HIT SAIGON!

Advantages: An excellent show, high quality throughout
Disadvantages: No helicopter!

...The Bristol Hippodrome is currently home to Cameron Mackintosh's new production of the hit musical Miss. Saigon. Being a big fan of this genre, my daughter and I really wanted to see it, so I bought the tickets through Ticketmaster - £35 for mine, £30 for hers - and we saw it last night, fourth row of the stalls. Miss. Saigon is quite a 'heavy' musical, not one I would recommend for young kids (swearing, murder, suicide, skimpy costumes) or for casual fans. It is a "through-composed" musical, which means there is no spoken dialogue, everything is conveyed through song. I know some people don't like this. I don't think my husband would have enjoyed it much. But my daughter and I loved it. We have the CD and already knew the songs and the gist of the story, although I found the plot much clearer watching it come to life on stage...

KarenUK 08.06.2006 · Read review
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Review of Miss Saigon

Saigon the rebel

Advantages: an unforgatable place
Disadvantages: pollution

...At the time of my stay of 3 months for professional reason in Vietnam of mid January to mid April, I have had the luck to be lodged on Saigon. The city is a little rebel following Viet government because when the country decided to enter marked economy the capital Hanoi hesitated staying on the basements of the comunism when Saigon rushed in the new openings and got the mains markets. Lived and impressions on the city: Tentacular city and bruillante. Constant animation in the city decreasing the night slightly to start again even more in the small hours. From my room at 8eme stacks the attenuated rumbling noise of the trafic, occured mainly by mupets and motorcycles and its overnight appearance in the avenues made one think of an enormous snake . He wake up in the small hours and increase crescendo...

krakakoutas 09.09.2004 · Read review
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Review of Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

the heat is on in saigon

Advantages: great musical
Disadvantages: don't presume you don't like musicals until you;ve seen this one

...I went to see Miss Saigon on Saturday 19th January 2002, at the palace theatre in Manchester. We had to go to the matinee because all of the evening performances were sold out. The palace theatre itself has recently undergone a development costing in excess of 300,000. There is a modern box office, different signage and front façade, new canopy, another kiosk and merchandise positions and a fully re-fitted pit bar. The surroundings looked and felt very elegant. The programme cost just £3.00 and they were on sale just as you walk through the entrance. The bar prices were a little steeper than I’d imagined them to be charging £1.00 for a small bottle of coca-cola. We sat in the stalls, which made us fairly level with the stage and suitably seated to see the performance at its best angle. The people behind the stage...

darrenaspinall 22.01.2002 · Read review
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Review of Miss Saigon

I Miss Saigon

Advantages: Vibrant, bustling and thrilling
Disadvantages: Street Hawkeres and Cyclo Drivers

...My husband and I visited Vietnam in February of this year. Having previously visited Thailand we wanted to return to South East Asia but also to experience a new culture. Vietnam seemed the obvious choice, a relatively new tourist destination where you get real value for money. After a 2 night stop in North Thailand (just to relive a bit of our honeymoon ;o)!) we arrived in Saigon. We thought that being late at night we wouldn't get too much of a feel for the city, but we were wrong. The place was buzzing...literally. The noise was awesome, mopeds humming past, horns beeping and indicator alerts chiming (this is a novel concept...we heard cars playing, amongst other things, Happy Birthday and Jingle Bells during our time in Vietnam!) Tired but elated we arrived at the Grand Hotel, our home for the next three nights. One...

mrsclark 27.08.2003 · Read review
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Review of Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

Saigon - A Brave New World.

Advantages: Untouched rural beauty,breathtaking senery, cheap cost of living, friendly warm people,very little crime
Disadvantages: culture shock, hygiene not up to western standards

...Arriving in Ho Chi Minh Airport, the first thing that really struck me was the huge anti-aircraft guns sitting next to the runway, a very harsh reminder that this is a country just recovering from more than 30 years of war. This having been said, It has now been at peace with itself and it's neighbours for close to ten years. Certainly any reservations you initially had would be swepted away in the fast moving and neon lit lights of Saigon Proper. And after the inevitably long flight over you would think that all you would want to do is catch up on some well-deserved sleep. But instead you find yourself woken up and alert, as this wondrous and enchanting city breathes the life back into you. In fact if there is one thing this city has, It is an abundance of life and frantic hustle and bustle. Everywhere you look there is some facet...

