Chicago Tribune - Highly Recommended
"...Based on what I saw Friday night at the Cadillac Palace Theatre, “Miss Saigon” still delivers the signature, late-20th century experience that made the French team of Claude-Michel Schonberg and Alain Boublil (“Les Miserables”) into a duo of unparalleled success. While this is not the original Nicholas Hytner staging that played here for years, it is still under the supervision of the original producer Cameron Mackintosh and that is, in fact, of more significance."
Chicago Sun Times - Recommended
"...But something remarkable happens under director Laurence Connor’s direction of the lavish, no-expense-spared national tour. Powerfully aided by Bob Avian’s choreography, the Broadway-sized ensemble cast captures the annihilating destructiveness of war with merciless, shattering vividness. If you missed the first televised war when it brought Vietnam into the living rooms of Mr. and Mrs. America in the 1960s and ‘70s, “Miss Saigon” offers a glimpse at the kind of images that helped the tide turn against the U.S. involvement there, and subsequently, of all the fatal, arrogant flaws in American foreign policy and those who carried it out."
Daily Herald - Recommended
"...The new national tour of "Miss Saigon" at Chicago's Cadillac Palace Theatre undeniably impresses with impassioned performances and staging that wows. But the controversial 1989 musical tragedy continues to leave a bitter taste (especially for this critic of partial Asian heritage)."
Chicago Reader - Somewhat Recommended
"...If you like the music and the story, it's perfectly serviceable—and the chopper is cool. But as Qui Nguyen's Vietgone at Writers Theatre showed earlier this year, the actual stories of Vietnamese people are far more complex and compelling than all of Miss Saigon's showy vocal and visual histrionics can reveal."
ShowBizChicago - Highly Recommended
"...It is hard to believe but in over 20 years in the theatre world I had not seen a production of Miss Saigon. I had heard of its success on both the West End and Broadway and of course knew most of the score, just never had the opportunity to witness it. Tonight that changed and let me tell you, it was every bit as good as I have heard for the past 20 years."
Let's Play at ChicagoNow - Highly Recommended
"...Miss Saigon features a cast of 42 performers featuring the legendary Broadway songs “The Heat is On in Saigon,” “The Movie in My Mind,” “Last Night of the World” and “American Dream.” The pun “spared no expense” seem to fit here at the Cadillac Palace Theatre. The stage setup which contained lite signs, real-life Vietnamese setting and even a car (half of a car) was astonishing and help sell the visible and emotional effect of the play. The real highlight was the evacuation scene where a helicopter flies in to take home its soldiers behind the gated embassy rooftop. Seeing the abandoned Vietnamese people scream for help is so surreal that it will bring out the emotions of any audience."
WTTW - Somewhat Recommended
"...This edition of “Miss Saigon” has its moments. But overall it doesn’t nail those crucial, defining scenes in a way that suggests the full upheaval and tragedy of a war that profoundly scarred many, but is already fading from memory."
Chicago Theatre Review - Highly Recommended
"...The strong and talented ensemble features some of the finest singing actors in musical theatre. The men, superbly led by J. Daughtry as John, Chris’ best buddy in the military, blend into a gorgeous wall of voices in “Bui-Doi,” the second act opening number that’s a tribute to the Vietnamese children left behind by American GI’s. Throughout the production, the excellent, enormous chorus provides an impeccable vocal foundation for the leading characters."
The Fourth Walsh - Highly Recommended
"...This is my second time seeing MISS SAIGON. I love it hard! The score is fierce. The action is thrilling. And this production has cast powerful principles in Red Concepcion (The Engineer), Emily Bautista (Kim), Anthony Festa (Chris) and J. Daughtry (John). Plus, a 42-member ensemble provide visually spectacular scenes from bawdy whorehouse to thundering soldiers’ march to a chaotic helicopter escape."
Chicagoland Musical Theatre - Somewhat Recommended
"...So if you can separate the problematic from the extraordinary performances by a top-notch Broadway cast with exquisitely beautiful voices, then Miss Saigon is a fantastically enjoyable musical!"
- Sheri and Josh Flanders
Third Coast Review - Highly Recommended
"...This is a massive show, requiring densely populated depictions of historical iconography (the balletic, chaotic storming of the American embassy ending in the famous helicopter escape, a reunification parade, filled with dragons and flags and a towering bust of Ho Chi Minh, and the seedy, seductive streets of Bangkok’s pleasure district are evocative highlights). The production contains some striking images of original design, such as Act 1’s final tableau: the Engineer, Kim and Tam, dwarfed on the expanse of an empty, fog-laden stage, lit all red and yellow and orange, on the precipice of a new life."
Chicago Theater and Arts - Highly Recommended
"...Over 40 marvelous actors with their impeccable singing and dancing, keep the audience on the edge of their seats with songs like “The Heat is On in Saigon,” “Sun and Moon,” “I’d Give My Life for You” along with The Engineer’s rendition of ‘The American Dream,’ which is what he imagines his life to be in America."
Picture This Post - Highly Recommended
"...So while MISS SAIGON may be a love story, it's truly a love story from a mother to her son. This production of MISS SAIGON is a good fit for those who are fans of classic musicals in general, as well as fans of this show in particular as this tour sticks to its roots."