By James Bean
Published: October 18, 2009

By James Bean
For the Daily Titan

The stunning Tony award-winning classic “Miss Saigon” will have its Cal State Fullerton premiere in the Little Theatre on campus, Friday, Oct. 23.

“Miss Saigon” tells the tale of a Vietnamese bar girl named Kim who meets an American GI stationed in Vietnam during the war.

I will spare you the details to keep the show a surprise, but just know that Kim has a few horrifying skeletons in her closet, and the American is scheduled to be shipped back to America soon. The show runs through rivers of drama, culminating in a famous finale.

When the show first previewed on West End in 1989, it was critically hailed as the best musical of the year, and when it moved to Broadway in 1991, it was showered with the same praise.

It was nominated for every major award (including Best Musical) at the 1991 Tony Awards and won the majority of the acting merits that night. It has been performed in hundreds of cities across the nation, has been translated into 12 languages and is arguably one of the most recognized musicals worldwide.

Hopefully, now you can begin to see why people are buzzing with excitement about this show.

Last year, when the higher-ups were still choosing the shows to occupy this season, they set out on a quest to find a guest director that would be capable of helming the show.

“I remember the e-mail,” said Jon Lawrence Rivera, the show’s director. “They were looking for someone to re-envision ‘Miss Saigon.’ I had a couple of ideas already.”

Rivera’s re-imagining includes many unique and never-been-done ideas. He plays around with the juxtaposition of the characters and events within the show in a way that has never been introduced to a mainstream theater audience. Rivera also had a few words to say about his stellar cast.

“The talent pool is so good; I had no problem casting every role,” Rivera said. “They are an amazing group of actors, from the ensemble to the principles.”

Rivera said that during auditions, he was told by the head of the department, Jim Taulli, that there were certain actors who needed to be cast to fulfill the requirements of CSUF’s Bachelor of Fine Arts program. After auditions were over, Rivera said that he was just blown away by the level of talent in the program.

“(Taulli) didn’t tell me how good they all were,” Rivera said.

This production has also allowed a few actors to play roles that they have dreamed of playing for years.
“I’m really nervous because I’ve never had a huge lead, and this is the biggest part I’ve played in my entire life,” said Jacqueline Nguyen, who plays the main character, Kim.

Although nervous, Nguyen is confident that her training at CSUF has prepared her for the role.

“‘Saigon’ is an opera which has basically no dialogue, which is pretty straining on my voice,” Nguyen said. “But thankfully I’ve had great acting and voice teachers that have guided me and trained me well enough so that it isn’t as scary as I initially thought it would be.”

Jesse Abeel, who plays the GI who falls in love with Kim, was excited to collaborate with Nguyen.
“It has been fantastic working with Jackie,” Abeel said. “She is just a fantastic actress.”

Several of the themes that run through “Miss Saigon” deal with incredibly controversial issues such as race, sex and the rules of a war-torn country that is going down in flames.

Abeel really appreciates the rather intense themes that run through “Miss Saigon.”

“It’s not something you normally see in a musical,” Abeel said. “This is really serious stuff.”

Rivera wants the audience to leave understanding the message of love in “Miss Saigon.”

“I hope they can find a world where you can embrace people of all colors and all backgrounds,” Rivera said. “Their love exists even though there is war and that stuff in the background. I’d love them to understand the love that these people have. They probably do.”

Tickets are $20 for general admission and $18 for CSUF students.