Ballroom jukebox

Their royal Highnesses Princess Srirasmi and Prince Dipangkorn Rasmijoti graciously presided over the premiere of the Suntaraporn Foundation and JSL Global Media’s “Phleng Rak Khong Thoe: Suntaraporn the Musical” at M Theatre last Friday evening.
Now in its fourth year, “Suntaraporn the Musical” is traditionally staged in January – the birth month of Thailand’s most revered composer Khru Eua Sunthornsanan. Tickets inevitably sell out quickly, snapped up by fans eager to listen to their old-time favourites sung by a new generation of performers, mostly those who have become famous through reality TV competitions.
With the Suntaraporn songbook comprising more than 1,000 songs and a devoted audience – an elderly spectator sitting two seats away from me managed to sing the first stanza of all the 20-plus songs last Friday – it’s probably safe to assume that this trend will continue for several more years.
My first experience of the Suntaraporn jukebox reminded me that song-writing and music composition back then, unlike now, was truly an art and that’s why time has little effect on its meaning and relevance. The same can’t be said for the singers. The performances in “Phleng Rak Khong Thoe” in general couldn’t meet the demands of many of the songs and many audience members probably found themselves missing the professional singers of yesteryear. That said, the production made up for this shortfall in singing with the dancing, and the spirit of the whole cast made me want to enrol for a ballroom class. I also managed to forget the political situation for more than three hours, except when the script poked satirical fun at politics and some actors improvised with political jokes here and there.
With the producers focusing on a ballroom dance showcase this year, writing the script was a piece of cake. The story centres on the competition between two ballroom dance schools, Phloen Lila and Speed Dance, making it a convenient way of packing in as many songs as possible. Adding depth to the romantic comedy is the fact that one school owes a huge sum of money to the other and that the owners Chiwit and Suai Samoe enjoyed a fling in the past. Complications arise when Chiwit’s daughter Phloen falls in love with Suai Samoe’s son Sam while Parade, the elder brother of her friend Pim, is also after Phloen.
I should also mention that Phloen’s friend Jan has a crush on Parade while Pim and Speed Dance member Non as well as Phloen Lila dancer Khanom Chib and Speed Dance’s Pao are more than friends. Now you can count how many couples will be happily dancing during the finale which features the title song.
The musical walks the thin line between jukebox musical and retro concert. It’s only when fresh interpretation is given to some songs that it’s more of the former – among them “Soka Soki” performed by veteran comedian Phad Thai as Suai Samoe, and “Chub Nai Chai” by Praewa AF 8 as Jan.
Commercial tie-ins have become the norm in JSL musicals but this time they were more than a little over the top.
The most amazing is the set for the Speed Dance Studio, which is shamelessly designed with windows to allow us to see the advertisements of two sponsors on the two buildings outside. There’s even a miniature Skytrain passing by and this features an ad for sponsor. I personally find such blatant advertising a put off and will not purchase any of the products featured in this artless tie-in. This is not free TV: the audience already paid Bt 2,500 for a ticket.

STEP UP
“Phleng Rak Khong Thoe: Suntaraporn the Musical” continues from February 7 to 23 at M Theatre on New Phetchaburi Road between Thonglor and Ekamai.
Shows are at 7.30pm on Friday and 2pm on Saturday and Sunday. n Tickets are Bt 1,000 to Bt2,500 at ThaiTicketMajor outlets. Smile Club and True Card holders get a 10-per-cent discount.