Misplaced Pages

#770229

183-534: The musical premièred at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane , London , on 20 September 1989, closing after 4,092 performances on 30 October 1999. It opened on Broadway at the Broadway Theatre on April 11, 1991 with a record advance of over $ 39 million, and was later staged in many other cities and embarked on tours. Prior to the opening of the 2014 London revival, it was said that Miss Saigon had set

366-490: A Mr Dyte . Hadfield was quickly subdued, and George, apparently unruffled, ordered the performance to continue. The comedy actor John Bannister became acting manager in 1802. With Sheridan's son Tom , and in the circle of Richard Wroughton (stage-manager), William Dowton , Michael Kelly , Tom Dibdin and their likes, he helped to see the Theatre Royal through its next catastrophe. On 24 February 1809, despite

549-543: A Saigon bar and brothel, shortly before the end of the Vietnam War , it is Kim's first day as a bargirl . The seventeen-year-old peasant girl is hauled in by the Engineer, a French-Vietnamese hustler who owns the joint. Backstage, the girls ready themselves for the night's show, jeering at Kim's inexperience ("Overture / Backstage Dreamland"). The U.S. Marines, aware that they will soon be leaving Vietnam, party with

732-745: A botanical garden , the Norodom Palace , Hotel Continental , Notre-Dame Cathedral , and Bến Thành Market , among many others. In April 1865, Gia Định Báo was established in Saigon, becoming the first newspaper published in Vietnam. During the French colonial era, Saigon became known as "Pearl of the Orient" ( Hòn ngọc Viễn Đông ), or "Paris of the Extreme Orient". On 27 April 1931,

915-410: A stucco facade facing Bridges Street. This facade was the first time any structure that might be considered part of the theatre proper actually abutted the street: the building, like the 1663 original, had been built in the centre of the block, hemmed in by other structures. The narrow passage from Bridges street to the theatre now became an interior hallway; some theatre office space also went up behind

1098-496: A "Riding Yard" ) in which the theatre stood. It is likely that the yard remained open to the sky at this date, on three sides of the Theatre Royal walls. Henri Misson, a visitor from France, offers a description of the theatre in 1698: his use of the word "amphitheatre" supports the view that Drury Lane had a circular line of boxes surrounding its pit: The Pit is an Amphitheatre, fill'd with Benches without Backboards, and adorn'd and cover'd with green Cloth. Men of Quality, particularly

1281-423: A May 1663 letter from one Monsieur de Maonconys: "All benches of the pit, where people of rank also sit, are shaped in a semi-circle, each row higher than the next." The three galleries formed a semicircle around the floor seats; both the first and second galleries were divided up into boxes. The Great Plague of London struck in the summer of 1665, and the Theatre Royal, along with all other public entertainment,

1464-620: A better life ("Movie in My Mind"). John buys a room for Chris and the virgin Kim ("The Transaction"). Kim is reluctant and shy, but dances with Chris, who tries to pay her to leave the nightclub. When the Engineer interferes, thinking that Chris does not like Kim, Chris allows himself to be led to her room ("The Dance"). Chris, watching Kim sleep, asks God why he met her just as he was about to leave Vietnam ("Why, God, Why?"). When Kim wakes up, Chris tries to give her money, but she refuses, saying that it

1647-482: A centre of resistance against Tây Sơn. Two years later, a large Vauban citadel called Gia Định , or Thành Bát Quái ("Eight Diagrams") was built by Victor Olivier de Puymanel , one of the Nguyễn Ánh's French mercenaries . The citadel was captured by Lê Văn Khôi during his revolt of 1833–35 against Emperor Minh Mạng . Following the revolt, Minh Mạng ordered it to be dismantled, and a new citadel, called Phụng Thành ,

1830-426: A common Vietnamese surname ( Hồ , 胡 ) with a given name meaning "enlightened will" (from Sino-Vietnamese , 志 明 ; Chí meaning 'will' or 'spirit', and Minh meaning 'light'), in essence, meaning "light bringer". Nowadays, "Saigon" is still used as a semi-official name for the city, in some cases being used interchangeably with Ho Chi Minh City, partly due to its long history and familiarity. "Prey Nokor City"

2013-421: A decade, including Oklahoma! (1947–1950), Carousel (1950–1951), South Pacific (1951–1953) and The King and I (1953–1956). American imports also included Lerner and Loewe 's My Fair Lady , which began a five-year run in 1958. Productions in the 1960s included Camelot (1964–1965), Hello, Dolly! (1965–1967) and The Great Waltz (1970–1972). In 1974, Monty Python recorded an album at

SECTION 10

#1732787559771

2196-534: A departure gate at Tan Son Nhut Air Base to board an airplane headed for the United States where the child's father, an ex-GI, would be in a position to provide a much better life for the child. Schönberg considered this mother's actions for her child to be "The Ultimate Sacrifice," an idea central to the plot of Miss Saigon . Highlights of the show include the evacuation of the last Americans in Saigon from

2379-902: A dozen theaters in America where we can do this." A second national US tour launched in Seattle in early 1995 and closed in August 2000 in Buffalo, New York, after playing engagements in most major US and Canadian markets, including Honolulu, San Francisco, Toronto, and return engagements in Boston (twice), Chicago and West Palm Beach. The tour originally starred Deedee Magno Hall as Kim (replaced by Kristine Remigio, Kym Hoy and Mika Nishida), Thom Sesma as The Engineer (replaced by Joseph Anthony Foronda), and Matt Bogart as Chris (replaced by Will Chase , Steven Pasquale , Greg Stone and Will Swenson ). After

2562-468: A librarian or by anyone else. No sign of a signature (by Wren or anyone else) or a date appears anywhere on the drawing. Robert D. Hume of Penn State University explained that use of the drawing "rests almost entirely on the supposition that the so-called "Wren section" at All Souls represents this theatre. It could just as easily be a discarded sketch unconnected to Drury Lane in any way." Comparative evidence for Drury Lane's 1674 design can be found in

2745-609: A metropolitan area covering most parts of the southeast region plus Tiền Giang Province and Long An Province under planning, will have an area of 30,000 km (12,000 sq mi) with a population of 20 million inhabitants by 2020. Inhabitants of Ho Chi Minh City are usually known as "Saigonese" in English and "dân Sài Gòn" in Vietnamese. The majority of the population are ethnic Vietnamese ( Kinh ) at about 93.52%. Ho Chi Minh City's largest minority ethnic group are

2928-475: A mission to ask his son-in-law, King Chey Chettha II, to set up tax collection stations in Prey Nokor (Sài Gòn) and Kas Krobei (Bến Nghé). Although this was a deserted jungle area, it was located on the traffic routes between Vietnam, Cambodia, and Siam. The next two important events of this period were the establishment of the barracks and residence of Vice King Ang Non and the establishment of

3111-462: A narrative about white supremacy and authority." Theatre Royal, Drury Lane The Theatre Royal, Drury Lane , commonly known as Drury Lane , is a West End theatre and Grade I listed building in Covent Garden , London , England . The building faces Catherine Street (earlier named Bridges or Brydges Street) and backs onto Drury Lane . The present building, opened in 1812, is

3294-544: A new région called Saigon–Cholon consisting of Saigon and Cholon was formed; the name Cholon was dropped after South Vietnam gained independence from France in 1955. From about 256,000 in 1930, Saigon's population rose to 1.2 million in 1950. In 1949, former Emperor Bảo Đại made Saigon the capital of the State of Vietnam with himself as head of state. In 1954, the Geneva Agreement partitioned Vietnam along

3477-520: A new theatre in Drury Lane. The Letters Patent also granted the two companies a shared monopoly on the public performance of legitimate drama in London; this monopoly was challenged in the 18th century by new venues and by a certain slipperiness in the definition of "legitimate drama," but remained legally in place until 1843. The new playhouse, architect unknown, opened on 7 May 1663 and was known from

3660-611: A palace at Tân Mỹ (near the present-day Cống Quỳnh–Nguyễn Trãi crossroads). It can be said that Saigon was formed from these three government agencies. In 1679, Lord Nguyễn Phúc Tần allowed a group of Chinese refugees from the Qing dynasty to settle in Mỹ Tho , Biên Hòa and Saigon to seek refuge. In 1698, Nguyễn Hữu Cảnh , a Vietnamese noble, was sent by the Nguyễn rulers of Huế by sea to establish Vietnamese administrative structures in

3843-400: A problem that Garrick corrected during his tenure as manager. The entire complex occupied 13,134 sq ft (1,220 m ) bounded by Drury Lane (east), Brydges Street (west), Great Russell Street (north) and Little Russell Street (south). From 1674, theatregoers accessed the Drury Lane via a long ten-foot-wide passageway from Bridges Street. The passageway opened onto a yard (previously

SECTION 20

#1732787559771

4026-455: A rocky stream into a lake large enough on which to row a boat. This water issued from tanks in the attics above the house, which were installed – along with a much-touted iron safety curtain – as proof against fire. Richard Sheridan continued as theatre owner during the entire lifetime of this third building. He had grown in stature as a statesman during this time, but troubled finances were to be his undoing. The 1794 rebuilding had cost double

