Anthony Festa News

After 30 years of tours and a successful run in the West End and on Broadway MISS SAIGON needed a fresh coat of paint. Boy did it sure get one!

This sweeping musical from the creators of Les Miserable is blazing a trail across the country.

The heat is certainly on in Cincinnati as the national tour of 'Miss Saigon' plays at the Aronoff Center now through April 21. The tour is bringing the 2017 Tony-nominated revival to cities across the country with an electric cast and some of the most stunning technical elements audiences will see.

When you strip away the beautiful lighting, iconic helicopter, and glowing harmonies, you're left with a musical that has lost its lustre with time.

Just until this Sunday, March 17th, you can catch well-known Broadway musical Miss Saigon at Wharton Center for the Performing Arts in East Lansing. Inspired heavily by Giacomo Puccini's opera entitled Madama Butterfly, Miss Saigon first played on Broadway from 1991 until 2001 and has had several worldwide productions ever since, including a 2017 Broadway revival. Though this show has often been met with controversy throughout its history, the U.S. national tour currently hitting East Lansing does its best to portray the Vietnam War as honestly as possible.

Casting for Cameron Mackintosh's acclaimed new production of Boublil and Schonberg's legendary musical MISS SAIGON-a smash hit in London, Broadway and across the UK-has been announced for its highly anticipated engagement in St. Louis at The Fabulous Fox Theatre for 2 weeks, April 23 - May 5. To purchase tickets, visit Metrotix.com, call 314-534-1111 or visit the Fabulous Fox Box Office. Ticket prices start at $27.  

The RBTL continues its 2018-2019 season with one of Broadway's most transporting musicals, equal parts soaring and beautiful and devastatingly sad. Miss Saigon has been wowing audiences for over three decades, and it's here to wow Rochesterians for just four more days.

Buffalo audiences are in for a rare treat. The Broadway revival of the hit musical MISS SAIGON soared into town last night in what can only be described as a spectacular evening of theatre. First seen on Broadway in 1991 at the height of the megamusical phenomenon, MISS SAIGON continues to resonate with age. Those familiar with Puccini's opera MADAMA BUTTERFLY will not be disappointed in the updating of the story by composer Claude-Michel Schonberg and lyricists Richard Maltby and Alain Boubil.

Before you ask, 'Yes, a helicopter lands on stage in the touring production of 'Miss Saigon,' now on stage at the KeyBank State Theatre, but, as with the production itself there is a 'but . . .'.

In the second act of MISS SAIGON, there is a song called 'Too Much for One Heart.' And that's how one might describe the national touring production of MISS SAIGON which opened at the Durham Performing Arts Center last night. It's just too much.

Casting for Cameron Mackintosh's acclaimed new production of Boublil and Schonberg's legendary musical MISS SAIGON-a smash hit in London, Broadway and across the UK-has been announced for its highly anticipated engagement in Cleveland at Playhouse Square for three weeks, January 29 - February 17, as part of the KeyBank Broadway Series. To purchase tickets, visit playhousesquare.org, call 216-241-6000 or visit the Playhouse Square Ticket Office (1519 Euclid Ave.). Groups of 10 or more may reserve seating by calling 216-640-8600. Single ticket prices start at $10.00.

There are few entertainments as popular as Miss Saigon (36 million attendees worldwide since it premiered on London's West End in 1989), and few that have occasioned as much controversy. Despite all that popularity, this reviewer had happened never to see the show until the current national tour surfaced this last week at Washington's Kennedy Center. Miss Saigon's reputation for controversy had preceded it, however, and I was on the lookout for offensiveness. But what I saw was a well-honed crowd pleaser with spectacular stagecraft and spectacle, excellent singing, a few catchy tunes, and a compelling plot. Some of the provocations complained of in earlier productions are no longer in evidence. In other instances, I would dispute that the material was ever objectively offensive. I'll discuss all this below, but first, some basics.

Based on the 2017 Broadway revival (a West End transfer) this new tour offers a solid mix of splash and raw, complex human emotion.

The Broadway Boys have released the first single “Magic to Do” off of their upcoming album. Entitled, “A New Broadway,” this will be the group's third album and will highlight the new sound, the new arrangements and the new talent of The Broadway Boys. “A New Broadway” was recorded in August and is being produced by James Sampliner (THE PRINCE OF BROADWAY) and Artistic Director of The Broadway Boys Jesse Nager (MOTOWN THE MUSICAL).

Casting for Cameron Mackintosh's acclaimed new production of Boublil and Schonberg's legendary musical MISS SAIGON-a smash hit in London, on Broadway, and currently breaking box office records on a national tour in the U.K.-has been announced for its highly anticipated engagement in Washington, D.C. at the Kennedy Center Opera House for December 12, 2018-January 13, 2019.

The current National Tour of MISS SAIGON feature refreshed staging and a heartfelt, emotional and star-making performance by Emily Bautista.

Chicago actor Christine Bunuan stars as Gigi in the national tour of MISS SAIGON, which plays at Broadway in Chicago's Cadillac Palace Theatre November 14 through December 8. Bunuan recently spoke to BroadwayWorld Chicago about bringing this epic love story on the road.

Cameron Mackintosh's acclaimed new production of Boublil and Schonberg's legendary musical MISS SAIGON is now on tour across North America. Get a first look below!

The North American tour of Miss Saigon launched this week at the Providence Performing Arts Center in Providence, RI. Check out photos from the red carpet below!