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.

Note 7: Matilda the Musical

Adapted from the ever-popular children’s book by Roald Dahl, Matilda the Musical has been a spectacular since it first opened to packed audiences at the theatre in London. Including original songs from comedian, Tim Minchin, Matilda the Musical is the latest masterpiece from the Royal Shakespeare Company. Based on the grisly tale by Roald Dahl, Matilda is the story of a nine year-old girl, neglected and misunderstood by her family, who discovers she has the magical power to change her destiny. Matilda the musical is one of the must-see shows for all ages, whether you were inspired reading the original book or watching the award-winning film. Packed with hilarious songs, outstanding performances and lots of laughs, never miss out on the spell-bounding story of Matilda, live at the theatre. Winner of five Best Musical awards and with five star reviews, Matilda is a must-see.

How did I find this newly produced (2010) musical, you might be curious? It just happened to pop on the suggest list of youtube, and Matilda the novel used to be my favorite book when I was around 10. After viewing the first music number, I can’t help to search as many clips as I can get from the internet. I think it is a show not just for children, but with some very clever humor makes the adults find something to laugh about.  I love what they do to the set and how they stage it. Fantastic stage set with school desks which popped up out of the floor, building block style letters hanging from the ceiling and manic dance routines. The Trunchbull is superb and the part where "she" swings the little girl around by her plaits only for her to be swung into the audiences is hilarious! I found myself crying with laughter. All the kids in the show are brilliant especially the lead Matilda. Her pitch is amazing, and she played Matilda quite rightly got an outstanding ovation. Not surprised it's won so many awards, it is indeed a funny, fun and heart-warming show.

      

 Here is my favorite song of the show, a lovely entertaining one- Nauty. The lyrics evoke resonance to me-“Like Romeo and Juliet,'Twas written in the stars before they even met. That love and fate (and a touch of stupidity).Would rob them of their hope of living happily. The endings are often a little bit gory. I wonder why they didn't just change their story. We're told we have to do what we're told, but surely. Sometimes you have to be a little bit naughty.” Matilda the musical just like what the novel had taught me when I was little, it reminds me that even if we are only one person we can do a lot. We mustn't let a little thing stop us. After all, we are the author of our own story, nobody but us are going to change the story.

Note 6: The Prince of Egypt

A little bit different today is that the musical I’m going to introduce you is an animated one-The Prince of Egypt. Rather than showing you a Broadway or West end production, the reasons I choose the animation is because that much of the animation is stunning and all of the vocal performances are good to great. And it's just much of the passion seems to be in not stepping on anyone's beliefs or interpretations, instead of in telling the story in the most compelling way possible.

Dreamworks Pictures has taken the biblical story of Exodus, put it into cartoon form, and released it on the big screen as an epic animated feature. The Prince of Egypt tells the story of Moses releasing the Jews from Egyptian slavery under the hand of the evil pharaoh Rameses. Think of The Ten Commandments with songs and an all-star cast doing the voices. The story revolves around these two close brothers, Moses and Rameses. While Rameses is groomed to take over the land, his beloved brother Moses is a carefree prankster, until he learns the true secret of his past. His secret, of course, is that he is really a Jew and as a child was floated down the river to escape mass genocide. The pharaoh Seti raised Moses as his son. Upon learning the truth of his past from a burning bush, Moses returns to Egypt with God on his side and demands that the pharaoh (now his brother Rameses) must "Let my people go." With songs written by Oscar-winner Stephen Schwartz and sung by Whitney Houston and Mariah Carey, The Prince of Egypt covers all the classic story points of the story of Moses, including the ten plagues and the parting of the Red Sea.

The film was nominated for best Original Musical or Comedy Score and won for Best Original Song at the 1999 Academy Awards for "When You Believe". The song's pop version was performed at the ceremony by Whitney Houston and Mariah Carey. The song, co-written by Stephen Schwartz, Hans Zimmer and with additional production by Babyface, was nominated for Best Original Song (in a Motion Picture) at the 1999 Golden Globes and was also nominated for Outstanding Performance of a Song for a Feature Film at the ALMA Awards. Though “When You Believe” seems to be the most representative song of the film, my favorite number is ‘”Deliver Us”. This song enchanted me as a child when i first saw the movie and to this day it still paralyzes my soul to stop and listen and float in harmony with the beautiful voices. What triggers me the most is the voice of the mother, who sings with deep sorrow and strong hope. Someone may argue about whether the story is true or not, but let’s just put it aside and enjoy the breath-taking music first.