ACT ONE
1. OVERTURE/BACKSTAGE AT DREAMLAND
(A Friday night in April 1975. Backstage at an after-hours club in Saigon. Vietnamese bar-girls are getting into costumes.)
GIRLS
One of us will be Miss Saigon
ENGINEER
I spread the word – it’s Miss Saigon
GIGI
Who’s left to screw who hasn’t gone
ENGINEER
Shut up! And get your hot pants on
GIGI
Each day more GI’s disappear
ENGINEER
There’s still some left and they’ll all be here
ALL GIRLS
A girl can trust the Engineer
(THE ENGINEER brings in a new girl, KIM)
ENGINEER
Surprise!
I found this new girl, get her dressed
From the country untouched
GIGI
Just give that virgin act a rest
ALL GIRLS
(mocking the new girl)
“You are my first American”
(they laugh)
ENGINEER
Allez! Allez! Allez!
Why does it take all day?
Get your asses on stage… I’m raising cash tonight
GIRLS
Tonight I will be Miss Saigon
ENGINEER
They say Saigon has weeks
I say it’s time to pack
GIRLS
Tonight I will be Miss Saigon
ENGINEER
Each day these little buns of theirs are worth less and less
I need a visa fast, and I’m not looking back
(the ENGINEER looks through the door into the club.)
ENGINEER
Son of a bitch, they’re here!
I can still engineer
It’s like the old days, my little gamines
GIRLS
Oh sure!
ENGINEER
You know who’s out here? A gang of marines!
GIRLS
They’re here?
ENGINEER
We’ll pick ’em clean that’s what this contest’s about
GIRLS
Yes, sir!
ENGINEER
One of these boys might be your ticket out
(turns to KIM)
Why is she in that dress?
Ah! It’s my new princess
Ah, yes!
A bride will give the guys a treat
Lower your eyelids and play sweet
Men pay the moon to get fresh meat
Allez! Allez! Allez!
Get out and do your song!
Don’t make the show too long
Voila! On stage all! Welcome to…
Dreamland!!!
2. THE HEAT IS ON IN SAIGON
(“Dreamland” is a club filled with American Marines, civilians and south Vietnamese officers. The girls parade around and get the crowd to buy raffle tickets: the winner of the “beauty contest” will be the prize.)
AMERICANS
The heat is on in Saigon
The girls are hotter ‘n’ hell
One of these slits here will be Miss Saigon
God, the tension is high, not to mention the smell
The heat is on in Saigon
Is there a war going on?
Don’t ask, I ain’t gonna tell
(Two friends, CHRIS and JOHN, are among the Marines. JOHN is with one of the girls)
ENGINEER
Ah, monsieur Chris! monsieur John!
You’ve come to win Miss Saigon
JOHN
I gotta get my friend laid
As a last souvenir
CHRIS
I love you, pal, but your bullshit
I’ve had up to here
ENGINEER, CHRIS and JOHN
The heat is on in Saigon
JOHN
But ’til they tell us we’re gone
I’m gonna buy you a girl
CHRIS
You can buy me a beer
(The girls leave the men and move onto the stage)
MIMI
See my bikini, it’s just the right size
YVETTE
Don’t you enjoy how it rides up my thighs?
Look from behind, it’ll knock out your eyes
YVONNE
I’ll show you: my special trophy of war
MIMI
For a Marine, I’ll show more
AMERICANS
You won’t get up off the floor
The heat is on in Saigon
Don’t tell me I’m reassigned, all that chickenshit sucks
Tonight I’m out of my mind, not to mention ten bucks
GIGI
If I’m your pin-up, I’ll melt all your brass
Stuck on your wall, with a pin in my ass
If you get me, you will travel first class
I’ll show you, we will make magic, cheri
ENGINEER
You buy more tickets from me
The winner gets her for free
CHRIS
The meat is cheap in Saigon
I used to love getting stoned, waking up with some whore
I don’t know why I went dead, it’s not fun anymore
(The ENGINEER pushes KIM forward)
KIM
I’m seventeen, and I’m new here today
The village I come from seems so far away
All of the girls know much more what to say
But I know
I have a heart like the sea
A million dreams are in me
CHRIS
Good Jesus, John, who is she?
