Miss Saigon: Cast Recordings (1990-1995)

By the late 1980s, Cameron Mackintosh had produced a trifecta of mega-musical blockbusters being performed all over the world, including "Cats", "The Phantom of the Opera" and "Les Misérables". Two of these musicals were composed by Andrew Lloyd Webber. Two had been directed or co-directed by Trevor Nunn. One of them had been composed by the songwriting team of Alain Boublil and Claude-Michel Schönberg. They had not only helped manage to translate one of the most beloved classics of all time into a successful musical but a global phenomenon.

I have said this before, when I talked about the rock album "Bat out of Hell" from Meat Loaf and Jim Steinman, but if Alain and Claude-Michel had wanted to retire at that point, that is they would never write another piece of musical theatre again, they could have done that, in my mind, totally without question. Inspiration, on the other hand, struck them again.

Schönberg was reading a magazine when he came across a photograph of a young Vietnamese mother handing over her daughter at an airport to ensure that she would have a better life living in America with her ex-GI father. It was heartbreaking and extremely haunting. That was what sewed the seed for the new musical, which was also going to be an updated version of the story of the opera "Madama Butterfly", taking place during and after the Fall of Saigon at the end of the Vietnam War.

From there, Cameron Mackintosh came aboard and began to assemble all of the pieces for the musical's world premiere at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane in London on 20 September 1985. With Richard Maltby Jr. providing the lyrics, Nicholas Hytner the direction, John Napier the spectacular set design, and all of the dedicated cast and crew, "Miss Saigon" was another smash hit, lasting ten years in the West End and on Broadway and having a great international life.

What sticks with me the most from "Miss Saigon", besides the score which is probably even better than the one for "Les Mis", is the story of the mother's sacrifice. I can almost understand how haunted Claude-Michel must have felt when he first came across that photograph. For that reason, this is one of the most powerful musicals I've ever encountered. I've never seen a production though and this review, like the one for "Les Mis" and the musicals of Andrew Lloyd Webber, will only be based on the cast albums. Well, two of them anyway. I've never heard the recent ones.

Let's start from the first one from 1990.

The Original London Cast (1990) --- you know, as much as I love the Complete Symphonic Recording, which is the almost definitive "Miss Saigon" musical experience for me, I miss Jonathan Pryce and Lea Salonga not being on the other album. Not to take anything away from those actors (and they both did incredible jobs in their own right) but it really would have been something to hear them on that version. Well, these things happen for a reason I suppose, and there is always this. Like the original cast of "Les Mis" in 1985, we have some notable changes here. Ellen has a different song from "Now That I've Seen Her" but with the same tune, called "Her or Me", and the ending scene with Kim is a stirring reprise of "I'd Give my Life for You". I'd have kept that in! But then I like the C.S.O. ending as well. It feels more tragic, which is probably what the scene really needs.

I miss the huge orchestra from the other album, not to mention it's the complete score, but that's only because I've heard that other version. Do you think I'd feel this way if I'd only heard this one? No, because it would still have the majority of that score, plus the original cast. If you consider yourself a fan of this musical, and you haven't heard it yet, check this one out. It's always fascinating to hear the history of a musical too.

The Complete Symphonic Recording (1995) --- OK, I had always been struck by the score since I heard a couple of the songs in the "Hey Mr. Producer" Cameron Mackintosh video, for his fiftieth birthday, and then I saw this album one day which was pretty expensive at the time (nowadays they turn up in second hand stores as cheap as four dollars) but I spent my birthday money wisely. This bowled me over. Literally my breath was taken away, during scenes like "Sun and Moon", "The Last Night of the World", "The Morning of the Dragon", "I Still Believe". Unbelievable from beginning to end! B&S, you have torn my heart out and tossed it into the gutter, bleeding all over the place. This is one of the most romantic moving scores I have ever heard. To these ears, at least in the moment when I'm listening to it, it *is* a better score than "Les Mis".

It's not just the score that makes it such a compelling experience. It's the story. It's the mother's journey and the mother's sacrifice. We believe in these characters. We root for them. 

In the end, once the double CD was over, I sort of felt like I was just... trembling. In the moment, this is the best of all four of the 80s mega-musical blockbusters, as much as I love the other ones.

It was also the last, and well you know what they often say. Leave the best to last. There would never be another blockbuster Cameron Mackintosh or Andrew Lloyd Webber musical quite like this again, although "Sunset Boulevard" came close. Cameron and the mega songwriting team from France would try again with another musical in the 90s, concurrently with Andrew's collaboration with Jim Steinman on "Whistle down the Wind", but neither one of them would reach that level of success.

If "Miss Saigon" was the last then, here's to another airing of that score, and let's dance... like it's the last night of the world!

Thank you for reading,

Ryan.