Miss Saigon Tour – Norwich Theatre Royal! It will blow your mind!
I don’t even know where to begin? How to start? Miss Saigon at the Theatre Royal in Norwich has exceeded every expectation and I had lots. It’s gone above and beyond and I’m still, quite frankly, in shock at the tremendous performance I’ve just seen. A full house standing ovation and all the faces as we spilled from the theatre with delight tell me I am 100% not alone in telling you this is one of the greatest triumphs in musical theatre and we are just so over the moon that we have had the chance to see it here in Norwich. You must go and see it too. You must. There are no other words to convey my feelings on this subject so I have to say it as simply so. Just go. Book your tickets now!
I’m off to Cornwall in just a few hours on a massively long drive solo parenting with the trio but I couldn’t go to bed without first writing a little something about this wonderful evening at my local lovely Theatre Royal Norwich. I am so tired after an early start to the day today as well but this needed to be blogged. This needed to be written now. The Miss Saigon tour has begun its month long residence here until the 15th September 2018 and what a show to have at home for the remainder of the summer! What a show to end the season on. Just simply… What a show! Am I rambling? I think so but I don’t even care!
Now I have a few stories about Miss Saigon though none of them are my own. My most notable one is when my friend, at the time, Michelle, got cast as the west end understudy for Kim. She was only 16 at the time and it was so exciting. I never got to go and see her because she left drama school straight after to concentrate on her career and we lost touch but the sheer happiness at that dream role being offered danced in the air of our class for a very long time and I vividly remember her singing one of the songs from the show in the dressing room of our school theatre. She and I had travelled on the tube together (as the theatre was in south London and our school in EC) and she’d hummed tunes all the way there before in true ‘stage school’ style, breaking into song in order to delight us all back stage. If I’d thought that was a performance to remember then tonight is something else! I wonder did she ever play the role, I expect so but I have no idea and I cannot for the life of me remember her last name to Google. I do however remember Danny Mayes (now a very successful actor) singing ‘Ain’t No Sunshine’ straight after her… Amazing what the memory dregs up when you can’t even remember what you had for lunch yesterday as you’re so tired and mum brain is kicked right in!
Another memory not really belonging to me is when my Dad and Step Mum, seeming at the time to be living a very glamorous corporate life with lots if kick backs from my Dad’s fancy job, went to see the original cast back in the day. I’ve no idea if it really was fancy but it seemed flash at the time and they’d been on a holiday to Rio with his work and then (this might not even be the right order) they got to go and see this show in the west end on some sort of business trip extraordinaire. My Step Mum brought home with her the double CD and I borrowed it and learned all the songs! This was pre drama school when I used to sing show songs to myself in the mirror and dream of landing the lead role. Of course I would never have been quite right for the lead in Miss Saigon even if I had been good enough but I didn’t really know that then as I hadn’t a clue of the story having never seen it myself.
I learned the story over time as well as I learned the music yet I never ever saw the show. Until tonight.
Two and a half (over actually) decades of loving the songs but never seeing the show and you’d have very high expectations which could easily be dashed. You go in high and it’s often a recipe for disappointment yet… It wasn’t! Oh it was wonderful! WONDERFUL! I took my Mum who has also ever seen the show and we both loved every single second! We both feel a bit astounded at its greatness to be honest. The cast, the singing, the performance, the story, the set… The helecopter. The happiness, the love and the sheer heartbreak. Oh this show!
Make sure, like I said, that you see this and grab a slice of theatre life which will leave you all these emotions in your heart. Break, warmed and as full as your eyes are of tears. It’s magnificent. It’s a triumph. I could go on. I don’t need to. You only need to know one thing! It’s mesmerising, like truly, truly so and will have you willing it to go on and on and on – Miss Saigon is now a movie in my mind, a dream I’ve left behind… It’s just a dream!
You can catch Miss Saigon at Norwich Theatre Royal from now until the 15th September with Monday to Saturday evening performances a 7.30pm and Matinee shows on Wednesday and Saturday afternoons at 2.30pm. Tickets are selling super fast and the shows with seats remaining are limited so do book quickly for this one! Book tickets at the box office in person, on line or by calling (01603) 630000.
We were invited as guests of the Theatre Royal Norwich to see the show.
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Wow what wonderful words about a wonderful show.
I was lucky enough to go and see this show as my Son got some cheap tickets for me, my husband, my mother and himself as he was part way through his 3 year theatre course at Mountview in London. It was truely fabulous, Mum was shocked at some of the attire, or lack of it, after all she was 80, but we all left the theatre knowing we had seen an outstanding piece of musical theatre!
I watched it wondering whether I would ever see my Son in such a great show and dreamed of such a day arising. He was then cast as first cover for a part in Mamma Mia for a year which was completely beyond our wildest dreams and the thought of Miss Saigon went out of my mind as I watched my Son 23 times within that year, that was each time he had been cast in the lead role.
You might ask why I rant in about Mamma Mia when this is supposed to be a comment on Miss Saigon? Well, this year he was chosen as second cover for the role of Chris in Miss Saigon for the UK tour! I know it is probably unlikely that he will play the role of Chris, but knowing that you have watched my Son (in the ensemble) and are so pleased with the show gives me goosebumps. I agree, it’s a fabulous show and if it is possible for me to see it many more times, I definitely will! I dream of watching my Son play the role of Chris but I would go and watch this show every week if I could just to watch the amazing talent of all the cast – some of which we have had the enormous pleasure of meeting – and also the fantastic scenery, although I don’t think you had the full helicopter scene due to the size of the theatre, but everyone involved in the show needs to know how absolutely wonderful a show they are part of.
Thank you for such overwhelming words of enjoyment that you wrote above and I hope everyone gets the chance to experience this show at least once.