It is based on Giacomo Puccini's 1904 opera Madama Butterfly, and similarly tells the tragic tale of a doomed romance involving an Asian woman abandoned by her American lover.

The setting of the plot is relocated to 1970s Saigon during the Vietnam War, and Madama Butterfly's story of marriage between an American lieutenant and a geisha is replaced by a romance between a United States Marine and a seventeen-year-old South Vietnamese bargirl.

[5] Highlights of the show include the evacuation of the last Americans in Saigon from the Embassy roof by helicopter[6] while a crowd of abandoned Vietnamese people screams in despair, the victory parade of the new communist regime, and the frenzied night club scene at the time of defeat.

Gigi Van Tranh wins the crown for the evening and begs the marine who won the raffle to take her back to America, annoying him.

Three years later, in 1978, a street parade is taking place in Saigon (since renamed Ho Chi Minh City) to celebrate the third anniversary of the reunification of Vietnam and the defeat of the Americans ("The Morning of The Dragon").

For the Communist Party, he goes by the name "Tran Van Dinh" and has spent the past three years working in the rice fields as part of a re-education program.

Furious, Thuy calls them in and they begin tying up Kim and the Engineer, threatening to put them into a re-education camp ("Coo-Coo Princess").

Thuy dies as the street parade continues nearby ("This Is the Hour"), with Kim showing horror and heartbreak at her action, before fleeing with Tam.

Kim tells the Engineer what she has done, and he learns that Tam's father is American ("Let Me See His Western Nose") – thinking the boy is his chance to emigrate to the United States.

Back in 1978 Bangkok, Kim joyfully dresses in her wedding clothes ("Sun and Moon [Reprise]") and leaves the Engineer to watch Tam while she is gone.

Chris and Ellen agree to leave Tam and Kim in Bangkok but offer them monetary support from America, while John decries their decision as selfish ("The Confrontation").

Miss Saigon premiered in the West End at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane on 20 September 1989 and closed after 4,264 performances on 30 October 1999.

In December 1994, the London production became the Theatre Royal's (Drury Lane) longest running musical, eclipsing the record set by My Fair Lady.

Other cast members included Katie Rose Clarke as Ellen, Nicholas Christopher as John, and Devin Ilaw as Thuy.

[citation needed] A production in Toronto at the Princess of Wales Theatre opened on May 8, 1993, starring Kevin Gray as the Engineer and Ma-Anne Dionisio as Kim.

[19] The musical opened in Australia at the Capitol Theatre Sydney on 29 July 1995, starring Joanna Ampil as Kim, Peter Cousens as Chris, Cocoy Laurel as The Engineer, Milton Craig Nealy as John, Darren Yap as Thuy, and Silvie Paladino as Ellen.

[35] Miss Saigon has received criticism for its whitewashing as well as racist or sexist overtones, including protests regarding its portrayal of Asians and women in general.

[36] Originally, Pryce and Burns, white actors playing Eurasian/Asian characters, wore eye prostheses and bronzing cream to make themselves look more Asian,[37] which outraged some who drew comparisons to a "minstrel show".

[42] When the production transferred from London to New York City, the Actors' Equity Association (AEA) refused to allow Pryce to portray the role of the Engineer, a Eurasian pimp, in the United States.

[43] Both Hwang and Wong had seen Miss Saigon on the West End of London and felt Pryce's performance in yellowface was demeaning to Asian people.

"[38] AEA's ruling on 7 August 1990 led to criticism from many, including the British Actors' Equity Association, citing violations of the principles of artistic integrity and freedom.

Also, Pryce was considered by many in Europe to have "star status", a clause that allows a well-known foreign actor to recreate a role on Broadway without an American casting call.

[45][46][47] During the production transfer from West End to Broadway, a lesser controversy erupted over Salonga's citizenship, as she was Filipina, and AEA wanted to give priority to its own members, initially preventing her from reprising her role.

"[50] American artist and activist Mai Neng Moua stated: "I protested Miss Saigon back in 1994 when the Ordway first brought it to town.

"[51] Vietnamese American activist Denise Huynh recounts her experience attending the production and the stereotypes making her feel physically ill.[52] Sarah Bellamy, co-artistic director of the Penumbra Theatre, dedicated to African American theater, stated: "It gets a lot easier to wrap your head around all of this for folks of color when we remember a key point: this work is not for us.

"[53] The American scholar Yutian Wong described Miss Saigon as promoting the image of "an effeminized and infantized Asia serving as a low-budget whorehouse for the West".

"[60] The Village Voice critic Michael Feingold despised "Miss Saigon", describing it as "implausible", "trite and savorless", "a trick of exploitation", and worse.

[61] By contrast, reviewing the original Broadway production, Frank Rich for the New York Times felt the musical was "a gripping entertainment of the old school...Among other pleasures, it offers lush melodies, spectacular performances...and a good cry".

Rich argued that the lyrics were sometimes shallow and the characters of Chris and Ellen rather vague, but that the power of the music and the lead performances of Salonga and Pryce made the audience forget those issues.

There is lingering bitterness against both the huge amount of publicity Miss Saigon has received and the battle by its producer, Cameron Mackintosh, to permit its two foreign stars, Mr. Pryce and the Filipina actress Lea Salonga, to re-create on Broadway their number one award-winning roles.