A SMALLER 'MISS SAIGON' VYING FOR YOUR AFFECTIONS.

Byline: Julio Martinez Correspondent

ASIDE FROM the return of Jennifer Paz in the role of Kim, the newly conceived touring production of ``Miss Saigon'' looks far different than British producer Cameron Mackintosh's gluttonous first tour, which overpowered the Ahmanson Theatre in 1995. Passing through Los Angeles for a two-week run at Hollywood's Pantages Theatre, this scaled-down version, under the economical staging of Mitchell Lemsky, has eliminated much of the pyrotechnics of the original, thereby creating a more facile, seamless flow of the story line. Unfortunately, this also lays bare the glaring inadequacies of the show, including its paper-thin plot and its less-than-engrossing musical score.

Chronicling the star-crossed fate of two lovers whose relationship is crushed by the events surrounding the chaotic withdrawal of American troops during the fall of Saigon in 1975, this angst-ridden musical was created almost 10 years after the more-profound ``Les Miserables'' by the same team of Alain Boublil and Claude-Michel Schonberg. But with ``Les Miz,'' Boublil and Schonberg had the help of a certain Victor Hugo.

No such luck with ``Miss Saigon,'' which attempts to project righteous indignation over social injustice while plowing through the well-worn romantic dynamics of Romeo and Juliet, as inspired by the hackneyed plot of Puccini's ``Madame Butterfly.'' The end result is 2 1/2 hours of being bombarded with a never-ending onslaught of societal cliches.

The music doesn't help. The melodies borrow so much of their inspiration from ``Les Miserables,'' it gets embarrassing. The melodic and chord structure of ``Bui-Doi,'' which opens the show's second act, is so similar to ``The Sound of Angry Men'' from ``Les Miz,'' they could be played together at the same time. In fact, both songs sound better that way.

On the plus side, the performances are generally outstanding. Paz continues to shine as the ultimate victim of the fates of war. After myriad performances in this role, she still manages to invest freshness and sincerity in her renderings of such tearjerking ballads as ``Sun and Moon,'' ``The Last Night of the World'' and ``I Still Believe.'' Her rendition of the first-act closer, ``I'd Give My Life for Him,'' pretty much sums up what is going to happen in the second act.

An even greater asset to this touring production is the return of Jon Jon Briones, who created the role of the ultimate capitalist, The Engineer, in the original London cast. Briones' Engineer charges through the general morass of the plot with an infectious, self-serving villainy that gives added veracity to such odes to self-reliance as ``If You Want to Die in Bed'' and ``The American Dream.''

Alan Gillespie's personality and smooth tenor voice are almost too sweet for the supposedly conflicted persona of Chris, Kim's war-hardened American Marine lover, although Gillespie does instill impressive veracity with the condemning ``Why God Why?'' Adding impressive support are D.J. Oliver as Chris' Marine buddy John, Rachel Kopf as Chris' long-suffering wife Ellen and the one-named Tadeo with his hard-edged portrayal of Kim's former fiance-turned-Viet Cong leader, Thuy.

MISS SAIGON - Two and one half stars

Where: Pantages Theatre, 6233 Hollywood Blvd., Hollywood.

When: 8 p.m. Today and Friday, 2 and 8 p.m. Saturday and Sunday (closes Sunday).

Tickets: $42.50 to $67.50. Call [phone].

In a nutshell: This scaled-down touring production of ``Miss Saigon'' emphasizes the talents of its fine cast but lays bare the inadequacies of the show's hackneyed plot and underwhelming score.

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``Miss Saigon'' veteran Jennifer Paz is back as Kim in the touring production, a scaled-down version of the musical, which stops at the Pantages Theatre through Sunday.