Amazing performance of a beautiful song. It appears Ellen has been made into a more sympathetic character in this version of the Miss Saigon story and I like that. Although she did nothing wrong in the original version she seemed much harsher in how she came across than the version here and I don't think that would work well now.
Ths is gorgeous. They both have amazing voices but Christian Maynard singing gives me goosebumps. This is my introducion to him as a performer and I hope he will have huge success, so talented!
My grandson has rubber large dice.... I shake them in my hands ..he blows on them...n i sing the first verse of the song.. Who's better than him??? Breakfast n a musical 🎉😊
And as I laughed at those passengers to heaven A great big wave came and washed me overboard And as I sank, and I hollered, "Someone save me" That's the moment I woke up, thank the Lord … And I said to myself "Sit down, sit down you're rocking the boat" Said to myself "Sit down, sit down you're rocking the boat And the devil will drag you under With a soul so heavy you'd never float Sit down, sit down, sit down, sit down Sit down you're rockin' the boat" … Sit down you're rockin' the boat Sit down, sit down you're rockin' the boat Sit down, sit down Sit down, sit down you're rockin' the boat Sit down
It's funny how UK musicals really take color blind casting seriously, USA and Broadway musicals have been campaigning that they are inclusive and their color blind cast but musicals like WHITE CHRISTMAS don't touch them and continue to maintain their ALL WHITE cast 'for this type from showtunes. I hope that the casting of this production serves as an example for future ones made in the rest of the world.
I actually dud see the film of this (all in black and white of course!) , on TV a couple if years ago. Mrs. Harris was played by Kathleen Harrison, who often played cleaners. For a long time many actors selected the kind of character they wished to portray - and the same thing in every movue. Mrs. Harris saved up from her humble wages - and one say did go to Paris - where Mr. Dior indeed fitted her fir ger own gown!1 He gave a ball for all recent customers, and when she returned home, never actually WORE it again. It was an ornament on a stand in the corner of her living room, like an all- year round Christmas Tree! Her friends all remarked on it! This lady singing here, has the voice of an angel - and I hope this is therefore as successful as Evita!
I saw this production at my local theatre, the Crucible in Sheffield last week. What an incredible performance! Congratulations to all involved and thank you. Simply stunning!
I think its safe to say this is another triumph at the Crucible. In my opinion it takes guts to do any musical but to do a musical which many love and hold very close to them in which people remember the original production and elements of it (e.g. the Helicopter for example) it is tricky to find a way to reimagine a show and that is what they did with this show. The strength of this production is that they have completely stripped it back and have reimagined it so they can focus more on the emotion rather than the spectacle of the show and this is proven by the whole cast and their performances. Jessica Lee is a triumph playing Kim as a strong woman who is clinging onto every bit of hope and what you realise throughout the production is that even though she is doing that to keep herself ok, she is also a person who knows what she wants in life and reimagines Kim as someone who really takes authority to her story. This is also closely followed by Joanna Ampil as the Engineer who does a complete reimaging of the role. Whereas the role has been often the comedic relief of the show, this is a role that shows so much more desperation and a role which actually does what she can to get out and it is a true story of survive or die. Other standouts personally are Christian Maynard as Chris who takes a rockier approach to this role and one where he is way more vulnerable than normal, Shanay Holmes as Ellen who turns what is a role that is often tricky to do and like into a role where you totally understand and feel for her as she is trapped in the triangle of Kim, Chris and Her and Ethan Le Phong as Thuy who commands the stage playing a role that really challenges Kim and provides a threat for this plot (and his presence is felt throughout the whole show). I can honestly say it is well worth people's time in seeing this show. As of this review this show only has 8 performances left and many performances are looking to be a sell out so you MUST do what you can to get a ticket. It is a reimagining well worth seeing and I think you will not regret seeing Miss Saigon.
