Theater Review: Signature Theatre’s ‘Miss Saigon’

Location: Signature Theatre, 4200 Campbell Avenue, Arlington, VA

Website: Official Signature Theatre site

Starring: Thom Sesma, Diana Huey, Jason Michael Evans, Chris Sizemore, Christopher Mueller, Erin Driscoll

My Review: *In the name of fairness, I will disclose that I saw this production while it was still in previews and the pivotal role of Chris (Jason Michael Evans) was being played by the understudy (Gannon O’Brien).*

I have long had a fondness for the musical Miss Saigon. Created by the team of Claude-Michel Schonberg and Alain Boublil, it was the blockbuster theatrical production that followed their other blockbuster theatrical production, Les Misérables, and landed on Broadway during my formative pre-teen years. Already being a Les Mis devotee—and a fan of big, emotional musicals in general—it wasn’t hard to fall in line with Team Miss Saigon.

Loosely based on Puccini’s opera Madame Butterfly, Miss Saigon is the ultimate tragic love story set against the backdrop of the Vietnam War. American GI Chris meets and falls in love with the Vietnamese prostitute Kim (but she’s only a prostitute out of desperation and only for that one night when they meet, so she’s not that kind of prostitute, making her a protagonist that even the most conservative theater-goer would feel OK rooting for). Unfortunately, his plans to marry her and bring her back to America with him go awry when they get separated during the fall of Saigon and Kim is left behind. Three years go by, and an increasingly desperate Kim is still holding onto the dream of the return of her American husband. A reunion seems imminent when Chris’ war buddy, John, discovers Kim’s new whereabouts in Bangkok and they set out to find her. But the presence of Chris’ wife, Ellen, throws a wrench into Kim’s happily-ever-after fantasy.

Those who aren’t intimately familiar with the story or music of Miss Saigon probably know it best as, “that musical with the helicopter.” And it’s true; the early 1990s original Broadway production landed a helicopter on stage, along with having a full-size Cadillac appear for a major musical number and featuring a giant statue of Ho Chi Minh that loomed over the stage. For better or worse, it was what I like to call “a big-ass musical.” But the Signature Theatre is a modestly-sized venue, so they couldn’t do this big-ass musical with its original production values even if they wanted to (or could afford to). So how could they translate Miss Saigon for what their space would allow?

With some pretty creative staging and choreography that, for the most part, actually worked. All the musical numbers are still there, but instead of 30 dancing chorus members, there are 10. Instead of one giant Ho Chi Minh, there are six normal-sized ones still casting an imposing presence. Instead of landing a helicopter…well, I don’t want to give away all of Signature’s tricks, but what they come up with works just as well for the scene.

Surprisingly (to me, at least), the show doesn’t suffer from the move to its new, smaller digs. Sure, grand theatrics and stage pyrotechnics are fun and all, but the story, songs, and heart are what make a musical worthwhile, and none of that is missing at the Signature Theatre. There were a few instances where you could tell the cast would have liked a little more space to move or dance about in, but that didn’t detract from the more important moments, like feeling the necessary gut-punch when Kim first encounters Chris’ new wife.

Kim is, in my opinion (check the name of the blog, bitches), the performance that can make or break a production of Miss Saigon. And luckily, Diana Huey is up to the task. She’s believably scared and overwhelmed when first thrown into the life of a Vietnamese prostitute, sells you on the joy she feels when she thinks she’s found a good man who will take care of her, then breaks your heart when all of her dreams fall apart. With a voice that my theater companion aptly called “Disney princess pretty,” she’s a perfect fit for the sweet, naïve Kim. (Fun, if not overly relevant, fact: Lea Salonga, who was the original Kim on Broadway, also provided the singing vocals for Disney’s Princess Jasmine in Aladdin and Mulan in Mulan.)

Another cast standout is Thom Sesma as the Engineer, the club-owner/pimp/opportunist who first brings Kim into her new line of work and then latches onto her when he sees her as his ticket to becoming the American entrepreneur he dreams of being. Gifted with some of the more fun musical numbers, he provides bursts of much-needed comic relief during the performance, easily working his sleazy charm over on the audience while completely failing to do so on stage with various Vietnamese officials and American soldiers.

