Students from the Las Vegas Academy of International Studies, Visual and Performing Arts perform a scene from the school's latest production, "Miss Saigon." Photos by Leah Parr/R-Jeneration Joey DeBenedetto, senior, and Veronica Domingo are part of the 60-member cast performing "Miss Saigon." The final weekend of performances of "Miss Saigon" starts Thursday.

The national high school premiere of "Miss Saigon" is bringing Vietnam heat to the Las Vegas Academy of International Studies, Visual and Performing Arts.

Revealing costuming and a few lap dances create a more mature and racy look for a high school musical.

The production, which opened Feb. 1 and continues Thursday through Saturday, shows a high school pushing its ability to portray more adult-related material. Guiding students in this musical are the Academy Theatre's director Robert Conner, vocal director ShaunAnthony Williams and managing producer Glenn Edwards.

The American dream is portrayed by dancing showgirls with blond wigs and garters, and a baby pink 1959 Cadillac. The cast of about 60 actors uses more than 100 costumes, that, along with the sets and props, were rented from the Fullerton Civic Light Opera in California.

In the opening number, "The Heat Is on in Saigon," many of the girls working in the Dreamland bar are trying to support themselves through the only way out of poverty: prostitution. The lead prostitute, Gigi, is played by Jan Sicam. In "Movie of My Mind," Sicam's top-of-the-line vocals, precise pitch and genuine portrayal of her character convey the hardships of prostitution.

The engineer, played by senior Matt Takahashi, is the epitome of an outsider looking in, wanting a piece of the American dream, with money in his pocket. Takahashi has vocal energy and charisma in his role as a brothel manager, and his acting ability often surpasses that of the leads. His zeal for the part brings chuckles and compassion from the audience. The emphasis Takahashi puts on becoming the character, and not just playing the part, compensates for his few, minor struggles with the notes of his solos.

Kim, the female lead, played by Veronica Domingo, is a Vietnamese girl who has been kidnapped to be part of the brothel. It is Domingo's first theatrical experience, and although she is an alto, her voice soars above the majority of the cast. Her petite size in contrast with male lead Chris, played by Joey DeBenedetto, portrays her vulnerable state.

Her operatic voice captures the audience in her constant struggle between her love for her country and her love for the soldier who promises to help her escape from the imprisoned life she lives. Her character is believable throughout the pain and suffering of bearing an illegitimate child with Chris, who had left her for the United States.

DeBenedetto has been cast in numerous academy productions as cookie-cutter versions of the same character, such as Gaston from "Beauty and the Beast," but has finally found his place in a softer, more humble role.

Chris is introduced as he falls in love with Kim at first sight in a dingy bar. She's out of place in that environment, clad in a white dress, resembling the purity of her past, after the burning of her village and the tragic death of her parents. All she has left to count on is herself, and when a Marine comes to save her, she puts all faith in him, not knowing the repercussions of her decision.

Chelsea Bernier, a senior, plays Chris' estranged wife, Ellen. She is stunned to find out about his past with another woman in Saigon and tells Chris "it's her or me." Bernier's vocals, although not of the highest quality, are sweet and compassionate, in contrast to the power of Domingo's alto voice.

Kim's husband from an arranged marriage is played by senior Chris Lyons. His theatrical talents outweigh his vocal abilities. During Kim's nightmare, he echoes the intense guilt she feels from betraying her country through bearing an illegitimate child.

Julian Crider, who plays Chris' best friend, John, tries his best to empathize with what Chris goes through. John supports Chris as a man who knows his place as a friend, as well as a reminder of Chris' place as a Marine. John constantly tells Chris that he is serving for his country and not his own desires.

In the opening act after intermission, "Bui Doi," meaning "Dust of Life," depicts the Vietnamese view of life after the war. The male choir effectively communicates "all the good (the soldiers) failed to do" in Vietnam. This number also helps the audience recognize Chris, the deadbeat father, as one of the many soldiers who left behind hundreds of children to be alienated by society.

The orchestration surpasses high school-level music and the school's orchestra performs it beautifully. Brian Downey and Patrick Bowen, band instructors at Las Vegas Academy, have only had the music for about a month, and the playing is phenomenal.

John Morris is the technical director and lighting designer for "Miss Saigon" and rented most of the props in connection with Music Theatre International, the company that gives the rights for Las Vegas Academy to stage the show.

A 15-foot statue of Ho Chi Minh represents the overpowering communist force in Vietnam. Through the statue's gigantic size and gold paint, it promises the defeated country a better life and a way of getting out of the depression thrust upon it. The new government transforms the rice field workers and peasants into soldiers, giving them a sense of power and accomplishment, but making them comply with the new authority over them. While the majority of the lower class people do not want to follow the new empire, they have no choice.

Through all the differences in a changing country, Kim still believes Chris will come back and save her from her land and its troubles. She finds that if necessary, she would rather die than look back at what happened to Vietnam.

The lighting and props help the audience visualize the surreal life of one of Saigon's prostitutes. The helicopter scene perfectly displays the climax of the two lovers' having to leave each other, because it is a physical barrier keeping them apart. The changing in position of the gate exhibits both the American soldier's sadness in leaving, and the bitter truth of the Vietnamese women left to stay under a communist government. This scene is so dynamic because it displays the reality of America leaving Vietnam for good.