Note 14: Into the woods

Many of you may have noticed that there is going to be a new Disney movie with lots of super stars, such as Chris Pine, Johnny Depp, Jake Gyllenhaal, Emily Blunt and Meryl Streep released, named ‘into the woods,’ which is the adaption of the Tony award-winning stage musical written by James Lapine and features music/lyrics by Stephen Sondheim. Before the film is actually released, I would like to introduce you the original musical version.

So here the story goes-The musical combines the well-known fairy tales of Cinderella, Rapunzel, Jack and the Beanstalk, and Little Red Ridinghood with the story of the Baker and his Wife who desperately want a child. Unfortunately, the Baker and his Wife have been cursed with childlessness by a witch and must perform various missions involving the characters in the other fairy tales to break the spell. The Baker and his Wife must bring the witch a cow as white as milk, a cape as red as blood, hair as yellow as corn, and a slipper as pure as gold. After a series of failed attempts, the Baker and his Wife finally are able to perform the tasks necessary to break the spell. Once the characters have accomplished their goals, however, they learn about the pitfalls of greed and gluttony. Finally, they learn about the need for community and family when they must unite to fight against the wife of the giant Jack killed who has decided to come back for revenge.

And did they all live happily ever after? An afterthought of the question is the reason why I enjoy this musical so much. There’s much more to fairy stories than initially meets the child’s naïve eye, and Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine’s popular musical explores many of these issues, and more, not so immediately obvious. Into the Woods is held together by Sondheim’s music and ingenious lyrics, and moments of laugh – out-comedy, with a large cast of characters you thought you knew, including a cow, birds, a giant and the narrator. My favorite number is the ‘The spell is on my house’, it’s the reprise of mainly all the characters sing together.

This show always inspired warm but mixed feelings in me whenever I’ve encountered it. Never mind that this production doesn’t feature anything like the usual highly trained vocalists and orchestra customary. But they can carry meaning, and the sense that every song in this show is an expression of both individual character and universal hopes and fears and confusions. In other words, all the people onstage are there to tell us stories that they utterly believe in, no matter how improbable they seem. And their care and concern for their stories makes us pay attention to this “Woods” as we perhaps never have before.

Note 13: The Book of Mormon

 Can you imagine the creators of the hilarious animated comedy South Park also produce a Broadway musical? Believe it or not, The Book of Mormon is a religious satire musical, reflecting the creators' lifelong fascination with Mormonism and musicals. This is a mildly amusing musical, with some knowingly parodic songs, that takes a few pot shots at religious credulity without ever questioning the need for belief.

This comedy musical follows the plight of a pair of teenage Mormon missionaries sent to convert a village in a dangerous part of Uganda. But what is the show actually saying? In part, that religion is a human invention. Passing reference is made to the Mormon founder, Joseph Smith, and his supposed discovery of sacred tablets on a hillside in New York state in 1827. We see the show is concocted to a new faith in which Mormonism is merged with bits of Star Wars and The Lord of the Rings. The creators devastatingly showed that it is easy enough to invent a new religion, but that it will inexorably lead to sacrifice and ritual slaughter before achieving respectability. The Book of Mormon takes the exact opposite line, suggesting a made-up faith may be a remedy for violence and bloodshed.

However, that's not to say it doesn't have its pleasures; and part of the fun lies in playing spot-the-source for the numerous songs. The opening number, Hello, in which trainee missionaries press doorbells, has echoes of the telephone song in Bye Bye Birdie. A cheery African anthem, Hasa Diga Eebowai, is clearly a foul-mouthed parody of a similar number in The Lion King. And, when the Ugandans stage their own muddied version of Mormon faith, one is reminded of the Uncle Tom's Cabin scene from The King and I.

      Though I don’t really have religion, through this newborn, old-fashioned, pleasure-giving musical I can get a glimpse of how believer live with their belief. It seems to me as though Mormons find this musical either A+ or the most offensive thing on the planet.This amuses me for reasons I can't quite expound upon.

Note 12: Shrek the musical

Shrek the Musical is a musical with music by Jeanine Tesori and book and lyrics by David Lindsay-Abaire. It is based on the 2001 DreamWorks film Shrek and William Steig's 1990 book Shrek!. Shrek the Musical gives us the back story for characters we thought we knew, such as Shrek, Princess Fiona, and even evil Lord Farquaad. So the stage version gives you all you liked about the movie plus more about the characters while keeping the irreverent humor that spices up the plot.

