Miss Saigon

The performance being held at the Grand Hall at Sejong Center, “Miss Saigon,” is one of the world’s “Big Four” musicals. Now, the “Big Four” doesn’t necessarily mean the best four, but some pieces are just that timeless.

Portraying the love story between Chris, an American GI, and Kim, a Vietnamese bar girl, the plot of Miss Saigon is more poignant to Korean audiences than the other Big Four musicals like Cats, Les Misérables, or the Phantom of the Opera. It is much easier to submerge into the story, and is great for musical novices.

Like the inspiration opera “Madame Butterfly” by Puccini, Miss Saigon deals with two motifs, “tragic love” and a mother’s “ultimate sacrifice,” added with a touch of history and the evils of society.

It may sound like a cliché plot, but it’s enough to draw the tears out of audiences. The female audience cries over not so much as the love between Chris and Kim, but the mother’s love Kim harbors for her son Tam.

The title songs from Miss Saigon are “I Still Believe” and “The Last Night of the World,” but when Kim holds her son close and sings “I’d Give My Life For You,” or in the scene where sings for her son “The Sacred Bird” before she takes her own life, audiences are overcome.

If you look at the stage alone, Seongnam Arts Center befits the musical than the Grand Hall at Sejong Center with its large stage that has to be shrunk by 3 meters on each side, but the singing and acting overall improved greatly at performance in Seoul. Especially Ryu Chang-woo, who plays the role of “Engineer,” perfected his pimp impersonation for a greasier, servile Engineer.

As for Kim Bo-kyung and Kim Ah-sun who were both double-cast for the role of “Kim,” Kim Bo-kyung was smoother. Whereas Kim Ah-sun’s high notes were wobbly and weaker towards the end of the show, Kim Bo-kyung’s voice, albeit child-like, remained steadily powerful and appealing.

Since there are scenes of American GIs with Vietnamese prostitutes and depictions of Thai brothels, parents with children are forewarned. In the U.K. it has been rated PG 13. Runs until October 1, Tuesdays thru Fridays 8:00 p.m., weekends at 2:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. Ticket prices range 33,000 to 121,000 won on weekdays, 44,000 to 132,000 won on weekends. Call 1588-7890 for further information.

sjkang@donga.com