The Hossan Leong Show
I caught The Hossan Leong Show on Tuesday and well, I must say it wasn’t as funny as I expected it to be.
All things first, it was really like a talk show, where there was a goodie bag and also giveaways during the show, like 1 year supply of yoghurt soft cream, free makeover where the “victim” would be given whatever she got to wear (sponsored by Tangs Studio) and free bottle of wine. Of course, there was when 2 of the audience were asked on the stage to play a game.
Personally, in terms of the performance on stage, I guess the Mariah-Carey versus Whitney Housten part was 1 of the funniest, followed by the “Little Nyonya” segment. But what was really funny was the broadcast of the street interviews. I’m amazed at how much (or how little) Singaporeans know about Singapore.
I look forward to Broadway Beng in December.
$ING Dollar musical
Caught the show tonight.
I felt that the show wasn’t as funny as previous productions (maybe less political jokes), but there were still some laughs here & there.
I think the part that was most entertaining was when they did an imitation of MJ in Act 2. Well, I’m not sure if MJ fans will like it, but it was pretty well executed and funny, although a tad insensitive. Another more funny segment was the Geylang negotiations part, Lorong to Lorong. The songs weren’t that memorable, but a more musical-like (and “moving”) song was Home near the end.
Well, the story revolves around a coffeeshop & a hotel where a man is found dead, along with S$500,000. Shan’t reveal too much in case it spoils the fun.
Generally, I felt that Sebastian Tan was still the better singer among them especially when he did the Queen E segment.
Talking about comedies, I saw a trailer in the cinema today of the new hor-medy which Jack Neo is releasing in Aug. Well, it looks like a sequel from the last Money No Enough but with ghosts (guess who).
Also there is The Hossan Leong Show! and Broadway Beng – Jiak Liu Lian productions coming up in Oct & Dec respectively which I want to watch! If you buy tickets to both the shows, you can get 25% off.
《华丽上班族之生活与生存》(Design for Living)
我已经很久没看中文的话剧了。不过，我决定不妨在今年的华艺节挑一部来捧捧场，便挑了这由张艾嘉所编的话剧来着手。
剧情的摘要如下：
在 金融海啸中频频传出要裁员的消息，而公司的CEO张威（张艾嘉饰）也有所威胁。为了证明公司没人能取代她，她在下属当中部下陷阱，以语言游戏及挑逗来操作 每个人，摆布他们勾心斗角、互相提防，搞得大家人心惶惶、士气大跌。但事情却演变成不在她所安排当中，造成最终以悲剧收场。
总的来说，这 是一部不错的话剧。剧中带有一点趣味，但也有其中的哲理。最能勾起我思绪的就是李想（郑元畅饰）这角色。他根本在整个剧中是不属于这华丽上班族的一份子。 很明显的，从他的名字你就能知道他就是“理想”的化身。他的单纯（而是新鲜人的角色)代表了每个刚出道而抱有梦想的新鲜人。但人往往为了在奸诈的社会中生 存，自己的理想与个性都因周遭的事物给迷惑了。而单纯的心也被玷污了。就像剧中的所有角色一样，尤其是大伟（王耀庆饰）。结果，就像剧中的李想一样，理想 跟梦想就在无意中死了。
~~~~~
(For the benefit of those who don’t understand Chinese)
(This was one of the anchor shows for the Huayi Festival organised by Esplanade)
What made me reflect in the play was the character Li Xiang, who was totally out-of-place in the entire working environment. By his name, it was so obvious that he was the personification of aspirations. His naivety/innocence and status as a fresh grad newbie represents the initially inspired newbies that start work. However, due to societal influences, our aspirations get corrupted/forgotten, just like what happened to all the other characters in the show. Eventually, just like Li Xiang, our dreams & aspirations die accidentally.
“Cinderella” The Musical: A Review
Event: Rodgers & Hammerstein’s “Cinderella”
Venue: Esplanade Theatre
Run: 2nd Jan – 22nd Jan 2009
(Author’s note: This post is way overdue.)
“Cinderella”, the delightful musical written by Rodgers & Hammerstein, plays at the Esplanade Theatre till 22nd Jan (which is not many more days to be honest), and it is a musical that was originally written for television, and not the stage.
Julie Andrews was the first to play the lead role of Cinderella in the TV musical, and the airing of “Cinderella” back in 1957 garnered a record-breaking viewership of 107 million viewers!
