Tag: musical

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Movie Review: Encanto

I love that Disney is actively pushing and diversifying its female heroines. The most recent Disney-Pixar: Encanto is everything I wish I had seen as a little girl. Encanto is (yes, I must admit) better than Raya and the Last Dragon in that it has crazy good songs! By the one and only Lin Manuel Miranda (Hamilton, In the Heights, Moana…). We Don’t Talk About Bruno and Surface Pressure are my two favorite songs from this deck.

My “We Don’t Talk About Bruno” Piano Cover

Story

Somewhat a tribute to the book One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez’, Encanto is about a magical family called the Madrigals. Three generations live together in one house (sounds familiar, anyone?) and of course as you can imagine in such a living situation family dynamics are likely to explode (which it did). Without someone taking initiative to patch it up together, all you’d have is a ruin, both figuratively and literally.

Enter, Mirabel Madrigal, is the only person in her family that is “average” (like Number Seven in Umbrella Academy but we all know the reality behind that!). She didn’t get a magical gift at the age of 5 when everyone else got theirs. As a result Mirabel becomes the brunt of Abuela’s (her matriarchal grandmother) insecurity about their magic was running out. Mirabel has a vision that their home starts to cracks, so she investigates deeper into her family. One by one hidden truths are revealed, family relationships are restored, and their magic comes back strong.

A happy ending with a terribly sad beginning – we get to see more of Abuela’s backstory at the very end… Lots of tears from me, even on the 2nd time watching.

Side Characters in Encanto

There are a host of fun and also layered side characters, from Dolores the gossip to sweetheart Antonio who can talk to animals. Of course, the one nobody wants to talk about – the prodigal uncle Bruno is just a riot of a character. I like how the directors immediately inserted the mystery about Bruno in the beginning song, giving just a bit of foreshadow of the plot. Luisa, the muscular and bulky oldest sister is super strong. But under all that strength is a weight that’s tip-tip-tipping on her. Her song Surface Pressure strikes me as a very modern and adult. Yet it was a great way to introduce the importance of mental health and self-care to kids. Thanks to Hercu-lady.

Isabella, Mirabel’s second oldest sister is also an interesting character study. She starts off as the classic pretty and perfect girl. Her gift is being able to produce beautiful flowers to decorate anything pink and purple. We eventually learn she hates being perfect all the time, and actually wants to be a bit naughty. YES! You know that’s the stuff I like! Other members of the family include Pepa who can control weather and her husband Felix, Julieta (Mirabel’s mother) who can heal any ailments with her food with her husband Augustin, and Camilo the family clown who can impersonate anyone. There isn’t really a plot outside of the family members, so these characters drive the show.

Last of all, it’s an animated film and the animation is SPOT ON especially with the dancing and choreography . The way the 3D figures move, the lighting, the coloring, is all very realistic. Apparently there is a new technology Disney used called the eye-shader which heightens emotions through the eyes. Let me tell ya, it worked. At times I even forgot it’s an animation! A must see for the whole family.

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Movie Review: Everybody’s Talking About Jamie

Out of the darkness…into the spotlight…

That song is now forever cemented in my head. I must also join the hype for this one and also talk about Jamie! In short, Everybody’s Talking About Jamie is a musical movie about a high school boy Jamie who decides he wants to wear a dress to prom.

The events of the few weeks leading up to the prom become touching and emotional as Jamie gets mixed receptions to his intentions. His best friend Preeti and his mother supports him, while his teacher, some macho bullies, and his father opposes him. Another key figure is a mentor who teaches him the ways of a professional drag queen.

The stage musical came before the movie, and it was inspired by a documentary titled Jamie: Drag Queen at 16.

Songs

It’s a musical so let’s talk about the songs. In short, they are fabulous. Put them on your Spotify play loop now and you’ll see what I mean.

The lyrics by Tom McRae are realistic and not forced, with a lot of witty humor. The melodies are simple and memorable – it reminds me of Les Misérables’ songs. Indeed the composer Dan Gillespie Sells said he connected with Jamie’s story and therefore could write the songs in a way that was hopeful and confident instead of tropic and cliché.

Some of my favorite are Spotlight (I covered it on my IG channel), Over the Top, and Everybody’s Talkin About Jamie. My Man, Your Boy is touching but whenever I listen to it I cry and bawl and sometimes I don’t want to cry and bawl, but this song makes me so emotional every single time). So it’s on my “emotional” lists not my “play all the time” list.

