Twisted soul: A tale of two musicals..

Last Saturday night, I watched My Fair Lady Musical at the KLCC Plenary Hall. It was my first time to watch a musical alone. Many people thought that I'm crazy of going here, but hey, I don't have a musical buddy here in Malaysia (although I was expecting to be seated on a cute guy who's also watching that musical alone so that I can ask him to become my musical buddy hahaha.. wish ko lang hahaha). Just like my experience in Esplanade when I watched the Phantom, the audiences were dressed up (flop lang talaga yung Broadway experience ko kc mukha akong DH noon).

One good thing about going to the musical alone is getting a good spot even if I bought the tickets late. I was seated at the center of the most affordable section (I can't say its cheap because I still find it to be pricey), probably 30 rows away above the stage. The musical is presented by a London-based production (another West End musical yipee! =P) which was staged in Singapore early this year.

Here is the synopsis of the story from Rotten Tomatoes web site: Egotistical linguist Professor Henry Higgins bets his friend, Colonel Hugh Pickering, that he can transform Cockney flower girl Eliza Doolittle in time for an important society ball. His gamble could pay off--but the spirited Eliza is more of a handful than the Professor could have predicted. As she slowly becomes more refined, and less reliant upon him, Higgins realizes, to his confusion, that he can’t live without her.

Even though I'm seated at the farthest possible location, it was still okay. I have to give credit to the production since I think they did a good job. However, it is not the type of musical that has the spectacular entrance song which is usually what I'm expecting in a musical(no offense to the fans out there.. this is just my opinion). I can't help but compare it to the feeling that I had while watching the Phantom - probably because its in the plot which I find to be mushy (what can I say? Its a romantic comedy). Too bad, I don't have a camera with me to take my picture beside the poster (and besides, who will take my pic anyway?). But overall, this is the kind of play where I think I need to watch its movie first for me to appreciate it that much. As what Simon would put it, I wasn't jumping up and down.

The longest running musical, the Phantom of the Opera, was staged at the Esplanade since last month. As what I have mentioned in my previous blog, most of my musical enthusiast friends (like me) recommended this (If I have to watch a musical, it must be the Phantom). So when I bought the tickets, I made sure that we would have the good seats (at the expense of our wallets, but hey, it's a once in a lifetime experience).

In my opinion, it has the most spectacular production. With all the backdrops and the costumes which I learned to be imported from different countries. At the opening scene where the chandelier was brought up to the stage while listening to the overture gave me goosebumps - and it made me realize what to expect from this play. It was really effective to catch the audience's attention.

Maybe I'm not a fan of the operatic/classical music so I'm not that ecstatic compared to what my friends have been telling me about it (I found it to be overrated actually). I think my musical buddies- Rye and Mars, also think the same way. With regards to the actor's performance, there were some instances that we found the actors to be sharp in some songs.

One thing that I noticed about the reviews about the Singapore production was that the chandelier in the end of Act I was not broken, which is expected to create more impact to the audience. This is what's how the Broadway and West End productions were staged. I agree that it would create more impact but probably because its not part of the Singapore production. Anyway, it was a good experience to watch it finally onstage and I can finally say that as a musical buff, I can add the Phantom of the Opera in my list. =)

Anyway, I wish that I can learn more about musical theater by watching more musicals in the upcoming months. I just wish that I would have a chance to appreciate it better if only I can find a musical theater course here in KL. Oh well, in the meantime, I'll have to think if I should watch the King and I (to be directed by Bobby Garcia) on July and find out how I can go to Istana Budaya where the play will be staged.

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