Character guide
Ellen
from Miss Saigon
Ellen is Chris's American wife in Miss Saigon, Claude Michel Schonberg's 1991 musical.
- Show
- Miss Saigon
- Broadway premiere
- 1991
- Role
- Supporting
- Music by
- Claude-Michel Schönberg
Who is Ellen?
Ellen married Chris years after his return from Vietnam, unaware of the full weight of what he left behind. When she learns of Kim and the son Chris fathered with her, Ellen is forced to reckon with a painful truth that threatens her marriage and forces her into an impossible position, caught between compassion for Kim and her own claim to the life she has built with Chris.
Her confrontation with Kim late in the show is one of its most emotionally charged scenes, giving voice to the collateral toll the war and its aftermath take on those far from the battlefield.
Ellen's role in Miss Saigon
Ellen is a supporting role with a smaller but pivotal presence, centered on her Act Two solo Maybe, in which she wrestles with what to do once she learns the truth about Chris's past. The role demands emotional honesty and vocal control in a shorter but high stakes stage arc.
While overshadowed in stage time by Kim and Chris, Ellen's role has grown in prominence in later productions of Miss Saigon, giving the character a fuller emotional voice within the story's central tragedy.
Ellen: frequently asked questions
What show is Ellen from?
Ellen is a supporting character in Miss Saigon, which opened in 1991.
Is Ellen a lead or supporting role?
Ellen is a supporting role.
Who wrote the music for Miss Saigon?
Claude Michel Schonberg composed the music, with lyrics by Alain Boublil and Richard Maltby Jr.
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