The Story

Act II John now works on behalf of Bui-Doi children, the children of American and Vietnamese conceived during the war. He is showing a film relating the plight of these children at a conference in Atlanta. ("Bui-Doi"). The images in the film of the small forgotten victims reach out to haunt the veterans of the war, including Chris, who has been summoned to the conference by John. Chris learns that Kim has escaped to Bangkok and that he is the father of her two-year-old son. Chris is distraught. Believing that he would never see Kim again, he has married Ellen. John suggests that Chris tell Ellen the truth. Then they can go to Bangkok together to face the situation. In Bangkok, the Engineer has landed a job as the doorman and barker at a sleazy nightclub called "Le Moulin Rouge" ("What a Waste"). John arrives, and the Engineer leads him to Kim. John tries to tell her the truth about Chris, but she insists on showing off her son. John is torn between telling her the truth himself and allowing Chris to tell Kim about his marriage ("Please"). He tells her that Chris is in Bangkok and that he will come to see her. When John leaves, the Engineer tells Kim not to wait for Chris to come to her but to go to his hotel at once. She asks her parents' pictures for their blessing, and the Engineer leaves to find out where Chris is staying.

As she waits for the Engineer, Kim falls asleep. Thuy's ghost appears to haunt her. He asks her where Chris was the night Saigon fell. We travel back to the past she remembers. After getting her a visa so that she could return to the United States with him, Chris left her in their room with a gun and went to work at the Embassy. He assures her that they will have plenty of warning when it is time to escape. However, when he reaches the Embassy it is a wild scene, with mobs of Vietnamese pounding at the gates, begging to be evacuated. Kim comes to the gate just as the order is issued that no more Vietnamese can enter the grounds. Although Chris and Kim struggle to reach each other, their efforts are in vain ("The Fall of Saigon"). He is forced to board the last helicopter to leave Saigon. She is left crying at the gate, singing "My heart, against all odds, holds still" as their love affair is swallowed up and the old city disappears forever.

Kim wakes up and sings of her unwavering love for Chris. The Engineer brings the address of the hotel, and Kim runs through the city to find him. At the same time, John is bringing Chris through the streets to find her. At the hotel, Ellen mistakes Kim for a maid. Kim assumes that Ellen is John's wife. Ellen, realizing who Kim must be, tells her that she is Chris' wife. Kim is stunned. As the truth sinks in, she insists that Ellen and Chris must take Tam back to America with them. Ellen refuses, saying that Tam belongs with Kim. Kim says that Ellen and Chris cannot condemn her child to be part of the dust of life.

Ellen is very upset at having met Kim and feels that part of Chris will always love Kim. Chris and John return, and Ellen confronts Chris with her doubts about his love for her ("Now That I've Seen Her"). He explains that his relationship with Kim happened when he was a different and deeply confused man. Kim put him in touch with his feelings at a very complex time. But only with Ellen did his life begin again. They reaffirm their love for each other.

John reminds them that they must resolve Tam's future. Chris says that Kim and Tam must remain in Bangkok with his financial support because Ellen could not accept the idea of having Kim in the United States. John knows that Kim will not accept the idea of having Tam stay in Bangkok and warns them to reconsider ("The Confrontation"). Outside, Kim is promising Tam that he will have a new life in America. She knows that Chris will come for his son. She goes back to the club and lies to the Engineer, saying that Chris is coming for them that night. She says that the Engineer must pack his things and prepare for the journey to America. The Engineer sings about "The American Dream" and shares his vision of America. Kim dresses Tam in his best clothes. She tells him that his father is coming to take him home. She kisses Tam and hears Chris and the Engineer approaching. She gives Tam a toy and sends him out to join the Engineer. She takes Chris' gun out of her bedside table and disappears behind the bed curtain. A gunshot is heard. Chris runs into the room. Kim's body falls out from behind the curtain, and Chris cradles her in his arms as she dies, singing "How in the light of one night have we come so far?"

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