The Dream of The Red Chamber (1977)

There are several version movies of The Dream of The Red Chamber, but I chose this one because I was looking for a song. I was not sure from which version it was, but my cassette was from early 1980's. I did find the song in this version, although my song was an instrumental and the rhythm was faster.

This movie is one of the most beautiful movies ever made. The clothes and the furnitures were very nice. Some of the most beautiful actresses were in it: Lin Ching-hsia, Mi Hsueh, Sylvia Chang. Sylvia Chang looked very beautiful as Lin Dai Yu and I was very impressed, because in early 80's she usually played tomboy characters.

Lin Ching-hsia and Niu Niu played male characters. I don't know why some male characters should be played by females. There were male actors in this movie, like Yueh Hua and Tien Ching; but all singing voices were females'.

The movie's pace was slow, but I was mesmerized by what I saw that I watched it in one sitting. It was basically a Romeo - Juliet story, with a lot of tears.

After the deaths of her parents, Miss Lin Dai Yu came to Ning Kuo Mansion in Jinling City to live with her grandmother. Her grandmother was from the rich and powerful Jia family. There Lin Dai Yu met Jia Bao Yu, the only son of the Jia family. They played together and became best friends. Several years later, they fell in love with each other and couldn't live without one another, but as Lin Dai Yu was too thin and frail [Remember that Jia Bao Yu was the only son], on the wedding night the bride was switched. Jia Bao Yu wed Miss Bao and Lin Dai Yu died with a broken heart.

Les Misérables (2012)

As a musical film, this version of Les Misérables is rather disapponting. When I see a musical film, I expect to see the songs sung properly: the melody are sung well(some spoken parts here and there to enhance the acting are understandable) and the lyrics can be heard clearly. However, in this movie, acting is put first; it's okay to sing and weep at the same time, with the result that the singing is weak and the dialogues cannot be heard clearly (unless you are a fan of the musical and know the lyrics by heart). I think this is something between regular drama movie and a musical movie, where the writer is too lazy to write dialogues for the characters and borrow them from the musical.

I am even disappointed with Hugh Jackman. I know he could do better than that. I watched him in Oklahoma! and I knew the guy could sing. Russell Crowe was also disappointing. I am not a fan of him, but I was impressed with him in Virtuosity and I watched several of his movies and knew he was a wonderful actor and that he had a band. Perhaps the director told them to play it that way? Colm Wilkinson as the Bishop of Digne almost didn't sing either. Of the main actors, I think Samantha Barks did the best job, and the guy who played Grantaire.

It is not that hard to sing properly and act at the same time.

At first I thought Sacha Baron Cohen and Helena Bonham Carter did a good job, but the song 'Master of the House' apparently had been shot and edited many times. It was hard to see what was going on (unless you have the DVD to pause again and again) and in the end it looked unnatural to me. It's over the top.

I like the additional parts, which are not in the original musical, such as: Marius's grandfather appearance, Fauchelevent's opportunity to return Valjean's kindness, Valjean buys a big doll (Catherine) for Cosette, Javert's chase at the city gate, Gavroche brings Valjean Marius's letter.

After Fantine sells her hair (I prefer that she is a blonde. The book says 'The gold was on her head and the pearls in her mouth'), she sells her teeth. I believe 2 of her front teeth were taken because it's said she was ugly after. However, when she sings 'I Dreamed A Dream' I see all her teeth are there.

The ending is so ordinary. I hoped that because this was a movie, special effects could be used. Couldn't they make the spirit of Fantine look better than that? And after that, when 'Do You Hear The People Sing' was sung, I hoped to see Valjean and the deads in heaven... They will live again in freedom, in the garden of the Lord. ... not in the streets of Paris.

Jesus Christ Superstar - Live Arena Tour (2012)

This musical has grown on me. When I first listened to one of its recordings I thought it was so noisy --> it's a rock musical. Then I watched the version on video, the one with Jérôme Pradon as Judas, and I started to like the songs. This new version is even better.

Laurence Connor, the director, did this very well. It seems like it happens in recent time. The scene opens with young people wearing hoodies in protest versus the police, and they hope that Jesus will lead them, which made me think I had more understanding about the situation in that era. Later, when Jesus explained that he was not going to lead them against the government, I could understand Judas's disappointment. This musical, anyway, was made to make us have more sympathy for Judas. Tim Minchin, who played Judas, did it so well. In The Last Supper, he was still torn about giving Jesus up; but Jesus challenged him to do it, so he went. We could see how much Judas loved him and thought he was doing it for Jesus's good. Now, if someone could tell me the trick in Judas's suicide scene, I will be very grateful ;-)

The big screen on the stage was used efficiently (better than in 25th anniversary of the Phantom of The Opera in the Royal Albert Hall). We see the kids use modern technology to spread words about Jesus in What's the Buzz (on the screen we can see the text messages they send) and in Herod Song (Chris Moyles who played King Herod was a famous DJ in the UK), we see King Herod as a TV Quiz Show presenter who creates a poll about Jesus.

