Montclair High School musical director Patrick Dearborn is never one to shy from a challenge or from challenging material: he took on Les Miserables a few years back and the musically and dramatically powerful Parade three years ago. Miss Saigon follows in that ambitious vein.
Miss Saigon is a modernized reworking of Madame Butterfly by the team that wrote music and lyrics for Les Miz. It tells the tragic story of an American GI who falls in love with a young, beautiful Vietnamese prostitute–some deep stuff for high school kids.
Over 50 Montclair High School students are in the cast, led by Emma van Inwegen and Michael Robinson as Kim and Chris. The sets–which really are pretty unbelievable–were built by a student tech crew led by MHS theater teacher Kenneth Cleerdin. The entire technical crew–sets, costumes, props, sound, lighting–comprises about 30 MHS students; the pit band includes MHS students, one MHS alum (Daniel Parente), and even Glenfield Middle School orchestra and jazz band director Jonathan Ward. It’s a big community production that you won’t want to miss!
Miss Saigon
Who: Children at least 13 years-old and up.
What: MHS School of Visual and Performing Arts production of Miss Saigon, a tragic tale of love.
Where: MHS Little Theatre in the George Inness Annex, 141 Park Street, Montclair, NJ, 07042.
When: Friday, April 30 and Saturday, May 1 at 8 pm / Sunday, May 2 at 3 pm / Friday, May 7 and Saturday, May 8 at 8 pm / Sunday, May 9 at 3 pm.
Cost: Tickets are $15 for adults and $10 for students; parental discretion is highly recommended for children under 13, due to the adult content of the play. Tickets are available at the box office one hour before curtain.
