Text Size:
A|
A|
A
Email
Print
It's rare that a musical increases in relevancy as the years pass, but such is the case with "Miss Saigon," a tragic romance set against the backdrop of the Vietnam War.
At the heart is the love story between American soldier Chris and Vietnamese bar girl Kim, who are brought together and ripped apart by war. The musical by the writers of "Les Miserables" has melodrama to spare, along with case studies on the effects of foreign conflicts: what it means to American troops and to the natives of the war-torn country.
Sound familiar?
"I think some people have been surprised that among quote-unquote 'mega-musicals,' this one seems to have legs," says Kevin Gray, who is returning to the role of the Engineer he played in Pittsburgh CLO's 2003 "Miss Saigon."
Where: Pittsburgh CLO at Benedum Center, Downtown
When: Tuesday through June 20. 8 p.m. Tuesday-Friday; 2 and 8 p.m. Saturday; 2 p.m. Sunday; plus 7:30 p.m. June 13.
Tickets: $26.50-$70.50; pgharts.org or 412-456-6666.
"This is the one that aspired to the most, and even when it failed, it failed on the way to someplace great. Even when you're in it, you feel that there's enormous ambition to the piece."
This latest CLO co-production of "Miss Saigon" has legs; it will move on to Toronto's Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts July 9-Aug. 1, then on to Schenectady Proctors Theatre Aug. 10-15.
Broadway and TV veteran Gray also has played the conniving Engineer -- "I think of him as opportunistic -- capitalistic," he says, laughing -- at New Jersey's Paper Mill Playhouse in 2002. He's reunited here with Aaron Ramey, the Chris of that production, who reprises his role for Pittsburgh CLO.
"This is one of the few musicals that's taken a political moment and infused it with a romantic story," says Mr. Ramey, who was last with CLO in 2007's "Oklahoma!" "But the lessons, especially through the device of the Engineer, are so universal. And it is to me a little bit sad, from the historical standpoint, that here we are repeating the same mistakes.
"I'm sure in the first Gulf War, you can find a Kim and Chris. They're out there."
Both men have spent enough time with these characters to be identified with them and to have heard stories from Vietnam vets and, more recently, the children of soldiers and Vietnamese women, who have said, "This is my story. This is my parents' story."
When experienced theatergoers think of this musical, most identify with the exciting helicopter scene in which Americans are evacuated from Saigon as the Vietcong overrun the city. In the musical, Kim becomes another desperate face in the crowd as Chris heads home in the last helicopter to leave.
Mr. Gray calls the scene "the B-roll in her mind," an inescapable memory for Kim, who is played by Ma-Anne Dionisio, returning to the role she played here in 2003.
"It happens in the second act, after Chris has left; this is the end of their relationship," Mr. Ramey says. "It's positioned in the perfect spot in this play that really gives gravitas to where they are and where they wind up."
Even if the fall of Saigon isn't part of theatergoers' historical frame of reference, the story inevitably brings to mind our troops and the civilians in Afghanistan and Iraq.
"There is a price to be paid for putting people through this on both sides of every coin," says Mr. Gray.
When he's not singing in a deep baritone, Mr. Gray's character also offers the occasional comic relief. The Engineer is desperately seeking a way out of Vietnam and a path to his vision of the American dream. It's through his eyes, his longing and his scheming that we begin and end both acts of "Miss Saigon."
"I think the character is hopeful in a way that's sometimes cynical but also typically American. That's who we are," Mr. Gray says.
Chris starts as a relative innocent who experiences love and war, then has to find the strength to move on in his life as a civilian.
"It's an interesting sort of emotional catharsis because you get to sort of work things out in a very vivid way," Mr. Ramey said. "There are great highs and great lows, but because of the magic of theater, it's still a safe environment. We don't often in leading-men roles, especially in contemporary theater, we don't often get that, so I look at it as sort of a gift that I get to embody all that stuff for myself and for an audience, because Kim and Chris are the ones that they go through this journey with."
Both men zero in on the small stories within the grand-scale musical.
"And musically," says Mr. Gray, "it's so romantic. The melodies, the idea of it ..."
"Nobody just stands and sings a love song anymore," Mr. Ramey says.
"Everyone asks, 'What's your favorite part in the show?' " Mr. Gray continues. "It's not mine, it's yours."
Mr. Ramey nods and says, "You mean the 'Last Night of the World,' " as Mr. Gray speaks the lyrics: " 'On the other side of the world, there's a place where life still has worth.' That's just a great moment."
The actors' experience helps with the quick eight-day prep that is typical of a CLO production. Both say that the Pittsburgh Cultural District and the Benedum Center are welcome and rare for their sense of family and for the "internal rehearsal space of this quality and dimension and time," Mr. Gray says.
"This is the place you want to build a show."
"It would be great to build it with an extra week of rehearsal," Mr. Ramey says with a laugh, noting that producing a CLO season is a juggling act.
"That's just the nature of it," Mr. Gray says. "When you come to do a [CLO] show that's later in the season, the ensemble is so sharp, in such a groove. I kid [music director] Tom Helm all the time, 'Oh, you're working on "Student Prince" now?' That's fourth down the line."
"Yesterday," Mr. Ramey says, "he had the score to 'Curtains' right next to the 'Saigon' tour."
They both laugh, then head from the sixth floor CLO offices to rehearsal in the floors below, while "Oliver!" still owns the Benedum stage.
The "Miss Saigon" lessons of how history repeats itself, of love and lives lost during war, will have to wait until Tuesday.
"That's part of my hope in continuing the life of this show and do it to the best of my ability," Mr. Ramey says, "because I do hope someone will walk out and say wow, that's like watching the news."
Looking for more from the Post-Gazette? Join PG+, our members-only web site. You'll get exclusive sports content, opinion, financial information, discounts from retailers and restaurants, and more. Our introduction to PG+ gives you all the details.