Story

Just like the composer, I love stories like Everybody’s Talking About Jamie. It’s got a timeframe which is well defined ( a couple weeks into the prom and prom night), a clear focused struggle (he just wants to wear a dress to the prom – he isn’t trying to change the world or be a billionaire, or answer the world’s problems), realistic relationships (probably cuz its based on a true story), and a satisfying ending: everyone dances at the dance party. Simple, focused, sweet. And by being true to himself in this one thing, Jamie has touched and impacted many hearts.

We often forget that sometimes, it just takes one simple small stone to dislodge, and then the avalanche will roll.

If you like movie musicals, another one I recommend is In the Heights by Lin Manuel Miranda.

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Movie Review: Cinderella 2021

Cinderella must be one of the most often retold fairy tales out there. If you like the dusty girl, bullied to misery by her stepmother and two stepsisters, then be prepared to add this rendition to your list.

Cinderella, a jukebox movie musical by Amazon prime is a fun, fresh take on the old tale. The songs chosen were hits from the 80s pops to some newly written original songs. I won’t lie, I watched it for my heroine, Idina Menzel, who played Stepmother. Yes, Elsa from Frozen and Elphaba from Wicked and now Cinderella’s Stepmother.

A Fresh Retelling

Several reasons why this version is fresh and thus worthy of your time:

  1. Ella as (Camila Cabello) is as modern as modern goes! She likes love, but doesn’t want to put a “label” on it. Presented the choice of marriage with Prince Charming or growing her business, she chooses to grow her business. She’s sassy but still the smart and kind Cinderella figure we all know.
  2. Fairy god mother is genderless? This is brilliant! Although Billy Porter only shows up for several minutes to magic up Ella’s dress, they stole the show! I absolutely loved it!
  3. Idina Menzel as Stepmother is something else. I really like how the writer reshaped this character into not just your classic villain, but someone who is actually trying to do what she really believes is best for the family. And she is material as material goes, but we all know it’s good to be material. If girls don’t have their own money, they just end up in powerless situations and are likely to be abused.
  4. Princess Gwen! What a fabulous twist and additional character! The younger sister of Prince Charming has always thought of plans and strategies for the betterment of the land, but has constantly been rebuffed by their father due to his patriarchal views. Despite this, their brother and sister vibe was rock on, and I enjoyed how they tried to support each other instead of take the other down.
  5. That leads us to the last telltale role of Cinderella: the prince. Prince Charming (Nicholas Galitzine) is a spoiled brat here, but learns some really good lessons and becomes someone who is a happy supporter to Ella’s budding career. What a nice stab at gender reversals.

All in all, I truly enjoyed this remake of Cinderella, much more than I thought I would. Want another fun Cinderella retelling? Try Marissa Meyer’s futuristic Cinder (book version), in which Cinderella is a (get ready for it) cyborg.

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Movie Review : In the Heights

One of the most exciting composers/creators of the music industry at this time is surely Lin-Manuel Miranda. He is currently most known for the hit musical Hamilton which retells the story of the American revolutionary via rap and involves a diverse cast and crew.

Miranda’s first musical was In the Heights, which premiered off-Broadway in 2007. At that time, nobody knew who he was. The New York Times published, “his name was a household name only in his household.” Since then, he has received much recognition and awards through his song “See the Line Where the Sky Meets the Sea” in Disney’s Moana, his role in the revival of Mary Poppins, and eventually Hamilton.

One of the best movie-musical to date

In the Heights was very recently produced into a movie-musical, and I must say it is THE BEST movie-musical up to date. It brings the genre up to another level. It is both movie and musical, and the final product here is a sum far greater than each of its parts.

What struck me most and left me breathless was how the movie was able to get out of the box of cinematography to create unforgettable, magical moments. The two most mesmerizing scenes were Benny and Nina’s dreamy duet “When the Sun Goes Down” and Abuela Claudia’s showstopper subway solo “Paciencia y Fe”. I mean, I’m a huge believer in the power of old ladies. Anthropologist Frances Bowden Affandy once told me that she believed old ladies are the apex of human evolution. They carry so many memories and wisdom in their minds and bodies, that it is no wonder old ladies as often seen as powerful witches. Yet, I have to say, I never see musical solos of glorified old ladies. Here, In the Heights pulled it off with hair-chilling choreography.

