MUSICAL REVIEW: MISS SAIGON
16 Jul'10

JOHN COULBOURN - QMI Agency
Rating: 3.5 out of 5

When one considers that it took a brand new theatre to contain the theatrical juggernaut that was MISS SAIGON back in 1993 when the Claude-Michel Schönberg/Alain Boublil/Richard Maltby Jr. collaboration made its Toronto debut, one might suppose the show would have no where to go but down in any subsequent Toronto staging. But, as the song says, it ain't necessarily so -- at least not when it comes to venue.

For even though the Princess of Wales -- the theatrical showcase built to house what would go on to become a bit of a theatrical goldmine for the Mirvish organization -- remains an impressive space, it certainly doesn't dwarf Toronto's Four Seasons Centre, where a new production of MISS SAIGON took up residence Tuesday, under the aegis of Dancap Productions. Originally produced by Pittsburgh Civic Light Opera, it is the first commercial musical theatre production to grace this stage, which was, of course, built primarily for opera and ballet. That said, it should be stated that, for those who remember the mega part of the mega-musical era with fondness would probably be well-advised to give this production wide berth.

Where the 1993 production of this contemporary re-telling of MADAMA BUTTERFLY seemed to boast production bells and whistles even on its bells and whistles, this new look at the work -- helmed by director/choreographer Barry Ivan -- eschews all those frills and furbelows and puts performances first. And happily, he's come up with at least three performers who not only shine in this kind of spotlight, but in fact seem to blossom under it as well.

Returning to roles they first essayed in the Toronto premiere of the work, both Ma-Anne Dionisio (cast once again as MISS's tragic heroine Kim) and Kevin Gray (reprising his Dora Award-winning performance as the opportunistic Engineer) bring added depth to roles that helped to define their careers, moving deftly through the story and unobtrusively milking every moment for maximum emotion. The Engineer, of course, serves as proprietor of the Dreamland, the Saigon brothel in which the story begins in the final days of the Vietnam War, while Kim, a refugee from the horror sweeping her country, is his latest recruit.

Their strong performances are matched at most every turn when she meets Chris (played by a powerful Aaron Ramey), the disgruntled American GI, and the two fall deeply in love. In earlier productions, Chris was most often played by a buff Broadway boy, but Ramey brings a sense of real machismo to the role, making his stolid torment as the tragedy unfolds all the more palpable.

There is, however, a considerable downside to a stripped-down production of works such as this -- one that chooses to emphasize performance over staging -- in that it underlines that this is a musical that doesn't even begin to equal its source material. There's simply not enough in Michael Anania's simple, occasionally elegant set designs or the lighting design of John McLain to disguise the quite obvious shortcomings in both book and score.

And as forgettable song follows forgettable song (all of them sounding suspiciously rayon in a hall renowned for its silken acoustics), one starts to long for something more enduring than the Velcro grip of tunes like The Last Night of the World or the acid-washed cynicism of The American Dream. Or, at the very least, for the kind of distraction that masked such faults and elevated this little musical to what was briefly considered greatness in its first go-round almost 20 years ago.