Now “Cinderella” could perhaps be considered one of R&H’s lesser-known works, as compared to the big five of “Oklahoma!”, “South Pacific”, “The King and I”, “The Sound of Music” and “Carousel”.
I personally had not been familiar with this musical until I listened to the original TV cast recording a few weeks prior to catching the musical. I was glad that I did so before going to theatre, cos I’m sure it definitely added to my enjoyment of the show.
…
First Impressions
The first thing that struck me was that the overture was markedly different from the original CD recording.
I was expecting something fast, lively, and jumpy, to the tune of “The Stepsisters’ Lament”, which was basically the main motif for the musical.
The orchestrator for this production opted for a largo style (of which particular melody I was not sure), which perhaps fit in nicely with the opening scene of Cinderella (played by Lea Salonga) scrubbing the floor of the stepmother’s home.
…
Fairy Tales Come To Life
If you want to see fairy tales come to life, then “Cinderella” is the musical to catch.
Remember I mentioned that the sets to “Wicked” in London were fantastic? Well, the sets and props to “Cinderella” were amazing as well. And I mean AMAZING.
I’d have to say I was thoroughly impressed with the way they staged “Cinderella”. The props that they used were just magnificent, especially the carriage!
I can’t imagine how the fairy tale could have been staged any better.
(Oh, and there were a few clever magic effects that were done throughout the musical, like chairs moving across the stage on their own, or Cinderella’s dirty clothes suddenly turning into a resplendent ball gown…which fit in really nicely with the whole “fairy tale” mood. Excellent stuff.)
…
Music, Lyrics & Book
It’s always fascinating to be able to delve into a new Richard Rodgers score, and I enjoyed every single minute of it.
I must say the music to “Cinderella” was absolutely brilliant (what else would you expect me to say right?)…typical Richard Rodgers-melodies in every sense of the word. All the tunes bore the distinctive trademark of Richard Rodgers, e.g. the chromaticism, the seemingly simple yet profoundly brilliant melodic construction, the unbelievably catchy rhythmic nature of some of the tunes.
The chirpy strain of “Why would a fella want a girl like her?” from the song “The Stepsisters’ Lament” served as the main motif of the musical, appearing at various points in the show.
My favourite melody would definitely have to be the immensely romantic tune to “Ten Minutes Ago”, which not only was in my opinion the most memorable tune in the musical…it was also used at the climax of the show (more on this later).
The impossibly (pardon the pun) catchy “Impossible” also served as one of the other main motifs of the musical, and this song was particularly important as its message was the main thrust of the musical – and that is that “impossible things are happening every day.”
Another tune which I enjoyed was “A Lovely Night”. It’s one of those tunes which seems so simple, but yet you know that only a genius like Richard Rodgers can come up with it.
As for the lyrics of Oscar Hammerstein’s…well, let me just say that if you wanted to get an idea of how much of a Broadway lyrical genius Hammerstein was, then you would do well to start with the lyrics from “Cinderella”.
The most incredible example would have to be “The Stepsisters’ Lament”, because of the sheer genius of it all. One only needs to pay close attention to the lyrics to appreciate the sheer wit and irony that went into the construction of the lyrics.
“Ten Minutes Ago” is also another good example of excellent lyric-writing thanks to the incredible use of inner rhymes in the first verse, as explained in one of my earlier blog posts (here). But then again, it’s not only just this song. One reason why Oscar Hammerstein is in my opinion the greatest Broadway lyricist ever is because of his ability to constantly craft beautiful inner rhymes in many of his songs…and make perfectly good sense at the same time.
The lyrics to “The Royal Dressing Room Scene” were also extremely enjoyable.
You see, that’s where Oscar Hammerstein sets himself apart from the rest – his lyrics are not just there because the melodies need words to them…his lyrics are actually highly entertaining in themselves due to their genius in both the meaning and the rhymes.
Well, if there were one fault I could pick with the musical, it would be that the book could have used a bit of fine-tuning at certain instances. I can’t remember exactly what instances those were, but there were times at which I felt the musical wasn’t moving anywhere, perhaps due to the book.
…
Theatre Magic (Climax)
I firmly believe that of all the Disney fairy tales, “Cinderella” holds a special place in every girl’s heart.
It is the quintessential female fantasy – that some day her Prince will come, and they will catch each other’s gaze at the ball, and he will ask her for a dance, and they will uncontrollably fall truly madly deeply in love, and he will sweep her off her feet and propose to her…and they will live happily ever after in blissful marriage.
Yes, this is every girl’s secret fantasy.
And “Cinderella” the musical captured every aspect of that perfectly.
