• Showing at: The Hippodrome. Birmingham, UK.
• Season: May - September 2003
• Buy Tickets
• Entertainment Rating: 90%
• Drama Rating: 87%

"Miss Saigon first premiered at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane in September 1989. Since then, it has become the third most profitable musical in the history of British Theatre, grossing more than £150 million. It has been performed in 11 countries in 7 different languages, has grossed more than £700 million worldwide and won 29 awards."

The quotation from the programme says it all. This show deserves a place with the great operas and musicals of the world.

The musical bases itself around the story of a young Vietnamese girl's (Kim) struggle for survival, with only the love for an American soldier (Chris) she met during the war to keep her alive. For most of the play, the audience witness her will to live, despite the harsh reality of Vietnam, while she dreams of the day her American soldier will return and rescue their son so that he can live his life in the "American Dream."

Ima Castro (playing Kim) was most impressive and the emotion and power of her voice grabbed our undivided attention as soon as the first syllable left her lips. Her performance alone would have made the play incredibly emotional, however every part of stage seemed to beam in emotions.

Imagine being immersed in a sea of emotions. This is what "Miss Saigon" does to you. Every single emotion and reaction you can possibly feel comes through when watching this play. As the it started, looking around, I saw smiles and laughter. Just 2 minutes later, those smiles had changed to looks of pity. I cried, I laughed, I smiled sweetly.

Through the mask of tragedy and romance, a strong negative view of war seemed to slowly build up inside of me, which furthered the feelings "Miss Saigon" seemed to squeeze out of me.

The evacuation of Saigon was possibly one of the most exciting and emotional scenes I have ever witnessed on stage. A mixture of music styles, poetic lyrics, expensive props, great directing, and some incredible performances from the chorus captivated us. This single scene, alone, seemed to reflect the whole play - emotions being thrown at you from every single little detail on and off stage. There was no escape from it.

A most emotional performance by Ima Castro (Kim) supported by the great voice of David Shannon (Chris) providing an energetic, enjoyable, and emotional play. This particular production boasted some professional and awesome sound work that blew you awway. Seeing such an incredible production was well worth the money.

Review by Richard J Turner (30th June 2003)

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