The Story of Miss Saigon

Long before Miss Saigon opened at the Theatre Royal it was London's most talked about production. Inspired by haunting images of the Vietnam War's emotional casualties and by the story of Madame Butterfly , Alain Boublil and Claude-Michel Schoenberg - the team that wrote the musical Les Miserables - were inexorably drawn to their vision of Miss Saigon . First-hand interviews with the impressario Cameron Mackintosh, Boublil, Schoenberg and other members of the team, reveal the magnitude of the challenge presented by the creation of an opera based on a controversial contemporary theme. Edward Behr and Mark Steyn trace the evolution of this theatrical phenomenon from its original inception, through all the behind-the-scenes anguish - the composition, planning, production, orchestration, casting and design. Edward Behr was the Vietnam correspondent for Newsweek and worked as honorary consultant on Miss Saigon . He is the author of Les Miserables: History in the Making and The Last Emperor . Mark Steyn is a broadcaster and music, TV and drama critic for the Independent .