Peeling back the years

“Chalermkrung evokes a sense of place. It’s been part of Thai society for many decades. In the ’60s and ’70s, it was where the trendy young people of the time came to listen to Western music and walk around Wang Burapha,” says Masterpiece Organisers managing director Pradit Somdungjait. “For the last 17 years, the theatre has organised the ‘Go Lang Wang’ concert. Among the singers have been Kol Paksuwan, who’s known as the ‘Thai Cliff Richard’, Rungpirun Metharom of the Hot Pepper Singers and Elvis impersonator Jirasak Pinsuwan.

“This time, we’re adapting it as a musical. The strength of the ‘Go Lang Wang’ concert is offering international classics and they will again under the spotlight. We’ve created a story around them.”

The concept of the musical, which is being staged next month, is “Rak Nee Khue Niran”, and marks the theatre’s 79th anniversary.

“‘Rak Nee Khue Niran’ is translated from the Four Aces’ song ‘Love is a Many Splendored Thing’, We selected it as the theme for the first episode because of its meaning – love is so beautiful,” Pradit says. “The main character in this part is grandmother Rose, played by Maneenuch Smerasut, who was a teenager in the ’60s and is now teaching her daughter and niece about flirting, expressions of love and feeling peeved.

“The scene is Rose’s house in the Wang Burapha area as she celebrates her 60th birthday anniversary. She is waiting for her niece to come back home, but the niece (Porntip ‘Ploy’ Pantavong), is out with friends at a discotheque and forgets her promise, though she does make it home before midnight. Rose drifts back to her youth recalls the places she used to go around Wang Burapha – the shops and the cinemas – and the man with whom she fell in love,” says Pradit, 44, who is in charge of the overall production including script and casting.

Other performers include Vasu Sangsingkaew, Napada Sukkrit, Runglawan Thonahongsa and Thanya “Kate” Ratanamalakul plus “Academy Fantasia” alumni Weeradon “Mac” wangcharornporn, Nattapat “PuiFai” wipatcorntrakoon, Methus “Jack” treerattanawareesin and Rachphol “Music” Yamsaeng. 

They’ll be singing some 30 golden oldies including Bill Haley’s “Rock Around the Clock”, Nat King Cole’s “I Love You for Sentimental Reasons”, Eddie Hodges’ “I’m Gonna Knock on Your Door”, Cliff Richard’s “The Young Ones”, Connie Francis’ “Stupid Cupid”, Elvis Presley’s “Jailhouse Rock”, and Doris Day’s “Que Sera Sera (Whatever Will Be, Will Be)”.

“The songs are kind of timeless. But the first problem we found during the casting was that the new generation didn’t know them or how to sing them in the right way. We wanted new-generation singers on stage because we want to expand the target group of the Chalermkrung. These singers will draw a younger audience,” says Pradit.

All the characters have solos. Rose has a lot of songs, including “Love is a Many Splendored Thing”, “Unforgettable” and “Que Sera Sera”. James, who’s played by Mac AF6, will flirt with the niece in Nat King Cole’s “Answer Me, My Love”, while Jim (Jack AF4) sings “I Love You for Sentimental Reasons” and John (Music AF4), covers “I’m Gonna Knock on Your Door”.

“I suggested to the those young singers that they listen to the oldies first then work on honing their singing skills. Singers of 40 and 50 years ago focused much more on language and melody.”

 

 

Thanks for the melodies

“Go Lang Wang” is at the Sala Chalermkrung Royal Theatre on November 3 and 4 and November 10 and 11.

Shows are at 2 and 7pm on Saturdays and 2 on Sundays.

Tickets cost Bt1,000 to Bt2,500 at ThaiTicketMajor.

Call (02) 262 3456 or visit www.ThaiTicketMajor.com.

 

 

Going younger: What do the ‘af’ stars think about the old songs?

Stars of this year’s “Go Lang Wang” show include three fresh-faced “Academy Fantasia” male singers, Weeradon “Mac AF6” wangcharornporn, Methus “Jack AF4” treerattanawareesin and Rachphol “Music AF4” Yamsaeng.

They found there was more to preparing to sing the songs of their grandparents’ generation than just greasing back their hair, popping their collars and rolling up their shirt sleeves, 

“When I was given those golden oldies, I immediately looked up their history,” Mac says. “Songs from those days have such a profound meaning and beautiful melodies and are much more individual than modern songs, which depend on what’s hot in the music business.

“I listened to the originals and asked for suggestions from a voice trainer and finally found a way to match my voice to the old songs. I’m pleased with the results and will use it for my pop numbers too.”

Jack caught the feeling of the old numbers as well.

“I’m a fan of the Beatles and I like learning new things. Old songs are like a good instructor,” Jack says. “In this musical, I sing ‘You Are My Special Angel’, ‘Pretty Woman’, ‘I Love You for Sentimental Reasons’ and ‘Sway’. You need to sing the old songs with lots of emotion. Modern songs are much shorter.”

Music took on the challenge of learning a song he’d never heard before.

“I have often listened to many old songs by the Beatles, Elvis Presley, the Bee Gees and the Eagles but I had never heard ‘I’m Gonna Knock on Your Door’,” Music said. “To me, several of these songs have accents of rock ’n’ roll and blues. If I want to sing with that particular musical accent, I have to listen to them time and time again and work on interpreting their meaning.”

Kitchana Lersakvanitchakul

The Nation