London Revival of Miss Saigon has its Kim

[RW3]

Posted: 11/21/13 at 7:32pm

Congrats to her!!!
https://www.broadwayworld.com/article/17-Year-Old-Eva-Noblezada-to-Star-in-MISS-SAIGON-in-the-West-End-20131121

[bwayphreak234]

Posted: 11/21/13 at 7:40pm

Just watched her singing With You on YouTube. She's gonna be great.

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 11/21/13 at 7:41pm

She's only doing 4 performances a week? Wouldn't the understudy be considered an alternate at that point?

[eatlasagna]

Posted: 11/21/13 at 7:51pm

do they mean jon jon briones for the Engineer??

[Wildcard]

Posted: 11/21/13 at 8:14pm

Can we expect a Dave19 rant soon?

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 11/22/13 at 1:15am

Wouldn't the understudy be considered an alternate at that point?

The article makes it sound like there will be multiple understudies doing the other four performances.

[Princeton Returns]

Posted: 11/22/13 at 3:41am

Its a pretty underwhelming cast

[Dave19]

Posted: 11/22/13 at 5:49am

"Noblezada will join previously announced cast members Jon Jon Briones as the Engineer, Alistair Brammer as Chris, Hugh Maynard as John, Tamsin Carroll as Ellen and Rachelle Ann Go as Gigi."

I love this casting.

The girl cast as Kim seems to have the natural flair for the role as well as a great singing voice.

This show is very difficult to cast. It is easy to make the mistake of hiring actors that can't sing well enough (Hugh Jackman syndrome) which ruins the material and the emotions, or hiring actors that sound like a parody on musical theatre (Ramin Karimloo syndrome) which ruins the material and the emotions too. The people cast here seem to have the exact right natural balance. Acting through great singing. Holding a note and keep the emotion. That is rare these days.

Kim, Chris and the Engineer seem to be exactly the right type for the role. The lady cast as Ellen reads a bit old, but I felt the same way about Claire Moore in the original production. I do love her type and voice though, it makes the confrontation between her and Kim interesting I think. I don't know the guy cast as John very well, but he can sing, I hope he doesn't make the songs too gospel-ish. I hate the John on the CSR cd.

If there ever comes a film and we get a cast like this we should be very, very pleased. Material like this needs people like this. Updated On: 11/22/13 at 05:49 AM

[Chowd95]

Posted: 11/22/13 at 6:37am

Explain why you think it is underwhelming. They've been working on getting this cast together for months and this show is poised to be a huge deal when it premieres.

None of us saw the auditions. I trust their judgement.

[KathyNYC2]

Posted: 11/22/13 at 6:42am

Jon Jon..love him as the engineer. So great. I've seen him do the part numerous times.

New Kim sounds promising..hope it works out for everyone.

I love this show...excited even though I don't live in London..
Updated On: 11/22/13 at 06:42 AM

[Dave19]

Posted: 11/22/13 at 6:56am

Here's another great clip of Eva:

http://vimeo.com/71512464

[best12bars]

Posted: 11/22/13 at 7:11am

I'm really tired of this 4-show-a-week crap.

Kids or adults, if you can't do the job, then get out of the business.

EDIT: And don't tell me it has to do with child labor laws. The last time I checked, a three-hour show is a three-hour show, whether you're a lead or in the chorus. Time and "working hours" work the same way for both.

Updated On: 11/22/13 at 07:11 AM

[Princeton Returns]

Posted: 11/22/13 at 7:15am

Its underwhelming to me because

Alistair was not a great Marius so theres nothing that makes me want to pay to see him as Chris

Jon Jon - great as he is, he has done the role loads of times before so its not a fresh take

Tamzin - Great voice but is ten years older than her Chris and seems miscast against a production that wants a younger angle to their lead romance

[jsg03jd]

Posted: 11/22/13 at 10:40am

When did this 4 performances a week nonsense begin? Lea Salonga did all 8 performances in London when the original production premiered then it turned into either 6 times or 5 times a week a la the EVITA alternate schedule after Salonga had her vocal problems addressed IIRC.