The role of Chris has always been problematic to me. His development is shoved aside in favor of focusing on Kim, so his motivations are never as clearly defined. Does he really love her, or is he just trying to do what he thinks is the right thing in the moment? Did he really tap every resource he could to find her after being forced to leave her behind? How invested was he really if he managed to find a new American wife relatively quickly? As previously stated, I saw understudy Gannon O’Brien as Chris on the night I attended, and while he was capable enough, he was clearly not as comfortable in the role as I would imagine someone who had been rehearsing it for weeks would have been, which did nothing to make me stop questioning Chris’ various motives and decisions.

A more problematic role, in that it’s a totally thankless one, is that of Ellen, Chris’ wife. She creates the primary roadblock to the happily-ever-after we want to see, but rather than emphasizing how it’s a position she never wanted to be in, Erin Driscoll makes her version of Ellen seem almost cold and cruelly disinterested in the devastation that her very existence creates for Kim.

Signature’s new production of Miss Saigon also features a brand-new song for Ellen: “Maybe,” which replaces her former Act II number (and only solo), “Now That I’ve Seen Her” (or “It’s Her or Me,” depending on if you saw the original show in London or New York). The new tune is unmemorable and, being intimately familiar with the Original Broadway Cast album, I don’t know why the Monsieurs Schonberg and Boublil felt the need to fix what wasn’t broken.

The less I say about Christopher Mueller as Thuy, the horrible man Kim’s parents arranged for her to marry before the war, the better. It’s a relatively small part, so the minutes you’re forced to spend watching him try to portray an intimidating figure are blessedly few.

Bottom Line: The Signature Theatre is marketing this new staging of Miss Saigon as the most ambitious and largest production in their history, and thankfully they were up for the challenge. There are a few growing pains (or in this case, shrinking pains), but nothing that detracts from the overall enjoyment of the show. Much like its older sister Les Misérables, Miss Saigon isn’t without fundamental problems on the page, but the newly trim version at Signature is a testament to how well a small theater can do a big-ass musical. 

Theater Review: The National Ballet of Canada's 'Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'

Location: The Kennedy Center, 2700 F Street NW, Washington, DC

Website: Official National Ballet of Canada site

Starring: The company from the National Ballet of Canada

My Review: I admittedly know very little about ballet beyond what I learned in dance classes I attended as a child (where it was less about skill and more about looking cute in a tutu), but just as with graphic art (another art form I have little formal education in), I know what I like when I see it. And the National Ballet of Canada's production of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland is something I liked very much.

Alice in Wonderland has long been one of my favorite stories, from Lewis Carroll's original book, to the Disney animated classic, to the bizarre '80s mini-series (that made me one of the few first-graders who knew who Red Buttons and Imogene Coca were), to Melanie Benjamin's recent novel, Alice I Have Been. When I first saw that the Kennedy Center would be presenting this new ballet version of Alice, I wondered why it hadn't been done before. Being such a lively, episodic, and whimsical tale, it seems to naturally lend itself to a dance performance.

Luckily, choreographer Christopher Wheeldon saw this potential and crafted this new and exciting Alice. Using a brilliantly creative combination of animated screens, puppetry, breathtaking scenery, and extremely talented dancers, Wheeldon takes you on Alice's familiar journey, but in a way that manages to feel brand new.

Clocking in at almost three hours long (with two intermissions), Alice's Adventures in Wonderland could be a tedious exercise in sitting still (especially considering how the production is likely to appeal to children). But each scene moves along at a steady, quick pace, and there's always so much to take in on stage that the length isn't even noticeable until you check your watch on the way out.

One of the key reasons that I've had less exposure to ballet than other performing arts is that I find featured dance solos to often drag on for too long. I fully support giving each principal dancer their moment to shine, but I often wish they would shine for about the half the time they take. In Alice, this is never an issue. Each solo dance is just the right length, and is energetic enough to hold your attention until the end.

I was also delighted to see that ballet could actually be funny. A lot can be communicated through dance, but it's rare that I've seen an audience burst into laughter at a dance routine that isn't accompanied by a comical show tune. The Mad Hatter's tea party is a colorful tap dance routine that is periodically interrupted by a suddenly narcoleptic Dormouse. The caucus race is completed in dramatic slow-motion. And in a highlight of the evening, the Queen of Hearts is a high-strung hostess forcing all of her reluctant servants to join her in a dance that only she thinks is worthy of performing.

