Miss Saigon set for Birmingham theatre

In short, it’s completely and utterly unforgettable.

As a teenager, I can remember seeing TV footage of the war in Vietnam and the horrors that both the Vietnamese and American military were going though. I was only young but I still remember it. Then came an influx of ‘boat people’ who suddenly appeared in our village and at my school. Where had they come from? Who were they? Why had they had to leave their own country? I didn’t really know the answers to any of these questions, but Miss Saigon answered most of them for me when it premiered in the late 1980s.

Music is by the incomparable team, Claude-Michel Schönberg and Alain Boublil, while lyrics are by Alain and Richard Maltby Jr. It came hot on the heels of the team’s epic musical phenomenon, Les Miserables. Miss Saigon is based on Puccini’s beautiful composition, Madame Butterfly, and tells the tragic love story of a 17-year-old Vietnamese girl and an American GI who meet during the conflict of war and turmoil.

Under the talented eye of Cameron Mackintosh, theatre’s most prolific producer, the musical premiered at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane in London’s West End in September 1989 and ran for ten years.

It’s little wonder then that it continues to tour and entertain audiences across the globe 30 years later.

But just how do you go about staging such and iconic musical, managing to keep it fresh, alive and energetic, but still retain the original concept and ensuring that the writers’ vision and the heart and soul of the piece remains intact? Reinvent it, of course. But very carefully, which is exactly what Cameron and his team have done each time it goes on tour, the latest being this summer, when the show previews at the Leicester Curve, before heading to the Birmingham Hippodrome from next Wednesdy, July 26, to September 23.

When offered the opportunity to spend the first day of rehearsal with the cast and creative team of the new tour, I didn’t need asking twice. Never before has Sir Cameron allowed a writer into his rehearsal space. So it was with trepidation but determination to get as much out of the day as possible, that I told everyone I was off to Vietnam, which in a way I was; but in fact, headed for the company’s rehearsal studios in east London for a day of sheer theatrical indulgence.

It was chaos. Laughing, shouting, hugging, kissing; obviously excited performers on the first day of rehearsal who were renewing old acquaintances and friendships, meeting new people and for some, the experience of meeting Sir Cameron and Claude-Michel Schönberg for the first time.

In a corner of the room someone was being fitted for shoes and costumes, while another was warming their voice up. Someone was talking to the casting director, another to the designer asking about the set. It was everything you would expect from a cast and crew about to begin a huge adventure together.

Fascinated and enthralled, I dived into this sea of musical drama and swam for my life. It’s clear that an extremely professional, but family atmosphere exists among Sir Cameron’s employees. From the performers to the marketing team, the stage crew to the production team, the wardrobe to the casting director, everyone is in it together and committed to success.

Everyone, me included, sat or stood in a huge circle and explained who we were and what involvement we had in the production.

When my turn came, I squeaked that I was from the Star, expecting suspicion – but the welcome was extremely warm.

I met one half of the musical genius behind the show, Claude-Michel, an incredibly charismatic gentleman, and was completely lost for words.

Finding an Asian cast is, of course, challenging. The role of Kim, is extremely demanding and takes an actress of exceptional strength and experience to carry it off, yet she needs to be very young and, as Sir Cameron puts it, ‘pure’ in order for her characterisation to be authentic. After all, she is just 17 in the show.

Enter Sooha Kim, a beautiful Korean actress who’s no stranger to this role, having made her professional debut as Kim in the London production at the Prince Edward Theatre, before moving to play the same role in the Japanese production.

I asked Sooha how she researched her role. “I read a book about the Vietnam war and went to the war museum in Korea and studied the manuscripts at school,” she tells me.

Sooha is very matter of fact about her own feelings. “If I am feeling a bit down, it actually helps me to immerse myself into the role,” she says.

The chemistry between the two lead characters is crucial to the storyline and I would have thought it would be essential to have met and made a friendship with the actor playing Chris prior to rehearsals, but Sooha says: “I think it is easier to do an intimate scene with someone who you are not acquainted with rather than being good friends, so that as you act, in real life you are starting to learn more about each other. It’s an interesting thought, but actually very plausible.

Sooha is very careful with her voice, and with good reason as the songs in Miss Saigon are huge. “If I feel a slight chill, I put a scarf on and I am very sensitive of my surroundings,” she says. “I have a big responsibility.”

When I asked what the stand-out moment of the show was for Sooha, she was very quick to answer. “I’ll Give My Life For You, which is the song Kim sings to her tiny son, Tam. It is because this song is hinting at what is going to happen, but also because it is sharing that she would literally give anything – including her life – for her child.”

