The audience hates Ellen.
It's just a fact. People who like the show often like her, having had time to digest all of the information and look at it from every angle. But people who see it in the theatre often hate Ellen. Why? Because she's the main reason that Chris and Kim aren't together. The idea is that Kim managed to stay true to Chris for years despite living in such an awful place, and Chris still loves Kim. So why aren't they together? Because Chris's new wife Ellen is being mean, and it's kind of her fault that Kim shoots herself.
Is it Ellen's fault Kim shoots herself?
In a way, yes, but at the same time, it isn't really her fault. The situation is this: Kim is still in love with Chris, Ellen is still in love with Chris, but Chris and Kim have a son. Ellen is pretty gracious about the whole, Asian-prostitute-having-his-child thing, and is kind to Kim during their one encounter and is willing to take Tam as her own son. She isn't, however, willing to take Tam away from his mother, and she's also not willing to take Kim to America, because she doesn't want her close to Chris. While I would say that's pretty selfish of her, it's also somewhat reasonable for her to just leave Kim in Thailand, as her and Chris had agreed to give Kim monetary support. Kim would just have to make a new life for herself in America, so they could just expect her to do the same in Thailand. Kim doesn't want this for her son, and shoots herself so Ellen will have no reason not to take Tam back to America. So, yes, technically Ellen is the reason for Kim's suicide, but I wouldn't say she caused it to happen, or even really wanted it.
I Still Believe
This is Ellen's introduction number, and on reflection, it's probably one of the biggest reasons she's hated. We see Kim alone in squalor singing of how she still believes in her love for Chris despite years of war and pain. Then Chris bolts up from his nightmare screaming out for Kim. Then Ellen rises up next to him and sings about how she wishes he'd tell her who this Kim person is. You can't come back from that. Still, the number shows that she loves Chris, and that's what makes the rest of the story believable.
Room 317
This number and the number that follows are what seals the deal on whether or not the audience is going to like Ellen. This is the song where she meets Kim for the first time. Claire Moore originated the number, which sucks because as Ellens go she wasn't that great. Too harsh. Instead I've provided a link to a bootleg of Liz Callaway singing the number opposite Lea Salonga in the original broadway cast (which was not recorded officially). She sounds way warmer on the number, which is nice.
The Genesis of Ellen's Solo:
The way I see it, the number immediately after Room 317 is going to make or break Ellen. As such, the songwriters had a tough time deciding exactly what they should have Ellen sing there.
What If He Doesn't Come Back Home Tonight?
What if he doesn't come back home tonight?
She is so beautiful a man just might...
But I know him.
That love for her
Was long ago...
But if he doesn't come back home tonight...
What if he doesn't come back home tonight?
This was the original number written for Ellen, and while it was apparently recorded on the demo tracks for the show (twice, actually. Supposedly there are two versions) those recordings aren't available to us. Those lyrics are all that I could find on the song.
Who Says I'm Hurt?
This grainy audio is the only record we have of this number. It sucks. Really its only significance is that it gave rise to other numbers which sound eerily similar, but have much better lyrics. Basically, what she's saying in this song is "I just realized that I don't really know my husband, and that kinda sucks I guess?" The number isn't really effectively conveying a point that needs to be made at such a pivotal moment in the show, and didn't make it through the preview period in London.
A Man I Don't Know At All
Here's some trivia for y'all! This number is really just a footnote in Miss Saigon history, as it was never actually recorded. It exists only on old copies of the vocal score, one of which I have. It's basically Now That I've Seen Her (which I'll talk about later) with an additional introductory verse.
Her or Me
It's her or me,
and it's me he must choose
I don't hate this girl.
Even so,
It's her or me.
It's a fight I can't lose.
Those lyrics aren't winning Ellen any sympathy. This number is the one they settled on for the London production, and I'm not a huge fan. The song is beautiful, yes, but the problem is that it draws too much attention to the ugly fact that Chris is ultimately just going to have to make a choice between Ellen and Kim, and it makes Ellen seem pretty selfish for wanting to win.
Now That I've Seen Her
This is probably a much better number for the spot. Structurally, it's pretty similar to Her or Me, it's just less about the choice that Ellen is going to force Chris to make, and more about her feelings at the time. Up until this point Kim had only been a name, but now she's going to have to confront that fact that her husband had another wife. This song is about how real that moment was for Ellen, and I think it works because it conveys to the audience how Ellen is feeling at the moment: confused. Also the title of each song has been fitting onto the same four note sequence, and I think "now that I've seen her" fits way more organically with the music than the other versions did.
Maybe
This is a new number written for the slot that went in during the 2011 run in Holland, and is currently replacing Her or Me in the London revival. It's absent from the licensed version though, so schools still perform Now That I've Seen Her. It focuses on how much Ellen wants to salvage her relationship with Chris, and it's...okay. It's effective, it sets Ellen up as being determined to win Chris back in a sympathetic way, but I just don't like the tune as much as I do the other songs. The only thing that I really remember about it after hearing it is the part where she says "maybe," which is several parts. It's probably better at setting up her character though, so I think putting it in was the right choice.
Final Thoughts:
Pictured above is Margaret Ann Gates, who played Ellen towards the end of the show's run on Broadway. You may notice that she's Asian. Ellen is typically cast as a blonde, brunette, or redhead white lady to contrast with the obviously Asian Kim. But critics were intrigued when a woman of Asian descent was cast as her. It gave an added layer of meaning to her character, where it seemed as if Chris only married her because she reminded him of Kim. This is why Ellen feels like such a tragic character to me: She genuinely loves Chris, but Chris doesn't truly love her back because he loves Kim. Kim undoubtedly has a harder life, but Ellen has her own problems too, and I think her character deserves some respect for dealing with the situation as gracefully as she does.
That said, in the hands of the wrong actress, she is such a pain to deal with.
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