Relocated to Saigon in the closing days of the Vietnam war in 1975, this ill-fated love story between jaded American GI Chris and Kim, a young Vietnamese country girl forced into prostitution, is packed with sweeping, romantic numbers, high drama – and, of course, that famous helicopter.
Director Laurence Connor’s intense 25th anniversary revival has a cast of unfamiliar names – Alistair Brammer making a virile, impassioned Chris, 18 year old newcomer Eva Noblezada vulnerable, protective and beautifully-voiced as Kim. And there’s fine support from Tamsin Carroll as the woman who finally shatters her long held dream and Korean Kwang-Ho Hong, powerful as the man determined not to let her go.
Filipino actor Jon Jon Briones continues a lengthy association with the musical, having long since graduated from a minor part in the original production to the central role of the opportunist Engineer. He’s a sleazy unprincipled pimp, ecstatically humping a glittering white Cadillac and prepared to exploit any possible means of fulfilling his American dream.
And with advance box office takings reputedly exceeding a record-breaking £4m on the very first day, it looks as though producer Cameron Mackintosh has, deservedly, yet another money-making hit on his hands.
When: Extended until April 25, 2015
Where: Prince Edward Theatre, Old Compton Street, W1D 4HS
Tickets cost £27.50 – £67.50. To book, click here