It’s serious stuff for one so young, but having met Sooha, I have no doubt she will be superb.

Because the role is so demanding, 17-year-old Filipino, Joreen Bautista appears as Kim at certain performances. What a responsibility at such a young age and travelling half way across the world to play it. I understand that her parents accompanied her for the first couple of weeks of her adventure, but it was when they returned home that the strength of Joreen’s version of Kim became apparent. After all, it cannot be easy to be so intimate with a stranger on stage with mum and dad looking on.

Kim’s GI is played by Ashley Gilmour, who also appeared in the London production as part of the ensemble, but he always dreamed of playing the role of Chris. He and Sooha work extremely well together. “It helps how well written the songs are,” says Ashley. “You feel the emotion every time you sing them which means it feels very natural. Sooha has played the role before and she has helped me a lot.” Every scene is an emotional rollercoaster. Just how does Ashley cope? “You switch it on once you get on stage,” he says, “but you also have to learn to switch it off too. It’s like real life. We have those emotions; you fall in love, you get heart broken, it is just putting your emotions out there.

“We have a responsibility to tell this story and you can’t half tell it; you have to invest in it. It’s passing a message onto another generation so they can form their own opinion of what happened and feel respect for those people it affected.”

The music in the show, as you would expect is extremely complex. I asked Ashley if it had been challenging.

“It has. But I had a bit of a head start because I listened to Alistair Brammer singing it for a whole year while I was in the London production, so it really helped because I half knew it. The music department here are incredible. I have had a few sessions on my own with Stephen Brooker and James, our MD, to get it all down and work on bits,” says Ashley.

A highlight in the show is a life-size helicopter, which lands and then takes off again on stage. I saw it on the day I visited the cast at one of their technical rehearsal days in Leicester. Spoiler alert! Let’s just say you hear it before you see it and the effect is nothing short of chilling. It’s one of the most incredible special affects you will ever see in theatre and Ashley gets to ride it. “I always wanted to be the one who rides that helicopter!” he laughs.

Ashley is very proud of his achievements. “I am very proud that I have come this far and given theatre my best shot,” he says. “I can’t believe I am playing Chris.”

Even in the darkest of musicals, you will find a character who injects some comedy.

In Miss Saigon, that character is The Engineer, who is essentially a pimp. In the latest production, he’s played by Red Concepcion, a highly engaging and instantly loveable musical theatre actor from the Philippines. Red is a huge star in the east and is excited to be performing in Europe and the UK, a dream he has had for a long time.

I talked to Red about his part in Miss Saigon and how it feels to break out across the world. Red is a long way from home, but he loves his role.

“This is my first show in Europe and in the UK, which is very exciting!” he says. “The Engineer is nasty, but funny and charming in his own way. When I auditioned for Miss Saigon, I told myself I would take any role. I really had no inkling that I would get The Engineer. When they told me I had a call back, I thought it was a clerical error!” he laughs. “For an Asian male performer, it is one of the biggest roles you can get in musical theatre.

“Miss Saigon is really big in the Philippines because the original Kim, Lea Salonga, is from there and a huge percentage of Engineers have been Filipino and so it is a great honour to be among them,” adds Red.

He can’t wait to come to Birmingham.

“I can’t wait to see the Birmingham Hippodrome, I hear it is a huge theatre.”

He continues: “I was in Priscilla Queen of the dessert, isn’t that fun?

“In Miss Saigon, I wear some pretty high platform shoes and they asked me if that was going to be a problem, and I was like, I’ve been in Priscilla; it’s not a problem!”

I wondered if Red likes his character?

“I don’t like him, but I like playing him. I try not to judge him,” says Red.

I always wonder if actors base their characters on people they know in real life.

“I have met a few people who have used their charm as a weapon and for The Engineer, his words and is charm are his only weapons. He has got a knife but he only uses it to threaten. He is nasty and ruthless but also a bit of a coward really. That’s how I see him, says Red. “But he is really only trying to survive and he hides behind his charisma and wit.”

Miss Saigon certainly does deliver a message. As a musical theatre production, it is thrilling, informative and thought provoking, heart-breaking and completely traumatic and yet unexpectedly very entertaining. The superb casting, exceptional score, and visual effects will stun and astound you.

l Catch Miss Saigon at Birmingham Hippodrome from July 26-September 23. Visit www.birminghamhippodrome.com or call 0844 338 5000 for tickets.