Ben Forster as Jesus was also good. His Gethsemane was very powerful. His Jesus was bitter, resentful, and for a moment I thought he was challenging God.

If I had to say something bad about this version, I'd say there were too many people in The Last Supper, not only Jesus and the twelve. Then I would ask 3 disciples to accompany Jesus, while the rest could move away, in the end of the song. The lyrics say: "Will no-one stay awake with me? Peter? John? James?" Yet these 3 were among the crowds, in different places, too.

"Now why'd you choose such a backward time and such a strange land? If you'd come today you could have reached the whole nation..."After watching this version, I think no matter when he comes or where he comes to, people will still be denying him.

Some things in this are against my believe, but it's still a very enjoyable musical to watch. Glad it's on DVD!

Andrew Lloyd Webber's Love Never Dies

Finally I watched the DVD last night. This is not a film of a live show, I think, but some parts were shot live in Regent Theatre, Melbourne, Australia; because you can hear the audience's applause. The costumes are great. The sets are wonderful: I like the harbour and the room with prism/pyramid shapes. The songs are not very memorable, though.

What I dislike most is the story. When I read the Gaston Leroux's novel I had this impression that Christine and Raoul were in love with each other and that she was only mesmerized by the Phantom's talents. Many fans of  ALW's the Phantom of the Opera don't agree with me and they believe that Christine's true love is the Phantom. It's understandable because the musical was written to make us sympathize with the Phantom. I  myself felt the same when I watched the show in London back in 2004. We had then John Owen-Jones as the Phantom versus Ramin Karimloo as Raoul--> I vote for John Owen-Jones anytime.

Now, in this sequel, 10 years later, the Phantom, Madame Giry, and Meg join a traveling circus and they arrive in Coney Island, New York. Meg is now a leading lady and has been trying to impress the Phantom, who in return never notices her. The Phantom lures Christine, now Madame de Chagny, to sing in the circus. Raoul is now in gambling debts and needs the money. This couple comes with their 10 year old boy, Gustave. It seems Raoul never loves Christine and he only wanted to win her from the Phantom then. Later, it turns out that Gustave is the Phantom's son. Apparently, after 'Music of the Night', Christine made love to the Phantom.

Apart from the story, I think this musical still needs more work. It's perhaps not that bad if it's not called the sequel of the Phantom of the Opera. About the cast, I think Anna O'Byrne (Christine), Sharon Millerchip (Meg), Maria Mercedes (Mme Giry), and Jack Lyall (Gustave) were wonderful.

Pippin: His Life and Times (1981)

Never heard about this musical before, bought the dvd, and hoped it would be good. Last night I watched it and yes, it's one of the best musicals I have seen. I think the stage decor is very creative and the choreography is quite complex. It's communicative, too, with the audience and to see it live perhaps would bring more joy (than to see it on dvd).

The music by Stephen Schwartz is nice, but for me, my appreciation goes more for the director and choreographer: Bob Fosse. I just think that I would not have enjoyed it much if it had not been directed and choreographed that way. The cast is also very good.

King Charlemange is the king of the holy Roman empire and Pippin is his eldest son. Pippin is a scholar, while his brother Lewis is a soldier. Pippin tries to be a good soldier, too, at first, but after a gory war and what it does to their people, he begins to question his father's policy. Pippin kills his father, becomes king, and realizes that it's in fact hard to keep peace. Thanks God that this is a musical comedy, so he can bring his father back alive (unlike Mrs Johnstone in Blood Brothers who cannot bring her twins back). The events are narrated by Leading Player. The settings and costumes change from present to Middle Ages. There are lots of creativity here.

In sort, if you haven't watched Pippin, you must put it on your list now; and for those who don't have enough money to go watch it live, you must at least watch the dvd: rent it, borrow it, or simply buy a copy.

The Phantom of the Opera at the Royal Albert Hall

To celebrate its' 25th anniversary, Andrew Lloyd Webber's The Phantom of The Opera was presented at the Royal Albert Hall, and it was filmed. At first I was very excited to hear this, because I could finally see (again and again) the wonder of the show. The version with Gerald Butler is not the show itself, where on one same stage we can see how the designers cleverly show several locations: on stage, behind stage, under the opera house, the cemetery, etc.

