Miss Saigon

Miss Saigon (1991). The London musical import, which updated Madame Butterfly to the final days of the Viet Nam War, boasted a mammoth production directed by Nicholas Hytner and designed by John Napier, highlighted by a spectacular scene in which a helicopter descended from above to pick up the remaining Americans during the fall of Saigon. Lea Salonga was Kim, the orphan‐prostitute who falls in love with a G.I. ( Willy Falk), bears his child, and years later kills herself so that the boy can go to the States with his father. The events were tied together by the Engineer ( Jonathan Pryce), a conniving Eurasian who manipulates the main characters for his own benefit. Notable songs: The Last Night of the World; The Movie in My Mind; Why God, Why?; The American Dream. Richard Maltby Jr. adapted Alain Boublil's French book and lyrics, Claude‐Michel Schonberg wrote the music, and it opened at the Broadway Theatre for a run of 4,097 performances. The highly publicized show was given more press coverage right before opening when producer Cameron MacKintosh threatened to cancel the production and return the $25 million in advance sales if Actors Equity did not allow Pryce to re‐create his London performance in New York. Mackintosh won, Pryce received a Tony, and the musical was a giant hit. Richard MALTBY JR. (b. 1937) was born in Ripon, Wisconsin, the son of a well‐known orchestra leader, and educated at Yale where he met his composer‐collaborator David Shire. The team would score such musicals as Starting Here, Starting Now (1977), Closer Than Ever (1989), Baby (1983), and Big (1996). Maltby also conceived and directed the popular revue Ain't Misbehavin' (1978) and adapted the lyrics for Song and Dance (1985).