The current production of “Miss Saigon” by Pinnworth Productions at Kelsey Theatre on the campus of Mercer County Community College in West Windsor is not only a poignant look at the Vietnam War, it is one of the most thrillingly complex and challenging shows in years. It is also one of the most successful and satisfying productions in many years.

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   Created by Claude-Michel Schonberg and Alain Boublil. with additional lyrics by Richard Maltby Jr., the same team that gave us “Les Miserables,” “Miss Saigon” the story of men who fought wars they didn’t exactly understand, and the women and children they left behind. Specifically, it was based on a photo Mr. Schonberg saw of a Vietnamese mother leaving her small child at an air base departure gate so that the youngster could be taken to America by his GI father. This is an adaptation of a tale told many times, perhaps most notably by John Luther Long in a late 19th-century story that became the basis for Puccini’s opera, “Madama Butterfly.”

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   The show bounces back and forth between local bars visited by American servicemen and the bedrooms where the soldiers find relief. The bistros are run by a man they call “the Engineer.” The Vietcong are expected to overrun the city soon and the tension is electric.

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   The show demands a huge cast (almost three dozen, and countless backstage help as well). Director LouJ Stalsworth is a veteran of local shows and his philosophy has always been to find the best available people and let them do their work.

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   That is a kind of genius, and for this show Mr. Stalsworth had to collaborate with a lot of talented people. He starts with his wife, Kate Pinner, who handles the sets and costumes. A great choice since she is a graduate in theater design from the Yale School of Drama, teaches at MCCC, and has won dozens of awards.

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   Koren Zander (KZ to his friends) is working on his 16th production of “Miss Saigon,” this time as co-director and choreographer. There’s a ton of choreography here, mostly of a military type; and Mr. Zander has it firmly in control. The lighting, and it is sensational, is in the hands of Robert Terrano, who began lighting shows in 1972 and has worked on more than 80 shows.

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