Broadway By the Bay Presents "Miss Saigon"
BROADWAY BY THE BAY PRESENTS
Miss Saigon
SEPTEMBER 22-OCTOBER 8, 2006
SAN MATEO (Aug. 29, 2006) – Broadway By the Bay (BBBay), the Peninsula institution now in its 41st season, presents the three-time Tony Award-winning musical MISS SAIGON. A modern retelling of Puccini’s Madame Butterfly, MISS SAIGON was created by the illustrious musical team that brought the world Les Misérables - Alain Boubil (lyrics) and Claude-Michel Schönberg (music), with additional lyrics by Richard Maltby, Jr. Since its premiere in 1989, MISS SAIGON has performed around the world and is one of only six productions in Broadway history to reach 4000 performances. Its dramatic onstage landing of an evacuation helicopter will be faithfully recreated on the San Mateo Performing Arts Center stage, Thursdays though Sundays, September 22 (press night September 23) - October 8, 2006. This BBBay production is directed by Alex Perez. For tickets ($15-$38) and additional information, the public may call (650) 579-5565 or visit www.bbbay.org.
Set during the final stages of the Vietnam War, in post-war Vietnam and Thailand, the story of MISS SAIGON was inspired by a magazine photograph found by composer Claude-Michel Schönberg. The picture depicted a Vietnamese mother leaving her child at a departure gate at Tan Son Nhat Airport to board a plane for the U.S. where her ex-GI father would be able to provide a better life.
Expanded from this glimpse of real-life, the plot of MISS SAIGON tells the story of Chris, an American Marine in Saigon on the eve of the city’s fall to Communist forces in May 1975. He meets Kim, a young Vietnamese woman orphaned by the war and forced to work in a Saigon night club/brothel. Initially apprehensive, the two end up falling in love. Separated from Kim in the chaos of the American evacuation, Chris returns to the United States and during the next three years the pair struggle with the emotional aftermath of their affair.
The plot simultaneously follows the adventures of Tran, a Vietnamese pimp known as “The Engineer” who schemes to move to the United States and live the American dream. When the war ends, his ambitions are crushed under Vietnam’s new Communist government. He, Kim, and her child (by Chris) eventually escape as “boat people” to Thailand where they survive by resuming their former pimp/prostitute roles.
Chris, now married to an American woman, learns of Kim's survival. Reunited briefly in Bangkok, Kim finds that her lover now has another wife and (like Madam Butterfly in similar circumstances) she makes the ultimate sacrifice to ensure a new life for her young son.
Bay Area performance veterans Catherine Gloria (Kim), Noel Anthony (Chris), and Paul Araquistain (the Engineer) lead the 40+ person ensemble, including Corrie Lenn Borris (Ellen), Tony Rodriguez III (Thuy), David Sattler (John), and four year old Mark Shibata (Tam).
Additional cast members include “Bar Girls” - Amielynn D. Abellera, Tiffany-Marie Austin (Gigi), Arlene Bugayong, Jennifer Cuevas (Mimi), Michelle Freschi, Mema Mataban (Yvonne), Laura Matsumoto-Kim, Shanna Marie Pineda (Yvette), Dana Soliman, and Deedra L. Wong; the “Vietnamese Ensemble” - Jonathan Aclan, Ying Chew, James Gee, Lianito Isales, Edmond Kwong, Aladdin Marquez, Ron Munekawa, Don Olayvar, Earl John Pardo, Eric Ribeiro, and James Trinidad; the “GI Ensemble”– Cyril Cooper, Tony Gonzales, Daniel J. Harper, Manfred B. Hayes, Victor Ivanoff, Stewart Kramar, Danny Martin, Larry Quinto, Chris Romasanta, and Zach Trimmer; complemented by Pit Singers – Francesca Camus, Jamie Cunanan, Edward Maravilla, Jennifer Martinelli, and Christie Puiello.
Director Alex Perez has both performed (Will in Will Rogers Follies; Billy in No, No Nannette; Nick in Funny Girl) and directed (Joseph…Dreamcoat; Peter Pan; Oliver!; Music Man; Wizard of Oz; Hello Dolly!; Crazy for You) for Broadway by the Bay to great acclaim. He has directed, choreographed, and assisted in both capacities regionally for Beach Blanket Babylon, American Musical Theatre of San Jose, San Jose Stage Company, TheatreWorks, Peninsula Center Stage, and for the Old Globe Theatre in San Diego.
Berle Davis is in his 30th season choreographing for Broadway By the Bay. In past years his work has been nominated many times for Bay Area Theater Critics Circle Awards for Outstanding Choreography, winning for Singin’ In the Rain, Me and My Girl, Guys and Dolls, 42nd Street and A Chorus Line. As a performer, Berle has performed the choreography of Gower Champion, Jerome Robbins, Onna White, and Carol Haney.
Considered by many the Bay Area’s best-kept theatrical secret, for 41 years Broadway By the Bay has provided full scale musical theatre productions of professional quality at family prices. Now in its 41st season, Broadway By the Bay continues to grow, currently serving 6,000 season subscribers and over 3,000 single show ticket sales per production. Lauded for its efforts in education, Broadway By the Bay’s Youth Theatre Conservatory, for youths 8-18, gives younger students solid foundations in acting, singing, and dancing for the musical theatre, with an exciting and friendly introduction to the joys of performing. For those over 18, the company’s Musical Theatre Conservatory offers professional classes to adults of all ages.
FOR CALENDAR EDITORS:
WHAT: Broadway By the Bay presents the Broadway blockbuster MISS SAIGON. Unfolding during the final days leading up to the American evacuation of Saigon in 1975, MISS SAIGON is a tender and tragic story of love and self-sacrifice involving a young Vietnamese girl and an American soldier. A modern retelling of Puccini’s Madame Butterfly, MISS SAIGON was created by the illustrious musical team that brought the world Les Misérables - Alain Boubil (lyrics) and Claude- Michel Schönberg (music), with additional lyrics by Richard Maltby, Jr. Since its premiere in 1989, MISS SAIGON has performed around the world and is one of only six productions in Broadway history to reach 4000 performances. Its dramatic onstage landing of an evacuation helicopter will be faithfully recreated on the San Mateo Performing Arts Center stage. The production will be directed by Alex Perez.
Long considered the Bay Area’s best-kept theatrical secret, award-winning Broadway By the Bay provides full scale musical theatre productions of professional quality at bargain family prices. Now in its 41st season, BBBay presents each performance in the 1600 seat San Mateo Performing Arts Center.
WHEN: Opens: Friday, September 22, 2006 (press night Saturday, September 23)
Closes: Sunday, October 8, 2006
TIMES: Thursday-Saturday at 8:00pm
Sundays at 2:00pm
Plus: Special Family Matinee Saturday, September 30 at 2pm
WHERE: Broadway By the Bay at the San Mateo Performing Arts Center
600 N. Delaware, San Mateo
TICKETS: For tickets ($15.00-$38.00) and information, the public may call
(650) 579-5565, or visit www.broadwaybythebay.org. Savings available for
youths, seniors, subscribers, and groups of 10 or more.