Jukebox musicals

MUSIC REVIEW

Dwelling on love triangles and an unrequited romance are two recent jukebox musicals - Work Point's Ray Kai Fun (The Legend of Ray Kai Fun: Chaliang The Musical), which recently ended its three-week run last month, and Scenario's Lom Hai Jai: The Musical (Breathe), which extended its show until November 22.

Inspired by the success of the hit jukebox musical, Mamma Mia!, which opened in Bangkok (August 2008), both musicals revived the legacy of Chaliang, a feel-good pop band from the 1980s and R&B-pop composer Boyd Kosiyabong, respectively.

Alas! Romance and hit music could not make up for the lack of a meaningful and mature script. For me, both productions succeeded in pleasing music fans by recycling many pop hits around the saccharine-sweet theme, rather than creating a comprehensive storyline and juicy plot that could surprise, if not impress, the audience throughout their lengthy shows; almost four hours for Ray Kai Fun and three hours for the other.

In Lom Hai Jai, the spirit of the dead man was granted his last wish to return to the secular world to help his beloved ones stop moaning about him and move on with their lives, a plot that reminisces the Hollywood film, Always, in which a dead aviator - who dies while on duty - is assigned to come back to inspire a novice pilot, who would unexpectedly become a love item of his widow.

But in the final presentation on stage, I could not see, let alone feel, a committed love that shackled star-crossed lovers. Pat, performed by Patipan "Mos" Pataweekan, loves his bachelorhood more than his girlfriend, Fon, played by Nicole Teriault. And he made such a statement clear to not only Fon, who seems to respect his decision, but also his friends at a pub set in Chiang Mai. So why bother coming back? Should we really care about a free-spirited man who leaves his submissive belle behind to enjoy his freedom in the mountains and - through sheer bad luck - dies in a aeroplane crash? Where is the tragedy, in a theatrical sense?

After the long and concert-like storytelling of Act 1, Act 2 was dedicated to Pat's return to make everyone forget about him. But I don't even remember him as anything except a man with a Peter Pan complex. It would, however, be more interesting - as in any tragic melodrama - to depart with a misunderstanding or guilty feeling. That would make more sense for such a comeback to right the wrong. Instead, the story was intertwined with shallow romance, TV comical gags and a predictable script, including bubblegum lines such as, "Just thinking about Pat, I feel 10 times happier!"

Besides a TV-influenced script, another problem was the selection of love songs by Boyd Kosiyabong. I don't dislike his music and I admired his ability to inspire many artists as well as many couples on their wedding day, but unlike Abba songs, rich with different styles and contents, Boyd's music generally has few characteristics - mostly easy-listening tones and universal love messages for everyone. Such charm became a drawback for this show because its homogeneity somehow hampers the characters to mirror their inner self, be it dull or lurid. I had hoped the music could reveal more of the theme and the characters, rather than just reflect how melodic and beautiful the song is.

I understand the theme aims to reflect, if not lecture, that time and tide wait for no man and so we'd better make the best out of the present while we are still breathing. But the repetitive use of Lom Hai Jai as a theme song offered nothing special but recital purposes - it seems. Why not use it as a reprise that adds new interpretations on how each character sees himself/herself through the song?

And it is not that the creative team lacked an understanding of jukebox musicals. In the playbill and many media interviews, the four-member writing team, noted for their TV scriptwriting, voiced how hard it was to meaningfully incorporate music into the ordinary plot. The director also stated that the strengths, and hinted the weaknesses, of his talented cast. The musical composer adjusted the pop sound to fit the musical theatre performance. Still, I could only see a glimpse of such goodwill collaboration that would demonstrate such careful thought-provoking process.

s much as I admire Ekachai Euekrongtham's theatrical talents, and director-turned-producer Takonkiet Viravan's passion for theatrical musicals, I have to say that this time their good recipe did not produce a tasty cake.

The lifesaver of the show was, without a doubt, Radklao Amaratisha. Most people recognise her as a gifted singer, but in this particular production, her theatrical and acting gift truly outshone. Radklao not only showed her stage command but also a real effort to reinvent her character, Chantana, a pub owner and a mentor to many younger characters, which is reminiscent of Donna in Mamma Mia! or Jay Mint from the Xact TV hit series, Pen Tor. Given that she has far more theatrical experience to her credit, it's natural the other cast members would be overshadowed by her stage presence. Without Radklao, the show would have lost all its magical spell.

Meanwhile, two winning contestants from a song competition, Pongsak "Off" Rattanapong and Vichanee "Gam" Piaklin, made their stage debut impressively - both unquestionably top-quality singers. As the show progressed, Pongsak showed some potential to be a musical actor as he sings out with the inner character, while Gam still found a way to express hers.

Meanwhile, fans of the AF singing contest would greatly benefit from the four-hour-long musical, Ray Kai Fun, which literally translates to "Dream Sellers", featuring beautiful AF singers in a so-called tragic romance, spiced up with practical jokes.

Despite some inkling of creativity, especially the onstage set design, the concert-like nature ended up overclouding the efforts of the creative team to produce space for the AF talents to perform. Basically, the love story set on conflicts between the city of Logic and the city of Emotion is only a backdrop to create opportunities to sing almost 23 of Chaliang's music, embroiled together to complement the singers rather than the plot.

Apparently, it was intended to be a crowd-pleasing show featuring mix-ups and mayhem filled with laugh-among-themselves jokes, and a super-trouper superficial script. The ensemble appears to be overjoyed and overacting to produce an over-sentimental mood, which regretfully overkills the unity of the show.

While fans of Boyd and Chaliang showed their overwhelming appreciation to see and hear their beloved music come alive on stage, both productions cried out loud how badly we needed a music composer and/or a librettist who understands how music should be incorporated into a strong, substantial plot - even for a romantic story. I don't mind cliche storylines. Many of Rodgers and Hammerstein's successes rely on melodrama, but what I find missing from both productions was a meaningful and motivating story.

Also, I don't mean to dishearten the creative team on their experiment that could add new alternatives to local entertainment scenes; many on Broadway and West End also created poor jukebox musicals, too, because they failed to poignantly incorporate music into the plot - poignantly and substantially. Sincerely, however, I believe both productions could be a prototype for a start-up high school musical. Walt Disney's High School Musical, inspired many high school and college students in the US to pursue their musical dreams.

Metaphorically speaking, two productions emerged just like a failed marriage between two celebrities, though, cheered by big fans. But the lack of substance, regretfully, hampers their creativity and goodwill to produce a quality jukebox musical.

'Lom Hai Jai: The Musical' is being staged from Tuesdays to Sundays at 7:30pm, with a 2pm matinee on weekends until November 22, at the Muang Thai Rachadalai Theatre. Tickets, priced from 2,800 to 500 baht, are available at http://www.thaiticketmajor.com.

Relate Search: Work Point Ray Kai Fun, The Legend of Ray Kai Fun, Chaliang The Musical, Lom Hai Jai: The Musical