THERE was hardly a dry eye in the house when youngsters from the Wisbech Angles Theatre’s RATz Youth Group staged the school’s edition of Miss Saigon.
And the sell-out show has attracted some great reaction from representatives of the National Operatic and Drama Association, who went along to watch the performance.
NODA regional representative Stephen Hayter says the show was “delivered by a confident and talented cast to a high standard,”.
NODA East Councillor James Farr called the show “a truly moving production.”
Emlyn Moment, one of the Angles Theatre’s trustees, said: “Audiences were moved to tears, at several different times during the show.
“Many a red eye from both men and women appeared from the auditorium during the interval and after the show.
“The comments, from the sell-out audiences, were always highly complementary.
“There was much admiration and respect for what the youngsters had achieved and for the high standard that they had delivered.”
Miss Saigon schools edition is a slightly adapted version of the full musical.
It was designed to be played by children still in full time education.
Mr Moment added: “The music is very demanding on the young cast.
“The reason is because the whole, extremely profound and sincere storyline must be told clearly and with genuine conviction for the audience to believe in the tragedy and ecstasy portrayed throughout.”
The story is based on Puccini’s opera Madame Butterfly.
It is the second epic musical produced by the team of Cameron Mackintosh, Claude-Michel Schonberg, Alain Boublil and Richard Maltby Jr; Les Miserable being the first.
Set in Vietnam in 1975 a young Vietnamese orphaned country girl, Kim, seeks refuge in Saigon and falls in love with a US marine sergeant, Chris.
The Americans abandon Vietnam and Kim is left behind with her baby son.
Four years later Chris and his American wife arrive in Bangkok, Thailand, in search of Kim and his son.
The whole story is carefully manipulated by a French-Vietnamese bar owner called the Engineer.
They meet and the ultimate tragedy occurs.
Audiences were moved to tears, at several different times during the show, and many a red eye from both men and women appeared from the auditorium during the interval and after the show.
The show ran from Tuesday 2nd to Saturday 6th April.
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