Friday, August 20, 2010

Theatre-athon

last saturday, i did my first theatre-athon. i went from Cats to Master Class, with a two hour break in between. it was fun, though im not sure if i maximized my viewing pleasure with what i did.

watching the Cats matinee was really quite unplanned. ticketworld suddenly offered discounted orchestra seats. i had a great seat, a wonderful center view of the stage. Cats brought me memories of my sister, now based in the u.s. she was always the most theatre-inclined among us. she had a collection of cd's of musicals including cats. i'd borrow and play the cd from time to time, but zeroing in on memory and jellicle ball.

the dance numbers, production was incredible. but i have to admit (sorry gibbs) there were moments i would actually doze off. i had some difficulty understanding some lyrics. and i end up just dozing off. ot was only upon buying the f**king P500 program did i understand the names and the story behind. then as grizabella was first making her entrance, the old couple beside me were whispering whether it was lea or not!

i love the costumes, choreography. the plot was a lot simpler than i had imagined. yet lea's final rendition of memory still left me teary-eyed. i felt it. i really did. and with her ultimate redemption, i also felt much joy. so a slow start for me ended on a very high triumphant note.

master class is cherie gil's tour de force. we had such great seats we were looking up as she delivered her emotional solilquies. i could see the tears form as she discusses her pain, her agony loving aristotle. she was so moving, incandescent in the role. and it was so well-written, the musings and the lessons of a true artiste, as scarred as they come.

id catch a few times she would buckle or get some words wrong. but she picked up so quick you would never have known.

the personalities around her in the class all had good voices. but the tenor seemed he was just mouthing a script. he looked so uninspired.

as a whole, i was also blown away by master class, certainly on a totally diffferent plane from cats.

i look forward to more emotional highs that only theatre could give. and this is as 3D as it could get. lol


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1 comment:

Prince Henry said...

I regret to miss Master Class. Did Cherie Gil sing some arias?

I also miss CATS. I have watched the London production, though. So I am not really very inclined in watching the Asian cast. I was told, (including you), that there were many boring (doze off) moments. But Leah's performance was stellar. Did leah sang a portion of memory in tagalog?