The Ambassador won’t leave till
Everyone’s out
The choppers are on their way
There’s room for you all
They’re climbing over the wall!
Get back!
Tell you, don’t shout!
The Ambassador won’t leave till
Everyone’s out
The Ambassador just sent an order to
Freeze
That’s it!
No more Vietnamese!
From “The Fall of Saigon,” Miss Saigon
Planning to see the new and edgier production of Miss Saigon when it returns to Broadway after its New York debut 25 years ago? Then consider reading "Escape from Saigon - a Novel" and other currently popular books for historical context before you go.
"While all the action in Escape from Saigon takes place during April, 1975—the final 30 days of the Vietnam War—the novel relies on flashbacks, old news accounts and barroom ramblings to put the events portrayed in Miss Saigon into historical and political context. This makes the novel an excellent read for anyone planning to see the show opening on at The Broadway on March 23—especially younger people who know the Vietnam War only through history classes and stories of their parents and grandparents," says Dick Pirozzolo.
Through the novel's principal characters—NBS-TV's Lisette Vo, the network's first Vietnamese American war correspondent, and Sam Esposito the hard-hitting journalist with The Washington Legend, who infuriated President Richard Nixon with his reporting, the reader learns of the political bungling, missteps and post World War II decisions that led to a war that cost the lives of 50,000 Americana and millions of Vietnamese on both sides of a once divided Southeast Asian nation.
When Miss Saigon returned to the London stage in 2014, Serena Davies writing for The Telegraph, quoted producer Cameron Mackintosh as saying that inconclusive wars in Afghanistan and Iraq will give viewers a new empathy with Miss Saigon’s depiction of Vietnam as a conflict in which everyone was a victim.
"History has almost caught up with Miss Saigon," he says. "When the show opened it was only 14 or 15 years after the Vietnam War had finished. But now that kind of war and the tragedies that spill out of that kind of conflict… nearly every country in the world has been involved: Afghanistan, Syria, Iraq. We are seeing things develop in Ukraine as we speak. I know I’m biased but when I walk into rehearsals I think, “This musical could have been written this morning, not 25 years ago.” Continue Reading
The Sympathizer
"They call them bui doi, the dust of life" is a poignant aria in Miss Saigon that recalls an America of 1975 that rescued and welcomed mixed-race children who would otherwise have been outcasts in their homeland—a stark contrast to today's government refugee ban that rejects the most vulnerable victims of war.
To understand the life of a young Vietnamese War refugee who was living in Orange County, California, look to Viet Nguyen’s 2016 Pulitzer Prize winning novel, “The Sympathizer,” that examines conflicted foreign allegiances and an America-centric view of foreign conflicts. The “Sympathizer” is an allegory for today’s hyper nationalism and fear of the other. Nguyen’s companion book of 2015, “The Refugees” shines a light on the subtle complexities and conflicts of leaving ones native country for a new home in America.
In addition, Lana Noone’s new play, “Children of the April Rain” about Operation Babylift, the ill-fated first flight of mixed heritage children during the last days of the Vietnam War is opening around the country. Rory Kennedy’s film "Last Days in Vietnam" and Ken Burns latest PBS-TV documentary "The Vietnam War" add to the contemporary offerings on the subject.
When I first saw Miss Saigon, I went with a group of eight Vietnamese. All men. None of us left with a dry eye. Going back, and knowing the decisions and misunderstandings that contributed to the tragedy of Vietnam, might just prevent future generations from making the same mistakes.
“Escape from Saigon - a Novel” by Michael Morris and Dick Pirozzolo was published in January of 2017 by Skyhorse Publishing, New York, NY, 264 pages and lists at $24.95. Further information and an excerpt are available at: www.escsapefromsaigon.com
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