Redondo Beach Performing Arts Center (Redondo Beach, CA)
In Miss Saigon, Alain Boublil and Claude-Michel Schönberg (creators of Les Misérables), along with Richard Maltby, Jr., bring Puccini's Madame Butterfly to the modern world in a moving testament to the human spirit. In the turmoil of the Vietnam War, an American soldier and a Vietnamese girl fall in love, only to be separated during the fall of Saigon. Their struggles to find each other over the ensuing years compose one of the most compelling stories of modern theatre.
Event summary prepared by the Goldstar Editorial Team.
All dates for this event have expired.
The last event was Sunday May 18, 2008 / 2:00pm. (view all dates)
Great performances by all. The show gets a little long and overly dramatic, but it's a great score. My only two complaints: 1) The producer gave WAY too long of a speech at the beginning. I know it's important for him to promote the current and upcoming seasons, but he went a little overboard; prepare to be quite annoyed by the time the show started. and 2) They inaccurately listed the seats on goldstar. They called them "Mid-orchestra". Well, I was two rows from the very back of the theatre, far from "Mid" anything. So, don't be misled by the description.
It is one of, if not my favorite musical of all time. The actors did an incredible job, the sets were great, the location was a really nice place. I recommend this location, the actors, this play to anyone and everyone.
Great Performance!
I absolutely loved this show. It had everything- drama, romance,
tragedy. Pair that with top notch acting/singing, and you have a hit show on your hands. The theater was packed on a Tuesday night, which is the result of the rave reviews this show has gotten. Fabulous!
It was EXCELLENT! This was equally as good as the Broadway production I saw in New York several years ago. The acting and singing voices were superb! I was impressed with the remodel of the theatre, as I had not been there since before it was done. The seats were great...first row of the Terrace section, so they were elevated above the front section and we had a perfect view even though it was off to the side. Since I bought the tickets only the day before and only the lower priced seats were still available, I hadn't expected much and was pleasantly suprised. My only complaint was the obnoxious Producer who spoke far too long and was NOT funny (although he thought he was) before the show.
An excellent show, it has the helicopter and a Buick that goes onto the stage so I felt I was getting the orginal experience of this show....(and the great acting & singing jobs of the cast helped too). As usual this theater gives the experience that they always have in the past.....
However can somebody tell that BQ James Blackwell to cut his "pre-show" speaches in half? Also the Oakies of the Depression era have NOTHING to do with the musical Oklahoma! This was the low point of the show.....
The entire production as a whole was excellent. I particularly loved the stage setup and the costumes. I would definitely recommend this musical to everyone.
Great voices and music, choreography, and orchestra. The show moved It had less than impressive lighting bouncing off its walls distracting from the storytelling. Attractive cast. The first preview was out in two hours and 40 minutes. One intermission.
I enjoyed the Civic Light Opera of South Bay Cities, as a theater, greatly as they clearly care about the productions they produce and treated this performance with the respect, care and grandeur it deserved. My only issues with the performance came from the casting choices, which I'm sure came, in part, from a lack of options, but none-the-less, it is why I am not giving it the full star rating. The sets were meticulous and beautiful, the set direction was on par with it's Broadway showing. The orchestra was wonderful and the setting was cozy while still feeling professional and James Blackman was a delightful afternoon welcome. The leads were veteran 'Siagon' re-casts from both Broadway and the world tour.
Jennifer Paz did another marvelous job with her role as Kim, however she was so good, her voice so clear, that she shaded the rest of the cast. Eric Kunze reprized his role as Chris but still seems to get hung up on how to move his body naturally when he sings. He tends to come off as a badly-animated CGI man arching in awkward ways as he fumbles his way around the stage. However his voice is so lovely and emotional that it can be over-looked. Misty Cotton returned to the role of Ellen and while her solo performance was wonderful and heartfelt, her introduction to the audience with the hauntingly sad, 'I Still Believe', seemed merely to show off Paz as a stronger, crisper voice. This is not to say Cotton is a poor singer, but rather that the song did not meld the two voices together as strongly as it should, which was a shame.
The Engineer, played by Kevin Bailey, is somewhat confusing. His performance was strong and he understands his role as grim, disturbing comic relief, however my companion spent the entire first act confused as Bailey is clearly not Vietnamese or French, but instead looks Irish, and dying his hair black didn't make that look fade, but possibly only heightened it. While ethnic look beyond generalities shouldn't necessarily matter in theater, that particular casting hindered my companions ability to fully understand who the character was and why he was there (they flat tell you in act 2). As I had already seen the show and knew the story, this had very little effect on me beyond the first minute or so, but I feel it important to mention.