Is this girl not turning18 before the opening?

[SporkGoddess]

Posted: 11/22/13 at 11:05am

She has a gorgeous voice, but she doesn't really "look" the part to me... I dunno.

[jsg03jd]

Posted: 11/22/13 at 11:43am

She's too polished unless they're going for a non naive Kim.

[disneybroadwayfan22]

Posted: 11/22/13 at 11:45am

I'm really tired of this 4-show-a-week crap.

Kids or adults, if you can't do the job, then get out of the business.

Agreed! And since school here ends at May, why would she "go on with her studies"?

[Wildcard]

Posted: 11/22/13 at 12:52pm

While Lea played all the initial performances by herself, Monique Wilson was always billed as the alternate right from the beginning. Nevertheless, she did play more than Eva would and she was the same age then as Eva is now.

[Wildcard]

Posted: 11/22/13 at 1:19pm

Here's the official announcement
Miss Saigon Cast

[best12bars]

Posted: 11/22/13 at 1:42pm

I think this has less to do with labor laws or vocal issues, and more to do with creating another "factory" production. They don't want to build a show around one "star turn" performance, so that when she leaves or calls in sick, ticket sales drop off.

"Look! We've got six more Kims waiting in the wings. You can see them all on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Sunday!"

They don't create shows (or revivals) tailored to an individual's talents anymore. The human factor is gone. It's about mass production, like an automobile. I really hate that approach to big-budget stage musicals now.

Motor City Musicals.

They're factories full of factory workers. If one of them falls off the "track," another steps into position, and the machine keeps going.

Updated On: 11/22/13 at 01:42 PM

[dreaming]

Posted: 11/22/13 at 2:02pm

Am I the only one who really doesn't understand why Kim is so vocally draining on the actress portraying her? (I mean it's no harder than Evita-where the principal plays the role 6x, or Christine with the same requirements). I think emotionally it could be draining-but there are plenty of other roles where the principal played the role 6-8 times a week that were even more so.

I am not in favor of a principal playing less than 6 performances a week unless they are a child (I know the actress is 17, but she is playing an adult role...I was thinking more along the lines of kids 15 and under frankly.)(I wish I could have an 'alternate' at my job 50% of the time I'm supposed to be there!)

[best12bars]

Posted: 11/22/13 at 2:29pm

Am I the only one who really doesn't understand why Kim is so vocally draining on the actress portraying her? (I mean it's no harder than Evita-where the principal plays the role 6x, or Christine with the same requirements). I think emotionally it could be draining-but there are plenty of other roles where the principal played the role 6-8 times a week that were even more so.

Yes, it's especially demanding when a stage actress is required to act. That's asking too much. They should hire different actresses for each scene, so the others have time for mental and physical therapy and plenty of rest.

And if she acts AND sings a high C, she should get six weeks off for her troubles.

[StageManager2]

Posted: 11/22/13 at 7:06pm

LOL2best12bars!

Did Evita set a (bad) precedent? What with making belting mandatory and the hiring of an alternate?

[Wildcard]

Posted: 11/22/13 at 7:54pm

Didn't the "tradition" of double-casting the lead come from the world of opera?

Kim is onstage for most of the show. It's a physically and vocally exhausting part. Perhaps it's because this is Eva's professional debut? They want to make sure her voice holds up. Lea already had extensive theatrical experience by the time she debuted in Miss Saigon. Hopefully, as she settles into the role, Eva will perform on more days. If she is nominated for an Olivier, I would expect that she would have to perform for more than 4 days.

[RW3]

Posted: 11/22/13 at 8:17pm

^Completely agree with you. Since the producing team is saying that she is only doing 4 shows a week, Eva may be finishing up her junior or senior year of high school and they are giving her that opportunity before she does 6 or 8 shows per week.