THEATRE REVIEW / 'AF THE MUSICAL : NGERN NGERN NGERN'

Celebrities make the world go round

AMITHA AMRANAND

We Thais have a way all our own of expressing adoration for celebrities. Take the country's longest-reigning "king of pop", Thongchai McIntyre, our beloved "Phi Bird", whose fans range from pre-teens to senior citizens and, who, during one of the many peaks in his career, couldn't start a TV interview because his admirers wouldn't stop screaming. But, with just two gentle hand gestures, he got them to quiet down and take their seats.

Over the past three years, celebrity-moulding machine Academy Fantasia (AF), a hit reality-TV show that fuses elements of Big Brother and American Idol, has generated a fan base not too unlike that of Phi Bird's. Last week, True Corporation subsidiary True Fantasia brought together the stars from all three seasons of the programme to strut their stuff in AF the Musical: Ngern Ngern Ngern (Money Money Money).

!And I've never experienced such electric enthusiasm nor seen quite so many people at a theatrical event here, not to mention the elaborate bouquets of flowers carried in by a battalion of fans, which probably cost them more than the tickets did.

!Young Thais are more than willing to lavish love, energy and, of course, money on their idols. One could be critical and dismiss their behaviour as superfluous, senseless or conformist. Perhaps they are all these things, but the fans do dote on the stars, displaying such touching sincerity that it's hard not to give them a break.

Ngern Ngern Ngern, the stage musical, is adapted from a classic comic film of the same name, first directed in 1965 by the late Prince Anusorn Mongkolkarn and remade in 1982 by director Yutthana Mukdasanit. It tells the story of two rich kids disowned by their uncle for opting to follow their dreams instead of surrendering to the lure of a job with easy money. Inter-class romances ensue as they, along with friends and romantic interests, try to launch careers in the music business from scratch.

On one level, Ngern Ngern Ngern, which ended a short run at the Paragon shopping complex on Sunday, succeeded because its assumption of what the fans want wasn't entirely inaccurate: To see their idols - the more the merrier - singing and acting in lovable roles. Some of the newly penned characters in the musical seem to have been created specifically for certain stars, bringing out their strengths and highlighting their charms. And the casting was simply impeccable.

The AF stars didn't disappoint, either - delivering songs with great assurance and displaying passable, sometimes even fairly sharp, comedic and acting chops. Their performances may have even turned sceptics into admirers and detractors of the programme into mere sceptics.

Kiatkamol Lata and Patcha Anek-Ayuwat, in the roles of a down-and-out piano teacher and a rich girl, respectively, made a lovely pair of sweethearts; their renditions of classic love songs were both arresting and transporting. Narintara Hohler, as wide-eyed but adventurous rich girl Nutty, exhibited a keen sense of comedy. She performed confidently alongside veteran performer Direk Amattayakul in one of the musical's most endearing scenes. It's a fluff part, granted, but it was played by a perceptive actress who knows how to make fun of herself.

However, star power can fuel a musical only so far. The organiser grossly overlooked the non-AF-fanatic section of the audience and underestimated the members of the various Academy Fantasia fan clubs present. The musical seemed to be banking on the presence of its stars alone and neglected some of the essential details that go into making a presentable stage production.

First of all, the Royal Paragon Hall is unsuitable for a theatrical event of this size. Attempts to to turn it into a more suitable venue were half-hearted at best. For instance, thousands of chairs were provided but they weren't tiered. Far better efforts have been made in dingier venues.

Clumsily executed scene changes made too much noise to ignore. The ear-splitting volume during the first half of the show was adjusted to a tolerable level for the second half, but there were occasional microphone hiccups and distracting backstage sound tests. Should people really be expected to pay to watch a tech rehearsal? And to say that true AF fans couldn't care less about such details would be an insult to them. Don't they deserve something better than a half-baked show? Don't we all deserve to see a well-prepared production?

!Ironically, while Ngern Ngern Ngern preached the merits of the "sufficiency economy" concept, it itself was characterised by excess. The attempt to squeeze in as many AF stars as possible turned the narrators - played by a truly gifted trio of singers: Thanyanan Mahapiroon, Rujana Uthaiwan and Pachorn Poonsawat - into little more than glaringly clunky decorations. This was one production that couldn't decide whether it wanted to be a concert or a musical play. The surplus of songs and minor characters, not to mention scenes written to accommodate them, stretched the running time to almost four hours.

This jolly and colourful romp could have afforded to curtain many of these elements.

While there's no need to go minimalist on us, it wouldn't hurt True Fantasia to consider the "less is more" approach for its next musical.

Bangkok Post

Last Updated : Wednesday April 11, 2007