Motifs that hit home

The immigrants’ theme is a leitmotif with Miranda, as he himself is also an immigrant. This show focused on Latino-Americans’ lives and values: work hard, save up, make a better future for yourself than where you came from. This is always touching for me. There is one line where Nina’s father says what made me cry:

“This is where you become greater than me. Not because of some fancy degree, but because you can see a future I cannot.”

In the heights

This hit me personally because you know what? My father never said that to me. Never ever. Many times I share my dreams, my work, my passions. But for him, it didn’t matter. All that mattered to him was that I was not living the life girls should live, according to him. He saw one future for me, and that was that. It didn’t matter that I saw a thousand possible futures for myself. It took a long time for me to learn to distrust his figure of authority, and instead go with my guts.

This is why I love In the Heights and Miranda, because all of his work has a strong angle of women empowerment. From Elisa Hamilton to Nina, he always writes women alongside men in the narrative.

The music? Was there any doubt from the beginning? Never.

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The Last 5 Years, An Off-Broadway Musical

I had the great challenging call of co-producing The Last Five Years in this pandemic. During the process of filming this musical, the cast and crew engaged ourselves in a game of sides. Are we Team Jamie? Or are we Team Cathy? And why? Let’s dig a bit deeper into their relationship.


Cathy


She gives herself completely to Jamie in the relationship and is left “Still Hurting” (according to the title of the first song) after he cheats on various women and leaves her. It’s easy to sympathize with Cathy because she got burned! She got cheated on! Plus she is not as successful in her career, so we feel a certain pity for her.

Her insecurities as an actress affected her sense of self; eventually taking a toll on their relationship.


Jamie


He tastes success quite early on in his career, soon after they began their relationship. He was smitten with Cathy and “all of the ten thousand women” that she was. However, when his writing career continues to bloom, his ego gets inflated. He starts being unsatisfied with their relationship which leads to infidelity with various women.

We can see that in both situations, the relationship deteriorated in accordance with their sense of self. Where Cathy feels smaller and smaller, Jamie feels bigger and bigger. Neither is healthy. Both contribute to the end of the relationship, and both feel they are in the right.

How often do we deal with this in our daily lives! Sometimes we are Cathy, feeling worthless and demanding our loved ones to continuously take care of us. Sometimes we are Jamie, feeling ourselves better than the people around us, thinking we don’t need them anymore.

Ouch.

I think if there is anything I learned from The Last 5 Years process, it is to reflect upon my own sense of self and the relationships I have with the closest ones around me. I am imperfect, and so are them. We are all just doing what we can. Perhaps the question here is, what will happen in the next five years? Will we have learned, will we evolve or change? Or will we be stuck in our same old mindsets and make the same mistakes even if our partner is someone different?

The Last 5 Years is streaming now on kiostix, featuring Andrea Miranda as Cathy and Taufan Purbo as Jamie. Directed by Fonnyta Amran, you can purchase the streaming tickets on Kiostix.

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Women in Theatre – Podcast Episode 7

About the same time I established the Bandung Philharmonic in 2016, I heard exciting news of a West Side Story production in Jakarta by a community theatre: Jakarta Performing Arts Community. I’m a thespian (musical nerd), and Leonard Bernstein’s West Side Story has always been a favorite. So imagine my excitement.

To give some context, please know that theatre in Indonesia is still barely a scene. Cut that landscape by half when you’re talking about musical theatre. Now West Side Story is a HUGE production. The Jets, the Sharks, the choreography, the love and the deaths…it’s insane. When I watched the production at the Graha Bakti Budaya theatre, I was honestly impressed!

Fonnyta Amran during the Last 5 Years rehearsal

I remembered thinking who was the director that dared put on such a difficult show in Indonesia? When they called her on stage, it was this tiny figure of a lady, a head shorter than everyone else. Her name was Fonnyta Amran. And this was her first production as a director.

Whoa. I need to keep tabs on this person, I thought. I’d love to work together with them one day and support from the music side, or through other ways. Fast forward to 2021, and I interviewed Fonnyta for this very podcast episode on women in theatre. Not only that, we’re working together on The Last 5 Years, an off-Broadway musical by Jason Robert Brown.

In this podcast, you will hear someone speaking about their true love. And you will want to see this current show we’re working together on. Support women in theatre and buy your tickets now on Kiostix!