Forget about Rodgers and Hammerstein’s “The King and I”, “Flower
Drum Song”, Boubil and Schoenberg’s “Miss Saigon”, Ken Low’s “Chang and Eng” or
Dick Lee’s “Forbidden City: Portrait of an Empress” or Andrew Lloyd Webber’s “Bombay
Dreams” for a moment.
Now imagine an awe-inspiring musical based on a Chinese legend.
Yes, “Monkey Goes West”. It is not your usual musical or a subject that we will
expect to be made into an English musical. But Wild Rice Productions Singapore
simply made it all possible. As an avid musical fan who loves those majestic
musicals with a tinge of East, I am always in awe with the exotic sounds of the
East - especially the musical arrangement
that capture our imagination with its blend of Western and Eastern music.
So when the words of mouth spread that another epic musical
with a touch of East is making its debut in Singapore – “Monkey Goes West”, I
waited with much anticipation to catch the show. And my, oh, my, I am glad I
have no regrets watching it. I love it!!!
This is the story I have grown up to be accustomed with. I
have seen the Chinese movie during my youth but never in my slightest thought
that “Monkey Goes West” can be made into an English musical. My hats off to the
creative team and an amazing cast for making this musical into one of the
finest musicals I have ever seen in Singapore.
What amazed me about this musical is - it is not made into another Chinese
musical in its entirety but was given a local flavour – “Singaporean”!
Over the years, Wild Rice has been producing stage musicals
based on Western fables but this time around, for the first time, it takes on
the challenge to produce a musical based on a Chinese legend instead. Sebastian
Tan, renowned Singaporean stage actor made its directorial debut here. And he
certainly wowed us all as the performers were truly amazing.
Now let me run through the musical review according to the
following:
(1)
Cast:
Monkey Goes West has put together some of Singapore’s finest performers as well
as rising stars. There are a few amazing things to take note here. From cross-dressers
– male to female or female to male performers, they are masters of their own
craft. Who can imagine Chua Enlai, a male actor could send us to stitches
playing duo roles as Auntie Fanny and Princess Iron Fan. His rendition of “Iron
Fan is my best friend” is truly humourous. Then it has two female performers
playing male roles – Kimberley Chan as Red Boy and Frances Lee as Pigsy.
Another milestone achieved is a Malay actress playing the sacred Goddess of
Mercy. While some may look at it as insensitive to put a Malay Muslim in a
religious figure of other faiths, but for the open-minded – hey, this is a show
– a make believe! Can you imagine the reaction from the Muslim clerics if she ever
performed this role in Malaysia?
(2)
Story:
As mentioned earlier, this Chinese legend was given a Singaporean spin. From
the settings to the dialogues, the entire story saw a time warp, moving from
the contemporary to the ancient times with Jurong West as its location most of
the time. The story is atypical from what we have seen in the movie version but
the spin makes it easy for the Singaporeans to relate it to things close to
their heart. Like all phantomime, there is always a lesson to be learnt. In
this respect, Monkey Goes West is all about good family values and
relationship.
(3)
Music and
Lyrics: By listening to the musical scores and lyrics, I must admit that
the composers have truly done their homework. While I don’t expect them to be
Stephen Sondheim or Andrew Lloyd Webber, the maestros have really captured the
essence of the story in their compositions. I love the grand opening number, “Monkey
Goes West”, the lullaby – “No one like Mum” and of course, the comical song, “Iron
Fan is my best friend”.
(4)
Make up, Props
and Costumes: It has always been an integral part of a musical to have
lavish props and costumes. And I must say, Monkey Goes West lived up to our
expectations in this department. Five hundred fabrics were used to create the
one hundred costumes and sixty hair pieces and accessories were handcrafted by
designers using hair-pieces sourced from Hong Kong. The make ups are
appropriate and set the tone and manner of this musical well.
(5)
Set Design
and Lighting: Did you know over 40 kg of dry ice and two hundred lighting
instruments are used in this musical? This number itself is a new milestone
achieved by Wild Rice.
Prior to “Monkey Goes West”, I watched another musical which
carried similar theme, “Journey to the West” in Istana Budaya Kuala Lumpur.
While some would say comparing them may akin to comparing “apple” and “orange” –
but put it this way, we can compare it not in the story or plot but the other
technical things. The latter uses lazy props with too many 3D computerised
visuals where else in “Monkey Goes West”, they really build pillars, buildings,
and all kinds of props to make it realistic. Yes, budget constraints may be
part of the cause for that but hey, this is stage musical – and who won’t want
to see great props and costumes!
As for musical compositions, I can’t remember humming a tune
after “Journey to the West” in Kuala Lumpur but I can remember humming two
songs after “Monkey Goes West”. And that is an indication of a successful musical
where the ability to remember the song is used as a yardstick to measure its success.
I am sure many will remember “Do re mi” after watching Sound of Music” or “Getting
to know you” in The King and I. And for Monkey Goes West, the grand opening
number and of course, “Iron Fan is my best friend” keep playing in my mind like
an age-old gramophone with the stop button spoilt!
All in all, you don’t need to be a Chinese to enjoy Monkey
Goes West. It appeals to all races and age. Believe me, you will yearn to watch
it again. And I do!
