The Ego Episodes

Thursday, Sept. 04, 2003

Four Musicals and A Butt

Back in Davao City, I never went for concerts and cultural performances mainly because (a) I couldn't afford it, (b) My friends couldn't afford it either, (c) I did not want to end up in jail for violating the 10 pm curfew for people my age (This was years ago; I was still in high school.) just because I wanted to sit through the whole show and you know, get my money's worth, and (d) Virtually nothing worth watching was ever on in my city. Sad, huh? But in the last three years, I've watched four musicals in three different theaters in Singapore. Who knew?

I didn't pay for the first one -- my scholarship did. My first musical experience was in Kallang Theater where "Chang and Eng" made me cry shamelessly. Then came "Rent" and I was truly amazed. About ten rows from the stage, I could see the actors' faces. And that's when I fell in love with Victoria Theater. Thank you, $50. Anyway, the musical, which was made up of mainly Filipino stage actors, was very entertaining that the audience gave it a standing ovation. I got a glimpse of the stage actors after the show. Wee! There, it's out. I'm guilty of having a jologs side. Like, who doesn't? I saw biceps, I mean, Calvin Milano, and cute dimples, I mean, JM! And Rachel Alejandro. I didn't think Rachel Alejandro could sing and dance convincingly as an exotic dancer. I was so proud.

It took more than a year before I watched another musical. This time, it was "Oliver" at Esplanade. Okay, the production was impressive, thanks to a well-equipped venue, but the whole thing just didn't get to me. I developed no sympathy whatsoever to Oliver and to all the other orphans. The dialogue was spoken in a very strong Australian accent (or was it English? both?) that it's hard to catch what the actors were saying. Or singing. But there's this one cute small Asian kid who was really adorable. He's like Dopey in the Seven Dwarfs. Very cute.

And then there's "The Wedding Banquet." What is there not to love about this musical? Oh my gosh, nothing. Well, okay, my seat. Hands, Tim and I paid $46 and where did they put us? Less than 10 rows from the farthest, that's where. But apart from that, that was by far, the best musical I've ever seen. So I went to see it again (with Jussy), paying $66 for a better seat, which was not to be as we booked late that "better seat" meant only 2 rows in front of the $46 seats. Okay, do not give me that look.

You might want to read the synopsis here.

Done? What makes this one so great is that it's so funny yet it also made me cry in certain scenes. Whether song or dance or both, gay characters are so fun to watch, seriously. I just love the choreography!. I don't want to spoil those who might want to watch it in the future (if it's still running) but I have no choice. I want to talk about it.

Okay, first of all, the song, "Stranger Things Have Happened" was stuck in my head (and Jussy's) for days. Best song in the musical. And then before singing "Let's Get It Straight" (one of the wittiest title for a song), one of Wai Tung's gay friends, spoke through a megaphone (think of Jack of Will and Grace): Okay, we have three hours to cleanse this house of anything homoerotic [something]. Gayness. Or good taste.I just love that line!

Then when two of Simon's gay friends sang for him in a bar, the line "If you're riding in another person's wave, or spelunking in another person's cave..." made me laugh out loud. It's like, huh? But how did the cave ... ahhaha! Hahahaha! You really have to watch the show to understand why it's so funny. Or maybe it's just me?

There's more but sadly I can't regurgitate everything word for word. Ooh, there's this part where father Gao, after listening to his wife's remark about Wai Tung being so cute as a baby, sat alone on the couch and looked at the baby pictures before blurting out, "Wai Tung [nostalgic breath]... such an ugly baby!" That line is not only funny (or Tim's favorite line), it's also meaningful. While the mother does not want to accept Wai Tung's homosexuality, the father has found it in his heart to be happy for his son that he has found true love. He's not perfect, but he is still his son. This is only my interpretation though, and I might have given this line more credit than what's intended by the playwright.

The casts were awesome, as I've implied earlier. The one playing Simon has a very swoon-worthy voice and while the lady playing Wei Wei could dance very well, you could tell she struggled with the high notes. But still, I had so much fun watching it. Go see it!

After the show, Hark met us and while walking to the MRT station, he told me to look at the lady walking in front of us. And there it was: big, round ... thingies swinging up, down, up, down, creating a visual for the whole world to see. They're someone's butt. I thought, ewww, what's that butt doing ... there? My eyes! MY EYES! Underneath the very translucent skirt, this girl had underwear that did not function as one. Like when it was made, there was not enough fabric in the factory that they skipped adding that part altogether. She seemed to be aware of it but did not care, apparently. Calling for trouble, are we?

{ joycie at 10:06 p.m.}