"ADAM The Musical" review

Went for a musicale yesterday with 2 friends at The Actors Studio (TAS) @ Lot 10. I've never reviewed a theatrical play before, but would like to just share my opinion on it as an amateur actor and to help out a friend of mine with her "new curriculum report" on theater! So here goes.....

Adam The Musical was a collaboration between TAS and Malaysian AIDS Foundation and will be performing time and again from 12th of May till 20th of June, everyday at 8.30pm except Sundays at 3pm (no shows on Mondays). Synopsis here.

 “When it comes to protection, the hardest part is persuasion … if they still say no, I’ll stroke their ego until they rise and say they need a jumbo size.”

 “Do you know, the first day he met you; his face was shining like a moon…He laughed at me, hold my hands, look into my eyes, with a smile, and I know, maybe this boy don’t need me anymore?"

"Adam is about the dangerous time we live in, of suspicion and fear of people and things we don’t know. It is about compassion and strength, and how these qualities can turn the bleakest days into one with light, even if it is just a faint one.

Adam is about finding true love, and knowing that we can be very lucky after all."

Adam The Musical is a minimalist theater (not sure if there's such a term), where very little props are used; no extensive backdrops - only projections are flashed to interchange scenes; no extravagant costumes and definitely, no special effects! But then again, theater doesn't need all those to be good! Good acting, excellent singing and energetic dancing (after all, it IS a musical!) are enough to build a strong core for this production.

However, the show is not all that great...

Its female lead, Sylvia (played by Tabitha Kong) acted as good as her singing was, although there was one occasion she went out of tune. But hey! No one says a musical is easy to perform! One needs to act, sing AND dance at the same time....Heck! Imagine how much stamina he or she needs! So I'll consider it a job well done. She is better than the other casts and even overshadowed the male lead, Adam (played by Malik Taufiq) in both singing and acting! Malik was a bit of a let down. Acting wise was O.K., just not that great..... He may need to brush up on his singing a bit too to be equal with the female lead.

Sandra Mannas Wolf who played Sylvia's mother, was perfect in her bitchy and dominant character. Her convincing act was something to look forward to in the whole play. Mark Sobels who played Michael, the angel, was good too! He is, after all, a veteran in acting. So one would expect quality acting from him and singing too was pretty good. No flaws in him.

The set back to this, otherwise, awesome play is probably caused by Auntie Noni (played by Dato' Faridah Merican) and the two transvestites (Mo Dee and Fairuz Tahid) character. Although Dato' Faridah's acting was top-notch, I can't help but to furrow my eyebrows when she sings most of the time. There were obvious out-of-tunes and her voice isn't so strong to create a "dramatic effect" in the songs that she sang. And I swear to God that I heard "breaks" in her voice. (No offence but) I was kinda disappointed.

The transvestites did well in acting and dancing. However, they should really REALLY work on their diction!!! No joke! I couldn't make heads and tails out of their dialogues. Well, not all, but most of them! Yes, I understand it is a Malaysian theater, hence the Manglish. But seriously, if the audience can't catch what you say, you fail to deliver the message of the scene and cause the whole play to be a failure! Dah lah I was having a tough time deciphering their normal conversations, imagine when they broke into songs, it was just..........noise!

However, the star of the show was none other than Tria Aziz who play a crazy lady who was already dead. Awesome acting and singing (though not much dancing)!!! Her solo towards the end was indeed a standing ovation and managed to give a lasting impression! I was indeed impressed by her! Great job and bravo!

Kudos to the rest of the dancers too. And credits to the live mini orchestra band at the side of the stage. Great music and amazing original songs! I totally love them!

All in all, Adam The Musical was a pretty good play. I'll rate is as 3.8 out of 5. Go support it! After all, it is a local production and do your part for charity as all purchases goes straight to Malaysian AIDS Foundation. 

Below is my ticket! ;D

My days as an actor

My theatre competition ended yesterday night......Finally! I am able to breathe and enjoy life (more) properly....still there's studies to consider but what the heck! At least one less burden on my back (for now)! I've decided that this year will be my final time involving in theatrical acts. I'll consider it as a retirement, thank you! Don't know lah.....the passion for theatre is of course, still there in my heart.....but I think I'll need to concentrate more on my studies from now on..... No! I'm not on my way to become a nerd now! It's just that sometimes....being an actor.....is kinda stressful....you've to act to meet the director's expectation..... undergo various till-late-night practices to build emotions and literally, "thickens your skin" to face the audience....etc etc.....

Stressful? Yes...but in the same time, it enlightens you many things in many ways! It helps you build rapport in a peculiar method.... it shows you bits of life in a theatrical point of view....it shows you the various emotions and characters of human being..... Finally, it teaches a man to BE a human being! If you like the limelight, being an actor is like a dream come true! No one gets better attention than being on stage under a spotlight! If you act well then it's great! But if you fumble....you'll look like a fool!

Then main reason I joined theatre was of course, of my own interest... to fill up my curriculum vitae was a side-dish.... killing two birds with one stone, I'll say! :)

Next year will be my clinical years....I'll have to spend more time with patients and probably be facing much stress from this (according to seniors)....so, one less stress would be nice! If you know what I mean?

I don't know-lah............decisions are mere decisions......it varies from time to time..... For now, I'll say I had enough......but trully in my heart, acting is never satisfactory for me!

So, to sum up my "legacy" (you can roll your eyes if you want to....cause I am. Haha!), I've put a not-so-complete collection of photos of the more major shows (I won't mention all the small projects / performances though) that I've acted in, from school years till now, in university. Enjoy~! :)

1. First theatre involvement was during Form 2 in SMK KGV. It was an English Drama Competition and I acted as a guard....Yeah, I know.....very minor role only...... *screw you for not realising my talent!*
2. Then, Form 5 as a lead role by the name of Captain something....I can't remember his name! :P The venue of the competition was in SMK Bukit Mewah....we didn't win though....somehow I suspected foul play....we were much better than Bukit Mewah (audiences point of view) but we only got 2nd! Damn it! But I was awarded as Best Actor though. ^^,


3. Last year, March 2009, I put myself into my residential college's Malay theatre competition. The title of the play, Kan Ku Bunuh Cinta. My role as Akal. We won FIRST place!



4. This year, in fact just yesterday, I was in my last theatre act, Rukh (pronounce as "roh"). Role: Dr. Zarif Abdullah. Results? 2nd place......Oh well, we'll try harder next time! As the saying goes, "A Wounded Tiger is the Fiercest Tiger"! Hahaha.....

 

~To all theatre members from any of the plays I've worked with, I'll like to say a great big thank you to all of you! It's my greatest pleasure in working with you guys. All of you showed me many things and thought me many lessons. The love for all of you is undeniable! I will truly miss theatre and deep down in my heart, I pray for your future success and my heart beats for you!~