Bottom Line: As my first big theatrical experience since relocating from NYC to DC, I don't think I could have chosen better than both going to the Kennedy Center and seeing Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. If you're lucky enough to have this production come to a stage near you, I highly recommend purchasing tickets, even if you don't consider yourself a "ballet fan."

'Les Misérables' the Movie: One Theater Geek's Opinion

Les Misérables was the first musical I ever fell in love with.

                                  

Growing up 80 miles north of New York City, trips to see Broadway shows were just a quick bus or train ride away. While in elementary school, my mother and I had taken trips to see some family-friendly fare, like Meet Me in St. Louis and Peter Pan, but when I was in 6th grade a bus trip to go see Les Misérables was arranged. I was dying to go; not because I knew anything about the production, but because I simply wanted to go see another show. But Broadway theater tickets aren't cheap (not then, not now), and my mother was concerned that I was too young to fully understand and appreciate the rather adult themes and emotions Les Misérables presents. So she did the unthinkable: She went without me.

And even though now I can see that she was right—a lot of the show probably would have been over my 10-year-old head—I can still very clearly remember the sting of this denial. But after seeing Les Misérables herself and determining I would probably enjoy the music, my mother conceded to buy me the cast album (on cassette!).

For the next year I played the crap out of that tape. I learned all the songs by heart, and my angsty pre-teen heart thought that "On My Own" was simply the best song ever composed (the fact that every boy I was crushing on at the time had the audacity to be indifferent toward me just added fuel to this fire). I eventually wore that tape out and had to purchase another one. By the time that one wore out, I had made the transition to CDs, so I bought the two-disc Original Broadway Cast (OBC) album and discovered to my delight that it had even more songs than the cassette (which was more of a "best of" compilation). I lost no time learning these "new" songs.

When I was in high school another bus trip opportunity to see Les Misérables came along, and this time I was going. I was slightly worried that all the years of anticipation would inevitably lead to disappointment, but fortunately, it was everything I had hoped it would be. The music! The singing! The many, many emotions! The spinning stage! It couldn't have been more wonderful.

I made a trip to NYC to see Les Misérables again while in college, and saw the revamped 25th anniversary touring production a couple of years ago (no more spinning stage, alas). And while I still loved the show, I could finally admit that it's not without flaws. There are so many storylines that many of them get shortchanged and feel rushed (and if you've ever seen the size of the tome the musical is based on, you know that there's already a ton of content that got left out). And some of the songs are less than stellar and/or ridiculously overwrought (I'm looking at you, "A Heart Full of Love").

When I first heard that a movie version of the musical Les Misérables was in the works, I was pretty worried. While I've been enjoying the recent resurgence of the movie musical, most of them haven't translated well to the screen. Then the first stills from the movie were released, and I thought, "Hm...that looks pretty good." Then the teaser trailer with Anne Hathaway singing "I Dreamed a Dream" in a way no one had heard before came out, and I thought, "Hm...that sounds pretty good." (I never understood how that song became a power ballad anyway; did no one ever actually listen to the lyrics?) Then I saw that extended look featurette (before watching Looper, of all movies), and I was no longer worried. Once the movie tickets were on sale, I pre-purchased to see it opening day (aka, Christmas Day).

Much like the stage production, Les Misérables the movie is not without issues. The pacing in certain places feels very off as scenes change before you've fully processed what just happened. The constant zoomed-in close-ups during the big solo songs are jarring, unnecessary, and just add to the pacing issue as they slow the movie way down. And Russell Crowe was woefully miscast as Javert. He casts a formidable presence, which is good, but his singing voice lacks anything resembling gravitas or intimidation, which is...not great. (Though this may not be entirely his fault; after over two decades of listening to the OBC album, the phenomenal Terrence Mann will probably always be the one and only Javert for me.)

