whosyourdaddy Posted November 30, 2002 Report Share Posted November 30, 2002 Just got back from the Thai (Asian) performance of Jesus Christ Superstar, the famous and controversial Lord Andrew Lloyd Webber and Sir Tim Rice?s rock musical. Firstly I would like to say that I am a huge Andrew Lloyd Webber fan and have seen many of the Broadway productions. The tickets were quite cheap ranging from 1500-500Bhat.. The Bangkok playhouse was no bigger than Scala theatre at Siam square so we went for the 500B seats ( row 17) The people sitting in front of us paid 800 B for the tickets, with a no better view. I was happy with the choice! The Bangkok playhouse is very very basic.. Probably below par of a high school theatre back home, but the lighting and sound systems are top notch. Let me start off saying that on the way to the play, I picked up my mail and received a letter from Canadian Embassy that they send out to Canadian expats in Thailand. My wife and I decided to have some Italian food beside the Playhouse. As I am waiting for supper to arrive I read over the letter that stated that they have raised the level of threat in Thailand and be prepared since the situation could deteriorate quickly!! As I am reading this 4 large Arab guys walk in and order pizza, I wonder what are Arabs doing out in this part of town since I have not noticed too many before. But quickly dismiss them as harmless souls and go back to my reading. We arrived at the playhouse and took our seats. Paid our respects to the King (never knew they did that at live performances) and the lights dimmed. A few seconds later, I see 10 soldiers , armed to the hilt storm the theatre.. I nearly shit myself. Already on high alert after the personally addressed warning letter from my embassy, I flashback to CNN news and the Moscow theatre. Quick where are the exits???.. 5 rows back or 8 rows front... Count the seats so I can make it out in the dark.. Quickly smell and make sure I don?t smell any infamous Russian gas. Fuck I am stuck in the middle of the row so I could have the best view.. Not a great choice.. I see some guy in a large black leather trench coat walk down the middle of the theatre.. What the hell does he have under that coat? Bomb? Who wears a leather trench coat in BKK tropical heat. Hey the music is still playing. Hmmm.. Must be part of the play. Bloody hell, what stupid producer decided to put this stunt in this day of age when the entire city is buzzing about the chance of a bomb.. well he got my attention.. let the play begin. The play stared Look - krung John Rattanaveroj , of channel 7 and 5 Thai drama fame. Of course we needed a big name to get the thais in there. The rest were Filipinos ( the most musical civilization on the planet) and a few Thais and expats ( music teachers etc). I will honestly say that the performance of the both Judas and Jesus Christ were far better than the orginal version that I have on CD here. The young guy who played Judas was amazing in both his acting and singing.. I went to the play with little expectations and had serious doubts whether an Asian cast could pull off a Broadway hit. I was really blown away by the performance of the actors.. The music was top notch and costumes were atypical, the props were poor, the theatre was worse than any movie theatre in Bangkok , but all in all it is well worth it!!! One of the advantages was that we got to talk to all the actors after since they went to the front door to see people off. If they moved the location to a better theatre I would consider it the best performance of any Andy Lloyd Webber hit I have seen and it was a fraction of the price of NY, Sydney or Toronto. Further info can be found at www.thaiticketmaster.com I am going to go clean my underwear now after the soldier scare. WYD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest lazyphil Posted November 30, 2002 Report Share Posted November 30, 2002 Sounds cool!! I saw Joseph and his Amazing Technicoloured Dream Coat years ago where my sister was playing in the orchestra in a crummy little theatre. I found this performance far more entertaining than anything I've seen in a West End show. Seemed to be more intimate and with more feeling. And cheaper too :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Goodthaigirl Posted December 1, 2002 Report Share Posted December 1, 2002 I was thinking of seeing the show too but decided not to. I just couldn't stand to see John Nuveau ( John Rattanavaeroj) acting as Jesus. It's not convincing. Was I thinking too mutt ? :: Your report is funny, thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whosyourdaddy Posted December 1, 2002 Author Report Share Posted December 1, 2002 as I said to him , it was a perfect performance! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shotover Posted January 2, 2003 Report Share Posted January 2, 2003 Thanks for the review WYD. Did your wife understand the lyrics and general story? I think Miss Saigon would be a very popular (maybe not with the politicians though) musical to put on in Thailand. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whosyourdaddy Posted January 6, 2003 Author Report Share Posted January 6, 2003 She did ok.. Explained the story and they had a written translation version of the story in thai Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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