Cocktail Party Fact: Miss Saigon almost didn’t open on Broadway. When producer Cameron Mackintosh brought the two London stars to New York, Lea Salonga, (Kim) and Jonathan Pryce (the Engineer), the Amerasian acting community launched an angry protest against Pryce. They complained that Pryce was not Asian but was playing an Eurasian character, and that the role should go to an Asian actor. Mackintosh would not be bullied, so he announced he would not open the show in New York and would refund the advance ticket sales. The protesters backed down and Pryce was allowed to open the show.

Here’s the Plot: Miss Saigon is an updating of Puccini’s opera Madama Butterfly. An American soldier, Chris, in Viet Nam during the war, meets and falls in love with Kim, a Vietnamese erotic dancer and prostitute. When Saigon falls, Chris tries to find Kim to take her with him, but they are separated. Several years later, Chris, still having nightmares, still unable to find Kim, has finally remarried. Eventually, Chris’ friend, John, has found Kim, and the three Ameicans go to Bangkok to find her. When Kim finds out Chris is already married, she only has one choice — in order to assure her child a good life in America, Kim kills herself so that Chris will be forced to take the child with him. Throughout the show, Kim’s manager/pimp, the Engineer, offers satiric commentary on the action, and on America.

Memorable Melodies: “The Heat is On in Saigon,” “The Movie in My Mind,” “Sun and Moon,” “The Last Night of the World,” “I Still Believe,” “I’d Give My Life For You,” “Bui Doi,” “The American Dream.”

Vital Statistics: Music by Claude-Michel Schonberg, Original French Lyrics by Alain Boublil, English lyrics by Boublil and Richard Maltby Jr. Originally directed in London and on Broadway by Nicholas Hytner, choreographer by Bob Avian. The show opened in London on Sept. 20, 1989, and on Broadway April 11, 1991.

Why See It: The show has some serious flaws. It’s a bit schizoid and can’t decide if it’s a wicked satire or an epic love story. Also, the America bashing is sometimes on target, but other times, the (French) writers seem to forget that the French were turning Saigon into a decadent city-sized whorehouse long before the Americans arrived. Still, the music is beautiful, the lyrics sometimes very moving, and the production itself is gorgeous without indulging in the annoying excesses of the Lloyd Webber shows. All in all, it’s a very emotional, moving, and exciting show.