Miss Saigon sets one day sales record ahead of West End return
Story by Jack Foley
MISS Saigon, which returns to the West End next year (2014), has set a new box office record for first day sales.
The musical enjoyed takings of £4.4m on its first day of ticket sales, comfortably surpassing the amount taken by The Book of Mormon, which set the previous record in March 2013 with £2.1m.
The news prompted producer Cameron Mackintosh to state: “I’m bowled over with today’s box office take. It’s staggering. Today’s response is completely overwhelming.”
The exact total taken on Monday (September 9, 2013) was £4,402,371 – a figure that also beat the Broadway record of $3m (£1.9m) taken on the first day of sale for The Producers in 2001.
Based on the opera Madame Butterfly, Miss Saigon tells the tragic story of an orphaned Vietnamese girl, Kim, who falls in love with an American GI named Chris.
Written by Alain Boublil and Claude-Michel Schonberg, the musical has played in 300 cities in 15 different languages, winning many awards.
It first opened in London at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane 25 years ago and returns on Saturday, May 3,2014, at The Prince Edward Theatre. Casting has not yet been announced for the revival, which is currently booking until October 25, 2014.