THE OFFICIAL REVIEW:
THE Christmas story has often been called the “Greatest Story Ever Told”, and for good reason: its age-old themes of love, sacrifice and honour have remained in our imaginations for almost forever. We all probably know the trappings of the tale by heart: the visit of an angel to a young virgin, the birth in a lowly stable, the coming of shepherds and kings, all to give him homage.
The tale of the birth of Jesus Christ has been immortalised in countless forms of song, film and literature. Follow The Light, a local musical “mostly based on the Christmas story”, is the latest incarnation of this tale.
Calling all angels: (From left) Anrie Too, Nicole Ann-Thomas, Song- Fan Seah and Suzan Manen as celestial singers, in Follow The Light .
Currently being staged at the PJ Live Arts Centre at Jaya One in Petaling Jaya, Selangor, until Dec 19, the production proved to be a light-hearted and entertaining watch.
Featuring the talents of Juwita Suwito, Aaron Khaled, Tim Howe, Zalina Lee, Rydell Anna Abdul, Adrien Zaffri, Liang, Xavier Fong, Tony Leo Selvaraj, Suzan Manen, Anrie Too, Nicole Ann-Thomas and Song-Fan Seah, Follow The Light was directed by Colin Kirton, with book, music and lyrics by Nick Choo. The musical was originally produced by Choo in November 2005 as part of his studies in Perth, where it won Best Musical and Best Overall Construction in Western Australia’s Finley Awards for Independent Theatre.
Story-wise, Follow The Light sticks closely to the source material: young Mary is told by an angel that she is to bear a child despite the fact that she is a virgin and married to a carpenter named Joseph. To mark this, a bright star appears in the sky, and various people bear witness to it. One of them, a young shepherd named Marvin, is compelled to follow it, despite having to look for his lost flock of sheep and dealing with his bickering siblings. The same goes for the three wise men who, having made their way out of humble beginnings, long for fame and glory.
Joys of parenthood: Mary (Juwita Suwito) and Joe ( Aaron Khaled) are questioning their fate .
The plot of the musical was mostly conventional with little to distinguish it from other depictions of the Christmas story, except for perhaps a new backstory to the shepherds and the wise men. Even then, this had mixed results: while the sacrifice-themed story of the three wise men was moving, the subplot of the bickering shepherds sometimes felt overdrawn and contrived. The story also proved somewhat draggy in certain spots, particularly during the first act, but thankfully managed to build up momentum to deliver a tight and mesmerising second act, with all of the plot threads coming together to create a good performance.
Despite storyline issues, however, Follow The Light still managed to delight, mostly due to its incredible musical numbers.
The musical featured a wide array of genres, with each of its characters having a signature musical styling: gospel and R&B for the angels, rock-infused numbers for the shepherds, hip hop for the three wise men, and so on. Mixing so many diverse forms of music into one show is not an easy task, and Choo should be commended for having combined all these different styles into a satisfying whole.
The talented cast, most of them showbiz veterans, delivered commendable performances, shining on group numbers such as Bethlehem and Three Gifts. Highlights of the show were Suwito’s beautiful, tear-jerking renditions of Be It Unto Me and Beautiful Child, as well as Follow The Light, a delightfully catchy tune that will stick in your head long after the musical is over.
The few dance numbers were also decently done, despite choreography being messy in some parts.
The cast also did justice to their roles despite occasionally being wooden. Howe did well as the laid-back, Elvis-inspired “angel on vacation” Gabe, while Liang, Fong and Selvaraj were effective as Bart, Mel and Gaspar, the swaggering, street-talking, brash Three Wise Men.
Suwito also did well in her musical theatre debut as the sweet yet determined Mary, and was partnered well with Aaron as her headstrong husband Joe.
The play was sprinkled with humour throughout, most of it in the form of witty lyrics or ridiculous puns. The only parts that did not work, however, were when its characters, despite being in biblical Bethlehem, suddenly decided to make jokes about modern-day Malaysian culture. While the play’s tone was very tongue-in-cheek, these references felt very jarring and unnecessary, especially since the musical was doing well without them.
All in all, while not a perfect production, Follow The Light is just the thing to watch to inject some cheer as the Christmas season approaches.
RANDOM OBSERVATIONS
-I first met Nick Choo when we were both competing in Short and Sweet Musical this October. He’s a really nice guy with a remarkable ear and talent for music. His play, Little Girl Lost won many of the prizes, and for good reason: it was a well-written piece with great numbers.
-Juwita Suwito really has an AMAZING voice.
-One day I would like to see a Christmas musical told from the point of view of the innkeeper. It would be a comic and ironic piece about the lengths he goes to satisfy his eccentric, demanding rich tenants, little knowing of the marvellous miracle that he has sent to the stable.
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