AMERICANS (AND CROWD)
The Cong is tight’ning the noose
Is it a week or a day or an hour that we got?
Tonight could be our last shot got to put it to use
(The GIRLS come off the stage and mingle with the men.)
ALL, INCLUDING GIRLS
Tonight I bet that you and I will get along
Forget about the threat, forget the Viet-Cong
ALL MEN
Mimi, Gigi, Yvette or Yvonne
Gonna buy me a beer, and elect Miss Saigon
(The ENGINEER holds the election by holding his hand over each girl’s head for applause. When KIM is judged, CHRIS claps loudly, which makes her notice him.)
ENGINEER
Yvonne, Yvette, Mimi, Kim, Gigi
(GIGI wins)
ENGINEER
Attention, s’il vous plait!
By popular demand
Miss Gigi Van Tranh
Is elected Miss Saigon!
(The ENGINEER puts a cheap tiara on GIGI and a ribbon which says “Miss Saigon”.)
AMERICANS
The heat is on in Saigon
And things are not going well
But still at midnight, the party goes on
A good-bye party in hell
ENGINEER
And now who wins this pussycat?
(The ENGINEER holds a bowl; GIGI picks up a ticket.)
GIGI
Number 66!
(It is one of the Marines. He cheers with his friends. The scene freezes.)
3. THE MOVIE IN MY MIND
GIGI
They are not nice, they’re mostly noise
They swear like men, they screw like boys
I know there’s nothing in their hearts
But every time I take one in my arms
It starts:
The movie in my mind
The dream they leave behind
A scene I can’t erase
And in a strong GI’s embrace
Flee this life
Flee this place
The movie plays and plays
The screen before me fills
He takes me to New York
He gives me dollar bills
Our children laugh all day
And eat too much ice cream
And life is like a dream
Dream
The dream I long to find
The movie in my mind
KIM
I will not cry, I will not think
I’ll do my dance, I’ll make them drink
When I make love, it won’t be me
And if they hurt me, I’ll just close my eyes
| KIM | GIRLS | |
|
And see The movie in my mind The dream that fills my head A man who will not kill |
They are not nice, they’re mostly noise
They kill like men, they die like boys They give their cash, they keep their hearts But every night again it starts |
KIM
Who’ll fight for me instead
He’ll keep us safe all day
So no one comes at night
To blow the dream away
Dream
The dream I have to find
The movie in my mind
ALL GIRLS
And in a strong GI’s embrace
Flee this life
Flee this place
KIM
A world that’s far away
Where life is not unkind
The movie in my mind
4. THE TRANSACTION
(The ENGINEER approaches JOHN)
ENGINEER
Hey monsieur John, how’d you like to get rich?
Go home in style. . .?
JOHN
Yeah okay, what’s the pitch?
ENGINEER
A U.S. visa to help me out
Lend me a bit of your embassy clout
JOHN
There isn’t a chance pal, you’re too well known
Look, what I want is that girl in the dress
ENGINEER
You have a good eye
Her name is Kim, she’s my new princess
You give her a try?
JOHN
It’s my friend Chris
Who’s the one feeling down
MARINE
I ordered a beer!
ENGINEER
She’ll get him up,
It’s her first night in town
But I have to warn you
She don’t come cheap
It’s got to be twenty for my princess
JOHN
Twenty dollars??
ENGINEER
She’s sort of a virgin, well more or less
For twenty more you get a room and key
For fifty bucks, she’s got the whole night free
MARINES
No one gives us a buzz
Like the Engineer does
(JOHN approaches CHRIS with Kim)
JOHN
Stop drooling white boy
You’re losing your cool
You like this jail bait
CHRIS
John, open your eyes
This is the end of the line
This whole rotten scene
This little girl, we could be in the sack
For what it costs me to buy a Big Mac
John, it’s time to go back –
You know what I mean
JOHN
I’m starting to cry pal
You’re so out of touch
The trouble with you is you think too much
Ooh
Ol’ Dr. John knows what you need alright
I’ve bought you a present
She’s yours all night
MARINES
No one gives you a hit
Like the Engineer’s shit!!
