Written by Pawit Mahasarinand
James Cameron’s “Titanic” is not merely a disaster movie; Nonzee Nimibutr’s “Nang Nak” is not just a horror film; and most recently, Tomas Alfredsson’s “Let the Right One In” cannot simply be categorized as a vampire flick. They are what they are not, and as a result they are either critically or commercially successful.
Despite the current trend in musical theatre in which producers, directors, and playwrights continue to give refreshing twists to old tales—“Rent”, “The Lion King”, and “The Spring Awakening” are good examples. Although audiences are drawn to the box office by their familiarity with the stories, when they actually watch these productions in the theatre, they find that there are plenty more to it that they’ve never thought of. Takonkiet Viravan’s “Mae Nak Phra Khanong the Musical” is everything we can think of this tale, already too often told, and thus this production is a few decades behind.
“Mae Nak” has a little bit of everything—melodrama, comedy, romance, horror, action, acrobats, music video, etc.; and yet in the wrong heads and hands, it turns into almost nothing.
This is perhaps due to Scenario’s continuous attitude of looking down on the audience’s brain and taste. They believe that the Thai theatergoing audience really wants to see exactly what they can view at home on TV, and by paying 2,810 baht a ticket, we are now entitled to see it live on stage, be mildly entertained for two hours, while our brain being numbed.
As Talok Café-styled comedy—not their cheap horror with bad make-up and dated stage tricks or cheesy romance overfilled with hugs—reigns supreme in this production, many audiences, unfortunately, are reminded of the hit low-budget horror film series “Ban Pee Pob”, now available on VCD for less than 30 times less the ticket price of a “Mae Nak” ticket.
Echoing last year’s production of “Khang Lang Phab the Musical”, the music of “Mae Nak” leans heavily on commercial pop, as if it is set in a modern department store and as if the composer and lyricists are more concerned with ring-tone download sales. I doubt that any of the mediocre tunes will get the kind of second life offstage enjoyed by numbers like “Khon Mai Samkan” (“An Unimportant Person”) from “Banlang Mek the Musical”. There are livelier moments though, such as in the hilarious duet “Withee Nhee Phee“ (“How to Run Away from Ghosts”), when Broadway aficionados will instantly recognize the musical being paid homage to.
As with “Banlang Mek”, the script rushes through significant events at the beginning when Nak is still alive. Then, when the pace slows down, it only wants to scare us or move us to tears. The only thing that works, however, is the jokes, which are not really relevant to the central themes anyway.
Fortunately, in the title role we have Nat Myria Benedetti’s whose singing, acting, and acrobatic prowess is always up to the challenging tasks, so much so that her co-stars are put in the shades. Playing Mak, Arnutthaphol “R The Star” Sirichumsaeng fades into the background as just another villager, while popular singer Tik Shiro, as Luangta Khong, morphs into an odd hybrid of Captains Cook, Jack Sparrow, and a Thai professional musician known as Tik Shiro.
It is ironic that Scenario was one of the co-producers for the West End production of “Spring Awakening”, the multi-award winning musical acclaimed for its experimental staging and innovative interpretation of the century-old expressionistic German drama. While critical success “Spring” bounced off the London stage last month for under-performing at the box office; “Mae Nak” has extended its run thanks to a successful advertising campaign and despite the critics’ jeers.
Interestingly enough, a fellow critic said recently that he didn’t like this “Mae Nak”, and if his review sounded positive to anyone, it was because he didn’t want to hurt the director’s feelings. This is the same director, after all, who claimed in a recent interview that the commercial success of his stage productions had brought audiences back to the theatre again after half a century of indifference. It should be pointed out, though, that this statement simply ignores the Thail theatre by contemporary masters such as Patravadi Mejudhon, Sodsai Pantoomkomol, Mattani Mojdara Rutnin, and Kamron Gunatilaka.
Before beginning its next production (reportedly a jukebox musical adapted from Boyd Kosiyaphong’s love ballads), and let’s hope there’s a few years in hiatus, Scenario may want to consider investing its profits—the audience’s money, that is—in a new direction. How about starting by offering scholarships for its composers, scriptwriters and directors to enroll in musical theatre programmes overseas, where they would be taught how to create original works?
It’s obvious from recent productions that simply reading musical theatre books in Rachadalai Theatre Library and annually going to West End and Broadway to watch musicals and to buy cast recording CDs only result in repeated acts of plagiarism. Their audience, most of whom can’t afford to make it to London or New York as often, are often left with a mere phantom of the real thing.
For a better bang for your baht and brain, you may want to consider Dreambox’s “Mae Nak the Musical” starting July 3 at M Theatre. Alternatively, there’s the wild spoof “Nang Nak the Museum” by New Theatre Society, running until June 30 at Makhampom Studio.
Of course, if you’re still haunted by the advertising hype, “Mae Nak Phra Khanong the Musical” runs through June 28, and will return to make us laugh again after Dreambox’s “Mae Nak the Musical” ends its run in mid-July. English supertitles on some days: check out www.rachadalai.com.
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