Harrison White sang John's emotional 'Bui-Doi' off Key and flat and felt too effeminate for an Army captain in the Viet Nam war. While Kim's cousin, played by Bonifacio Deoso Jr., felt forced and halting as a singer, however his emotion was strong and came through in his acting.
The cast was a mix of races, the Asian cast mainly Filipino, but with theater, that fact can easily be over-looked and is understandable (my favorite Kim is still Lea Salonga).
The highlight was, of course, the set and grand direction, although Paz as Kim had me crying throughout so mega props her way as well. As a whole, the show was heartbreaking and well-run. I'm nit-picking the problems and feel it important to mention that I left this show a big step above pleased. In general I have felt LA theater to be severely lacking in both vision and talent, and so rate it on a scale all it's own. But with 'Siagon' I am comparing it to the scale of Broadway and London. That should tell you something.
PERFECT! This was the fourth time that I have seen Miss Saigon. The show was great. Voices: A Scenery and Staging: A Effects: A Price of ticket: A Parking: A Convenience: A ................If only the seats had been closer. Then, it would have been an A+ Second to the last row in the first section. For the price it was good. Overall, terrific.
My boyfriend and I had a great time. I wish our seats were closer. When getting the seats through Goldstar, you have no idea which seats you'll be in. 'Section B' can also mean that you are all the way in the back.
This was the most pathetic attempt at a fabulous production I have ever seen. It was more like a high school attempt....the sets were awful. The orchestra was off....the seats were the worst...all in all, I do not think I will use your service again...the seats were the next to last row.
The theatre is horrible, every seat is obstructed view. Seats are located right in front of each other rather than in a window and the floor is leveled making it difficult to view the stage. It is difficult to get to and from seat as seating is tight and small. the lighting for the show was cheap, and the mats useds as the backdrops was horrendous.
The doors to the lobby were open but the theatre wasn't allowing people into the theatre until about 15 minutes prior to seating. To top it off, there was a host in a white tuxedo that tried to sell season tickets to their other shows which lasted for about another 20 minutes, and he had horrible jokes. He mentioned that he would sound tacky by talking about the show but then went on about how great the show is.
the show itself was good, and top-notch performances by Jennifer Paz, but I will never return to another show at this horrible venue or recommend to anyone to see this show at this venue. Save your time and money, avoid the cheesy salesman on stage before the show.
"Mid orchestra" meant second to last row, but the cast and show was fantastic regardless.
the production is good. However I just found the story is very outdated and uninteresting.
This was an excellent production. The singers/performers were excellent, the staging was dynamic and the sets/lighting were very interesting.
The only bad thing was the seating in the upper section is not staggered, so all I could see was the person's head in front of me. The lower section seats are staggered and have much more leg room. If I went to this venue again, I would not sit in the upper section.
I loved it! The character, Kim, was amazing! I totally cried!
Fabulous music, dancing, set design, special effects. Never a dull moment. I was so impressed with this excellent production and look forward to returning to the Redondo Beach Performing Arts Center.
However, seats were not as described. It was in the terrace and not orchestra, but still good seats.
The performances were excellent, set design and staging very well done. The first act was all about passion, but left you wondering what happened and why. The second act made up for it and the understanding of what happens when lives are thrown into an unreal situation was dramatically told. All in all an enjoyable show.
Following its $11 million re-model, Redondo Beach Performing Arts Center is now the Crown Jewel of the South Bay arts scene. With its new bold, modernistic Grand Lobby, featuring a black Indian slate exterior, a granite water feature, stainless steel and cherry wood accents and a 21-feet high cherry ceiling, the 1,457-seat theatre is home to two prestigious and highly successful presenters, Civic... More
A classic love story is brought up-to-date in one of the most stunning theatrical spectacles of all time. In “Miss Saigon,” Alain Boublil and Claude-Michel Schönberg (the creators of “Les Misérables”), along with Richard Maltby, Jr., bring Puccini's “Madame Butterfly” to the modern world in a moving testament to the human spirit. In the turmoil of the Vietnam War, an American soldier and a Vietnamese girl fall in love, only to be separated during the fall of Saigon. Their struggles to find each other over the ensuing years make for one of the most compelling stories of modern theatre. An international sensation, “Miss Saigon” is an epic, daring show that is universal in its emotional power even as it deals with contemporary issues. Its sung-through pop-inflected score gives a multi-ethnic cast of strong pop singers an opportunity to shine, in show stopping numbers like “I Still Believe,” “Why God Why?” and “The American Dream.”
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