(Across the room, the ENGINEER speaks to KIM.)
ENGINEER
See little princess, I was right
You got the biggest score tonight
You caught that sergeant by the nose
You stay with him until he goes
Call him Chris
He’ll like that
KIM
That marine
Wants his beer
ENGINEER
You said you needed a job
You said you’d turn a trick
You’d better prove it, and quick!
(he leads KIM to CHRIS)
ENGINEER
Voila!
5. THE DANCE
(A MARINE begins to play the saxophone. CHRIS and KIM start to
dance. For a long time they don’t speak. Finally:)
KIM
My name is Kim
(trying to do her job)
I like you Chris
CHRIS
Don’t talk like that
KIM
What did I say?
CHRIS
You shouldn’t be here
(CHRIS hands KIM some money)
Get the hell out …
ENGINEER
What’s going on?
You don’t like her?
CHRIS
Oh, yes I do
KIM
I like him too
ENGINEER
Take her away
KIM
Take me away
Don’t say a word
Just come with me
6. WHY GOD WHY?
(KIM leads CHRIS out of the Club, and into a tiny cubicle, which has in it only a bed, a table, and a small window overlooking the moonlit city. Later in the night, CHRIS is dressed and standing at the window. KIM is asleep. Outside, Saigon still bustles.)
CHRIS
Why does Saigon never sleep at night?
Why does this girl smell of orange trees?
How can I feel good when nothing’s right?
Why is she cool when there is no breeze?
Vietnam
You don’t give answers, do you friend?
Just questions that don’t ever end
Why God? Why today?
I’m all through here, on my way
There’s nothing left here that I’ll miss
Why send me now a night like this?
Who is the girl in this rusty bed?
Why am I back in a filthy room?
Why is her voice ringing in my head?
Why am I high on her cheap perfume?
Vietnam
Hey look I mean you no offense
But why does nothing here make sense?
Why God? Show your hand
Why can’t one guy understand?
I’ve been with girls who knew much more
I never felt confused before
Why me? What’s your plan?
I can’t help her, no one can
I liked my mem’ries as they were
But now I’ll leave rememb’ring her
(CHRIS leaves some money on a table and goes out into the street. CHRIS is accosted by Vietnamese who beg for help leaving the country. He pushes them.)
When I went home before
No one talked of the war
What they knew from TV
Didn’t have a thing to do with me
I went back and re-upped
Sure Saigon is corrupt
It felt better to be
Here driving for the embassy
‘Cause here if you can pull a string
A guy like me lives like a king
Just as long as you don’t believe anything
(CHRIS stops, then goes back into KIM’S room.)
Why God? Why this face?
Why such beauty in this place?
I liked my mem’ries as they were
But now I’ll leave rememb’ring her
Just her
7. THIS MONEY IS YOURS
(KIM wakens. CHRIS hands her the money he had left.)
CHRIS
This money’s yours
Please take it all
Hey, you want more?
KIM
No, no, I don’t want anything
CHRIS
Hey, what’s wrong with you?
KIM
I’ve not done this before
CHRIS
That can’t be true!
KIM
CHRIS
All the girls lie!
They just want to get out of here
Maybe you’re not like that
But I don’t know who you are
KIM
Do you want one more tale of a Vietnam girl?
Want to know I was bound to a man I don’t love?
Do you want to be told how my village was burned?
Want to hear how my family was blasted away?
How I ran from the rice field and saw them in flames?
How my parents were bodies whose faces were gone?
I have had my fill of pain
I will not look back again
I would rather die
CHRIS
Can I see you tonight?
KIM
Well, I’ll be at the club
Selling “beaucoup amour”
CHRIS
No, you won’t
How would you like…
KIM
How would I like…?
