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Miss
Saigon
Presented by:
CLOC Musical Theatre
Venue:
Alexander Theatre, Monash University - Clayton
Reviewer:
Chris Hughes
Date
Reviewed: Friday 8th May 2009
Miss Saigon poses many challenges for an amateur theatre company,
not the least of which is the ability to assemble a largely
Asian-looking cast. I imagine is an arduous task to achieve.
Director Chris Bradtke and his production team did extremely well
casting a female ensemble who, on the whole, looked authentic and
added a very important dynamic to the show. Unfortunately, and
perhaps unavoidably, they assigned featured roles to Caucasian women
– those who may have passed as Asian if placed up stage. This was
not the case however. Despite their unmistakable ability and sound
stagecraft, their featured inclusion was to the detriment of
authenticity. The male ensemble were consistent throughout and
provided suitable support to the leading cast without upstaging them
and their ensemble singing, particularly in ‘Bui Doi’, was very
pleasing.
Mark Doran
in the role of Chris was well cast and delivered an impressive
performance. His physical suitability was without question and he
was equally impressive with shirt on or off (yes... even his abs
have abs). Mark’s rich tone together with his ability to interpret
the emotion of each lyric allowed his powerful voice to transcend
the stage, pushing to the back row and beyond. Mark has an innate
musicality and he attacked the score with precision and gusto or
sensitivity and subtlety, depending on the dramatic circumstance.
Mark delivered a well considered performance which was both
endearing and convincing.
Bianca Baykara, looked every inch the perfect Kim and gave a sincere
and capable performance. Kim is one of the most physically, vocally
and dramatically demanding roles in music theatre. The actor rarely
leaves the stage and must have a strong command of her instrument
and an undoubted acting ability. Fans of Miss Saigon cannot help
but make comparisons to Bianca’s powerful predecessors Lea Salonga
and Joanna Ampil, which is an unfair burden for a young actor to
carry. Though I am not in favour of simply reproducing a role, I
would question Bianca’s decision to sing some of the most
dramatically intense passages in a soft head voice. This occurred
frequently in Act One. I am unsure if this was a conscious decision
or the result of opening night nerves. I suspect the latter. As
the show progressed however, Bianca sat more comfortably with the
music and took flight with a number of impressive vocal belts,
matching the dramatic intensity of the score and script and
revealing moments of brilliance. Bianca’s portrayal of Kim was
entirely believable from start to finish and her commitment to the
character shone through.
Jamie McGuane as The Engineer was superb. I did feel that his
early dialogue was a little underplayed, with many of his lines
lacking the energy and razzle dazzle that we’ve come to expect from
this role. As a result, some lines fell a little flat and The
Engineer risked fading into obscurity. Then it happened... a divine
intervention of theatrical proportions. Jamie launched into the
song “If You Want to Die in Bed” and suddenly, from out of nowhere,
he hit his stride and away he went. The audience was now hooked.
Jamie’s voice was absolutely fantastic. His powerful rock belt
never faltered, such is his command of his instrument, and each
vocal number was infused with originality. Jamie’s comic timing and
ability to extract every possible laugh, without going overboard,
was exceptional and combined with his impressive vocal ability, he
completely won me over. I found myself glued to his every word and
sat bolt upright for the rest of his performance. A stand out
display of brilliant acting and singing, deserving of the highest
praise.
Toby Truscott gave a terrific performance as John. His vocal and
dramatic skill was obvious from the outset. His scenes with Chris
captured both the strength and sensitivity required of the role.
His impressive vocal performance peaked beautifully during ‘Bui Doi’
and brought the house down.
Bree Truscott demonstrated a very sound command of her craft. A
triple threat, Bree is equally at home singing, dancing and acting.
While not the perfect look for the role, her portrayal of Gigi was
heartfelt and memorable. Her performance in ‘American Dream’ was
scene stealing and an excellent vehicle to display her talent.
Nick Kong was convincing as Thuy. His intensity and focus were
unwavering throughout and his portrayal of the villain was honest
and engaging. Nick’s vocal performance was equally impressive.
Alana Kiely as Ellen also delivered a steadfast performance which
was well measured and crafted. Although she only appeared on stage
for a short time, Alana had tremendous impact, supported by her
splendid vocal aptitude. Her poise and maturity was outstanding.
Direction by Chris Bradtke was consistently solid and at times
refreshingly different. The boat scene at the end of act one was
creative and well executed. Unfortunately, there were a number of
laboured moments in the beginning of act one that momentarily slowed
the show, however following these, the show seemed to flow much more
naturally and moved with elegance. There was some unnecessary
movement of the set (graceful as it was) and of the actors which
weakened what might have been more powerful moments. For example,
Chris spent a good portion of ‘Why God Why’ circling the bed,
scampering around the room, out the door, up the stairs and on to
the balcony, then back to the bed. He sung a good portion of the
song directly to the sleeping Kim who was just two feet away and
combined with all the movement he was required to do, an intimate
and inwardly reflective moment between Chris and God was lost.
During the “Mexican stand off” in act two, when Thuy produces a
revolver and threatens to shoot Kim’s son Tam, Kim naturally stood
between Thuy and her child. Then she circled away from her
child, practically ushering Thuy to stand right next to him, with
gun in hand.
Minor points, and perhaps accentuated because every other piece of
direction was so bloody good. Chris Bradtke has once again
demonstrated his unwavering ability to pull together a show of this
scale with precision, creative flair and an appreciation for the
original concept. A massive task.
Choreographer Lynette White demonstrated a skilful use of the cast
and stage. Lynnette has a talent for moving large numbers of people
around a stage, creating great visual interest whilst serving a
practical purpose. She also plays to the strengths of her cast,
adapting the choreography to suit their abilities. This was clearly
achieved. Her choreography of ‘The Morning of The Dragon’ and
‘American Dream’ were highlights.
Music by Michael Loughlin and his orchestra was for the most part
excellent and an appropriate balance between stage and pit was
achieved. The pitch of the female ensemble during the wedding
ceremony was of concern however.
Sets by Brenton Staples were remarkable. Each piece of the cleverly
conceived construction moved with ease around the stage, the ever
changing landscape providing evolving visual interest. Each piece
was assembled with meticulous detail and creative style. The only
flaw in the set was the highly anticipated helicopter, which was a
flying cardboard cut out.
The striking set was made all the more brilliant by the inestimable
contribution of Lighting Designer Stellios Karagiannis. Costumes by
Miranda Kalgovas were terrific and consistently appealing
throughout.
CLOC has set a benchmark which other companies will find extremely
hard to match. CLOC never fails to deliver a show that is always
far greater value than the ticket price and Miss Saigon is no
different. The CLOC patronage are a sophisticated and theatrically
savvy bunch, who’ve been weaned on some of the best amateur theatre
Melbourne has to offer. As such, they demand a lot. There are no
“charity cheers” with a CLOC audience. You really have to work for
your applause. It’s with this in mind that I should say that the
discerning crowd roared and cheered during the curtain call, showing
their appreciation and admiration for a job very well done.
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