The Heat Is On In Sydney!

Why again? Because we watched Miss Saigon in Manila a few years back already. We were with Teng, and we were all neophytes in the ‘real world’ (read: we only started our careers back then) with not much money so the only tickets we can afford that time was the cheapest and we were seated in the upper most area of the theater, I felt like we were watching “The Bug’s Life” because the stage was so small from where we sat, the actors looked like ants.

But this time, it’s different, we were able to afford good seats!!!! I’m glad that I watched this with Hilda, there’s no other person I would like to watch this with (other than my husband) than her. We really enjoyed it and from where we were seated, we were more moved while watching the play. For the price we paid, it was all worth it.

The Story, The Songs, The Production
The story itself will move you. I finally realized that I will never get tired of watching this play, the story was just too good. The songs were very powerful it will make you cry with Kim (I’d Give My Life For You), and you will laugh at the Engineer’s antics (The American Dream), and of course, it will make you fall inlove too with Kim and Chris’ duets (Sun and Moon and The Last Night of the World).

The production is not as extravagant and they incorporated virtual imaging already. I won’t tell which part, just see it for yourself.

One of the things we have noticed as to the Orchestra, compared to the Phils’, the one here has not much impact as I’ve expected. Maybe because the theatre is not that big, i don’t know…but in terms of that sound blaring all over the venue, mas nagustuhan ko yung sa Phils.

The Actors
My palms were a bit sore from all that clapping that night. Leo Valdez played The Engineer; Jennifer Trijo as Kim; David Harris as Chris; Juan Jackson as John; RJ Rosales as Thuy and Amanda Harrison as Ellen. That’s three Filipinos in six main characters, not bad huh?

Leo Valdez was superb!!!! Ang galing galing galing nya! He has definitely come a long way from being one of the country’s balladeers. Jennifer as Kim has a very powerful voice. RJ as Thuy did well except that Thuy’s songs weren’t as dramatic as Kim’s or The Engineer’s so he didn’t make that much of an impact but nevertheless, he is still good. I was so proud to be Pinoy that night!

Miss Saigon is running at the Lyric Theatre in Star City for 12 weeks (til December). There are 4 sections you can choose from:

Stalls – $102.90

Dress Circle – $92.90

Grand Circle – $70.90

Restricted View Area – $39.90

The best seats are in the Stalls and Dress Circle. The worst seats are in the Restricted View Area (restricted talaga kasi kalahati lang ng stage ang makikita mo, may libre ka pang stiff neck pagkatapos).

You may buy tickets via Ticketmaster.com.au or you may go to Star City or any ticketmaster outlets.

When we arrived at the venue, they decorated the lobby with red lanterns for a more Asian ambiance.

And of course they have a stall for the souvenirs where you can buy Miss Saigon CD with the complete recording of the songs ($40.00), Miss Saigon mug ($18.00), shirts ($40.00), souvenir program/playbill ($20.00). Hilda bought a Miss Saigon shirt while I bought a souvenir playbill and a Miss Saigon CD so that I can listent to the experience Miss Saigon while at home.

For more details, you may visit the Miss Saigon Australia Website.

The Aftermath
I ended up sleeping over Hilda’s place because we left the Lyric Theatre at around 11:30 p.m. We were hungry again by the time we arrived home (we had dinner at 6pm) so we decided to have breakfast at 12:30 a.m. Hilda cooked eggs and chicken sausage which we ate with rice, sarap!!!! A great way to end the night!