Friday, May 16, 2003 | 8:46 a.m.
What: "Miss Saigon."
When: 8 p.m. today; 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.
Where: Aladdin Theatre for the Performing Arts.
Tickets: $41, $61, $81.
Information: (702) 785-5000.
Rating (out of 5 stars): *** 1/2
"Miss Saigon" was one of the hottest musicals on Broadway when it debuted in 1991, but its Las Vegas opening at the Aladdin Theatre for the Performing Arts this week received a lukewarm reception.
Perhaps it was because the pop opera is a tragedy, a downer in a city that prides itself on being up.
It's somewhat of a shock to one's emotional sensibilities to leave a theater filled with mourning because of the events that have just taken place onstage and then walk into a bustling casino and shopping mall filled with people gambling, drinking and having a good time.
Or maybe the cool reception to the sixth-longest-running production on Broadway was because of the length -- at three hours, "Miss Saigon" is too long for people accustomed to faster-paced shows that last 90 minutes or less.
Then, too, it could have been that there really aren't any memorable numbers from the musical, the kind that stick in your head when you leave the theater.
Another possibility is that fans loved the show, but because of the nature of the story, they were in shock and could not bring themselves to express their feelings as enthusiastically as they might have at another musical such as, say, "Mamma Mia!"
Fans of the Mandalay Bay production often jump to their feet at the end of the show for a rousing standing ovation.
Those at Tuesday night's performance of "Miss Saigon" applauded what seemed to be somewhat perfunctorily, and rose to their feet in large numbers only after a few fans down front got the ball rolling.
Even at that, many who stood did so hesitantly, if not reluctantly.
Although the Theatre for the Performing Arts' seating capacity is about 7,000, typically the balcony and seats along either side of the room are roped off for Broadway-type productions, essentially cutting the number of seats in half. Still, "Miss Saigon" drew a decent-size crowd, with more than 2,200 attending.
What it saw was a slick, flawless version of the Broadway show. The story is classic. The acting, singing, choreography, costuming and staging are first rate, the quality one would hope to find in any Las Vegas production.
Gone from this production by Big League Theatricals were some of the special effects that made the original show famous -- such as the 3/4-scale helicopter that had impressed so many theater fans. But the helicopter was not lost entirely; the road show offers an on-screen, almost life-sized, version of the chopper, and the sound system creates the feeling that the aircraft is onstage.
The story of "Miss Saigon" revolves around an American Marine and a Vietnamese bar girl thrown together in Saigon in 1975, on the eve of North Vietnam overrunning the capital of South Vietnam. It spans three years and is told partly in flashbacks.
The first act opens in a seedy sex bar operated by The Engineer (Jon Jon Briones), a pivotal character in the tragic love story. The opening number, "The Heat Is On in Saigon," is one of the highlights of the show, introducing the main characters as well as the call girls who work in the club and the soldiers who pursue them.
Jennifer Hubilla portrays the ingenue Kim, who is beginning her first night in the club and is voted "Miss Saigon." Alan Gillespie plays the Marine who falls in love with her days before he is to be sent back to the United States, and Wallace Smith is the fourth lead, portraying John, Chris' best friend.
Briones appeared in the original production of "Miss Saigon" in London. He also has appeared in the musical in Germany and the Philippines, his native country.
Although Briones' character is a pimp and hustler whose focus in life is to get to the United States at all costs, he is easily the most popular with the audience.
"Miss Saigon" is a timeless story, one that could take place with any war as a backdrop. War, especially for those most closely involved, is a time of heightened emotions, leaving soldiers who know they may not live another day vulnerable to falling in love at the turn of an ankle.
Often from these liaisons children are born.
The world is filled with children fathered by soldiers during one war or another. The issue was dealt with by author Sloan Wilson in his 1955 novel, "The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit" (made into a movie starring Gregory Peck and Jennifer Jones). Wilson's illegitimate child was born during the Korean War.
Based on the novel, "Madame Crysanthemum," by Pierre Loti (the same book that spawned the opera, "Madame Butterfly"), "Miss Saigon" exposes the plight of war-crossed lovers and children conceived in times of battle.
It is a heartbreaking story that ends with a gunshot.
It might not be a shot heard loudly in Vegas.
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