CHRIS
How would you like
Living with me?
It feels good like this
So that’s how we should be
So would you like?
KIM
Yes, I would like!
CHRIS
Okay, it’s set
No more to say
Screw the Engineer
You’re the one good thing
That I’ve found out here
8. SUN AND MOON
KIM
You are sunlight and I moon
Joined by the gods of fortune
Midnight and high noon
Sharing the sky
We have been blessed, you and I
CHRIS
You are here like a mystery
I’m from a world that’s so different
From all that you are
How in the light of one night
Did we come so far?
KIM
Outside day starts to dawn
CHRIS
Your moon still floats on high
KIM
The birds awake
CHRIS
The stars shine too
KIM
My hands still shake
CHRIS
I reach for you
BOTH
And we meet in the sky!
KIM
You are sunlight and I moon
Joined here
Bright’ning the sky
With the flame
Of love
BOTH
Made of
Sunlight
Moonlight
KIM
Tomorrow will be the full moon
I can bring friends to bless our room
With paper unicorns and perfume
If you want me to
CHRIS
Unicorns? sure. . .
9. THE TELEPHONE SONG
(It is the middle of the next day. CHRIS is on the telephone.)
CHRIS
John, is that you, buddy? Listen to me
Do I sound diff’rent? How else could I be?
Last night I spent a whole lifetime in paradise.
Hey, tell the CO I’m taking all of my leave
We’re gonna play house, oh John, it’s like Christmas eve
We have sworn we won’t see the sun for forty-eight hours
(JOHN at the Embassy, in the midst of chaos: files being packed or burned, typewriters crated, etc.)
JOHN
What are you saying? Are you out of your mind?
All leaves are canceled, you could be left behind
Saigon is falling apart, and you’d better be here
Here is the news, since you’ve been on the moon
Cities in the boondocks are dropping like flies
Wives and civilians will be shipping out soon
Crowds around the Embassy have tears in their eyes
Thieu has resigned, the new regime may not hold
People at the place think we’ll send the marines
We are sending nothing from what I’ve been told
Buddy, are you there? Do you know what this means?
Sure! Time to fall in love!
CHRIS
John, listen fast, you did not get this call
You’re the one who bought the girl for me after all
“Once you’re a friend, you’re a friend through and through”
When you are in trouble, then I’ll cover for you
JOHN
Not this time, the town’s too hot
For one Kongai whore
Ol’ buddy, I will not get you killed
CHRIS
She is no whore, you saw her too
She’s really more, like… the April moon
JOHN
April fuckin’ moon!!
CHRIS
She’s been hurt, you see
Both her parents died
What else could she be?
JOHN
Sweet as that, and she’s an orphan too!
How can a guy fight that? You got one day, not two
Then be back!
10. THE DEAL
(At another location, CHRIS and the ENGINEER)
ENGINEER
My friend
We had a deal for Kim, but that’s on ice
I’m sorry, sergeant, but I’ve changed the price
I need a visa from your embassy
You get me that, you’ll get the girl for free
CHRIS
Cut the crap, this money’s all I got
I don’t give visas out, is this a deal or not?
