Love in time

Love in time

of strife

This week, Los Angeles’ Ahmanson debuts Alain Boublil and
Claude-Michel Schönberg’s production of ‘Miss Saigon.’ In the
classic vein of ill-fated love stories like ‘Casablanca,’ ‘Les
Miserables’ and ‘A Farewell to Arms,’ its stellar quality simply
stuns.

By Jennifer Richmond

Daily Bruin Staff

It always seems that true love forms under the worst conditions.
The world is crumbling. Bombs are dropping. Everything is falling
apart. Yet somehow love always seems to bloom.

Kim (Jennifer Paz) and Chris (Peter Lockyer) meet under these
exact circumstances in Alain Boublil and Claude-Michel
Schönberg’s bittersweet love story, "Miss Saigon."

Even though this same story has been told numerous times, this
musical has a certain something that grabs the audience by the
throat and refuses to let go. Boublil and Schönberg created
the same effect with their second collaboration, "Les Miserables,"
and it’s been about that long since a production of the same
stellar quality hit Los Angeles.

Although Boublil and Schönberg have based their past two
productions in times of strife, upheaval and change, they always
manage to create a show that’s not only breathtaking to hear but
breathtaking to watch. "Saigon" lives up to this tradition with a
vengeance.

Chris, Kim and the Engineer (Kevin Gray) are introduced in the
opening scene which takes place at the Saigon after hours bar,
Dreamland. From this beginning and the first song, it’s clear this
musical will prove to be, without a doubt, a masterpiece of the
highest degree.

Despite the grimy atmosphere, Paz’s Kim shines like a snowflake
on the black pavement. All in white, this innocent virgin takes the
stage and entertains the sex-thirsty patrons.

Paz’s voice floats into the auditorium on a cloud. Because of
the Ahmanson’s newly refurbished theater, every note she utters
resonates with crystal clarity. She’s simply amazing from start to
finish and fits perfectly with her co-star, Lockyer who proves his
soloist talent in the very next scene.

During "Why God Why," Lockyer asks god why he had to meet Kim
now, as he’s about to head back to the States. His longing for
understanding pulls at heart strings and his tenor fits perfectly
with Paz’s soprano.

Although heard separately for the first few songs, their two
voices unite in "Sun and Moon" and astound the audience. They are
both so perfect together, one wonders why they don’t share more
numbers. But even the select few are enough to thrill and excite
the senses. It’s duets like these that make Boublil and
Schönberg’s musicals so memorable and keep theater patrons
thirsting for more.

But just as their duets are spectacles, so are their sleazy
characters, of which there always seems to be at least one. In "Les
Miz" it’s the Thénardiers and in "Saigon," the slime shows
itself in the form of the Engineer.

Gray’s Engineer is, without question, a sleazeball of the
grandest scale; but he’s so happy about it and so full of himself,
it’s impossible to hate him. And that’s completely due to his
performance.

Gray fills his Engineer with the stereotypical traits of a pimp,
from the shiny clothing to the typical come-on lines attempting to
please all of his patrons. But it’s really his songs where Gray
drips with his type of delightful slime. In fact, he has so much
pizazz and charisma, Gray steals the spotlight from the two leads
on several occasions.

His first spectacle appears at the end of act one in "If You
Want to Die in Bed." He’s been in prison for the three years since
Saigon has fallen and he now "understands" what he needs to do to
be exonerated and eventually get his freedom and ship out to the
States.

"Die in Bed" drives home the idea that the Engineer’s only
interested in one person ­ himself. When he finds out Tram,
Kim’s son, is half American, he jumps at the chance to help Kim and
her son escape because it means his ticket out too.

Gray’s actions fit the situation. His insincere willingness to
help Kim comes out through his expressions of joy, several lines
and his devilish grin. He’s so evil, this scene makes the hair
stand up straight.

But Gray doesn’t stop here. He takes his character even further
into the grimy depths with "American Dream."

His dreams of the wonderful United States and getting rich quick
become pictures on the stage, making them a temporary reality for
both the Engineer and his enticed viewers. Although the entire
number is filled from start to finish with sexual double entendres
and indecent actions (like his humping the hood of a white
Cadillac), it’s not distasteful in any way because his moves are
completely in tune with his character.

As terrible as it sounds, the Engineer is actually a nice breath
of air ­ it may be a breath of dirty, smoggy air, but he’s a
breath of air nonetheless. The rest of the ensemble may be
astounding in their own right, but "Saigon" simply would not be the
same without the Engineer.

While these three voices make the show the spectacle it is, the
sets tie the musical up into a neat picturesque package ­
especially those for "American Dream" and "The Fall of Saigon."

The Cadillac of "Dream" looks like a glorious spaceship as it
floats down to the Engineer on a cloud of smoke, but it’s really
the entire set for "Fall of Saigon" that drives home the feeling of
the multi-million dollar production, possibly replacing even Andrew
Lloyd-Webber’s musicals. Of course it makes sense, because Webber’s
sets are designed by the same man: John Napier.

His helicopter of "Fall of Saigon" pleasingly shocks the
audience while recreating the famous picture of the actual fall of
Saigon in 1975.

This scene and the music in it, as well as in several others,
evokes great emotion while proving Boublil and Schönberg
haven’t lost their gifted touch for picturesque perfection.

STAGE: "Miss Saigon." Written by Alain Boublil and Claude-Michel
Schönberg. Directed by Nicholas Hytner. Starring Kevin Gray,
Jennifer Paz and Peter Lockyer. Running through Oct. 14 at the
Ahmanson Theatre. Performing Tuesday through Saturday at 8 p.m.,
Sunday at 7:30 p.m. with matinees on Saturday and Sunday at 2 p.m.
TIX: $45-65. For more info call: (213)365-3500.