Newtown Area High School Students Perform Miss Saigon

Newtown Area High School Students Perform Miss Saigon July 26, 27 & 28 at at the Klein Memorial Auditorium

A cast of thirty 14 to 18 year olds, most of whom are Newtown residents, will perform Miss Saigon at the Klein Memorial Auditorium in Bridgeport July 26, 27 and 28^th. 

Set during and after the Vietnam War (1975 to 1978) Miss Saigon is the tragic love story between a young American U.S. Marine Sargent, Chris Scott, and Kim, the Vietnamese woman who lifts his heart during a time of great strife. Their love blossoms before being torn apart when the war ends and Chris is forced to go home.  He is heartbroken but eventually makes peace and marries an American woman, Ellen.  Back in Vietnam a forlorn Kim carries on, giving birth to his son (a fact Chris doesn’t know at first) and waiting for the day Chris will return.  Three years later he does go back to see Kim and meet his son which leads to a poignant series of events and a gut-wrenching finale.  Many characters including Chris’ best friend, John Thomas, the “Engineer”, a pimp, Kim’s cousin Thuy, to whom she is intended, and Ellen interrelate to create a compelling story that transports audiences to a difficult time in history and pulls at the heartstrings on many levels.

“A lot of thought went into choosing Miss Saigon for our summer show,” said Sabrina Post, Founder of Sabrina’s Encore Productions and Director of Miss Saigon. “My goal as a director and a teacher is to expose young actors to every genre of theater.  This is a big show with a riveting storyline, major staging and beautiful music; it is rich material that requires actors to dig deep and these kids are really delivering.”

           

Many of the lead actors in Miss Saigon appeared in Newtown High School’s recent musical, Les Miserables.  The role of Chris is double cast between Jack Armstrong (Marius, Les Miserables) and Aidan Moulder (Jean Valjean, Les Miserables); Kim is portrayed by Kayla Verga (Rouge Ensemble, Les Miserables) and Elizabeth La Rosa (Monroe, CT).  Brooks Petershack (Javert, Les Miserables) is Chris’ best friend John Thomas while Phoebe Doscher (Madame Thenardier, Les Miserables) appears as Chris’ American wife, Kim.   The Engineer is played by Quinn Fitzergerald, a NHS student who attended the ECA Theater program.  Will Crebbin (Rouge Ensemble, Les Miserables) depicts Kim’s cousin Thuy, the man whom Kim’s parents intend for her to marry.   The entire cast is comprised of talented actors and dancers who have appeared in a number of SEP and NHS musicals through the years.

The Klein Memorial Auditorium is a 1,447 seat performing arts center built in 1940 and designed by local architect Leonard Asheim featuring bronze doors, a marble lobby, in-laid wood and geometric motifs.   It is only one of seven Broadway sized stages remaining in Connecticut, providing these young actors an ideal venue to perform such an epic show which will be enhanced by a 15 piece professional orchestra.  The authentic set for Miss Saigon was built by Newtown residents Duane Lagenwalter and Jennifer O’Connell Reid.

Performances of Miss Saigon are Thursday, July 26 at 7:30PM; Friday, July 27 at 8:00 PM and Saturday, July 28 at 2:00 PM and 8:00 PM. Tickets are $28 for adults and $23 for children under age 12.  A 15 percent discount is available to groups of 10 or more with the code GROUP15.   Contact https://www.theklein.org/buy-tickets/upcoming-events/miss-saigon-student-edition/.   The Klein Memorial Auditorium is located at 910 Fairfield Avenue, Bridgeport, CT; the Box office is open Monday-Friday 10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m., 800/424-0160 ext. 2.  There is a parking lot directly across from the theatre for $5 per car.