But, again, much like the stage production, I still loved the movie, flaws and all. Seeing everything unfold close-up heightens the various emotional impacts, and being able to clearly see the dirty French streets and the desperation in the characters' eyes made me realize for maybe the first time just what a stone-cold bummer of a musical Les Misérables is (and yes, I know what "les misérables" translates to in English, thank you very much). The distance from the stage when in a theater audience, where the actors have to project every song to reach 1,000+ people, can make it easy to miss what exactly is being said and happening to these characters. The movie offers no such buffer, so you see, hear, and feel everything at its full capacity, making it the perfect movie to take someone who claims all musicals are silly, cheesy, happy song-and-dance fests with no substance.

Much has been made about director Tom Hooper's decision to have the actors sing live while being filmed, rather than relying on pre-recorded tracks, and while it's not a revolutionary tactic for musicals in general, it is for movie musicals, and it really works. It doesn't sound as polished as pre-recorded tracks would, but if any musical would benefit from raw, live singing, Les Misérables is it.

Russell Crowe aside, the rest of the cast is excellent. Hugh Jackman successfully transforms himself throughout the various stages of Jean Valjean's life, Anne Hathaway knocks it out of the park, Eddie Redmayne finally made me understand why he's considered one of the hot young actors, and Helena Bonham Carter and Sacha Baron Cohen are the perfect choices for the comic relief Thénardiers. I was especially impressed with Aaron Tveit—who I have never heard of before, and according to IMDB is from my hometown!—as Enjolras, the leader of the student rebels, a role that is often pushed aside on the stage, but is made impossible to ignore by Tveit.

Luckily, cinematic perfection isn't a requirement to making great, effective movies. Les Misérables is a powerhouse of a musical on the stage, and it still holds its own on the screen. Now if Tom Hooper would like to take a stab at translating Miss Saigon into a movie, my inner teenage theater geek will simply be beside herself with glee. 

Quest for the Best: Best Buns Bread Company

Location: 4010 Campbell Avenue, Arlington, VA

Website: Official Best Buns site

Price: $3 per cupcake

Atmosphere: Small, bustling bakery. There's limited seating in the front window, but with all the activity going on at the registers, it's best to get your treats to go.

My Review: After exploring the various cupcake options in New York City, now that I've relocated to the DC Metro area, I decided to see what sort of cupcakes there were to have here. My first stop was to the well-reviewed Best Buns Bread Company.

Located in the cute Shirlington Village--which is essentially a restaurant row with a few small shops (and a theater)--Best Buns is your quintessential bakery. You can pick up a whole loaf of bread in any number of flavors, a danish and a cup of coffee in the morning, a soup and sandwich combo for lunch, and a cookie or a cupcake whenever. Despite the allure of their sticky buns and monkey bread, I was on a mission to try out their cupcakes (during this initial trip, anyway).

 

Best Buns' cupcakes are huge--roughly the size of a baseball I'd say, if I knew anything about sports. Well, they're bigger than a golf ball, but smaller than a basketball, which I know for certain! At $3 a pop, they had better be a generous size. I picked up a half dozen variety of flavors to bring to a birthday party, but managed to get at least a taste of each one.

My initial reaction to the basic vanilla and chocolate-based cupcakes were that they were good, but not really remarkable. The peanut butter frosting on the Chocolate Peanut Butter was tasty--not too much like straight peanut butter, but not too much like straight frosting--but the chocolate cake reminded me of the relatively decent cake you can get out of a box mix. And while I have no real issue with the good people at Duncan Hines, or the memories of grade school birthday parties their cakes evoke, I expect something a bit more special and unique from a professional bakery.

I had the same response to the Vanilla cupcake--good, but kind of generic--but the vanilla buttercream frosting was smooth and creamy and not cloyingly sweet. The Toffee and Coconut cupcakes had the same basic chocolate cake base with tasty frostings and toppers. The Chocolate Ganache could have used a slightly softer ganache frosting, and I would have loved some kind of filling. Though I may just be longing for the Chocolate Ganache cupcake from Eleni's in NYC (with its buttercream filling), which is probably my favorite cupcake of all time.

The true star at Best Buns is it's Carrot Cake cupcake. The cake is moist and filled with real chunks of carrot, coconut, and walnuts. And the best part of all--no raisins! Raisins are the scourge of the earth and shouldn't be put in anything, especially something as divine as carrot cake. The cream cheese frosting on the carrot cake was really well-balanced with just the right blend of sugary sweetness and cream cheese tang.

