The Empress Dowager Takes a Bow

THE MUSICAL Society of Bangkok’s “Cixi Taihou: The Musical”, which ended its run last Sunday at M Theatre after 10 full-house performances, has undoubtedly been the surprise hit of the year. Apart from the rare stage appearance, and an unforgettable one, by Her Royal Highness Princess Somsawali, the production offered no other marketing magnets, featuring instead a cast of professional singers instead of the more usual TV stars.
Of course, the story itself is always an effective draw, thanks not only to the many TV dramas that have brought Cixi to the screen but also the play adaptations by MR Kukrit Pramoj.
The first Thai musical adaptation of “Cixi Taihou” joins the long list of grand-scale musicals for which producers refuse to risk presenting stories with which Thai audiences are not familiar. If this trend continues, we could well see “Sami Ti Tra: The Musical” on stage soon.
Interestingly, and luckily, enough, on smaller stages, professional theatre artists are giving us lesser known stories in the form of musical plays – Anatta Theatre’s “2475” and TV Munk’s “Pisat Hua To” last year at Democrazy Theatre Studio, spring to mind.
That said, I wish, with the all-too-familiar story, that playwright, lyricist and composer Suruj Tipakoraseni had written a few more scenes covering the period when the title character was still a commoner, and sacrificed some of what we already know, thus allowing the audience to understand why she later became the most powerful empress in the history of China. As it was, we only received a repeated message that when a promise is broken, a swan can soar higher than a dragon. Suruj, nonetheless, and director Kriengsak “Victor” Silakong deserve much credit for crafting a more compassionate, and thus more realistic, picture of Cixi Taihou than those in other versions.
Kanda Witthayanuparpyuenyong, who rose to fame in Scenario’s “Miss Saigon”, proved that she could carry the whole show with her arresting portrayal of the title character. While her singing prowess is any composer’s dream, her acting skills still have room for improvement – and it’s obvious that she still enjoys the former rather more than the latter. While her singing voice was heavenly, her speaking voice was somewhat too theatrical and it was only when her character aged that I found her voice realistic. With more experience, I’m sure though she’ll soon realise a villainous character’s doesn’t need to sound wicked for the best outcome.
Suruj, as her eunuch Li Lianying, was more natural although his ad lib jokes here and there, while funny, only lengthened the play.
In the much smaller role of Cixi Taihou’s first love Rong Lu, but with such a fine balance between acting and singing that he stole many scenes, was Pudit Khunchanasongkhram. I wish he had been given a meatier role and more than one song “Khae Nai Chai Ko Pho” to reprise. Last Friday, this popular song was also reprised after the curtain call, and the show shifted its direction and became almost a romantic musical at its final notes.
Set, costume and lighting designs were also noteworthy. Although the projection of scenery, or motion graphics, seemed to be frequently at odds with the lights, the design for the throne hall was majestic and grand, without being massive and the costumes also effectively transported us to 19th century China. The traditional Chinese dance preceding many scenes could easily be deleted though, if for no other reason than to make sure the audience got home by midnight.
It should also be noted that Suruj and Kriengsak were behind “Reya: The Musical” which was a critical bomb. “Cixi”, then, was a nice rebound and the audience can rest assured that there will be another occasional producer of quality stage musicals in addition to the longer-standing Dreambox and Scenario.