4209-431: A role on Broadway without an American casting call. Producer Cameron Mackintosh threatened to cancel the show, despite massive advance ticket sales. After pressure from Mackintosh, the general public, and many of its own members, AEA reversed its decision. Pryce starred when the show opened on Broadway. During the production transfer from West End to Broadway, a lesser controversy erupted over Salonga's citizenship, as she

4392-618: A small group of Bawean from Bawean Island in Indonesia (about 400; as of 2015), they occupy District 1. Various other nationalities including Koreans, Japanese, Americans, South Africans, Filipinos and Britons reside in Ho Chi Minh City, particularly in Thủ Đức and District 7 as expatriate workers. As of April 2009, the city recognises 13 religions and 1,983,048 residents identify as religious people. Buddhism and Catholicism are

4575-628: A triumvirate that eventually found themselves sharply satirised in Alexander Pope 's Dunciad . In 1713, Barton Booth replaced Doggett. On 2 March 1717 was the premiere of the ballet The Loves of Mars and Venus choreographed by John Weaver , and was the first ballet to be performed in England. Cibber was the de facto leader of the triumvirate, and he led the theatre through a controversial but generally successful period until 1733, when he sold his controlling interest to John Highmore. It

4758-475: A twenty-five-year period by the actor-playwright Dion Boucicault : The Queen of Spades (1851), Eugenie (1855), Formosa (1869), and The Shaughraun (1875). But this period of general decline culminated with F. B. Chatterton 's 1878 resignation; in his words, "Shakespeare spells ruin, and Byron bankruptcy." During the 19th century, Drury Lane staged ballet as well, with performers including Italy's Carlotta Grisi . One famous musical director of Drury Lane

4941-480: A vacuum of new material to perform. Garrick shared the stage with company including Peg Woffington , Susannah Cibber , Hannah Pritchard , Kitty Clive , Spranger Barry , Richard Yates , and Ned Shuter. It was under Garrick's management that spectators were for the first time barred from the stage itself. Garrick commissioned Robert Adam and his brother James to renovate the theatre's interior, which they did in 1775. Their additions included an ornate ceiling and

5124-642: A widespread, well-publicised international search among Asian actresses to play Kim, there had been no equivalent search for Asian actors to play the major Asian male roles, specifically, those of the Engineer and Thuy. The American scholar Angelica Pao noted that in the West End, Mackintosh went out of his way to cast Asian actresses to play the Vietnamese women, arguing that this was necessary to provide authenticity, but he appears to have been content to cast white actors as Vietnamese men. The American scholar Yutian Wong noted, however, that when Miss Saigon premiered on

5307-418: A world record for opening day ticket sales, with sales in excess of £4m reported. The musical was Schönberg and Boublil's second major success, following Les Misérables in 1985. As of October 2024, Miss Saigon remains Broadway's fourteenth longest-running show . The musical was inspired by a photograph, which Schönberg found inadvertently in a magazine. It showed a Vietnamese mother leaving her child at

5490-483: A £4 million restoration of the theatre to mark its 350th anniversary. Using a team of specialists, the detailed restoration has returned the public areas of the Rotunda, Royal Staircases and Grand Saloon, all of which were part of the 1810 theatre, to their original Regency style . Four of Rodgers and Hammerstein 's musicals made their London debuts in Drury Lane, holding the stage almost continuously for nearly

5673-746: Is 28 °C (82 °F), with little variation throughout the year. The highest temperature recorded was 40.0 °C (104 °F) in April while the lowest temperature recorded was 13.8 °C (57 °F) in January. On average, the city experiences between 2,400 and 2,700 hours of sunshine per year. The city is a municipality at the same level as Vietnam's provinces , which is subdivided into 22 district-level sub-divisions (as of 2020): They are further subdivided into 5 commune-level towns (or townlets), 58 communes, and 249 wards (as of 2020 , see List of HCMC administrative units below). On 1 January 2021, it

Miss Saigon - Misplaced Pages Continue

5856-585: Is 47 km (29 mi). Due to its location on the Mekong Delta, the city is fringed by tidal flats that have been heavily modified for agriculture. Saigon is considered one of the most vulnerable cities to the effects of climate change , particularly flooding. During the rainy season, a combination of high tide, heavy rains, high flow volume in the Saigon River and Đồng Nai River and land subsidence results in regular flooding in several parts of

6039-447: Is Chris's wife. While Kim is heartbroken and initially in denial about the truth, she soon confirms to Ellen that Tam is Chris's son, and says that she does not want her son to continue living on the streets, pleading that they take Tam with them back to America, but Ellen refuses, saying that Tam needs his real mother, and Ellen wants her own children with Chris. Kim angrily demands that Chris tell her these things in person, and runs out of

6222-462: Is assumed to have been John Vanbrugh 's The Relapse , and it turned out the success the company needed. Christopher Rich continued as its head until 1709, when the patent in question was actually revoked amid a complex tangle of political machinations. A lawyer named William Collier was briefly given the right to mount productions in Drury Lane, but by 1710 the troupe was in the hands of the actors Colley Cibber , Robert Wilks , and Thomas Doggett –

6405-420: Is expected to grow to 13.9 million by 2025. The population of the city is expanding faster than earlier predictions. In August 2017, the city's mayor, Nguyễn Thành Phong, admitted that previous estimates of 8–10 million were drastic underestimations. The actual population (including those who have not officially registered) was estimated 13 million in 2017. The Ho Chi Minh City Metropolitan Area ,

6588-434: Is free until we all are free." I stood with Esther, protesting Miss Saigon , and drew strength from her. We protested Miss Saigon because it was racist, sexist, and offensive to us as Asian Americans. Nineteen years later, this hasn't changed." Vietnamese American activist Denise Huynh recounts her experience attending the production and the stereotypes making her feel physically ill. Sarah Bellamy, co-artistic director of

6771-473: Is haunted by the ghost of Thuy, who taunts Kim, claiming that Chris will betray her as he did the night Saigon fell. Kim suffers a horrible flashback to that night ("Kim's Nightmare"). In the nightmare and flashback to 1975, Kim remembers the Viet Cong approaching Saigon. As the city becomes increasingly chaotic, Chris is called to the embassy and leaves his gun with Kim, telling her to pack. When Chris enters

6954-458: Is her first time sleeping with a man ("This Money's Yours"). Touched to learn that Kim is an orphan, Chris offers to take her to America with him, and the two fall in love ("Sun and Moon"). Chris tells John that he is taking leave to spend time with Kim. John warns him that the Viet Cong will soon take Saigon, but then reluctantly agrees to cover for Chris ("The Telephone Song"). Chris meets with

7137-407: Is in bed with his new American wife, Ellen, when he wakes from a dream shouting Kim's name. Ellen and Kim both swear their devotion to Chris from opposite ends of the world ("I Still Believe"). The Engineer takes Thuy to where Kim has been hiding. Kim refuses Thuy's renewed offer of marriage, unaware that his men are waiting outside the door. Furious, Thuy calls them in and they begin tying up Kim and

7320-435: Is likely that the sale was at a vastly inflated price and that Colley's goal was simply to get out of debts and make a profit (see Robert Lowe in his edition of Cibber's Apology ). Members of the troupe at the time were most displeased; an actor's revolt was organised and executed; Charles Fleetwood came to control the theatre. Fleetwood's tenure was tumultuous; his abolition of the practice of allowing footmen free access to

7503-412: Is still alive, which Chris is relieved to hear after years of having nightmares of her dying. He also tells Chris about Tam and urges Chris to go to Bangkok with Ellen, and Chris then finally tells Ellen about Kim and Tam ("The Revelation"). In Bangkok, the Engineer is hawking a sleazy club where Kim works as a dancer ("What A Waste"). Chris, Ellen, and John arrive in search of Kim. John finds Kim dancing at

Miss Saigon - Misplaced Pages Continue

7686-474: Is the boy's uncle, and he will lead them to Bangkok . As Kim swears to Tam that she would do anything to give him a better life, the three set out on a ship with other refugees ("I'd Give My Life for You"). In Atlanta , Georgia, John now works for an aid organization whose mission is to connect Bui-Doi (from Vietnamese trẻ bụi đời "street children," meaning children conceived during the war) with their American fathers ("Bui Doi"). John tells Chris that Kim

7869-595: Is well known in Khmer, whereas "Ho Chi Minh City" is used to refer to the whole city. The earliest settlement in the area was a Funan temple at the location of the current Phụng Sơn Buddhist temple, founded in the 4th century AD. A settlement called Baigaur was established on the site in the 11th century by the Champa . Baigaur was renamed Prey Nokor after conquest by the Khmer Empire around 1145, Prey Nokor grew on

8052-443: Is well, only, above all, the musique being below, and most of it sounding under the very stage, there is no hearing of the bases at all, nor very well of the trebles, which sure must be mended. Performances usually began at 3 pm to take advantage of the daylight: the main floor for the audience, the pit, had no roof in order to let in the light. A glazed dome was built over the opening, but according to one of Pepys' diary entries,

8235-461: The 17th parallel ( Bến Hải River ), with the communist Việt Minh , under Ho Chi Minh , gaining complete control of the northern half of the country , while the southern half gained independence from France. The State officially became the Republic of Vietnam when Bảo Đại was deposed by his Prime Minister Ngô Đình Diệm in the 1955 referendum , with Saigon as its capital. On 22 October 1956,

8418-515: The British Actors' Equity Association , citing violations of the principles of artistic integrity and freedom. Others pointed out that since the Engineer's character was Eurasian (French-Vietnamese), Pryce was being discriminated against on the basis that he was white. Also, Pryce was considered by many in Europe to have "star status", a clause that allows a well-known foreign actor to recreate

8601-900: The Edinburgh Festival Theatre , the Mayflower Theatre in Southampton and the Palace Theatre in Manchester. Another US tour began at Providence Performing Arts Center in September 2018. The tour closed early on March 15, 2020 in Fort Myers, Florida due to the COVID-19 pandemic . A new UK tour produced by Michael Harrison Entertainment in association with Cameron Mackintosh will open at

8784-509: The Laurence Olivier Award and Tony Award for the role. The part of Chris was originally played by Simon Bowman . The musical débuted on Broadway at the Broadway Theatre on 11 April 1991 and closed on 28 January 2001 after 4,092 performances. Directed again by Nicholas Hytner with musical staging by Bob Avian, scenic design was by John Napier, costume design was by Andreane Neofitou and Suzy Benzinger and lighting design

8967-839: The Mayflower Theatre in Southampton , the Edinburgh Playhouse , the Bristol Hippodrome and The Point Theatre in Dublin . This successful tour drew to a close in 2003 and a brand new production was developed by original producer Cameron Mackintosh on a smaller scale so that the show could be accommodated in smaller theatres. This tour started in July 2004 and ended in June 2006. A non-Equity North American tour began in summer 2002 to spring 2005, playing such venues as

9150-528: The North Vietnamese Army and is disgusted to find her with a white man ("Thuy's Arrival"). The two men confront each other, drawing their firearms. Kim tells Thuy that their arranged marriage is now nullified because her parents are dead, and she no longer harbors any feelings for him because of his betrayal. Thuy curses them all and storms out ("What's This I Find"). Chris promises to take Kim with him when he leaves Vietnam. Chris and Kim dance to

9333-480: The Penumbra Theatre , dedicated to African American theater, stated: "It gets a lot easier to wrap your head around all of this for folks of color when we remember a key point: this work is not for us. It is by, for, and about white people, using people of color, tropical climes, pseudo-cultural costumes and props, violence, tragedy, and the commodification of people and cultures, to reinforce and re-inscribe

SECTION 50

#1732787559771

9516-660: The Theatre Royal, Bristol , built in 1766, whose design was modelled, in part, on Drury Lane's. The site measured 112 ft (34 m) east-west and 59 ft (18 m) north-south. The building was smaller than this, as reliable surveys and maps of the period show three passageways measuring between 5 and 10 ft (1.5 and 3.0 m) wide surrounding the Theatre Royal on three sides. The building probably measured between 40 and 50 ft (12 and 15 m) wide (the average width of all "Restoration" Theatres) and between 90 and 100 ft (27 and 30 m) long. Architect Robert Adam designed Drury Lane's 1674 interior. The theatre

9699-471: The Theatre Royal, Newcastle in October 2025 before touring to Edinburgh Playhouse , Palace Theatre, Manchester , The Alexandra, Birmingham , Grand Theatre, Leeds and New Theatre Oxford . Hubert van Es , a Dutch photojournalist who took the most famous image of the fall of Saigon in 1975 (a group of people scaling a ladder to a CIA helicopter on a rooftop), considered legal action when his photograph

9882-697: The Vietnamese People's Army . In 1976, upon the establishment of the unified communist Socialist Republic of Vietnam, the city of Saigon (including the Cholon area), the province of Gia Ðịnh and two suburban districts of two other nearby provinces were combined to create Ho Chi Minh City, in honour of the late Communist leader Ho Chi Minh. At the time, the city covered an area of 1,295.5 square kilometres (500.2 sq mi) with eight districts and five rurals: Thủ Đức , Hóc Môn , Củ Chi , Bình Chánh , and Nhà Bè . Since 1978, administrative divisions in

10065-527: The 1 shilling seats of the upper gallery. Seats were not numbered and were offered on a "first come, first served" basis, leading many members of the gentry to send servants to reserve seats well ahead of performances. The stage was 45 ft (14 m) wide and 30 ft (9.1 m) deep with a raked floor from the footlights to the backdrop. The angle of the rake rose one inch for every 24 in (610 mm) of horizontal stage. The stage floor included grooves for wings and flats in addition to trap doors in

10248-530: The 1660s, British playwrights wrote parts for outspoken female characters, daring love scenes and provocative breeches roles . In any case, the competition between the King's Company and the Duke's was good for the rebirth and development of English drama. The King himself frequently attended the theatre's productions, as did Samuel Pepys , whose private diaries provide much of what we know of London theatre-going in

10431-485: The 1660s. The day after the Theatre Royal opened, Pepys attended a performance of Francis Beaumont and John Fletcher 's The Humorous Lieutenant . He has this to say in his diary: The house is made with extraordinary good contrivance, and yet hath some faults, as the narrowness of the passages in and out of the Pitt, and the distance from the stage to the boxes, which I am confident cannot hear; but for all other things it

10614-519: The 1960s, Saigon experienced economic downturn and high inflation, as it was completely dependent on U.S. aid and imports from other countries. As a result of widespread urbanisation, with the population reaching 3.3 million by 1970, the city was described by the USAID as being turned "into a huge slum". The city also suffered from "prostitutes, drug addicts, corrupt officials, beggars, orphans, and Americans with money", and according to Stanley Karnow , it

10797-657: The 2014 West End revival. Other cast members included Katie Rose Clarke as Ellen, Nicholas Christopher as John, and Devin Ilaw as Thuy. The revival played at the Broadway Theatre , the same venue the show played at for its Broadway debut. Preview performances began on March 1, 2017, with an official opening on March 23. The final performance was on January 14, 2018 after 24 previews and 340 performances. Miss Saigon has been staged in at least 25 countries and translated into at least twelve languages. In Tokyo, Stuttgart and The Hague , new theatres were designed specifically to house

10980-476: The 20th century, one illustration was repeatedly – and wrongly – published as "Christopher Wren, design for the Theatre Royal Drury Lane, 1674". Since 1964, this presumption has been disputed by scholars. Careful inspection of the drawing at All Souls' College, Oxford Library shows that it has one pencil inscription: "Play house" [ sic ], which may have been added by

11163-529: The Chinese ( Hoa ) with 5.78%. Cholon – in District 5 and parts of Districts 6, 10, and 11 – is home to the largest Chinese community in Vietnam. The Hoa (Chinese) speak a number of varieties of Chinese , including Cantonese , Teochew (Chaozhou), Hokkien , Hainanese , and Hakka ; smaller numbers also speak Mandarin Chinese . Other ethnic minorities include Khmer with 0.34%, Cham with 0.1%, as well as

SECTION 60

#1732787559771

11346-682: The Communist Party is ranked second in the city politics after the Secretary of the Communist Party, while chairman of the People's Committee is ranked third and the chairman of the People's Council is ranked fourth. Sub-division units Dec. 2003 Area (km ) Dec. 2008 Population as of census 1 October 2004 Population as of census 1 April 2009 Population 2010 Population 2011 Population 2015 Population/km 2011 The population of

11529-521: The Communist Party, he goes by the name "Tran Van Dinh" and has spent the past three years working in the rice fields as part of a re-education program. Thuy orders the Engineer to find Kim and bring her to him. Although the intervening period is not shown, it is apparent that Kim and Chris have become separated in the three years separating the two acts. Kim has been hiding in an impoverished area, still in love with Chris and steadfastly believing that Chris will return to Vietnam and rescue her. Meanwhile, Chris

11712-537: The Duke's. The 1674 Theatre Royal building contained a warren of rooms, including storage space and dressing rooms used by the management and performers, nearly seventy people in total, as well as some fifty technical staff members. Additionally three rooms were provided for scripts, including a library for their storage, a separate room for copying actors' parts and a special library for the theatre's account books, ledger books and music scores. This jumble of rooms often made communication among various departments difficult,

11895-498: The Embassy roof by helicopter while a crowd of abandoned Vietnamese people screams in despair, the victory parade of the new communist regime, and the frenzied night club scene at the time of defeat. E 3 –E 5 A 2 –G ♯ 4 ( falsetto B 4 ) A 2 –A ♭ 4 F ♯ 3 –E 5 A ♭ 2 –B ♭ 4 C 3 –B ♭ 4 G 3 –E ♭ 5 In April 1975 at "Dreamland",

12078-450: The Engineer to trade for Kim, but the Engineer tries to include an American visa in the deal. Threatening the Engineer at gunpoint, Chris forces him to honor the original arrangement for Kim ("The Deal"). The bargirls hold a "wedding ceremony" for Chris and Kim ("Dju Vui Vai"), with Gigi toasting Kim as the "real" Miss Saigon. Thuy, Kim's cousin, to whom she was betrothed at thirteen, arrives to take her home. He has since become an officer in

12261-411: The Engineer, threatening to put them into a re-education camp ("Coo-Coo Princess"). Again, Kim refuses to go with Thuy and shocks him by introducing Thuy to Tam, her three-year-old son from Chris. Thuy calls Kim a traitor and Tam an enemy, and tries to kill Tam with a knife, but Kim is forced to shoot Thuy to protect Tam ("You Will Not Touch Him"). Thuy dies as the street parade continues nearby ("This Is

12444-457: The Hour [Reprise]"). Chris, Ellen, John, and the Engineer arrive just outside her room. The Engineer comes in to take Tam outside to introduce him to his father. While this is happening, Kim steps behind a curtain and shoots herself. As she falls to the floor, Chris rushes into the room at the sound of the gunshot and finds Kim mortally wounded. He picks up Kim and asks what she has done. Replying that

12627-504: The Hour"), with Kim showing horror and heartbreak at her action, before fleeing with Tam. The Engineer laments being born Vietnamese and wishes to go to the USA ("If You Want to Die in Bed"). Kim tells the Engineer what she has done, and he learns that Tam's father is American ("Let Me See His Western Nose") – thinking the boy is his chance to emigrate to the United States . He tells Kim that now he

12810-500: The Italian operas that had played earlier at the theatre. These included Fair Rosamond and Farinelli by John Barnett ; a series of twelve operas by Michael Balfe including The Maid of Artois and The Bohemian Girl ; Maritana and others by William Vincent Wallace and several by Julius Benedict . In 1837, actor-manager Samuel Phelps (1804–1878) joined the company at Drury Lane, appearing with William Charles Macready ,

12993-603: The London production closed in 1999 and also following the closure of the Broadway production in 2001, the show in its original London staging embarked on a long tour of the six largest venues in Britain and Ireland, stopping off in each city for several months. The tour starring Joanna Ampil , Niklas Andersson and Leo Valdez opened at the Palace Theatre, Manchester and also played in the Birmingham Hippodrome ,

13176-596: The Man in Grey is the ghost of a knife-stabbed man whose skeletal remains were found within a walled-up side passage in 1848. Various people have reported seeing the ghost, including W. J. MacQueen-Pope , who described its usual path as starting at the end of the fourth row in the upper circle and then proceeding via the rear gangway to the wall near the royal box, where the remains were found. The ghosts of actor Charles Macklin and clown Joseph Grimaldi are also supposed to haunt

13359-979: The New Jersey Performing Arts Center, Newark, New Jersey in November 2003, Raleigh, North Carolina in February 2005, and Gainesville, Florida in November 2003. Following the 2014-16 London revival, a new UK and Ireland tour opened at the Curve in Leicester in July 2017 before touring to the Birmingham Hippodrome , the Bord Gáis Energy Theatre in Dublin, the Wales Millennium Centre in Cardiff,

13542-452: The Theatre Royal nevertheless continued to be dominated by actor-driven "talk" drama, contrasting with William Davenant 's baroque spectacles and operas at Lincoln's Inn Fields . Internal power structures were the main reason for this difference: while Davenant skilfully commanded a docile young troupe, Killigrew's authority over his veteran actors was far from absolute. Experienced actors Michael Mohun (who Pepys called "the best actor in

13725-423: The Theatre Royal one of the world's most haunted theatres. The appearance of almost any one of the handful of ghosts that are said to frequent the theatre signals good luck for an actor or production. The most famous ghost is the "Man in Grey", who appears dressed as a nobleman of the late 18th century: powdered hair beneath a tricorne hat, a dress jacket and cloak or cape, riding boots and a sword. Legend says that

13908-487: The United Company – henceforth known as the "Patent Company" – in "a very despicable condition," according to an anonymous contemporary pamphlet: The disproportion was so great at parting, that it was almost impossible, in Drury Lane, to muster up a sufficient number to take in all the parts of any play; and of them so few were tolerable, that a play must of necessity be damned, that had not extraordinary favour from

14091-569: The United Kingdom. When the production transferred from London to New York City, the Actors' Equity Association (AEA) refused to allow Pryce to portray the role of the Engineer, a Eurasian pimp , in the United States. The playwright David Henry Hwang and the actor B.D Wong wrote public letters of protest against Pryce's casting. Both Hwang and Wong had seen Miss Saigon on the West End of London and felt Pryce's performance in yellowface

14274-496: The Upper one. As Misson points out, the seating was divided by class , and tickets were priced accordingly. Box seats, used by the nobility and wealthy gentry, cost 5 shillings ; the benches in the pit where some gentry sat, but also critics and scholars, cost 3 shillings; tradesmen and professionals occupied the first gallery with seats costing 2 shillings, while servants and other "ordinary people", as Misson refers to them, occupied

14457-466: The Vietnamese sex workers ("The Heat Is on in Saigon"). Chris Scott, a sergeant disenchanted by the club scene, is encouraged by his friend John Thomas to go with a girl. The girls compete for the title of "Miss Saigon", and the winner is raffled to a Marine. Kim's guilelessness strikes Chris. Gigi Van Tranh wins the crown for the evening and begs the marine who won the raffle to take her back to America, annoying him. The showgirls reflect on their dreams of

14640-647: The Vietnamese source Phủ biên tạp lục (albeit written in literary Chinese) was the earliest extant one containing the local toponym's transcription; (2) 堤岸 has variant form 提岸 , thus suggesting that both were transcriptions of a local toponym and thus are cognates to, not originals of, Sài Gòn. Saigon is unlikely to be from 堤岸 since in "Textbook on the Geography of the Southern Country", it also lists Chợ Lớn as 𢄂𢀲 separate from 柴棍 Sài Gòn. The current official name, Thành phố Hồ Chí Minh ,

14823-618: The West End in 1989, reviews in British newspapers such as the Daily Mail , The Times , and the Evening Standard were uniformly positive as British theater critics did not find anything objectionable about these characterizations. The controversy about Miss Saigon only began in 1990 with the prospect of it appearing on Broadway, which Wong argued was because the United States has a much larger East Asian population than does

15006-690: The World" before Jonathan Pryce took to the stage for "The American Dream" and was later joined by Jon Jon Briones. The West End production closed on 27 February 2016 after 760 performances. It was announced on November 19, 2015 that the West End production of the show would transfer to Broadway in March 2017 for a limited engagement through January 15, 2018. The production starred Eva Noblezada as Kim, Jon Jon Briones as The Engineer, Alistair Brammer as Chris, and Rachelle Ann Go as Gigi, all reprising their roles from

15189-581: The adjacent areas, while Ho Chi Minh City refers to all of its urban and rural districts. The original toponym behind Sài Gòn, was attested earliest as 柴棍 , with two phonograms whose Sino-Vietnamese readings are sài and côn respectively, in Lê Quý Đôn's "Miscellaneous Chronicles of the Pacified Frontier" ( 撫邊雜錄 , Phủ biên tạp lục c. 1776), wherein Lê relates that, in 1674, Cambodian prince Ang Nan

15372-470: The arch, often including the thrust stages found in the Elizabethan theatres . The players could still step forward and bridge the distance between performer and audience, and in addition, it was not unusual for audience members to mount the stage themselves. Killigrew's investment in the new playhouse put the two companies on a level as far as technical resources were concerned, but the offerings at

15555-523: The area was a Cham settlement called Baigaur. The Cambodians then took over the Cham village of Baigaur and renamed it Prey Nokor, a small fishing village. Over time, under the control of the Vietnamese, it was officially renamed Gia Định ( 嘉 定 ) in 1698, a name that was retained until the time of the French conquest in the 1860s, when it adopted the name Sài Gòn , francized as Saïgon , although

15738-453: The area, thus detaching the area from Cambodia, which was not strong enough to intervene. He is often credited with the expansion of Saigon into a significant settlement. King Chey Chettha IV of Cambodia tried to stop the Vietnamese but was defeated by Nguyễn Hữu Cảnh in 1700. In February 1700, he invaded Cambodia from An Giang . In March, the Vietnamese expedition under Cảnh and a Chinese general Trần Thượng Xuyên (Chen Shangchuan) defeated

15921-460: The area. The area was occupied by Champa from 2nd century AD to around the 19th century, due to Đại Việt 's expansionist policy of Nam tiến . After the fall of the Citadel of Saigon , the city became the capital of French Indochina from 1887 to 1902, and again from 1945 until its cessation in 1954. Following the partition of French Indochina , it became the capital of South Vietnam until it

16104-420: The artificial bombast typical of dramatic roles prior. In 1747, Fleetwood's playhouse patent expired. The theatre and a patent renewal were purchased by actor David Garrick (who had trained under Macklin earlier) and partner James Lacy . Garrick served as manager and lead actor of the theatre until roughly 1766 and continued on in the management role for another ten years after that. He is remembered as one of

16287-434: The audience. No fewer than sixteen (most of the old standing) went away; and with them the very beauty and vigour of the stage; they who were left being for the most part learners, boys and girls, a very unequal match for them that revolted. A private letter from 19 November 1696 reported that Drury Lane "has no company at all, and unless a new play comes out on Saturday revives their reputation, they must break." The new play

16470-539: The centers of economy, entertainment and education in Vietnam. As such, the city is also the busiest international transport hub in Vietnam, as Tân Sơn Nhất International Airport accounts for nearly half of all international arrivals to Vietnam and the Port of Saigon is among the busiest container ports in Southeast Asia . Ho Chi Minh City is also a tourist attraction. Some of the war and historic landmarks in

16653-407: The city centre and 16 m (52 ft) for the suburb areas. It borders Tây Ninh Province and Bình Dương Province to the north, Đồng Nai Province and Bà Rịa–Vũng Tàu province to the east, Long An Province to the west, Tiền Giang Province and South China Sea to the south with a coast 15 km (9 mi) long. The city covers an area of 2,095 km (809 sq mi) or 0.63% of

16836-546: The city have been revised numerous times, most recently in 2020, when District 2 , District 9 , and Thủ Đức District were consolidated to form a municipal city . On 29 October 2002, 60 people died and 90 injured in the International Trade Center building fire in Ho Chi Minh City. Today, Ho Chi Minh City, along with its surrounding provinces, is described as "the manufacturing hub" of Vietnam, and "an attractive business hub". In terms of cost, it

17019-599: The city include the Independence Palace , Landmark 81 (tallest building in Vietnam), the War Remnants Museum , and Bến Thành Market . The city is also known for its narrow walkable alleys and bustling night life . Currently, Ho Chi Minh City is facing increasing threats of sea level rise and flooding as well as heavy strains on public infrastructures. The first known human habitation in

17202-524: The city is the Ho Chi Minh City People's Council and consists of 105 members. The current chairwoman is Nguyễn Thị Lệ . The judiciary branch of the city is the Ho Chi Minh City People's Court. The current chief judge is Lê Thanh Phong . The executive committee of Communist Party of Ho Chi Minh City is the leading organ of the Communist Party in Ho Chi Minh City. The current secretary is Nguyễn Văn Nên . The permanent deputy secretary of

17385-409: The city was given the official name, Đô Thành Sài Gòn ("Capital City Saigon"). After the decree of 27 March 1959 came into effect, Saigon was divided into eight districts and 41 wards. In December 1966, two wards from old An Khánh Commune of Gia Định, were formed into District 1, then seceded shortly later to become District 9. In July 1969, District 10 and District 11 were founded, and by 1975,

17568-484: The city was still indicated as 嘉 定 on Vietnamese maps written in chữ Hán until at least 1891. The current name, Ho Chi Minh City, was given after reunification in 1976 to honour Ho Chi Minh . Even today, however, the informal name of Sài Gòn remains in daily speech. However, there is a technical difference between the two terms: Sài Gòn is commonly used to refer to the city centre in District 1 and

17751-568: The city's area consisted of eleven districts, Gia Định , Củ Chi District ( Hậu Nghĩa ), and Phú Hòa District ( Bình Dương ). Saigon served as the financial, industrial and transport centre of the Republic of Vietnam. In the late 1950s, with the U.S. providing nearly $ 2 billion in aid to the Diệm regime, the country's economy grew rapidly under capitalism ; by 1960, over half of South Vietnam's factories were located in Saigon. However, beginning in

17934-435: The city, as of the 1 October 2004 census, was 6,117,251 (of which 19 inner districts had 5,140,412 residents and 5 suburban districts had 976,839 inhabitants). In mid-2007, the city's population was 6,650,942 – with the 19 inner districts home to 5,564,975 residents and the five suburban districts containing 1,085,967 inhabitants. The result of the 2009 Census shows that the city's population was 7,162,864 people, about 8.34% of

18117-469: The city, in protest of the Diệm regime. On 1 November of the same year, Diệm was assassinated in Saigon, in a successful coup by Dương Văn Minh . During the 1968 Tet Offensive , communist forces launched a failed attempt to capture the city . Seven years later, on 30 April 1975, Saigon was captured , ending the Vietnam War with a victory for North Vietnam, and the city came under the control of

18300-479: The city. A once-in-100 year flood would cause 23% of the city to suffer flooding. The city has a tropical climate , specifically tropical savanna ( Aw ), with a high average humidity of 78–82%. The year is divided into two distinct seasons. The rainy season, with an average rainfall of about 1,800 mm (71 in) annually (about 150 rainy days per year), usually lasts from May to November. The dry season lasts from December to April. The average temperature

18483-531: The club and tells her that Chris is also in Bangkok. He then tries to tell her that Chris is remarried, but Kim interrupts. She is thrilled about the news and tells Tam that his father has arrived, believing that they are to go to America with Chris. Seeing Kim happy, John cannot bring himself to break the news to her but promises to bring Chris to her ("Please"). The Engineer tells Kim to find Chris herself because he doubts that Chris will come ("Chris Is Here"). Kim

18666-431: The club, Kim tells the Engineer that they are still going to America ("Paper Dragons"). The Engineer imagines the extravagant new life that he will lead in America ("The American Dream"). Chris, John, and Ellen find the Engineer and he takes them to see Kim and Tam. In her room, Kim tells Tam that he should be happy because he now has a father. She tells him that she cannot go with him but will be watching over him ("This Is

18849-456: The company's resources by cost-cutting tyranny, pitting actor against actor and slashing salaries. By 1695, the actors, including day-to-day manager and acting legend Thomas Betterton, were alienated and humiliated enough to walk out and set up a cooperative company of their own. Nine men and six women departed, all of them established professional performers, including such draws as tragedian Elizabeth Barry and comedian Anne Bracegirdle , leaving

19032-419: The design process. This was a cavernous theatre, accommodating more than 3,600 spectators. The motivation behind building on such a large scale? In the words of one owner: I was aware of the very popular notion that our theatres ought to be very small; but it appeared to me that if that very popular notion should be suffered to proceed too far it would in every way deteriorate our dramatic performances depriving

19215-415: The dome was not entirely effective at keeping out the elements: he and his wife were forced to leave the theatre to take refuge from a hail storm. Green baize cloth covered the benches in the pit and served to decorate the boxes (additionally ornamented with gold-tooled leather) and even the stage itself. The backless green benches in the pit were in a semicircular arrangement facing the stage, according to

19398-478: The eleven-year-long Puritan Interregnum , which had seen the banning of pastimes regarded as frivolous, such as theatre, the English monarchy was restored to the throne with the return of Charles II in 1660. Soon after, Charles issued Letters Patent to two parties licensing the formation of new acting companies. One of these went to Thomas Killigrew , whose company became known as the King's Company , and who built

19581-401: The embassy, the gates close, as orders arrive from Washington for an immediate evacuation of the remaining Americans. The Ambassador orders that no more Vietnamese be allowed into the Embassy. Kim reaches the gates of the Embassy, one in a crowd of terrified Vietnamese trying to enter. Chris calls to Kim and is about to go into the crowd to look for her. John is eventually forced to punch Chris in

19764-400: The face to stop him from leaving. Chris is put into the last helicopter leaving Saigon as Kim watches from outside, still pledging her love to him ("The Fall of Saigon"). Back in 1978 Bangkok, Kim joyfully dresses in her wedding clothes ("Sun and Moon [Reprise]") and leaves the Engineer to watch Tam while she is gone. She goes to Chris's hotel room, where she finds Ellen. Ellen reveals that she

19947-404: The floor. The proscenium arch covered the stage equipment above the stage that included a pair of girondels – large wheels holding many candles used to counteract the light from the footlights. Towards the latter part of the 18th century, doors were placed on either side of the stage, and a series of small spikes traced the edge of the stage apron to prevent audiences from climbing onto the stage. At

20130-572: The ghost of Dan Leno in a dressing room. Ho Chi Minh City Ho Chi Minh City ( HCMC ; Vietnamese : Thành phố Hồ Chí Minh ), better known as Saigon ( Vietnamese : Sài Gòn ), is the most populous city in Vietnam , with a population of around 10 million in 2023. The city's geography is defined by rivers and canals, of which the largest is Saigon River . As a municipality , Ho Chi Minh City consists of 16 urban districts , five rural districts , and one municipal city (sub-city). As

20313-654: The gifted actor-manager in several Shakespeare plays. He also created the role of Captain Channel in Douglas Jerrold 's melodrama , The Prisoner of War (1842), and of Lord Tresham in Robert Browning 's A Blot in the 'Scutcheon (1843). Macready was briefly manager in 1841–1843, putting significant reforms in place. Nevertheless, most productions there were financial disasters. The theatrical monopoly first bestowed by Royal Letters Patent 183 years earlier

20496-501: The gods guided him to his son, Kim asks Chris to hold her once more and they share one last kiss. Kim then repeats something that he said to her on the first night they met: "How in one night have we come so far?", and dies in Chris's arms as everyone watches ("Finale"). Miss Saigon premiered in the West End at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane on 20 September 1989 and closed after 4,264 performances on 30 October 1999. The director

20679-547: The great stage actors and is especially associated with advancing the Shakespearean tradition in English theatre – during his time at Drury Lane, the company mounted at least 24 of Shakespeare's plays. Some of Shakespeare's surge in popularity during this period can be traced to the Licensing Act of 1737 , which mandated governmental approval of any play before it could be performed and thereby created something of

20862-427: The largest financial centre in Vietnam, Ho Chi Minh City has the highest gross regional domestic product out of all Vietnam provinces and municipalities, contributing around a quarter of the country's total GDP . Ho Chi Minh City's metropolitan area is ASEAN's 6th largest economy , also the biggest outside an ASEAN country capital. Since ancient times, water transport has been heavily used by inhabitants in

21045-463: The lean years. In 1682, the companies merged, or rather, the King's was absorbed by the Duke's. Led at the time by Thomas Betterton , the United Company, as it was now called, chose Drury Lane as their production house, leaving the Duke's Company's theatre in Dorset Garden closed for a time. In 1688, Betterton was removed from managerial control by Alexander Davenant, son of William Davenant ,

21228-474: The main Cambodian army at Bích Đôi citadel, king Chey Chettha IV took flight while his nephew Ang Em surrendered to the invaders, as the Vietnamese marched onto and captured Cambodia's capital Phnom Penh . As a result, Saigon and Long An were officially and securely obtained by the Nguyễn, more Vietnamese settlers moved into the new conquered lands. In 1788, Nguyễn Ánh captured the city, and used it as

21411-726: The most notable interiors produced by the specialist ornamental plasterwork company of Clark and Fenn . Composer and performer Ivor Novello , immensely popular in his time though little-remembered today, presented his musicals in Drury Lane from 1931 to 1939. The theatre was closed in 1939 because of the outbreak of the Second World War . During the war, it served as the headquarters for the Entertainments National Service Association , sustaining some minor bomb damage. It reopened in 1946 with Noël Coward 's Pacific 1860 . The building

21594-525: The most recent of four theatres that stood at the location since 1663, making it the oldest theatre site in London still in use. According to the author Peter Thomson, for its first two centuries, Drury Lane could "reasonably have claimed to be London's leading theatre". For most of that time, it was one of a handful of patent theatres , granted monopoly rights to the production of "legitimate" drama in London (meaning spoken plays, rather than opera, dance, concerts, or plays with music). The first theatre on

21777-540: The new facade. With a series of farewell performances, Garrick left the stage in 1776 and sold his shares in the theatre to the Irish playwright Richard Brinsley Sheridan . Sheridan and his partners, Thomas Linley the elder and Doctor James Ford (court physician to King George III ), completed their purchase of Drury Lane two years later, and Sheridan owned it until 1809. Sheridan premiered his own comedy of manners The School for Scandal in 1777. Active management of

21960-454: The new form Restoration comedy , dominated in the 1660s by William Wycherley and the Theatre Royal's house dramatist John Dryden . Actors such as Hart and Charles II's mistress Nell Gwyn developed and refined the famous scenes of repartee, banter and flirtation in Dryden's and Wycherley's comedies. With the appearance of actresses for the first time at Drury Lane and Lincoln's Inn Fields in

22143-461: The original estimate of £80,000, and Sheridan bore the entirety of the debt. Productions were more expensive to mount in the larger structure, and increased audience revenues failed to make up the difference. An assassination attempt against King George III took place at the theatre on 15 May 1800. James Hadfield fired two pistol shots from the pit toward the King, sitting in the royal box. The shots missed by inches, Hadfield having been jostled by

22326-498: The original patent holder for the Duke's Company. Davenant's management (with Charles Killigrew) proved brief and disastrous, and by 1693 he was fleeing to the Canary Islands in the wake of embezzlement charges. The Theatre Royal found itself in the hands of lawyer Christopher Rich for the next 16 years. Neither Davenant's nor Killigrew's sons were much better than crooks, and Rich attempted to recoup their depredations of

22509-549: The outdoor amphitheatre from 5 August to 16 August 2009. A Bell helicopter was used. Arlington, Virginia's Signature Theatre 2013 production included the new song "Maybe" (which replaced the prior song "Now That I've Seen Her"), which was integrated into the West End's 2014 revival. In 2023, a revival was staged at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield , England. The production starred Joanna Ampil as The Engineer and

22692-412: The pantomimes. Productions relying on spectacle became the norm at Drury Lane under the managements first of Harris, from 1879 to 1896, and then of Arthur Collins from 1896 to 1923. Examples include the 1909 play, The Whip , which featured not only a train crash, but also twelve horses recreating the 2,000 Guineas Stakes on an on-stage treadmill. Jimmy Glover , Director of Music from 1893 to 1923,

22875-481: The people of the two countries could freely move back and forth. In exchange, Chey Chettha II gifted Prei Nokor to the Nguyễn lords . Vietnamese settlers began to migrate to the area of Saigon, Đồng Nai. Before that, the Funanese, Khmer, and Cham had lived there, scattered from time immemorial. The period from 1623 to 1698 is considered the period of the formation of later Saigon. In 1623, Lord Nguyen sent

23058-486: The placement of the entrance as the "Theatre Royal in Bridges Street." It went by other names as well, including the "King's Playhouse." The building was a three-tiered wooden structure, 112 ft (34 m) long and 59 ft (18 m) wide; it could hold an audience of 700. Set well back from the broader streets, the theatre was accessed by narrow passages between surrounding buildings. The King's Company

23241-485: The previously mentioned fire safety precautions, the theatre burned down. On being encountered drinking a glass of wine in the street while watching the fire, R.B. Sheridan was famously reported to have said: "A man may surely be allowed to take a glass of wine by his own fireside." Already on the shakiest financial ground, Sheridan was ruined entirely by the loss of the building. He turned to brewer Samuel Whitbread , an old friend, for help. As well as investing strongly in

23424-480: The project, Whitbread agreed to head a committee that would manage the company and oversee the rebuilding of the theatre, but asked Sheridan to withdraw from management himself, which he did entirely by 1811. The present Theatre Royal in Drury Lane, designed by Benjamin Dean Wyatt on behalf of the committee led by Whitbread, opened on 10 October 1812 with a production of Hamlet featuring Robert Elliston in

23607-417: The proprietors of that revenue which is indispensable to defray the heavy expenses of such a concern. New technology facilitated the expansion: iron columns replaced bulky wood, supporting five tiers of galleries. The stage was large, too: 83 ft (25 m) wide and 92 ft (28 m) deep. Holland, the architect, said it was "on a larger scale than any other theatre in Europe." Except for churches, it

23790-555: The remainder of the 19th century, Drury Lane passed quickly from one proprietor to another. A colonnade was added to the Russell Street frontage, in 1831, by architect Samuel Beazley . In 1833, Alfred Bunn gained control of both Drury Lane and Covent Garden, managing the former from 1833 to 1839, and again from 1843 to 1850. Following the lead of the Lyceum Theatre, London , Bunn championed English opera, rather than

23973-416: The residency of well known actors including Edmund Kean , comedian Dan Leno and the musical composer and performer Ivor Novello . From the Second World War , the theatre has primarily hosted long runs of musicals, including Oklahoma! , My Fair Lady , 42nd Street and Miss Saigon , the theatre's longest-running show. The theatre is owned by the composer Andrew Lloyd Webber . Since January 2019,

24156-560: The rest are the Saigonese who don't believe in God which is Atheism . The city is the economic center of Vietnam and accounts for a large proportion of the economy of Vietnam . Although the city takes up just 0.6% of the country's land area, it contains 8.34% of the population of Vietnam, 20.2% of its GDP, 27.9% of industrial output and 34.9% of the FDI projects in the country in 2005. In 2005,

24339-783: The room ("Room 317"). Ellen feels bad for Kim, but is determined to keep Chris ("Now That I've Seen Her/Maybe"). Chris and John return, having failed to find Kim. Ellen tells them both that Kim arrived and that she had to tell Kim everything. Chris and John blame themselves, realizing that they were gone too long. Ellen also tells them that Kim wants to see Chris at her place and that she tried to give away her son to them. John realizes that Kim wants Tam to be "an American boy." Ellen then issues an ultimatum to Chris: Kim or her. Chris reassures Ellen, and they pledge their love for each other. Chris and Ellen agree to leave Tam and Kim in Bangkok but offer them monetary support from America, while John decries their decision as selfish ("The Confrontation"). Back at

24522-536: The same plot, renamed the "Theatre Royal in Drury Lane"; it opened in 1674. This building lasted nearly 120 years, under the leaderships of Colley Cibber , David Garrick and Richard Brinsley Sheridan , the last of whom employed Joseph Grimaldi as the theatre's resident Clown. In 1791, under Sheridan's management, the building was demolished to make way for a larger theatre which opened in 1794. This new Drury Lane survived for 15 years before burning down in 1809. The building that stands today opened in 1812. It has been

24705-486: The same song as on their first night ("Last Night of The World"). Three years later, in 1978, a street parade is taking place in Saigon (since renamed Ho Chi Minh City ) to celebrate the third anniversary of the reunification of Vietnam and the defeat of the Americans ("The Morning of The Dragon"). Thuy, now a commissar in the new Communist government, has ordered his soldiers to look for the still-corrupt Engineer. For

24888-516: The show over the years, arguing the show is racist and misogynist. The 2010 Fulbright Hayes Scholar D Hideo Maruyama states: "it's time to see the real Vietnam, not the Miss Saigon version. Whether or not America is ready to see the real one is up to question." American artist and activist Mai Neng Moua stated: "I protested Miss Saigon back in 1994 when the Ordway first brought it to town. I

25071-825: The show. A production in Toronto at the Princess of Wales Theatre opened on May 8, 1993, starring Kevin Gray as the Engineer and Ma-Anne Dionisio as Kim. It closed on April 30, 1995. Replacements in the cast included Norm Lewis as John. The musical opened in Australia at the Capitol Theatre Sydney on 29 July 1995, starring Joanna Ampil as Kim, Peter Cousens as Chris, Cocoy Laurel as The Engineer, Milton Craig Nealy as John, Darren Yap as Thuy, and Silvie Paladino as Ellen. In Bømlo , Norway, it played in

25254-553: The shutters rested out of sight behind the sides of the proscenium arch , which also served as a visual frame for the on-stage happenings. The picture-frame-like separation between audience and performance was a new phenomenon in English theatre, though it had been found on the Continent earlier. Theatre design in London remained ambivalent about the merits of the "picture-box" stage, and for many decades to come, London theatres including Drury Lane had large forestages protruding beyond

25437-475: The site of a small fishing village and area of forest. The first Vietnamese people crossed the sea to explore this land completely without the organisation of the Nguyễn Lords . Thanks to the marriage between Princess Nguyễn Phúc Ngọc Vạn - daughter of Lord Nguyễn Phúc Nguyên - and the King of Cambodia  Chey Chettha II in 1620, the relationship between Vietnam and Cambodia became smooth, and

25620-482: The site was built at the behest of Thomas Killigrew in the early 1660s, when theatres were allowed to reopen during the English Restoration . Initially known as "Theatre Royal in Bridges Street", the theatre's proprietors hired prominent actors who performed at the theatre on a regular basis, including Nell Gwyn and Charles Hart . In 1672, the theatre caught fire and Killigrew built a larger theatre on

25803-515: The surface of Vietnam), extending up to Củ Chi District (12 mi or 19 km from the Cambodian border) and down to Cần Giờ on the Eastern Sea. The distance from the northernmost point (Phú Mỹ Hưng Commune, Củ Chi District ) to the southernmost one (Long Hòa Commune, Cần Giờ District) is 102 km (63 mi), and from the easternmost point ( Long Bình ward , District Nine) to the westernmost one (Bình Chánh Commune, Bình Chánh District)

25986-506: The theatre in 1780. Grimaldi became best known for his development of the modern day white-face clown and popularised the role of Clown in many Pantomimes and Harlequinades . Towards the end of the 1790s, Grimaldi starred in Robinson Crusoe , which confirmed him as a key Christmas pantomime performer. Many pantomimes followed, but his career at Drury Lane became turbulent, and he left the theatre for good in 1806. The theatre

26169-417: The theatre was carried out by several parties during Sheridan's ownership, including himself, his father Thomas , and, from 1788 to 1796 and 1800 to 1802, the popular actor John Philip Kemble . Linley took up the post of Musical Director at the theatre, receiving a retainer of £500 per annum. Sheridan employed dozens of children as extras at Drury Lane including Joseph Grimaldi who made his stage debut at

26352-417: The theatre was failing in its role as one of the very few permitted to show legitimate drama. Management of the theatre after it reopened in 1813 fell to Samuel James Arnold , overseen by an amateur board of directors and a subcommittee focusing on the theatre as a centre for national culture. ( Lord Byron was briefly on this subcommittee, from June 1815 until leaving England in April 1816.) Actor Edmund Kean

26535-407: The theatre's annual pantomime , beginning at Christmas 1888, adding a well-known comedian, Dan Leno . These spectacular Christmas shows were a major success, often playing into March. They were choreographed by the theatre's dance master, John D'Auban . Many of the designs under Harris were created by the imaginative designer C. Wilhelm , including the spectacular drama, Armada (1888), and many of

26718-699: The theatre, Live at Drury Lane . Later long runs at the theatre include productions of A Chorus Line (1976–1979), 42nd Street (1984–1989), Miss Saigon (1989–1999, the theatre's longest-running show), The Producers (2004–2007), The Lord of the Rings (2007–2008), Oliver! (2009–2011), Shrek The Musical (2011–2013), Charlie and the Chocolate Factory the Musical (2013–2017), and Frozen (2021–2024). Notable productions since 1919 have included: The author Tom Ogden calls

26901-482: The theatre. Macklin appears backstage, wandering the corridor which now stands in the spot where, in 1735, he killed fellow actor Thomas Hallam in an argument over a wig ("Goddamn you for a blackguard, scrub, rascal!" he shouted, thrusting a cane into Hallam's face and piercing his left eye). Grimaldi is reported to be a helpful apparition, purportedly guiding nervous actors skillfully about the stage on more than one occasion. The comedian Stanley Lupino said he had seen

27084-442: The title role. The new theatre made some concessions toward intimacy, seating 3,060 people, about 550 fewer than the earlier building (though this size is still considered an extremely large theatre). On 6 September 1817, gas lighting was extended from the audience area to the stage, making it the first British theatre to be gaslit throughout. In 1820, the portico that still stands at the theatre's front entrance on Catherine Street

27267-529: The toponyms: provincia Rai-gon, Rai-gon thong (for *Sài Gòn thượng "Upper Saigon"), & Rai-gon-ha (for *Sài Gòn hạ "Lower Saigon"). It is probably a transcription of Khmer ព្រៃនគរ (Prey Nokôr) , or Khmer ព្រៃគរ (Prey Kôr). The proposal that Sài Gòn is from non-Sino-Vietnamese reading of Chinese 堤岸 (“embankment”, tai4 ngon6 , SV: đê ngạn) , the Cantonese name of Chợ Lớn , (e.g. by Vương Hồng Sển) has been critiqued as folk-etymological, as: (1)

27450-492: The total population of Vietnam, making it the highest population-concentrated city in the country. As of the end of 2012, the total population of the city was 7,750,900 people, an increase of 3.1% from 2011. As an administrative unit, its population is also the largest at the provincial level. According to the 2019 census, Ho Chi Minh City has a population of over 8.9 million within the city proper and over 21 million within its metropolitan area . The city's population

27633-565: The two predominant religions in Ho Chi Minh City. The largest is Buddhism as it has 1,164,930 followers followed by Catholicism with 745,283 followers, Caodaism with 31,633 followers, Protestantism with 27,016 followers, Islam with 6,580 followers, Hòa Hảo with 4,894 followers, Tịnh độ cư sĩ Phật hội Việt Nam with 1,387 followers, Hinduism with 395 followers, Đạo Tứ ấn hiếu nghĩa with 298 followers, Minh Sư Đạo with 283 followers, Baháʼí Faith with 192 followers, Bửu Sơn Kỳ Hương with 89 followers, Minh Lý Đạo with 67 followers, and

27816-558: The upper gallery led to riots in 1737, and Fleetwood's gambling problems entangled the theatre in his own financial difficulties. It was during this period that actor Charles Macklin (a native of Inishowen in County Donegal in Ulster ) rose to fame, propelled by a singular performance as Shylock in an early 1741 production of The Merchant of Venice , in which he introduced a realistic, naturalistic style of acting, abandoning

27999-501: The venue has had ongoing renovations, and in July 2021, the theatre reopened after over two years' of extensive work and closures related to the COVID-19 pandemic . Disney's Frozen made its West End debut at Drury Lane on 27 August, with general shows starting from 8 September 2021. A playhouse known as the Cockpit Theatre used by Queen Anne's Men on Drury Lane was targeted by rioting apprentices on 4 March 1617. After

28182-540: The very back of the stage, a wide door opened to reveal Drury Lane. An added difficulty for Killigrew and his sons Thomas and Charles was the political unrest of 1678–1684 with the Popish Plot and the Exclusion Bill crisis distracting potential audiences from things theatrical. This affected both the King's and the Duke's companies, but most of all the King's which had no profit margin to carry them through

28365-448: The world" ) and Charles Hart held out for shares and good contracts in the King's Company. Such a division of power between the patentee, Killigrew, and his chief actors led to frequent conflicts that hampered the Theatre Royal as a business venture. Nevertheless, it was mostly at the struggling Theatre Royal, rather than at the efficiently run Lincoln's Inn Fields, that the plays were acted that are classics today. This applies especially to

28548-594: The younger Sort, some Ladies of Reputation and Virtue, and abundance of Damsels that haunt for Prey, sit all together in this Place, Higgledy-piggledy, chatter, toy, play, hear, hear not. Farther up, against the Wall, under the first Gallery and just opposite to the Stage, rises another Amphitheatre, which is taken by persons of the best Quality, among whom are generally very few Men. The Galleries, whereof there are only two Rows, are fill'd with none but ordinary People, particularly

28731-563: Was Filipina , and AEA wanted to give priority to its own members, initially preventing her from reprising her role. However, Mackintosh was unable to find a satisfactory replacement for Salonga despite the extensive auditions that he conducted in several American and Canadian cities. An arbitrator reversed the AEA ruling a month later to allow Salonga to star. Later productions of Miss Saigon have been subject to boycotts from Asian actors. Internationally, community members objected to productions of

28914-557: Was Grade I listed in February 1958. In 2000, Theatre Royal Drury Lane was purchased by Andrew Lloyd Webber . Since 2014 , it has been owned and managed by LW Theatres, Lloyd Webber's management company. The seating plan for the theatre remains the same and the auditorium is still one of the largest in London's West End . It is one of the 40 theatres featured in the 2012 DVD documentary series Great West End Theatres , presented by Donald Sinden . On 15 May 2013, Lloyd Webber revealed

29097-400: Was Nicholas Hytner with musical staging by Bob Avian and scenic design by John Napier . In December 1994, the London production became the Theatre Royal's (Drury Lane) longest running musical, eclipsing the record set by My Fair Lady . Lea Salonga played the part of Kim, winning the Laurence Olivier Award and Tony Award . The Engineer was portrayed by Jonathan Pryce , who also won

29280-603: Was "a black-market city in the largest sense of the word". On 28 April 1955, the Vietnamese National Army launched an attack against Bình Xuyên military force in the city. The battle lasted until May, killing an estimated 500 people and leaving about 20,000 homeless. Ngô Đình Diệm then later turned on other paramilitary groups in Saigon, including the Hòa Hảo Buddhist reform movement. On 11 June 1963, Buddhist monk Thích Quảng Đức burned himself in

29463-445: Was a college student at St. Olaf and had never protested anything before. I didn't know what to say or do. I was scared people would yell or throw things at me. Then I met Esther Suzuki, a Japanese American woman whose family survived the racist U.S. policy of internment camps . Esther was about my size – which is small – but she was fearless. Esther protested Miss Saigon because, she better than anyone, understood Dr. King's "No one

29646-455: Was a significant figure at the theatre during the Collins years and wrote books which record much more than its musical life. In 1922, under the ownership of managing director Sir Alfred Butt , the theatre underwent its last major interior renovation of the 20th century. At a cost of £150,000, it became a four-tiered theatre able to seat just over 2,000 people. It was decorated with one of

29829-489: Was abolished by the Theatres Act 1843 , but the patent had been largely toothless for decades and this had little immediate effect. On the other hand, other theatres, used to presenting musical entertainments, continued to do so, and Drury Lane continued as one of the most accepted venues for legitimate theatre. The 19th-century run of financial and artistic failures at Drury Lane was interrupted by four plays produced over

30012-633: Was added, and in 1822 the interior underwent a significant remodelling. The colonnade running down the Russell Street side of the building was added in 1831. Productions relying more on scenery and effects than on dialogue and acting remained commonplace in the new facility. The 1823 production of Cataract of the Ganges had a finale featuring a horseback escape up a flowing cataract "with fire raging all around." Effects for an 1829 production were produced by hydraulic apparatus that reportedly could discharge 39 tons of water. There were those concerned that

30195-499: Was announced that District 2 , District 9 and Thủ Đức District would be consolidated and was approved by Standing Committee of the National Assembly . The Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee is a 13-member executive branch of the city. The current chairman is Phan Văn Mãi . There are several vice chairmen and chairwomen on the committee with responsibility over various city departments. The legislative branch of

30378-426: Was any sense of intimacy and connection to the company on stage lost, but the very size of the theatre put a great deal of the audience at such a distance from the stage so as to make hearing a player's voice quite difficult. To compensate, the productions mounted in the new theatre tended more toward spectacle than the spoken word. An example of such a spectacle is a 1794 production that featured real water flowing down

30561-484: Was built in 1836. In 1859, the citadel was destroyed by the French following the Battle of Kỳ Hòa . Initially called Gia Định, the Vietnamese city became Saigon in the 18th century. Ceded to France by the 1862 Treaty of Saigon , the city was planned by the French to transform into a large town for colonization. During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, construction of various French-style buildings began, including

30744-424: Was by David Hersey . As of October 2022, Miss Saigon is the 14th longest-running Broadway musical . Preview performances for the anticipated West End revival in the show's 25th year began in early May 2014 at the Prince Edward Theatre . It was produced by Cameron Mackintosh and directed by Laurence Connor. The official opening night was 21 May. On 22 September 2014, a special 25th anniversary gala performance

30927-408: Was captured by North Vietnam , who renamed the city after their former leader Hồ Chí Minh , though the former name is still widely used in informal usages. Beginning in the 1990s, the city underwent rapid expansion and modernization, which contributed to Vietnam's post-war economic recovery and helped revive its international trade hub status. Ho Chi Minh City has a long tradition of being one of

31110-448: Was demeaning to Asian people. Alan Eisenberg, executive secretary of AEA stated: "The casting of a Caucasian actor made up to appear Asian is an affront to the Asian community. The casting choice is especially disturbing when the casting of an Asian actor in the role would be an important and significant opportunity to break the usual pattern of casting Asians in minor roles." AEA's ruling on 7 August 1990 led to criticism from many, including

31293-430: Was first proclaimed in 1945, and later adopted in 1976. It is abbreviated as TP.HCM, and translated in English as Ho Chi Minh City , abbreviated as HCMC, and in French as Hô-Chi-Minh-Ville (the circumflex is sometimes omitted), abbreviated as HCMV. The name commemorates Ho Chi Minh , the first leader of North Vietnam . This name, though not his given name, was one he favored throughout his later years. It combines

31476-521: Was forced to commission the technically advanced and expensive Theatre Royal playhouse by the success of the rival Duke's Company , which was drawing fascinated crowds with their "moveable" or "changeable" scenery and visually gorgeous productions at the former Lisle's Tennis Court at Lincoln's Inn Fields . Imitating the innovations at Lincoln's Inn Fields, the Theatre Royal also featured moveable scenery with wings or shutters that could be smoothly changed between or even within acts. When not in use,

31659-410: Was held. After a full performance of the current show, Lea Salonga, Simon Bowman, Jonathan Pryce and many of the original 1989 cast joined with the current cast for a special finale. The finale started with Lea Salonga leading the ensemble with "This Is the Hour", Salonga and Rachelle Ann Go performed "The Movie in My Mind". Salonga, Simon Bowman, Alistair Brammer and Eva Noblezada performed "Last Night of

31842-486: Was in need of updating by the end of the 18th century and was demolished in 1791, with the company moving temporarily to the new King's Theatre , in the Haymarket . A third theatre was designed by Henry Holland and opened on 12 March 1794. In the design of the theatre boxes, Henry Holland asked John Linnell for assistance. The designs by Linnell survive in the V&A Print Room – there are also designs by Henry Holland and Charles Heathcote Tatham who were involved in

32025-487: Was installed as uparaja in 柴棍 (Sài Gòn) by Vietnamese forces. 柴棍 also appears later in Trịnh Hoài Đức's "Comprehensive Records about the Gia Định Citadel" ( 嘉定城通志 , Gia Định thành thông chí , c. 1820), "Textbook on the Geography of the Southern Country" ( 南國地輿教科書 , Nam quốc địa dư giáo khoa thư , 1908), etc. Adrien Launay's Histoire de la Mission de Cochinchine (1688−1823), "Documents Historiques II: 1728 - 1771" (1924: 190 ) cites 1747 documents containing

32208-413: Was managed, from 1747 to Adam's retirement in the 1770s, by David Garrick . The King's Company never recovered financially from the loss of the old Theatre Royal Bridges Street. The cost of constructing the new theatre, replacing their costumes and scenery lost in the fire and competitive pressure from the rival Duke's Company contributed to its decline. Eventually, in 1682, the King's Company merged with

32391-518: Was nominated for three What's On Stage awards. The first US tour started in Chicago, Illinois in October 1992 and was then expected to travel to those cities that could accommodate the large production. The tour also played venues such as the Wang Center in Boston from 14 July to 12 September 1993, the Broward Center for the Performing Arts , Florida in spring 1994, and the Kennedy Center , Washington, DC in June 1994. Cameron Mackintosh said, "Corners haven't been cut. They've been added. There are only

32574-432: Was ranked the 111th-most expensive major city in the world according to a 2020 survey of 209 cities. In terms of international connectedness, as of 2020, the city was classified as a "Beta" city by the Globalization and World Cities Research Network . The city is located in the south-eastern region of Vietnam, 1,760 km (1,090 mi) south of Hanoi . The average elevation is 5 m (16 ft) above sea level for

32757-426: Was shut down by order of the Crown on 5 June. It remained closed for 18 months until the autumn of 1666, during which time it received at least a little interior renovation, including widening of the stage. Located well to the west of the City boundary, the theatre was unaffected by the Great Fire of London , which raged through the City in September 1666, but it burned down six years later on 25 January 1672. During

32940-411: Was the eccentric French conductor and composer of light music Louis-Antoine Jullien (1812–1860), who successfully invited Berlioz to visit London and give concerts in the Theatre. The house's fortunes rose again under the management of Augustus Harris from 1879. In the 1880s and 1890s, the theatre hosted many of the productions of the Carl Rosa Opera Company . Harris focused increased resources on

33123-415: Was the on-stage highlight; like Macklin before him, he made his reputation as Shylock , premiering in the role in 1814. Kean remained until 1820 through praise and notorious disputes with local playwrights such as Charles Bucke . Elliston leased the theatre from 1819 until he went bankrupt in 1826. An American, Stephen Price of New York City's Park Theatre , followed from 1826 to 1830. Through most of

33306-485: Was the tallest building in London. The "very popular notion that our theatres ought to be very small" proved hard to overcome. Various accounts from the period bemoan the mammoth size of the new theatre, longing for the "warm close observant seats of Old Drury," as one May 1794 theatregoer put it. Actress Sarah Siddons , then part of the Drury Lane company, called it "a wilderness of a place" (and left Drury Lane along with her brother John Philip Kemble in 1803). Not only

33489-441: Was used in Miss Saigon . Miss Saigon has received criticism for its whitewashing as well as racist or sexist overtones, including protests regarding its portrayal of Asians and women in general. Originally, Pryce and Burns, white actors playing Eurasian/Asian characters, wore eye prostheses and bronzing cream to make themselves look more Asian, which outraged some who drew comparisons to a " minstrel show ". Though there had been

#770229