I went to see the musical Miss Saigon last night in The Bord Gais energy Theatre last night (Monday) and what a treat it was!
It was one of the best live productions I've seen to date. It's a romantic love story set during the Vietnam war, and I saw it a good few years ago in The Point,( in a simpler time when venues had proper names) but the current production was miles better.
Technically it is as perfect a production as you could imagine. Lighting, sound and staging are amazing.
The sound was really well mixed, with the orchestra sounding perfect. the low end was powerful when needed but subtle too. No boominess, just nice full bass that didn't overpower the mix.
The show has some very quiet scenes with one vocal and may be only one instrument, these were handled really well too with the audience captivated, watching in silence. Every cue was spot on, and chorus scenes were powerful without being uncomfortably loud.
Full marks to the sound crew for this one, they proved that it can be done.
The lighting was also fantastic. The lighting set the mood for every scene, with colours, gobos and effects used to perfection. The lighting combined with the set changes gave the whole production a magical feel, with scene changes happening seamlessly.
Yes there was the helicopter, absolutely amazing. Its wonderful what can be achieved by a clever combination of engineering, sound and lighting.
Hats off to the company, cast, crew and musicians for bringing this wonderful event to us in Dublin.
I would encourage anyone with an interest in live theatre or production to go and see this show to see what can be done.