The climax of the entire musical, in my opinion, was when the Prince took Cinderella out into the courtyard to dance, and they sang the song “Ten Minutes Ago” to reflect their amazement at how they have inexplicably fallen in love with one another even though they’d only met ten minutes ago.
That was definitely the defining moment of the musical.
And at that moment, I distinctly remember hearing every single female heart in the audience sigh in sheer envy at the magical scene that was displayed before them.
The romantic tension in that scene was so thick you couldn’t cut it with a knife.
Yes, it was that powerful, that scene. But only to females.
Plus the fact that the Prince was tall and good-looking, and dressed smartly in his princely attire, and Lea Salonga was dressed resplendently in her gown which the fairy god mother gave to her by magic, and the music to “Ten Minutes Ago” was just supreme…I tell you, this is theatre magic at its finest.
This is the reason why we still go to the theatre.
In a nutshell, “Cinderella” reminds us all once again of the magic of musical theatre…which is something that movies or television might not be able to fully replicate.
W!ld Rice’s Snow White
I love Singapore’s parodical musicals! Especially W!ld Rice’s.
I watched their Snow White & The Seven Dwarfs last night and it was hilarious. I must say that it was one of their most daring portrayal with their blatant references to the political scene throughout the show. E.g. the voting results, the unending reign of a certain important person, the environment, etc. Other funny things included the milk scandal & corny actions (with sound effects) and lots of “drag”. There were some references to certain Disney movies, like the Enchanted where Snow White came out to start singing and the animals started appearing. Then there were the dancing animals. They even had some Wall-E aspect in it like having all the rubbish cubed.
The songs & singing were quite good, especially Sebastian Tan (the Queen) & Elena Wang (Snow White) and there were interactive parts like the characters asking the audience questions.
Truly enjoyed the show despite my flu. Even bought the soundtrack. It runs till 20 Dec, so better grab your tickets now if you have not!
Boom!
Written by Jean Tay and directed by Tracie Pang, the play revolves around a mother and son (who’s a property agent) contending over an en bloc sale, where the mother refuses to sell while the son tries to persuade her otherwise. Each has their own reasons, one to hold on and the other to escape. On another platform, a civil servant trying to persuade a corpse to relocate. So how are these two related? Not just the relocation aspect, but the inter-relationship of the two incidents.
One reason I caught the show was because it was starring Sebastian Tan, who’s one of my favourite actors due to his versatility in both English and Chinese shows, plays and musicals, and even TV.
The show was funny at parts though a bit corny, especially when the corpse was doing his “lamentations”. It was a rather familiar context (except the talking to corpse part) but the actors played it out well.
Somehow, I felt the ending slightly sad, especially for the corpse. No one to claim it, and heartbreak on both sides as one party refuses to accept the truth, and forever a love lost. The things we hold on to, in a bid to believe. I was pretty moved by the filial son who stood by his mother all these years.
Come to think of it, why was it called “Boom”? Did it refer to the boom in the construction industry? The implicit reminder of the sound of construction work/progress? Not much mention, but I guess it was the underlying setting. Or maybe it referred to how the corpse became one? He was killed in a bus accident where there was probably an explosion. Or maybe the felling of the fig tree? A sign of loss? Or the calling out from the grave or even the beat of the heart?
Turandot
Maybe it’s the setting…or maybe it’s my first experience…but despite the good reviews, I will say that it’s ok for me.
I attended my 1st Western opera last night with some colleagues, and amid the foreign language, I can’t really tell if it was a good or bad experience.
Firstly, the costumes & props were set in ancient China, but it was really weird hearing them sing in Italian. Maybe it’s also because of the setting that I started to make comparisons with Chinese opera, which I find is more interesting as in Chinese opera, it’s not just about the singing, but also about the movements & acting. Coz in the Western opera, when they start singing, it seems like they have to be stationary. I also noticed that 1 of the leads’ movements was not as refined as it should be, given the character played.
Maybe through this, I learn to appreciate Chinese opera more. Hey, I’ve been to both good & bad ones and also in dialects that I can’t understand.
But despite these I must say that I enjoyed Nancy Yuen’s (Liu) and Lee Jae Wook’s (Calaf) performance. Also I liked the familiar Nessun Dorma (None Shall Sleep Tonight) performed by Lee. And of course, being a fan of Maestro Tsung Yeh, who conducted the orchestra, I would say the music was good.
