Friday, May 9, 2003 | 8:51 a.m.
What: "Miss Saigon."
When: 8 p.m. Tuesday through May 16; 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. May 17-18.
Where: Aladdin Theatre for the Performing Arts. Tickets: $41, $61, $81.
Information: (702) 785-5000.
Can a city that bears the stigma of providing mostly shallow and lightweight entertainment be home to a musical production that is a little on the dark side, weighty and fraught with tragedy?
"Miss Saigon" executive producer Daniel Sher would like to think so.
He might find out when one of Broadway's most successful musicals begins a limited run at the Aladdin on Tuesday.
"I'm fascinated to see how it will play," Sher said during a telephone interview from Salt Lake City, where the production was playing at the Capitol Theatre. "The local community of Las Vegas has lived so long with intermission-less, light, fluffy entertainment. There are so many of them, all happy and tap dancing."
"Miss Saigon," loosely based on "Madame Butterfly," is anything but light and fluffy. "It's extremely powerful," Sher said.
The story revolves around an American Marine and a Vietnamese bar girl thrown together in Saigon in 1975, on the eve of North Vietnam overrunning the capital of South Vietnam.
The relationship has a tragic outcome, but Sher says the ending is uplifting. "I think it's wonderful," he said. "People come out feeling upbeat. The ending is very sad, but it leads to a positivism, with an implication there is hope, not like the ending of 'Hamlet.'"
If Vegas audiences buy it, he would like to have a permanent stage in Vegas, on the same street that boasts "Mamma Mia!", "The Best of Bottoms Up," "Crazy Girls" and Pete "Big Elvis" Vallee, among others.
"I think it could be very strong in Vegas," Sher said. "Absolutely."
He says he will see how the production does in its eight-performance run, and if he thinks there is a chance the show could make it in Vegas, he will pursue the idea.
Sher isn't a lightweight himself when it comes to productions.
He spent the early part of his career touring in operas and musicals, in which he sang and danced.
Sher produced such musicals as The Who's "Tommy," "Five Guys Named Moe" and "A Grand Night for Singing."
After joining Big League Theatricals, which produces the current version of "Miss Saigon," Sher produced such classics as "How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying," "The King and I," "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum" and "Peter Pan."
The road show of "Miss Saigon" is his latest effort.
"The week that it's in Las Vegas, Vegas will be the only place in the United States that you can see 'Miss Saigon,' " Sher said.
"Miss Saigon" is the sixth-longest-running show in Broadway history, and one of the most successful musicals of all time, grossing more than $1.3 billion worldwide.
The Broadway production received 11 Tony Award nominations in 1991, including Best Musical, and won three. "Miss Saigon" also received the Outer Critics' Circle Award for Best Musical. The London production received Best Musical honors from The Evening Standard Awards and the London Theatre Critics Circle Awards.
"Miss Saigon" has been performed in 13 countries in eight languages and has been seen by more than 28 million people.
Sher began working on the latest road show about two years ago. The tour began in September. This will be its first stop in Las Vegas.
Sher described the production as a "wonderful musical ... a modern American opera with pop sensibilities. When done right it is dynamic and packs an emotional wallop rarely experienced."
He also described it as a challenge to stage.
" 'Miss Saigon' has such an epic proportion to the story," Sher said.
That translates into a major event every time the production moves to another city.
There is a cast of 38 and an orchestra that includes 14 and a crew of about 15. It takes seven 53-foot trucks to move the staging.
"But it loads in only 16 hours," Sher said. "That's the difference in our touring a production of this size, and others doing a production of a similar size. They can take up to a week to load in. We deliver what we believe is an elaborate spectacle in a way that allows us to play week to week in different cities."
Sher said the production recently was booked for a second year and is starting to consider a third for the 2004-05 season.
Besides traveling, there are other challenges to the production.
The success of the '80s and '90s version of the musical creates a challenge for the latest version, which does not include the nearly full-sized helicopter that was a centerpiece of the original.
"We have a brand new effect, done with film and video," Sher said. "It's quite dazzling. We're not trying to compete with what was done on Broadway. Ours is more dreamlike. It gets into your subconscious."
Also, the Vietnam War is fast fading into distant history, and many of today's younger audience members can't relate to the controversial conflict.
"When the production debuted in the '80s, it struck more close to home," Sher said.
If "Miss Saigon" finds a permanent home in Las Vegas, it will face other challenges.
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