In case you were the one person who hasn’t seen the movie, the story, in brief: To reclaim his swamp from squatting, displaced fairy creatures, the ogre Shrek must rescue the dragon-guarded Princess Fiona and deliver her to Lord Farquaad, who must marry a princess to become a king and make his land of Dulac into a real kingdom. Kids will love Shrek, but before the curtain, parents might want to explain the Dragon, which is a combination of a really big puppet and eight singers who give the character its voice, sort of like a Greek chorus.

The music, with its blues and gospel influences, takes a very different direction from the movie, which featured little original music, relying instead on new and old popular songs. I especially like the singer Sutton Foster as Princess Fiona. I have been in love with Foster’s voice and dancing since Thoroughly Modern Millie, for which she won a Tony. The Drowsy Chaperone introduced us to her great comedic skills, but Shrek gives that talent free rein. Morning Person is one of my favorite song of the play, which is sang by Foster.

An interesting fact of the play is that Christian Marriner used to be 6 feet tall. He could stare into the eyes of most people he met, often looking down to do so. Nowadays, he stands about 3 feet 6 inches, and he looks up at almost everybody. Luckily, that’s just while he’s on stage in Shrek the Musical playing the officious Lord Farquaad, who is happiest when he’s cutting fairy tale figures down to size.

With a terrific score of 19 all-new songs, more than a dozen hilarious supporting characters,e.g.Pinocchio,Sugar Plum Fairy & Gingy,Three Little Pigs,Big Bad Wolf,Wicked Witch and Mama Bear,etc., big laughs, great dancing, and breathtaking scenery, Shrek the Musical is part romance, part twisted fairy tale, and all irreverent fun for everyone! This is really a highly recommended show, for it is shrektacular! I can't help smiling when watching it, and guess what, actually you can find the whole play on youtube!

Note 11: A Chorus Line

     Even though TV has bombarded the show business with backstage dramas about the anguish of auditions, A Chorus Line as a musical which centered on seventeen Broadway dancers auditioning for spots on a chorus line keeps standing straight and strongly. The musical is set on the bare stage of a Broadway theater during an audition for a musical. A Chorus Line provides a glimpse into the personalities of the performers and the choreographer as they describe the events that have shaped their lives and their decisions to become dancers.

Following several workshops and an Off-Broadway production, A Chorus Line opened on Broadway on July 25, 1975, directed and choreographed by Buffalo native Michael Bennett. An unprecedented box office and critical hit, the musical received 12 Tony Award nominations and won 9 of them, in addition to the 1976 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. Moreover, the original Broadway production ran for 6,137 performances, becoming the longest-running production in Broadway history until surpassed by Cats in 1997, and the longest-running Broadway musical originally produced in the US, until surpassed in 2011 by Chicago.

As the director whittles a group of auditioning hopefuls down to a final eight, we hear the dancers' confessions: we learn about their broken homes, aspirations to stardom, fear of failure and, in the touching case of a Puerto Rican guy, his shame at being found by his parents dancing in a drag revue. But in the famous final number, One, we rejoice at seeing the dancers perform in glorious unison. Being a chorus singer for almost entire of my lifetime, the musical reminds me that no matter however much we may resent it, we still choke with emotion at the sight of a group of raw RAF servicemen being transformed into a perfectly drilled ensemble. This show also triggered me to ask questions to myself, ’why do I sing? Why do I dance? Why do I enjoy on stage?’ I think the answers are not as difficult as I once concerned, it is the genuine passion I feel from the music that makes me keep singing, just like the thrill you can find in A Chorus Line.

Note 10:Singin' in the Rain

You may know the classic movie ‘Singin' in the Rain’, but you may not know there is also a musical version with lyrics by Arthur Freed, and music by Nacio Herb Brown. The show opened on 15th February 2012, and is adapted from the 1952 movie of the same name, which itself looks back to 1927– two years before the Wall Street Crash, when flappers, film stars and aviators were partying like there was no hangover tomorrow.

Here’s the plot for people who’s not familiar with the story. It was the roaring ’20s and silent movie stars are the biggest names in the world. Singin’ in the Rain tells the story of Don Lockwood, silent movie star who has everything a person dreams of – fame, popularity and a romance with co-star Lina Lamont. With the on-going rumors of the possibility of sound being synchronized with picture which would surely revolutionize the movie industry and change everything, the silent stars, including Don, are nervous. When it is revealed that Lina has the voice closes to nails being scratched down a blackboard, Don and his comedy sidekick, Cosmo, go in search of an alternative. On finding the beautiful yet snooty Kathy Selden, a chorus girl prone to jumping out of cakes with the voice of an angel, Don tries to convince her to dub in for his co-star diva. Unfortunately both Lina and Kathy are stubborn, leading to Don being forced to work his Hollywood star charm. Although where Kathy is concerned, both her and Don get more than they bargained for as they embark upon a whirlwind romance.