Some parts of the show were rather funny, given some comic characters (Ping, Pong, Pang) and the dramatic actions, especially the ending kissing scene where Calaf very dramatically pulled Turandot towards him to kiss her. We couldn’t help laughing at that part. Not that I’m not a romantic, but if you saw it, you would know what I mean.
Also, we noticed that the props were likely inspired by the “Mystery Men” exhibition hosted by the ACM last year, with all the Bronze Age emphasis, though Peking wasn’t actually the capital at that time.
Anyway, maybe next time, I should watch something that’s set differently like Aida, or in a more European setting.
P. Ramlee The Musical
I went to watch P. Ramlee yesterday night and it was a major production. The sets, costumes, etc. were very elaborate. It was not bad, although I couldn’t really understand most of it as it was in Malay…but there were English subtitles. It’s the first time I’m watching a Malay theatre production. A bit difficult for me to try to “toggle” between the scene on stage and the subtitling, but managed to get through it.
However, I am rather torn about the production, the main reason being that Dick Lee composed half the songs for the musical (the rest being Ramlee’s songs). As 1 of the audience said “I don’t want to hear Dick Lee in P. Ramlee.” And indeed, when I listened and watched carefully, I could differentiate between to 2 styles; you could tell which parts were Dick Lee’s and which parts were Ramlee’s.
I sort of felt the same as that viewer. I came to watch about P. Ramlee and was really expecting more of his personality and music to shine forth. Instead, this mixture caused some of Ramlee’s “flavour” to be lost. Not that Dick Lee is not a good composer, but maybe it felt a bit commercialised for being a biographical depiction of Ramlee’s life.
Well, just some thoughts…
Broadway Beng 3!
I caught Broadway Beng this afternoon…it was hilarious! Although I’m not that well versed in Hokkien, I still managed to catch the many references and jokes.
Basically, the set up was such that it was like a getai show with Sebastian Tan as Ah Beng. There were references to the Mas Selamat incident, the torch-bearing issues of the Olympics torch relay and Ah Beng versions of well known Broadway musicals like Sound of Music (that’s why Broadway Beng mah).
On the whole, I felt the earlier portion was funnier. But I think it was a really good effort and very creative to come out with all the adapted content.
He Is Not An Impostor by George Chua
I know George Chua from an art installation project that I did last year. He was 1 of the judges cum consultant then. George is a sound artist and he has been involved in various performances, including the Hadaka series I went to last year.
Besides the reason of being an acquaintance of George, I found the synopsis interesting. I received the Esplanade e-flyer which goes like this:
Anyway, as I went with an open mind, not expecting anything, the show was indeed not what I would expect based on the description. I felt it was very well done.
It has tunes/songs (some familiar) used to bring you through the cycle or passage of time, from the 1980s to present time and tells of a story of an illusionist called Chew Chong Choy. Indeed, a real magician was playing the role (maybe that’s where “he is not an imposter” comes in?). the protagonist was put on trial for a murder he didn’t commit and another person portrayed his “voice” and recited some form of poetry. It was really interesting. I didn’t expect a live magic show and the magician performed real tricks that one doesn’t often see, like passing a bottle through a person’s body, card tricks with someone from the audience being the “magician”, etc. However, there was a part that was a bit disturbing. It was the first trick he did, but described as the last trick he performed before he went to jail (he was later cleared of the charges). He used a skewer to pierce through his forearm, just under the skin and pulled it in & out. And there was indication of blood! Though after that he managed to “rub” off the “wound”. But as it was the first trick shown in the performance and the context solemn, the audience didn’t really know how to react…were we supposed to clap? Was it for real? However, later on, there were some reminiscences of the time before his implication in the murder case, and he performed the tricks, clearly displaying he’s for real & we clapped with every trick performed. Some parts were funny, if you read the words on the screen. There was some abstract portion like the beginning talk of a powerful businessman taking revenge.
Of course, it being a magic show is beside the point. What struck me most was the part about reference to time travel. This was done using a trick of a can of coke. The can was empty & flattened, but with some magic, the illusionist manages to get the can back into shape, filled with coke and even re-sealed it! Then, he opened the restored coke and drank some of it, poured it out and eventually it returned to being a squashed can. The underlying message was that, even if we could go back to the past to change our mistakes, would it really make a difference? Would the outcome still come back to the same? Are we trapped by destiny? Just like the can of coke, even when you reverse the process, eventually, the can of coke still turns up empty and squashed.
Yup, it’s well done and I enjoyed it. Something different when you don’t know what to expect. It was only 1 hour though.
Buttons In The Bread 