Singapore entertainment - "The music of Andrew Lloyd Webber"

I guess it was quite a surprise to some of my friends or acquaintances to know that I love musicals. Well, I discovered that fact myself quite recently as well. But think about it, I should have known before, with my passion in "cai luong".

My first memory about musical is watching the movie "The sound of music" in my English class when I was in secondary school. The fact I had to write an essay about the film didn't discourage me from enjoying it. And I love Julie Andrews since. Her voice was gorgeous and the songs were beautiful, which made me to look for a VCD (yep, VCD, not DVD) so that I could watch it again and again.

The next musical film was "The phantom of the opera" with Gerald Butler, Emmy Rossum and Patrick Wilson as lead actors. My ex-boyfriend and I went for a midnight show and I ended up sleeping in the theater half-way of the show. I just didn't like Emmy Rossum as Christine, even if I liked both actors. And at the end of the day, movies are just movies. They aren't matches for what I could see in a musical theater.

Luckily for me, the movie version of "The phantom of the opera" didn't deter me from watching it when I was in New York last time. And the experience truly opened my eyes and gave me plenty of reasons to spend money on musical tickets, when I could. I will probably write blog post about that fantastic night at Broadway. I feel like cheating myself if I don't save a whole post for it.

And then, last year in Singapore, "Chicago" has come to Singapore with a few shows in Esplanade. I didn't know about it until the last few days. I went with a friend to watch it and fell in love all over again with musicals. Nothing beats the amazement of hearing the cast's beautiful voices, the gorgeous outfits and well-rehearsed dance composition. Not counting the joy of listening to the live music from an orchestra, albeit small. So yes, bring more musicals to Singapore.

And earlier this year in May, when I read about the show "The music of Andrew Lloyd Webber" coming to Singapore in July, I didn't even hesitate and just ran to Marina Bay Sands to buy a ticket to the show. Of course, I could buy it online but nothing beats the feeling of queuing to buy tickets to your favourite shows. And saving 30 cents was a bonus. And before you question my sanity, that trip to Marina Bay Sands was with Tracy, who was here for a short visit. Of course, I had to show her one of the new landmarks in Singapore. The Sands SkyPark is a must-visit if you are in the vicinity.


Here is my precious ticket to the show

Yesterday was the night of the show I had bought, which was one of my birthday presents to myself. It was performed in the Grand Theater of Marina Bay Sands and I have to say it was money well-spent. The cast was great with Michael Mccormick was the standout actor, singing my most favourite songs like "The phantom of the opera" and "Sunset Boulevard". The way he sang and acted was the perfect way to portray the characters, which made me yearn to hear him more. It was too bad that his CD on sale last night wasn't him singing those songs. I would have bought even though I don't have a CD player at home. And the speaker of my laptop sucks.

One letdown was the costume but I understood that the show was just the combination of all the best songs in Andrew Lloyd Webber's musicals, so I didn't have much to complain. But still, choreography and costumes are parts of what make watching musicals magical. Next time I'm in New York, I will have to watch at least 2 shows to satisfy my hunger for musicals.

BTW, I didn't take any photo during the show as I wanted to enjoy it as best as I could. But I managed to snap some shots of the theater and of course, myself.