Obviously I have never been in the Royal Albert Hall and didn't know that they cannot hang curtains there. OK, so the show has been modified, and I must say that I miss the big elephant and the mannequin. However, I must say that the Masquerade scene is much better than in the original show because for the anniversary they could afford more people.

masquerade

You little demon - is this what you wanted to see?

Sierra Boggess is wonderful as Christine. I also love Hadley Fraser's Raoul. Wendy Ferguson's Charlotta is funny and she made me laugh a couple of times. As for The Phantom, I don't like Ramin Karimloo since he ruined the only POTO live show I can see. I must say that he did a good job, but I still don't like his voice, which I think lack of emotion. It's a surprise to see Colm Wilkinson, Anthony Warlow and John Owen-Jones came. With Peter Jöback (he was the only one of the four I didn't know), they sang the title song with Sarah Brightman. Michael Crawford was also present (he didn't age a bit for the last years), but he didn't sing with them. They also didn't give him a microphone.

Jeff Wayne's Musical Version of 'The War of the Worlds' (2006)

I was curious to watch this DVD of Jeff Wayne's Musical Version of 'The War of the Worlds' and thought to give it a try, because the price was not much. I must say first that I never like alien stories, although I do enjoy Doctor Who very much. I have never watched other versions of The War of The Worlds movie and I have never read the book by H.G. Wells. However, I like musicals such as Les Misérables, The Phantom of The Opera, Blood Brothers, Into The Woods, Jane Eyre, Rage of The Hearts, Aspects of Love... and many more of them; and in where I live, musicals shows are rare; so I very much longed to see this DVD of Jeff Wayne's musical, which was recorded live on stage - and not some poor film version where they have change all backgrounds. The reviews were all positive, so I had a high hope on this.


However, the show was not what I had expected. The music is very pop - although I am not sure if it matters much, because I like La Révolution Française, which is a rock opera. I think what bothers me much is the number of repetition of the songs. A 3D head of Richard Burton appears on a big screen on stage, to function as the narrator. This big screen is like what we see on cinema and I don't like this. It shows everything: the alien planet, the ship, the burning village, etc. I like musical theatres because I love to see the tricks they do on stage, how the backgrounds change. Like in The Phantom of The Opera: front stage, back stage, underground, roof; are performed on a single stage. In 'The War of The Worlds' I don't see such things.

The story is also not as rich as I have expected, because there are times when only pop music can be heard [i.e. the narrator & other characters don't have any lines to read or sing].

Les Misérables in Concert: The 25th Anniversary

It's been years since I listened to any Les Miz recording, so I was very happy to watch this DVD. The familiar songs brought back good memories. There are parts which are not available in the 10th anniversary concert, which is a good thing, because those who are new to this musical can understand more about the story. About the cast, I think the 10th anniversary concert has better cast.

In the 25th anniversary concert, I think Norm Lewis who plays Javert is very impressive. Alfie Boe, who plays Jean Valjean, is good, but not extra-ordinary, or at least that was I first thought. I thought Colm Wilkinson was better, until when Alfie Boe shows his true ability in singing Bring Him Home with Colm Wilkinson, John Owen Jones and Simon Bowman. Wow, he is great and deserves the standing ovation. Lea Salonga is very good as always; she and Jenny Galloway are the only cast member whom I have known before. Ramin Karimloo, who plays Enjolras, is very handsome; but I still prefer Michael Maguire.

I only once went overseas, and that was only because someone kindly paid for my air tickets & accommodation. That one time I went to London for 9 days and watched 2 musicals, one of them is The Phantom of The Opera, in which Ramin Karimloo played Raoul. In that one time, his mind seemed elsewhere and I thought he played badly. I still dislike him for ruining Raoul in that one time I was able to watch The Phantom of The Opera. For him it was perhaps only another night, but for me it was the only time I could watch that musical on stage. John Owen Jones played The Phantom and he was very very good and stood out among the cast and I still love him until now. [That was in the middle of September 1994.]

I have read that Michael Ball was in this 25th anniversary DVD, yet it was still a surprise to see that it actually had the whole Original 1985 London Cast. Together with the 25th anniversary cast, they sing 'One Day More', the last song in Act I. And being guests, they sing with more relaxed feeling [because the whole musical has a tragic nuance] and oh, what a happy situation it is, when The Thénardiers sing their part.

Mamma Mia! (2008)

Mamma Mia! is a very entertaining movie. I wish I could see the musical on stage before watching this. ABBA songs are used to create a story about a bride-to-be, Sophie, who wants her father to walk her down the isle. The problem is: even her own mother is not sure, for around that time she was seeing three guys. So Sophie invites all 3, without consulting her mother first, with the hope that she can recognize her father immediately by instinct.

