Wow. That's not how we did shows at my high school.

Last night we went to see Miss Saigon at the local performing arts high school. It was fuc*ing amazing.

Highlights included a full-pit orchestra, a sixteen-foot Ho Chi Minh statue, a pink '56 Cadillac driven onstage for a musical number and actors hanging out of a life-size military helicopter. There were over 60 cast members and even more crew, and tons of costume and scene changes. Yeah, it was crazy-amazing. I can't believe it was a high school production.

Check out a video of the helicopter scene by clicking on the video link embedded in this story.

Apparently, the producer of the original broadway show helped the students out, as this was the national premiere of the student edition. And rumor is that local techs helped the kids out with a lot of the special effects. Some guy who starred in the Broadway version of Rent was even there in the audience last night.

Anyway, it was amazing. Too bad the last shows are TODAY at 2pm and 7pm. Last night was sold out, so if you read this in time and are interested, I would suggest immediately reserving tickets. I think we're going to get season passes for the school's shows next year.