MISS SAIGON

[Poster]

Miss Saigon opened on September 20, 1989, at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane in London, where it continues in its seventh year. The show, which was produced by Cameron Mackintosh and co-written by the team of Alain Boublil and Claude-Michel Schonberg, is based on Puccini's Madame Butterfly. It opened in New York on April 11, 1991, where it is now in its sixth year. The show is also touring around the USA, as well as in Tokyo, Toronto and Stuttgart, Germany.

The Story...

[Photo]
The cast of Miss Saigon performs "The American Dream."

The action begins on a Friday night in Saigon in April, 1975, in an after-hours club frequented by American Marines. Kim, a 17-year-old orphan who has fled the countryside after seeing her family destroyed, arrives to make her way in the big city.

Two friends, Chris and John, arrive at the club to escape the danger of the approaching Viet Cong. Chris is astounded by Kim's innocence when she is pushed forward to solicit the crowd. Chris and Kim spend time together and eventually fall in love.

The couple decides to move in together, but in the midst of the celebration of their engagement, Thuy, the man Kim's family had arranged for her to marry, arrives. He is outraged and demands that she leave with him. Kim refuses.

Three years later, the Viet Cong have taken over Saigon, and Thuy, now a Commissar, decides to locate Kim. She is living in a small room with a group of Vietnamese, and spends most of her days remembering her nights with Chris.

Back in America, Chris has married another woman, who soon realizes that her husband harbors secrets from his past. Meanwhile, Thuy badgers Kim, who reveals that she is the mother of Chris' two-year-old son, Tam. Thuy threatens them, so she kills him. Kim and Tam then escape to Bangkok.

Realizing that he needs to resolve the events of his past, Chris ventures to Bangkok. The ensuing confrontations bring about the stunning and poignant conclusion of Miss Saigon.


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