Only three theaters received the highly sought rights for the first post-Broadway productions of Miss Saigon, including the Marriott Theatre in Lincolnshire, which generally does things well and right. For Miss Saigon, Marriott fields a cast of 26 and an 11-piece orchestra; a larger force than one sees in many downtown touring productions. There's no whirling helicopter or floating gold Cadillac, but get over it: that stuff was window dressing anyway.
Superb musicianship replaces scenic spectacle. Orchestra, principal performers and vocal ensemble all are tight, full, big, rich, passionate under the baton of Patti Garwood and the musical direction of Kevin Stites, a brilliant vocal and instrumental coach who also prepared the orchestrations, filled with lovely woodwind details. Stites began his career at the Marriott before hitting Broadway, where he conducted Miss Saigon. Smart of the Marriott to bring him back.
As star-crossed lovers Kim and Chris, Emy Baysic and former Chicagoan Stephen R. Buntrock make a sexy couple. She's lithe, warm, fiercely loyal; he's the quintessential leading man, tall, strong, handsome. Smart of Marriott to bring him back! Song-and-dance veteran Jim Corti extracts every ounce of heartless, irredeemably selfish sleaze from the Engineer, singing big and acting nasty. He's another ex-Chicagoan whom the Marriott is smart to have brought back.
In key supporting roles Nikkeli DeMone, Edmund Nalzaro and Susie McMonagle excel in their big musical moments as John, Thuy and Ellen respectively; roles which otherwise are one-dimensional and thankless. John's Act II show-stopping anthem, "Bui-Doi," contains the most pointed message in this musical version of the Vietnam War, "They are a living reminder of all the good we failed to do!"
Thomas M. Ryan's scenic design is functional and serves the show, but isn't his best effort. However, the lighting of Diane Ferry Williams is tops, sometimes co-ordinating with the sound design of Duncan Robert Edwards to create missing visual effects; a very neat trick. Noted choreographer Harrison McEldowney—along with co-directors Dyanne Earley and Joe Leonardo—keeps the cast moving swiftly and well, although there's little pure dance. It's clear the cast was chosen for singing first and dance secondarily.
Not nearly as operatic ( or as long ) as Les Miserables by the same authors, Miss Saigon is a vigorous and ingenious extension of its source, Madama Butterfly. Under its skin, it's very much a traditional Broadway musical following a standard song sequence of opening chorus, expository song, love scene, production number, character song, 11 o'clock number, etc. as boy finds girl, boy loses girl, girl dies. He's callow, and she's hopelessly unrealistic. But the genuinely tuneful and powerful score captures the pain, despair and courage of people in a dark and terrible time.