Show Synopsis:
A bunch of Vietnamese prostitutes flirt with American soldiers at a club in Saigon in hopes of being taken back to America with a man. Chris and Kim are attracted to each other, but it's Kim's first night working at the club and Chris tries to pay her to leave it because he genuinely cares about her wellbeing. They sleep together and begin to fall in love, but Chris cannot get Kim out from under the influence of the club's owner The Engineer. Thuy, a North Vietnamese army officer and Kim's cousin who she has been betrothed to for years, comes to Saigon to take Kim away, but Kim tells him that the bethrothal was nullified when her parents died and she wants to stay with Chris. Three years later, Chris is living with his wife Ellen, Thuy is searching to put the Engineer behind bars after finding Kim for him, and Kim is in hiding with Chris' son Tam and waiting for Chris to come back. Thuy tries to kill Tam but Kim kills him, and the Engineer agrees to pose as Tam's uncle to help get him and Kim to Bangkok because he wants an American visa. Chris' friend John works for an organization that connects Vietnamese children with their American fathers, and tells Chris about Tam. Chris, Ellen, and John go to Bangkok, and John tells Kim that Chris is there, without telling her about Ellen. Kim has a flashback to the night that the Viet Cong overtook Saigon and John forced Chris into a helicopter to escape. Kim goes to meet Chris but meets Ellen instead, and pleads with Ellen to take Tam back to America. Ellen tells Chris that he cannot have both women, and he promises to stay with her and financially support Kim and Tam from a distance. While the Engineer introduces Tam to his father, Kim shoots herself because she knows that she will not be with Chris whether Tam goes with him or not.

Character:
Ellen, an American woman who wants stability despite the turmoil of her husband's past.

Song Context:
Ellen and Kim talk about the future, and Ellen refuses to take Tam because she wants her life with Chris to remain the same. Although she sympathizes with Kim's situation, Ellen starts to devise a plan to get what she wants.

Fun Facts:
1. The plot of this musical is based on Giacomo Puccini's opera Madame Butterfly, set against the backdrop of real-life events in Saigon during the Vietnam War. 2. Liz Callaway originated the role of Ellen on Broadway in 1991 after the show came over to New York from London's West End. 3. The character of Ellen corresponds to the character of Kate in Madame Butterfly, but she is much more devious and unsympathetic towards Kim than Kate is towards Butterfly.