Funny biz in old Saigon
The little local difficulty in Sydney over theatre space (Priscilla v Miss Saigon) has been settled with the big bus show vacating the Lyric Theatre at Star City and moving to Melbourne’s Regent Theatre in September.
This means the big helicopter show can now take over the Lyric as had been the original plan before Priscilla confounded critics and Lyric management alike by pulling in crowds month after month and way beyond the wild imagining of most.
Nevertheless, something fishy has gone on in the musical chairs event between the shows, although nobody is talking. Just a week before the announcement of Priscilla's Sydney closure its management was still taking about plans to celebrate the show's first anniversary at the Lyric. It was also unequivocally stated that there were no plans to move the show to Melbourne. And Miss Saigon was looking at accommodation in the Star City Showroom instead.
Then suddenly the backflips were happening in a way rarely seen outside politics. And now a media release from Miss Saigon hints at hitherto unacknowledged hostility between the two: producer Louise Withers is quoted as saying: "We were always intending to play at the Lyric Theatre from September 20 and are delighted to be presenting this new production of Miss Saigon, which has been embraced by critics and audiences alike. I am also delighted our production of Mamma Mia! will remain the longest running show at the Lyric Theatre."
Given that Priscilla could conceivably have overtaken that landmark if she hadn’t been hustled out of the venue, this last observation has the "Miaow" value worthy of Cats!
At any rate, unlike the original Cameron Mackintosh production of Miss Saigon which opened the fabulously refurbished ($30m and three years in the doing) Capitol Theatre in 1995, this version promises "cutting edge visual techniques" and "a brilliant new set". Which roughly translates as: there’s no longer a risk of seeing the wondrous unintentional drama of the evacuation chopper getting stuck midway between the gods and the roof of the US embassy, as happened back in the 90s!
While Miss Saigon is one of the most popular musicals of the past 20 years (music by Claude-Michel Schönberg, lyrics by Richard Maltby Jnr and Alain Boublil) it’s will be interesting to see how it fares at Sydney’s Lyric theatre after seasons in Melbourne and Brisbane - which means no weekend package dealers flying in from either city. Which leaves New South Wales to fill the 2000-seat Lyric theatre for a show that may still seem familiar (and an expensive investment) from the first production.
In 1995 the mega-Saigon played to some three-quarters of a million paying customers over a 15 month run. It didn’t travel - the helicopter and rest of the massive set made it prohibitive. This time, ironically, technology delivers an even more astonishing visual spectacle than the "real" thing. Melbourne audiences and critics loved it and are expected to keep on doing so until July 15. Brisbane will then get its chance from July 26 and the chopper will finally come thwacka-thwacka-thwacka-thwacka into the Lyric after that.
Miss Saigon at the Lyric Theatre Star City from September 20, tickets on sale: June 18