Sandman 08.07.2000 (22.06.2001) · Read review
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Review of Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

The Real Gem of Saigon

Advantages: Plenty to see
Disadvantages: Weather unpredictable - can ground you

...My boyfriend and I took a three week holiday in Vietnam December 1999. A reasonably priced fare with Lauda Air (£458 inc) Heathrow - Vienna - Bangkok - Ho Chi Minh. We planned to make our own travel arrangements through the countryside as far north as Nha Trang. We arrived unaware that a cyclone was hitting hard from the Phillipines. Flooding up and down the country led to a state of emergency being declared throughout the country. Tourists were being shunted back to major towns and cities as fast as possible. So this situation put paid to our plans for a three week travelling trip. We faced up to the fact that it was going to be Saigon and very little else for the duration. It was disappointing that we couldn't control our own proceedings and missed out on the beautiful countryside, sand sea and local village life that we...

cadonn 31.07.2000 · Read review
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Review of Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

SEXY LADIES

Advantages: great show
Disadvantages: none

...I went to see Miss Saigon on Saturday 19th January 2002, at the palace theatre in Manchester. We had to go to the matinee because all of the evening performances were sold out. The palace theatre itself has recently undergone a development costing in excess of 300,000. There is a modern box office, different signage and front façade, new canopy, another kiosk and merchandise positions and a fully re-fitted pit bar. The surroundings looked and felt very elegant. The programme cost just £3.00 and they were on sale just as you walk through the entrance. The bar prices were a little steeper than I?d imagined them to be charging £1.00 for a small bottle of coca-cola. We sat in the stalls, which made us fairly level with the stage and suitably seated to see the performance at its best angle. The people behind the stage and responsible...

darrenasprin 07.12.2002 · Read review
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Review of Miss Saigon

~~A Superb Masterpiece from Mackintosh~~

Advantages: Most spectacular production around the world
Disadvantages: The UK tour has already ended but there might be possible future shows

...THERE ARE SO MANY POSITIVE REVIEWS and documented reports about the musical - from West End to Broadway and Down Under acclaiming that Miss Saigon is one of the best productions ever shown around the world! After reading reviews available on-line, I was inspired to write my own review considering that I was able to watch the play for 3 times: April 1997 (New York, USA), October 2000 (Manila, Philippines) and October 2005 (Belfast, Northern Ireland). With no doubt, each review has its own merit of telling us why Miss Saigon is highly recommended play to watch. Having that, so what is the reason why that I have to give another review about the play? Firstly, I watched it in different locations and each location has different ways of doing it which is influence by the size of the venue where the play will be shown; and thus, each...

digitalenvironmentalist 31.01.2007 · Read review
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Review of Miss Saigon

Ikea Hits Asia

Advantages: ..
Disadvantages: ..

...I live near the Palace theatre – so near, in fact, that you can see the immense clock tower from my kitchen. In the middle of the night, when the rest of that area of the city is plunged into darkness, I can usually find my way home by aiming for the bright, shining red letters that spell out its name. In short, it’s my local theatre when I’m in Manchester. At the moment, Miss Saigon is showing there about 8 times a week (6 x evenings and 2 matinees). It’s been on since last November, and will continue to show until June, and I saw it for the first time last weekend. Not the first time here, you understand, but the first time ever. I’ve seen a lot of musicals in my time, and danced a handful or so, but Miss Saigon has never appeared in that list. The most I know is one song a friend had for her song...

zoe_page 23.04.2002 · Read review
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Review of Miss Saigon

Noooooooooooooooo

Advantages: Excellent show
Disadvantages: None

...Those were the last words of the show. Not just a simple ?no? or a direct ?no? but a ?no? so full of pain and agony that you could not fail to be moved by it. A ?no? I felt like shouting as I could have happily sat through the entire performance again? Miss Saigon is a remarkable musical/opera ? I have never experienced a show quite like it. The passion, the drive, the energy, the simple nightmarish consequences of actions we make ? this was a first for me. Normally, I am quite reserved with my emotions ? I?ve seen Les Mis and managed to hold back the sniffles ?till half way through the first act but Miss Saigon caught me unaware in the sixth song of the show and me, a 25 year old bloke, was blubbering his heart out? But enough of that and onto the show:- This is a review of Miss Saigon when I saw it at the Palace Theatre in...

Critchyboy 10.02.2003 · Read review
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Review of Miss Saigon