Bottom Line: Best Buns' cupcakes are a bit pricey at $3 each, but they are generously large. Their vanilla and chocolate cakes are relatively generic for a professional bakery, but the carrot cake is worth a repeat visit. I'll probably pair it with a sticky bun or some monkey bread, rather than other cupcakes, next time. 

Theater Review: Peter and the Starcatcher

Location: Brooks Atkinson Theatre, 256 West 47th Street, NY, NY

Website: Official Peter and the Starcatcher site

Starring: Christian Borle, Celia Keenan-Bolger, Adam Chanler-Berat, Kevn Del Aguila, Rick Holmes, Arnie Burton

My Review: Fun fact: Peter Pan was one of the first Broadway musicals I ever saw roughly 20 years ago (and it starred Cathy Rigby, who is currently playing the role again in a new national tour, which I suppose speaks more to what incredible shape she's in rather than proving that I am not getting old). It was never one of my favorite shows, but it always held a special place in my heart for being one of my earlier introductions to the wonderful world of live theater. So I was excited to check out this new Peter Pan theatrical experience, Peter and the Starcatcher.

Based on the novel by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson, Peter and the Starcatcher is the unauthorized origin story of Peter Pan. Father and daughter team Lord Aster and Molly are on a sea voyage with a trunk that is mysteriously referred to as "the Queen's treasure" (the Queen in this case being Victoria). Through a series of events, Lord Aster and Molly wind up on separate ships, one of which has the actual treasure trunk and the other equipped with a decoy. While taking an ill-advised tour of her ship, Molly stumbles upon a group of orphans who have been sold into slavery, one of which is a nervous, shy boy who has no name and simply goes by "Boy." Meanwhile, the flamboyant, yet feared, pirate Black Stache hears about the treasure and overtakes Lord Aster's ship with his band of followers, determined to steal the treasure for himself.

Unfortunately, the treasure is with Molly on her ship and isn't the gold and jewels the pirates have envisioned; it's a trunk full of "starstuff" that Molly and her father as starcatchers have collected. These magical remains of shooting stars hold great power and anyone who comes into contact with some of it will be turned into whatever they desire most. Since such magic would be dangerous if it fell into the wrong hands, Lord Aster is planning to destroy it once they reach their destination: The volcano Mt. Jalapeño. Once Black Stache and his pirates destroy Molly's ship in an effort to get the treasure, the whole lot of them wind up on a desert island where Molly and the orphans scramble to protect the treasure while the pirates follow in hot pursuit.

While an enjoyable evening at the theater, I was surprised by how unexciting Peter and the Starcatcher was. Whether or not you're a fan of the original Peter Pan tale, I don't think anyone would ever accuse it of being dull. But the story of how Boy became Peter Pan left a lot to be desired. Part of the problem may be what a small part he plays. Molly is a far more central character and Black Stache steals the show from everyone whenever he appears. Boy is barely even a substantial character until the second Act when he is temporarily separated from the rest of his party. And when he is treated like an actual character, he's not a very interesting one.

Played by Adam Chanler-Berat, Boy is incredibly whiny and weak-willed, and while this is meant to be an origins story, it's hard to imagine how this sad, nervous boy has any potential to turn into the spirited, adventure-seeking Peter Pan. Celia Keenan-Bolger as Molly (whose put-upon childlike British accent goes from charming to grating in about three minutes) is far more interesting and exciting, though while the implication is that her influence rubs off on Boy, we never actually see that happen. We're just meant to assume that when Boy and Molly inevitably part ways, he'll grow to be more like her.

The true star of the show is Christian Borle as pirate captain Black Stache (a pre-hook Captain Hook). Borle has recently gained some more mainstream fame from the TV show Smash, but his roots are in the theater and he really gets to show what he does best in this role. He plays Black Stache as an over-the-top diva, but with an edge of instability, so he's unnerving enough to not be seen as a total joke. A master at physical comedy, Borle jumps, stomps, flails, and flops about the stage, energetically throwing himself into every ridiculous ploy Black Stache devises in order to steal the treasure.

Bottom Line: A play that doesn't really gain any steam until Act II, Peter and the Starcatcher is an origins story that has a lot of potential, but makes too many assumptions about where things will go from where its story ends and Peter Pan begins. Yes, Boy does learn to crow by the end, but no one really believes it.