Sparkle Saturday this week is taking us to Vietnam and the moving musical Miss Saigon and is a brilliant example of how some songs need to be seen within the context of the musical to understand their brilliance. I must admit when I first listened to the songs on the tape we had of this musical, I was a bit bored with it! Such a child that I was, however, when I saw this performed on stage I was blown away by the depth of this song. To be fair to my younger self, I probably didn't fully understand what happened in Vietnam when I first listen to the songs of this musical.
The American Dream comes right at the end of the musical and is an autobiographical account of Engineer's life and the life he hopes for in America. So much hope and so much promise, the song crescendo only to smash us down with the final scenes between Chris and Kim. It is the power of storytelling at its finest.
Though it is not surprising that the team who brought us Les Miserables, Claude-Michel Schonbergh and Alain Boubil, could create a powerful and moving account of the destruction of the Vietnam War for the theatre for the people involved. There have been so many accounts of Vietnam on screen, in books and in music and this is one of the best.
For me, today I get to feel less guilty. I took my dad to Miss Saigon about 15 years ago but didn't take my sister and today, my sister and I are going to see the musical in Edinburgh. There is a twist in the tail as the tickets say restricted view (of course, the seats are downstairs!), hopefully, it won't be too restricted!!! Hee Hee, my sister might not be talking to me after today!
Listen here to the American Dream.
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