Pure Classic: The Lion King

 The Lion King, MBS (2011)

The family and I have decided to finally catch a musical together, this was our very first, and a fine fine choice indeed. We all loved The Lion King, it was (according to dad) the very first movie we watched in the really old Cathay cinema as a family too. 

Bought really last-minute tickets because we had to decide on a single date when everyone was free, so our seats weren't fantastic. But still, all those ebbed away when the musical began. This musical is probably the most well-known musical because 9 out of 10 people have watched the actual cartoon. (I'm bullshitting here, but that's my best guess) The songs are catchy, Hans Zimmer is pure genius, he composed many of the tunes for this musical, and it somehow manages to evoke that intrinsic feeling that connects the story with the audience. 

Prior to the performance, we had dinner and strolled around a bit. It was nice family time before the show~ Also, I remember this being one day right after my final exam, so the feeling was soooo awesome! I crashed right after my exam, fell into a deep sleep, woke up the next day thinking to myself: Today is the day I'm finally going to watch Lion King!!!!!

Often, I know about the musicals months in advance, so all that suspense and excitement was built-up from months before, same thing with Wicked. I remember my very first time seeing the captions Wicked, coming soon to Singapore, I literally yelped, YELPED in the MRT.

So the actual day of the performance, I get very excited over the whole show, its one of the best feeelings in the world!

Zazu and Simba (I love it how the Simba plush is not the cartoon one, but based on the actual costume)

Yes, they really loved the Timon plush.

Pre-show

Its like tradition to take with the main centerpiece which changes with each musical.

Excites!

 

The stage

My absolute favorite part of the musical is the very first opening line. It resonates sooooo deeply within me that I teared upon hearing it. The very first music number was my favorite, I remember so vividly the details, and with each passing sentence, more and more 'animals' took the stage until it became a flurry of actors re-creating the savannah-like kingdom of Simba. 

When the rhinos waltz right down the aisle, it was so beautiful that I remember literally bobbing up and down in my seat like I was sitting on a whole mountain of jumping beans! The whole experience was that exciting. 

The songs were all so moving, and every piece was just pure molten joy to my ears. I was so upset when they announced the intermission, because I really didn't want it to stop. I loved the way they re-created the wild beast scene, and my heart was thumping so hard that at some point, it was even louder than the music. That's how amazing the musical was, it really immersed me in it. 

This musical, I would truly rate it 10/10. Perhaps it is my love for the actual Lion King movie, the soundtrack and all things, but the stage design, casts and everything just intertwined so perfectly with each other that this really is a masterpiece.   Someday, I hope to catch this in London where it is permanently based, I remember wanting to watch this years back when we were there, but the tickets were soooo costly! 

This is definitely one which I can watch over and over again without ever being sick of it. I remember turning to babyboy immediately after the finale, saying 'I need to watch this again, when can I watch this again?' I'm sure I will have my chance to catch it again in the near future, but the lion king is truly the top of my list.

A first: Le Enfants Terrible; Andrew Lloyd Webber

The Terrible Infants, Esplanade Theaters (2010)

This was babyboy's and my very first musical together. Found out about this while browsing for Things to do in Singapore. Its title instantly caught my attention, and I had been a huge fan of Burton's The Melancholy Death of Oyster Boy and other stories, so terrible infants sounds like some sad stories of kids who have issues and are ousted by society. 

I nailed it head-on! After watching a youtube video on them, it was exactly as I had assumed, children who often do not listen to their parents, and something bad happens to them, or children who are too proud, too full of themselves, get into trouble. The typical musical that would scare any child into being the perfect angel at home, basically. 

I bought the tickets right after viewing the video, and begun searching for the various musical numbers. It was difficult to find as they were a moving theater. I only managed to find 2-3 videos of them. Still, they were fantastic even though I didn't know most of their songs.

 

Excited!

It was free seating, and the audiences were mostly expats/foreigners. I only saw a handful of locals but lots of kids. How do kids watch this and not get scared? I am fascinated by these type of dark fairytales, but I never expected there to be an actual market for it. Well there has to be, just perhaps not in Singapore. The kids were mostly white, and they were all jittery and excited, couldn't stay in their seats when finally the music came on, and this odd man crawled out of a box, dressed all mime-like. This definitely shushed the kids and they were all wide-eyed and captivated.. and so was I!

It was a compilation of different songs and stories, often with extremely catchy tunes! I only wish they had offered the soundtrack for sale after the show, but they didn't. :( Babyboy went with me, not knowing what to expect of this, but after the show, he was all excited about it, telling me how it was so so good. I agreed fervently. 

This musical I would rate 8/10, because it is small-scale and really targeted more for kids! But I loved it! (it was way better than James and the Giant Peach, I rate it 5/10) The music, the acting, the cast-audience interaction, fantastic! Even though it was a small production, they fully made use of the space given to them, all the props had multiple uses and it was all so fascinating. I thoroughly enjoyed myself in this one, and should I ever have the chance to come across them again, I would definitely go for a round two!

After the show.

I remember wanting to wear orange to match their poster theme, hence the out-of-place orange skirt.

The music of Andrew Lloyd Webber, MBS. (2011)  

I bought tickets for this to the one person whom I grew up listening to Andrew Lloyd Webber with; my dad.  There was no one else whom I know who enjoys his music as much. But this wasn't our first time watching a piece by ALW, our first was in London way back in 2004, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, when we were there for daddy's graduation.

In retrospect, my love for musicals began at a young age because daddy enjoyed musicals so much. He has nearly all the DVDs for the various musicals, and would always introduce me to them, his favorite being Jesus Christ, Superstar, which he claims, and I quote, 'If one day Jesus Christ, Superstar ever comes to Singapore, I'll pay for the ticket no matter how expensive it costs, because it will be so worth it!" 

My very first musical with daddy was this play called Chang and Eng, about conjoined brothers. I loved it and was so enthralled by it, even though it had such a sad ending and I remember hating the ending because it was sooo sad!

So, when ALW came to MBS, I knew we had to go! Even though there wasn't anyone famous, because it was a compilation of all his best hits, the tickets still costs S$60, which I felt was too overpriced.

Dad & I

The backdrops were all generic with the cast just standing in front of them, singing.

Of all the songs, we only recognized 2/3 of them. Especially for his newer compositions, which we were unfamiliar with. It was enjoyable because you know how sometimes, you only like this particular one or two songs in a musical, and this was basically a combination of all the top hits from ALW.  My two favorites were cats and phantom. He had plenty of others which I can't really recall but I would rate this a 7/10, simply because the cast was mostly standing there singing, hardly any elaborate stages or props used, mostly just dressed in really nice evening wear and belting out on the stage.

ALW, we love your music!