West End Word: The Heat Is Back On in Saigon, Readers’ Favorite Shows Revealed, and WhatsOnStage Sparks a Critical Debate

A much-loved West End classic has returned to London this month amid a whirl of helicopter blades. Yep, you can probably guess that I'm talking about Miss Saigon, the 1989 smash hit musical that is playing a limited run at the Prince Edward Theatre, 25 years after it first appeared.

Ahead of this week's press opening, WhatsOnStage caught up with writers Claude-Michel Schönberg (music) and Alain Boublil (lyrics), to find out how the Vietnam War-set show has been adapted for a modern audience, and why they've composed a new song for the character of Ellen. We also get the scoop on a rumoured revival of another of their shows, Martin Guerre, and find out which other musicals they wish they'd written.

Elsewhere on the site recently, we've published the results of last month's "WOS100" poll, asking readers to name their favorite plays and musicals of all time. You can see the full of both categories results here — where did your favorites finish?

We also count down 20 of the hunkiest leading men and loveliest leading ladies, and name 10 of our favourite theater couples — love is very much in the air here at WhatsOnStage! And for further fun don't miss this list of six films that would be improved if they had a "stagey" makeover, from The Book (of Mormon) Thief to Little Miss Saigon.

Names to look out for in the news headlines include Fatal Attraction actress Anne Archer, who is starring in a new play about Jane Fonda at this year's Edinburgh Fringe; Jerry Mitchell, whose production of Dirty Rotten Scoundrels has extended in the West End until March next year; The Beatles, the subject of concert show Let it Be, which is returning to London for a limited run in the summer; and Simon Cowell, whose first foray into theater producing, X Factor comedy musical I Can't Sing!, has ended in disappointment after it closed early at the London Palladium.

And don't miss our recent interviews with award-winning playwright Nick Payne, whose new hit play Incognito centers on the pathologist who stole Einstein's brain, and director Luke Sheppard and choreographer Drew McOnie, who are currently staging an acclaimed Off-West End production of the Broadway musical In the Heights. Also, if you haven't yet seen our interview with Mark Strong, currently starring in Ivo van Hove's mesmerising revival of A View from the Bridge at the Young Vic, you really should.

If you're planning a trip to London but are unsure of the current "must sees," look no further than our constantly updated review round-ups section. Here we give a rundown of all the major critical reactions to recent openings in the capital and further afield, whether it's the Royal Shakespeare Company's epic adaptations of Hilary Mantel's award-winning historical novels Wolf Hall and Bring Up the Bodies, Richard Eyre's West End revival of classic Broadway musical The Pajama Game, or a production of Titus Andronicus at the Shakespeare's Globe that made one critic faint (yes, really!).

Finally, and speaking of critics, a fascinating debate has erupted in our blogs section regarding the role of critics, sparked by a producer who was far from happy with the reviews of a new musical version of children's classic The Water Babies. In response, our chief critic Michael Coveney has written an eloquent defense of the critic's role, while another contributor, Catherine Love, also takes up the critics' cause. Food for thought indeed.