You tell me
(CHRIS draws his revolver and aims at the ENGINEER)
ENGINEER
Okay, okay, the money…it will do
Yoo bad, I had a Rolex watch for you
I’ll get my papers in another way
I’ll make a rich man of some attache
(CHRIS leaves)
With little shits like him, you take the bucks and run
He gave me six weeks income, I’ll be gone in one
11. THE WEDDING CEREMONY
GIRLS
One of us girls is moving on
One girl will get out of Saigon
GIGI
So now who’s really Miss Saigon
GIRLS
TV and stereo she gets
And Elvis Presley on cassettes
(KIM and CHRIS enter)
GIRLS
Look how he bought her a new dress
You did a job on him I guess
KIM
He simply asked me
I said, “yes”
GIRLS
Come on, let’s bless the new princess
GIRLS
Dju vui vay
Yu doi my
Dju vui vay
Vao nyay moy
KIM
Will you give me life smile today
Look with favoring eyes on this man
Show your daughter’s heart your forgiveness
And send to us
From your home above
Your blessing on our love
| GIRLS | KIM (echoing) | |
|
Dju vui vay Yu doi my Dju vui vay Vao nyay moy |
Dju vui vay Yu doi my Dju vui vay |
| GIRLS | CHRIS | |
|
Dju vui vay |
It’s pretty but what does it mean? | |
| GIRLS | KIM | |
|
Yu doi my |
It’s what all the girls sing at weddings |
(CHRIS looks up, startled)
| GIRLS | KIM | |
|
Dju vui vay |
They didn’t know what else to sing | |
| GIRLS | CHRIS | |
|
Vao nyay moy |
It’s the prettiest thing that I’ve ever heard |
(Friends arrive carrying beer and a platter of food. The party gathers around the bed, and GIGI leads a toast to KIM.)
GIGI
To Miss Saigon!
GUESTS
Miss Saigon!
12. THUY’S ARRIVAL
(The door opens. A stranger enters.)
THUY
You’re here, at last
I’ve come to take you home
All night, I ran
I made it through the line
Kim, tell your friends, it’s time to go away
This life, it ends
You’re safe with me today
CHRIS
This girl is mine!
THUY
Yours?
CHRIS
Now
THUY
You?
TOGETHER
Who are you?
KIM
Stop!
THUY
Who is this man? This American man?
Do none of you see what’s ahead?
Have you gone mad?
These are losers and whores
Who will soon all be gone or be dead
CHRIS
Get out of here
KIM
You have no right to be here
I’m not a prize you can claim
We were promised at thirteen
The woman I am now is not the same
THUY
Our parents bound us together, and that is our fate
You knew I’d come back to get you
Why didn’t you wait?
KIM
My parents got themselves killed in the week you changed sides
If there were promises all of them died when they died
(CHRIS and THUY pull guns. The girls scream.)
(GIGI and the GIRLS leave quickly)
THUY
Kim, leave this man behind
KIM
go on!
And shoot!
I will not change my mind!
THUY
You are still mine!
KIM
Not anymore!
THUY
You’re mine until we die!
THUY
Saigon
Is doomed
And so is your GI
CHRIS
Get the hell out!
THUY
You broke your father’s word
This is your curse!
(THUY runs out. CHRIS runs out after him but he’s gone.)
CHRIS
What a party that was!
KIM
You’re going to leave me now
CHRIS
Yes, I’m going to leave
And take you out with me
13. THE LAST NIGHT OF THE WORLD
CHRIS
In a place that won’t let us feel
In a life where nothing seems real
I have found you
I have found you
KIM
In a world that’s moving too fast
In a world where nothing can last
I will hold you
I will hold you
CHRIS
Our lives will change, when tomorrow comes
KIM
Tonight our hearts drown the distant drums
CHRIS
And we have music all right
Tearing the night
A song
Played on a solo saxophone
A crazy sound
KIM
A lonely sound
BOTH
A cry that tells us love goes on and on
Played on a solo saxophone
It’s telling me
To hold you tight
And dance like it’s the last night of the world
CHRIS
On the other side of the earth
There’s a place where life still has worth
I will take you
KIM
I’ll go with you
CHRIS
You won’t believe all the things you’ll see
I know ’cause you’ll see them all with me
BOTH
If we’re together that’s when
We’ll hear it again
A song
Played on a solo saxophone
A crazy sound
A lonely sound
A cry that tells us love goes on and on
Played on a solo saxophone
It’s telling me
To hold you tight
And dance like it’s the last night of the world
KIM
Dreams
Were all I ever knew
CHRIS
Dreams
You won’t need when I’m through
BOTH
Anywhere we may be
I will sing with you
Our song. . .
(they dance together in the balcony)
BOTH
. . .played on a solo saxophone
So stay with me
And hold me tight
And dance
Like it’s the last night of the world