The Kallang Theatre, Singapore. August 1st to October 7th, 2001
___________________________A QUIET, SAD END
It ended quietly, without so much as a single mention in the main papers. All of them too caught up with the US strikes on Afghanistan. Which coincidentally began the night after the curtains came down. Tickets prices were cut by up to 30% for the last two weeks. Unfortunately, many tickets were still unsold, and door sales took place. Extremely unusual, especially for such a huge international production. Sighz.
___________________________M A I N
Monday September 17th 2001: IT'S BEEN CONFIRMED. Come 7th October 2001, the helicopter will fly its last flight and the stage will be bare. No further extension of the musical will be possible. It would have played for 9 weeks when it ends, just 3 weeks shy of Phantom's 12 week record. Newspaper ad can be found, here
Friday Sept 14th: MISS SAIGON STARS IN SHOCK after the terrorist attacks on New York and Washington. Click on image to get accompanying text.
A NATION MOURNS. As 'hippie' like as this may sound, revenge and retaliation is just as barbaric and uncivilised as the terrorist attacks. There are international systems in place to bring Justice to the culprits, (e.g. Milosovic) America has to respect that. Bombs will not bring reconciliation or peace. It will just turn into a vicious cycle. Please sign this petition to let voices of peace be heard. We don't need a 'Miss Kabul'. Petition
TICKET SALES FOR MISS SAIGON DOWN. A check of sistic.com.sg revealled that many tickets were still unsold. Now, even more so considering that the Twin Tower attacks have somewhat affected Singaporeans. Main streets were quiet and somber this weekend. Production losses could mount. New ads on main Singapore papers went out recently. Ad can be found here.
Thursdays Sept 31st 2001: MISS SAIGON PLAYS TO VICTORIA JUNIOR COLLEGE, the only pre-university school in Singapore to offer Theatre Studies as a course.Image can be found here While Accompanying text, here.
__________________________friendly R E V I E W
For those of you unhappy with my review, here's A FRIEND'S ALTERNATIVE REVIEW of it: "I thought it was great. Student tickets for a Friday night, so although we had to stretch our heads a bit to see the action, I thought it was great. Thuy sounded clear and Deedee's voice was refreshing. Chris was not bad. I didn't see Scott Anson but I thought the other guy was okay. Bui Doi was really touching with the video sequence playing in the background. By the end, I could hear people around me sniffling and tissue papers being taken out. When the lights came up it was exhilarating seeing people dabbing their eyes and wiping off tears. I've never seen a musical in which such an effect was created. Not even Les Mis. There's something very special about Miss Saigon. The Asian flavour and its setting in relatively modern times has a poignant effect on us as vieweres, being able to connect. The enginner was okay. Funny, although I thought he should have have his curtain call before Deedee, not after. It just didn't seem right because the star of the show after all is the character of Kim. Go watch this musical. You won't regret it. I didn't."
________________________hostile R E V I E W
WHAT A DISAPPOINTMENT! Just caught the Sunday 5th night show and walked away extremely disgusted. Perhaps it is the fact that I first saw the show on Broadway and was deeply moved by it, but the Singapore production just lacked the singing capabilities, except for Deedee Magno Lynn. The Engineer was singing and speaking in incoherent pigeon english, making it extremely hard to understand. Furthermore, the filipino accent came across very strongly. Saving grace was in him singing 'The American Dream', but that was just it. As for Thuy, his microphone sounded very muffled and he seemed as though he was half asleep while singing. The actor playing Chris was not very enduring in the first act, (then again, the first act is draggy in general) though improving with the second. Oddly enough, by the end of the show, I was so glad that the night was over.
_______________________________Other NEWS
EXTENDED SEASON: The Singapore run has been extended untill September 30th 2001. AUGUST was totally SOLD OUT. Word of advice for people who have never been to Kallang before, the circle seats right at the back are, to put it kindly, horrendous. It's seriously worth spending 20 more dollars to get better seats. Student priced tickets for the extended run are selling out extremely quickly with only a few limited seats left for the weekend shows.
To get tickets online for the production, please visit Sistic Singapore and do have a look at the Singapore production's web site, www.miss-saigon.com.sg Ticket details can be found here
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