Up and Coming Weekly is a weekly publication in Fayetteville, NC and Fort Bragg, NC area offering local news, views, arts, entertainment and community event and business information.
Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/47094
XurD8rUXrvtuGTtr `ChrPv XurD8r UCryvt` 8ur XrBvr` Pv s 6qDshv Miss Saigon: A Poignant Performance by JANICE BURTON From the fi rst pelvic thrust of the slightly raunchy opening number to the last poignant strain of the closing number, Miss Saigon captured the mostly senior audience at Sunday's matinee, some of whom may have actually served in Vietnam. The show, staged as part of Heroes Homecoming at the Cape Fear Regional Theatre, chronicles the experience of a small group of people who lived and loved during the last days of the Vietnam War. In the weeks leading up to Village Surgical Associates Has Been Named An American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery Center of Excellence production, Director Bruce Lumpkin worked to create a series of pictorial montages that would create the feel and set the tone for the production, as the CFRT stage is smaller than what is usually used to stage such a large performance. I have to say that when Lumpkin explained his plan to me, I was a little nervous. The CFRT sound and video capabilities have at times been temperamental. Other than a few sound issues during the fi rst number, which had the orchestra drowning out the performers (which was quickly fi xed), that wasn't the case in this production. The montages Lumpkin created set the tone of the musical from the get go. The audience actually stepped into the chaos that was Saigon as the war drew to a close. The CFRT always brings together stellar casts for its performances, but I have to say that there wasn't a sour note from anyone in this cast. From the 12-piece orchestra directed by Michael Wolff to the hand-selected chorus, the show was full of sweet music. The show tells the story of Kim, played to perfection by Shannon Tyo, a young Vietnamese woman who is left alone after her village is attacked. Young and innocent, she arrives in Saigon and quickly falls prey to the Engineer, played by Billy Bustamante. The Engineer puts Kim to work in his "buy me drinkee" club, and promptly pimps her out to a young American Marine, Chris, played by Daniel Hines. Chris and Kim fi nd love rather than lust in the middle of war, and pledge their undying love to one another. 9 Ehr8yhr9 Gr9hvq Dshr yi rrrvtuhqhr vshvhiihvhvptvphyv vpyqvt thvpih yhihqhqurprqr yrhr hrqpvtrqphvhys) Xrqrqh Irir %u Xrqrqh 9rprir! u h%)" 8hrArhWhyyr@qphv8rr For an appointment with Doctors Classen or Davidson or to reserve a seat at our FREE educational seminar, please call 910.323.2626 '# Rvr8rAhrrvyyr I8!'" # vyyhtrtvphy p 8 UCW NOVEMBER 9-15, 2011 In the week following their meeting, Saigon falls. Chris is unable to fi nd Kim and bring her to the embassy, and she is left, like many Vietnamese women were, with the secret shame of carrying an American GI's child. Flash forward three years, and Chris, who is married to Ellen (the CFRT's own Cassandra Vallery), learns of the child from his friend John (Fayetteville's own Kendrix Singletary). What follows is the heartbreaking tale of love and sacrifi ce of a mother who wants nothing but the best for her child. Tyo, as Kim, brings certain sweetness to the role. You feel her pain and her joy; it drips from each note she sings. But you also feel her despair. Bustamante brings humor to the performance, as he slithered as the Engineer through the show. His timing was perfection, his dancing divine, and his humor spot on. He has a defi nite affi nity for the show, and in his role as a narrator of sorts, he ties all the pieces together. Hines, as Chris, has a strong voice, which reaches all the way down into your soul. Kudos to him. Singletary did not have a lot of time on the stage, but when he was on it, he owned it. His moving performance of "Bui-Doi," which tells the story of the children who were left fatherless by their GI fathers, and often motherless in a society that did not accept them. This number left me in tears. The chorus also does an extraordinary job of segueing from scene to scene, and its opening numbers of "The Heat Is On In Saigon" and the "The Movie in My Mind," may have been the hottest numbers to ever have been performed on the stage of the CFRT. Lumpkin and company have a hit on their hands; make sure you take the time to see it, and travel back to Saigon. The show runs through Nov. 20. For tickets and times, visit www.cfrt.org. JANICE BURTON, Associate Publisher, Up & Coming Weekly, COMMENTS? janice@upandcomingweekly.com WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM