Facts and Figures

• The company consists of over 60 actors and musicians.
• This new production of Miss Saigon uses cutting-edge visual techniques and a brand new set design to fit varying sized auditoriums around the World.
• Animation is used in two scenes - 'American Dream' and the 'US evacuation of Vietnam'. These two sequences took over six months to produce by animation companies in London and New York. Tronic Studio in New York has previously been responsible for producing 3-dimensional animation for worldwide companies such as Nike and MTV.
• This 3D computer generated animation is played back through a catalyst media server controlled through the lighting desk.
• The visuals for the animation in 'American Dream' have been created by Gerald Scarfe, the internationally famous political cartoonist, also well known for designing and directing the animation for Pink Floyd's,
• There will be 47 technical staff on each performance.
• Specially constructed props include unusual items such as street food vending trolleys from Bangkok and odd pieces of South East Asian set dressing such as packaging on Vietnamese products and lanterns.
• To achieve the most authentic look possible, bamboo to dress the set was specially imported from Indonesia, based on a recommendation from the bamboo specialist at the Eden Project in Cornwall, UK.
• There is an average of 1500 pieces of costumes on stage per performance, including 200 pairs of shoes.
• The costumes are replicas of the original London production designs. The costumes are looked after by eight assistant dressers, one head dresser , one Head of Wardrobe and one Deputy Head of Wardrobe.
• Specially woven silk is used for the Ao Dai (the dresses the character Kim wears).
• Authentic 1970’s style shoes are handmade to measure for each cast member.
• Beading on the bikinis in the American Dream scene are individually hand sewn.
• The GI costumes are authentic American Army surplus - including bulletproof flack jackets that weigh around 5kg and helmets made of real metal.
• Many costumes are outsourced for specialist dry cleaning, while others are hand washed.
• The only wigs used in the show are for the girls in the American Dream scene and are based on Marilyn Monroe's famous hairstyle.
• 38 deactivated M16 guns and AK 47 and other hand-guns all authentic to the Vietnam War, are used in the show. They are stored and transported in locked metal cabinets.
• The Chinese dragon used in the performance is maneuvered by 5 male ensemble members.
• One of the more unusual props required for the production is a 'Cyclo' rickshaw which is very specific to Vietnam. During the extensive search across the UK for materials required to construct one from scratch, the Props Department discovered that one already existed in England, in perfect working order.
• The show features a sound triggered pyrotechnics display.

The original Miss Saigon

• The London production opened at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane on 20 September 1989 and played there continuously until 30 October 1999, a total of 4,263 performances.
• Miss Saigon has won 30 major theatre awards including three Tony Awards, four Drama Desk Awards, three Outer Critics Circle Awards and one Theatre World Award.
• The original Miss Saigon is one of the most spectacular and technically complex productions ever staged. 266 people worked on the London production at each performance and of those only 47 appeared in front of the audience.
• 27 companies have opened Miss Saigon in 25 countries and 246 cities.
• Miss Saigon has been translated into 12 different languages.
• The original Miss Saigon played 21,000 performances worldwide giving a total audience figure of over 33 million people.
• There have been 11 cast recordings of Miss Saigon. The original London recording was awarded a gold disc for selling 150,000 copies within three days of its release and has subsequently gone platinum. The Miss Saigon German cast recording was made a 'goldene cd' in July 1998 when it sold 250,000 copies.