Sophie has 2 female friends, so does her mother. Sometimes I see Sophie's future husband, Sky, is also accompanied by 2 friends. So it seems the writer loves the number of three. I like Meryl Streep, but in this comedy, she seems to overact. Her two friends, played by Julie Walters and Christine Baranski, look more natural. These three remind me of a French play (or two) I saw on TV last year, Les Amazones (and Les Amazones 3 ans après), which is about 3 single women. One of the actresses in the play, Chantal Ladesou, was so hilarious that her every gesture and line got laughters from the audience.

I hope producers of future musical films will hire actors who can really sing. I don't understand: Mamma Mia! is a very famous musical and I hear that the theatre is always full. Why they still needed big names? I'm not saying that Meryl Streep can't sing (I am referring to someone else). I think she is great during The Winner Takes It All. However, Mamma Mia! is more of a comedy and it's not her strong suit.

Carousel (1956)

In Indonesia, Carousel is not as popular as The Sound of Music or The King and I. I happened to hear two of the songs from this musical, If I Loved You and You’ll Never Walk Alone and thought they were very beautiful. Later I bought the London Cast Recording (1993) and since then fell in love with the music. The best version of If I Loved You I ever heard is the one by Lesley Garrett with the BBC Concert Orchestra (not sure if this is available on video, but in the show she also sang Papageno duet with Michael Ball); and the best You’ll Never Walk Alone is by Michael Ball in his The Musicals (1996) album.


Two days ago I re-watched the video, the 1956 movie with Gordon MacRae and Shirley Jones. Billy Bigelow is a carousel barker in a carnival and one day he meets mill worker Julie Jordan and both falls in love to each other. Billy’s boss doesn’t like how Billy gives Julie a free ride and she fires Billy. Julie’s boss also doesn’t like how she stays out late with Billy. Both out of work and after marriage, they stay with Julie’s cousin. Billy now is often out of temper and hits Julie. Jigger, Billy’s friend, comes and asks Billy to join him in a robbery. At first Billy refuses, but after Julie tells him she is pregnant, he knows that he needs the money. The robbery, however, fails and Billy is dead. Billy goes to Heaven and is told that he could go back once if he wants to settle some unfinished thing. Billy sees from above that his daughter, now a 15 year old girl named Louise, is unhappy because other kids scold her for being a thief’s daughter (shown in a beautiful ballet sequence). Billy goes down, meets Louise, and gives her a star. He also sees her graduated and tells her to believe in herself. Dr. Selden gives a speech at the school that day and tells the graduates that they should not rely on their parents’ success or be held back by their mistakes.

Shirley Jones made a very good Julie Jordan, with her beautiful voice and her innocent look. Billy Bigelow is not a character I would like, though, with his roughness and unintelligence. He does love Julie very much, but doesn’t know how to express it and ends up hurting her. As for the music, I like better my London Cast Recording. Apart from If I Loved You and You’ll Never Walk Alone, this musical by Rodgers – Hammerstein also has beautiful numbers like the Carousel Waltz, You’re A Queer One Julie Jordan, Mister Snow, June is Bustin’ Out All Over, When The Children Are Asleep, Real Nice Clambake, … well, I guess I love all of the songs, except Soliloquy, which I think is not easy to sing. I think until now the version of Soliloquy I’ve heard isn’t satisfying, because the original notes are beautiful, like for the line “My boy Bill, I will see that he’s named after me. I will!” and “My little girl, pink and white as peaches and cream is she.” I think the music of Carousel is more beautiful than The Sound of Music.

Hairspray

Today I watched Hairspray The Musical - the movie version. It was a fun movie and very entertaining, as what a movie should be. John Travolta was lovely as Edna, although it seemed he was almost in tears most of the time. He is a very handsome man, but in my opinion as a woman he wasn't very pretty. I would like very much to see Michael Ball in the same role on stage.



Nikki Blonsky as Tracy Turnblad, the heroin, is very good. Short and overweight, she might be the last person ever to get into the Corny Collins show; but her superb dancing makes her lovable by many people. Her effort is not without barrier, because the TV station owner, Velma Von Tussle, wants her daughter Amber to be the star of the show and crowned as Miss Hairspray; so she tries anything to get rid of Tracy. Set in the early 60's in Baltimore, there is also racial problems. Most of the songs are very energetic (some remind me of Grease) and I liked the moments when they were sung. Zac Efron as Link Larkin also reminded me of Cliff Richard in the 60's - I think it must be the hair style and the costumes.