It’s possible that you don’t even know the movie’ Singin' in the Rain’, but it’s definitely impossible that you have never heard of the song’ Singin' in the Rain.’ Besides the legendary number, other classic ones includes’ Good Morning’,’ Make ‘em Laugh’, and’ Moses Supposes’ are well known to the world. What’s more, the stylish choreography and sumptuous set design brighten the whole play. Hailed by critics as the ultimate feel-good show, Singin’ in the Rain “genuinely makes you feel better about life” (Charles Spencer, The Daily Telegraph). For me, the show indeed induced a very happy calm after the storm.

Note 9: Billy Elliot the Musical

Billy Elliot the Musical is a musical based on the 2000 British film Billy Elliot. The music is by Elton John, and book and lyrics are by Lee Hall, who wrote the film's screenplay. The plot revolves around motherless Billy, who trades boxing gloves for ballet shoes. The story of his personal struggle and fulfillment are balanced against a counter-story of family and community strife caused by the UK miners' strike (1984–1985) in County Durham, in North Eastern England.

The musical premiered in London's West End in 2005 and was nominated for nine Laurence Olivier Awards, winning four including Best New Musical. The production is still running strongly, and its success led to productions in Australia, on Broadway and elsewhere. In New York, it won ten Tony Awards and ten Drama Desk Awards, including, in each case, best musical. It has also won numerous awards in Australia including a record-tying seven Helpmann Awards.

Something interesting to notice is the accent the actors speak. In UK, the accent the actors speak and sing with is a northern English accent called Geordie.  Cast members of the show spend many hours with dialect coaches learning the accent, which is thought by many to give BETM an authentic air.  It can be hard for some people to understand, however, and the accent has been toned down for audiences of the American productions.

To be honest, I know nothing about dancing and I’m seldom touched by the dance moves. But whenever I watch BETM’s clip, their dance moves always move me to tears. There is a production number called “Angry Dance“. In it, all of the pent up anger, hopelessness and frustration that Billy feels, caused both by how his family and community are being affected by the miners’ strike and by his family’s lack of support of his desire to dance, comes out in a torrent.  He expresses his feelings in the only way he knows how — by dancing.  In an extraordinary exhibition of tap and modern dance skills, this high energy, sometimes violent scene ends the first act while often leaving audiences in awe of what they’ve just seen. Frankly speaking, I don’t really recommend the musical numbers, but BETM’s dance numbers are really irresistible.

Note 8: Once the Musical

“His music needs one thing. Her.”

Yes, this is the “Once” you have in mind, believe it or not, the 2006 independent film has adapted to the musical version and been in theatre in both New York and London in 2012.I can’t be more excited when I found the news that someone was putting effort in transforming one of my favorite movie into musical! But as an afterthought, changing a musical film into a musical makes sense, since it owns the musical numbers already; all left to do is to do some choreography.

You see, I love the movie “Once.” It's pretty much perfect: the story of a love that can never happen, between a failing Dublin songwriter and a Czech immigrant, it has that Brief Encounter bittersweet ache to it. I'm an iron lady most of the time, but that movie turned me into a bunny rabbit. The film's director and writer underplay everything masterfully. The actor Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová, who star, wrote and sang all its beautiful songs, one of which went on to win an Oscar in 2008. It stole hearts all over the world.

“Once the Musical” was nominated for 11 Tony awards in 2012, winning eight - including best musical, and best actor for star Steve Kazee. The biggest tip you need to know if you are going to see this, is that you should get to the theater at least 20 minutes early. The pre-show music is one of the best elements of the show that many people miss simply because they don't know it exists! This musical just felt more personal, in my opinion. This was a no frills, bare bones production - all the actors/actresses played their own instruments, sang their own parts, and did minimal dancing. Everyone on stage was so incredibly talented. I do enjoy huge Broadway shows like Wicked, no doubt, but I had a really great time watching” Once.” About the script, I think it loosely mirrors the movie, but definitely can stand alone, for those new to the production.  I liked the way the casts deviated from the movie enough to make it different for old fans, but stayed true enough that the essence of the film wasn't changed. But what really made it for me was the music. Plain and simple - the instruments, the actors, and the things they produced vocally and instrumentally carried the show all the way.

After watching the musical, I began to think about the music in our lives, how much it is around us, how it affects our lives or our relationships with others. I can say that every cast in this show is musician, I can see music around them the entire time, and they make the story not only about romance but the real musicians in our everyday lives.