'Miss Saigon' lets characters shine, director says

When people think of over-the-top Broadway productions of the 1990s, one of the first shows that comes to mind is "Miss Saigon."

The show is famous, after all, for its helicopter scene, which re-creates the famous photo of the last helicopter lifting off the roof of the American Embassy during the 1975 fall of Saigon.

Rachel Rockwell, the director of Drury Lane Oakbrook's current production of "Miss Saigon" (now running in previews), admits she had never been emotionally moved by the musical, which is set during and after the Vietnam War.

"Not to be disrespectful of previous productions," Rockwell says, "but all that spectacle takes you away from the characters."

Rockwell knows of what she speaks. She has been singing and dancing in musicals since she was a child in Indiana. Both of her parents are connected to show business. Her mother is an actor, her father writes country western songs. When Rockwell was offered the chance to direct "Miss Saigon" last September, she took the gig not necessarily because she liked the material but because she liked the people she would be working with.

So Rockwell was happily surprised when she discovered there is a living, breathing show underneath all that spectacle.

"The show is really intense," Rockwell says. "The subject matter is extremely intense. And there is so much more to this period of the Vietnam War than most Americans know. It is the largest helicopter evacuation in military history."

In "Miss Saigon," what is less often recognized is how much of that intensity is created the old-fashioned way - with strong characters and stories.

"I discovered that taking away the spectacle makes you focus more on the people in the piece," Rockwell says. "By simplifying things, you get to focus on the love of Kim and Chris," the Vietnamese girl and the American soldier at the center of the story.

"There is a lot of humanity in the show," Rockwell says. "And it doesn't have to do with helicopters and Cadillacs. It has to do with people and things they do and the sacrifices they make to try to survive."

Rockwell admits leaning on the spectacle would make it easier for herself and her ensemble. Keeping it real means she and her cast spend a lot of time learning about the background of the story and getting to know their characters extremely well.

"The show is really emotional," Rockwell says. "If I didn't have such a committed ensemble, it would be difficult. But we are all committed to the authenticity of the piece and to bringing the history alive. And it is a pleasure to get so deep into the work."

So what is Rockwell doing about the helicopter? "I don't want to say we are not using a physical helicopter," she says. "We are not doing the helicopter sequence in the traditional way. The point of the sequence is about the people left behind. But we still have people who love that helicopter, and those traditionalists will not be disappointed."

Rockwell only recently made the switch from acting to directing.

She had been an actor and a dancer on Broadway and in national tours of Broadway Shows.

"I did 'Mamma Mia!' and Hal Prince's 'Showboat,'" Rockwell says. "But then five years ago, when I got pregnant, I started choreographing."

Rockwell discovered she loved choreography and began thinking she wanted to make the step to directing.

"After my son was born I returned to performing, but I found it wasn't as fulfilling as it used to be," says Rockwell, who lives in Berwyn. She discovered that directing and choreographing satisfied her in ways that acting used to.

"Miss Saigon" has been one of those fulfilling experiences.

"The show is so very, very lovely," Rockwell says. "Everyone thinks it's about a helicopter, but really the show is about the flower that blooms in the crack in the sidewalk. It is about the beauty that blooms in unexpected circumstances."

And the beauty that emerges when you simplify and simply tell the story.

"Miss Saigon"

Opens: Thursday, Jan. 8

Location: Drury Lane Oakbrook, Oakbrook Terrace

Box office: (630) 530-0111, drurylaneoakbrook.com or ticketmaster.com