THE intense and riveting Miss Saigon had everyone gripped to their seats.

The moving and dramatic tale swiftly moves between three different countries - Vietnam, Thailand and the United States - and from the outset draws in the audience with the cast's electrifying dance sequences and powerful singing performances.

Audience members, both young and old, will not fail to be spellbound by the spectacular show, which tells a love story between orphan Kim (Miriam Valmores Marasigan) and American GI Chris (Ramin Karimloo), whose paths cross while Kim works in a seedy club called Dreamland.

Using every technical trick in the book, the audience is whisked back in time to the Vietnam War where the country was awash with American marines and helicopters whirring overhead.

There were so many spectacular moments it would be difficult to pinpoint just the one but the breathtaking moment when the American soldiers evacuated Vietnam by helicopter proved to be a highlight.

Both central characters provide singing performances which are deep, captivating and strong.

Stealing the show, however, is the engineer played by the talented Jon Jon Briones, who is in love with money and obsessed with the idea of the American Dream.

The heart-wrenching final scenes will leave even the hardened theatregoer with a lump in their throat.

Although the final scenes provide a rather abrupt ending to the show, the dramatic effect will not be lost on the audience where many will, undoubtedly, leave with a tear in their eye.

Miss Saigon made for compulsive viewing and will stick in the mind long after the curtain falls.

LH