anyone know who were on in the leading roles that night?
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Post by BurlyBeaR on Feb 11, 2018 13:12:39 GMT
I’ve been a bit worried that by the time it hits Manchester in April it could be flagging a bug but it sounds like my fears are unfounded.
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Post by Pennywise57 on Feb 14, 2018 23:48:47 GMT
I have seen this production a few times now while it's been in Edinburgh (don't judge, I love Miss Saigon) and it's just Spectacular! There's not a weak link to be found anywhere in the cast and everything is just so tight it's a marvel to watch. Na-Young Jeon was amazing as Gigi, her acting was incredible and really made feel for her character. I really love her voice as well. Gerald Santos was really good as Thuy as well portraying the character sympathetically rather than the 1 dimensional villain that can so easily happen with Thuy. Zoë Doano really impressed me as Ellen. She is given a lot more to work with here as Ellen then she had with Cosette and it really showed in her acting. She had me in tears during "Maybe" (I still wish it was the old song instead but that's another story). Ryan O'Gorman's John was absolutely outstanding. Out of the 4 actors I've seen play John live (the other 3 being over the 4 times I saw the revival in London) Ryan is by far my favourite showing really strong character growth between the start of the show and the end. {Spoiler - click to view}You really get the feeling that he has grown up a lot as a person since first leaving Vietnam and in the second act, is a lot more emotionally mature then he was in the first act allowing him to add even more emotional weight behind "Bui-Doi" and the situation with Kim, Chris, Ellen and Tam. You really feel his pain and frustration. His voice is amazing too! I'd love to see him play Judas one day if he has the vocal range. Ashley Gilmour is great as well and very believable as Chris and has great chemistry with both Sooha and Joreen as Kim. I really enjoyed Red Concepción's Engineer as well offering very different take on the character than Jon Jon Briones. He doesn't play the character as dark as Jon Jon and has a much lighter comedic feel overall but out of nowhere at points he'll suddenly turn on a dime and become very menacing indeed. I found this approach very interesting and he certainly feels like a much more unstable Engineer than I've ever seen before. Sooha Kim was phenomenal as Kim. Her Kim had this real air of innocence about her which made her sad moments in the show even more heartbreaking. Her voice has this wonderful crystal clear tone to it which I thought was just beautiful yet when required she was also able to put some power behind it, very impressed with her voice! I also saw Joreen Bautista as the alternate Kim. she was brilliant as well. Her voice maybe wasn't quite as strong as Sooha's but was still very good. She acted the part amazingly well though and quite differently from Sooha. The fact that she's tiny and actually being 17 years old (I would say she looks slightly younger than that) really helps to sell how young and vulnerable Kim is early on in the show. For a 17 year old I was immensely impressed. Set wise from memory of London apart from not having poles for the two side dancers in "What a Waste", I saw no difference at all which is really impressive to me as I had assumed that they would have had to make some compromises in order to tour it. The lighting really stood out to me as well. it's just gorgeous. I also really like that they've changed the wedding song to actually include Vietnamese lyrics instead of the gibberish that they had in there before. That was one of my major gripes with the show that had no defence really, it was just a bad idea and they should never have done it. I realise that although I don't know what the new words mean, they probably aren't "what all the girls sing at weddings" but it's a step in the right direction. I think if the movie does get made they should rewrite that section to include something that would actually happen at a Vietnamese wedding, or if they really want to include that song make it 100% clear that it has nothing whatsoever to do with a wedding and is just everyone playing around or something. That is only if it does indeed have nothing to do with Vietnamese weddings, having no knowledge of Vietnamese wedding ceremonies, for all I know it could be accurate. if it is, then by all means keep it in in there. I suspect however that like the former gobbledegook lyrics used in the song it probably is nothing like what actually goes on at a Vietnamese wedding and is just lazy writing. I've gone majorly off topic now though. ramble over. Back to the production itself. Worth a special mention as well is Thao Nguyen in the ensemble. Last time I saw the show during "The Movie in My Mind" I was just about holding it together, having already seen the show twice over the prevous two weeks at that point. Then I decided to look over in her direction and saw her absolutely balling her eyes out with tears streaming down her face. Well it was then at that moment that my brain decided for some reason it was a good idea to copy her. I was an emotional wreck for the rest of the song! I'm just glad it was dark so hopefully no one saw me. Overall it's an absolutely stunning production and I feel like I pick up new things each time I watch it. Bring on the 2 show day on Saturday and I feel like a trip down to Manchester might be in order! |
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Post by Pennywise57 on Feb 14, 2018 23:55:20 GMT
I am hearing incredible things about this production. Everyone I hear about it is raving. In a Facebook post I read that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle visited the show this week. Does anyone know who were on in the leading roles that night? Dave what night did they see the show? I was there last Wednesday. |
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Post by Dave25 on Feb 15, 2018 22:55:25 GMT
I think Friday 9th or saturday 10th, it was on the FB page of certain cast members.
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Post by kimbahorel on Feb 23, 2018 14:37:51 GMT
Got two more tickets to see Miss Saigon that will be the 3rd venue I have been too.
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Post by upthespitfires on Feb 26, 2018 0:37:43 GMT
Can anyone tell me if any alternates are performing tonight (Monday) please. I thought I read somewhere that Red doesn’t do Mondays but I hope I’m mistaken!!
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