MY TOP FIVE BEST PRODUCTIONS
at The Palazzo, Las Vegas
"Arguably one of my new favourites after having seen it! Everything was just perfect: the cast, the music, the script, the story. It was indeed a very enjoyable evening for me and I wouldn't hesitate if I had the chance to see it again. Best moments would definitely have to be the first three hits: 'Sherrie', 'Big Girls Don't Cry', 'Walk Like a Man' and the end when they all came out to sing 'Who Loves You'. Highly recommended to everyone!
Hairspray
at Manchester Opera House, Manchester
"I saw Hairspray when I was on Broadway in 2006 and frankly didn't like it. However, I would never turn down the chance to see the legendary Michael Ball performing live even though it was Hairspray. Surprisingly, it turned out that this production was very good and full of energy and was very fun (despite me being high high up the grand circle). The rest of the cast were good too. Well, I guess the cast does matter!"
at Lyric Theatre, The Lowry, Salford
"I have never known much about Chess but since it was playing in Salford, I figure why not! And the reviews have been somewhat positive. This was one of the few times that I was late for the show, damn the tram!! Anyway, it was a really fun and creative production. The production design and costume was very interesting to look at. I prefer the use of actor/musician in this one more than in Sweeney Todd. Even though I didn't enjoy the leading female casts, the male performers and the ensembles had more than made up for it. Some people said it's the campiest Chess ever, but I like it!"
at Shiki JIYU Theatre, Tokyo
"I just adored this production and how they utilize the stage and all the special technics always popping up here and there. It was so much fun to watch and it complemented the story well. The music was beautiful though I felt that at times the pace was a bit too slow. Also, I think the end was too 'bare' and didn't leave much impact for the audience. The cast, however, was simply fantastic!"
at Muang Thai Rachadalai Theatre, Bangkok
"I can't leave out a musical from Thailand, can I? And this was a wonderful production. I have never really seen La Cage aux Folles in its full form so it was quite interesting to find out what really happened at the end. The performance from James and Kob was very good and so were the rest of the ensemble. The set and costume was beautiful as you would expect from a musical about drag show. I also love Tanee Poosuwan's Thai translation given to Jerry Herman's brilliant lyrics."
MY TOP FIVE MOST DISAPPOINTING PRODUCTIONS
at Manchester Opera House, Manchester
"I was bored, bored and bored throughout. I think Rodgers & Hammerstein's music were just not my thing or maybe it's the production itself. The sets were quite mediocre. The cast was nothing outstanding. The music was not really tuneful nor catchy. Though I have to say that the ballet scene was very well done. Overall, really not recommended to anyone!"
at Grand Theatre and Opera House, Leeds
"I knew it that I was not gonna like this but I tried my chance anyway. It was my second night in Leeds and I just wanted to find something to do so I gave it a shot and boy did I make a wrong decision. The production overall was very amateur and the singers rated from good to plain bad. The sets and costumes were really cheap. The only good point in the show was when they introduced the 11-year-old boy who sang and danced Michael Jackson's songs very well. But that alone couldn't save a poorly produced show."
at Grand Opera House, York
"I wanted to like this show, I really do but there were always something that made the show unattractive for me: from the moment they started singing 'The Heat Is on in Saigon' to the cheesy slide presentation and from the synthesizer sound from the band to Katie Leeming. Oh, she was really bad in almost every song she did. I wonder how she could play Eponine. Her 'On My Own' was bad and her posture throughout the show and her bow was very annoying. The rest of the cast were fine and I admit that there were some really good moments like 'The Song That Goes Like This' and 'One Day More' but overall, I would say this show needs a major revamp to make it more updated and more entertaining."
at Lyric Theatre, The Lowry, Salford
"This production of Evita was uninspiring and couldn't compare to its Japanese counterpart I saw in February at all. The staging was boring and the cast were quite mediocre. I totally didn't get the 'The Art of the Possible' scene and 'The Money Kept Rolling In', which was my favourite song and scene from the Japanese production, was disappointing. I love how they added 'You Must Love Me' and that was actually the only spot in the musical that I connected with the character. Apart from that, there's not much there."
at Phoenix Theatre, London
"The reason I named this category as 'most disappointing production' was because some production wasn't bad but it didn't live up to my expectation and Blood Brothers falls exactly into that category. I think it was a well-produced show but I found it boring at most times and the music was quite generic and unmemorable. Though I have to admit that the acting and the ending was very powerful. But you can't just have that and leave the rest of the show on its own."
MY BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A MUSICAL
Michael Ball as Edna Turnblad
in HAIRSPRAY at Manchester Opera House, Manchester
"I was really deciding between Ramin Karimloo (in Love Never Dies), David Bedella (in The Rocky Horror Show) and him. And it has to be Michael Ball. He was just simply wonderful in the role, very different from Harvey Fierstein. Though the role doesn't require much singing capability, but you can still sense that powerful voice of him within that role. His comic timing was just perfect."
MY BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A MUSICAL
Sheridan Smith as Elle Woods
in Legally Blonde: The Musical at Savoy Theatre, London
"Almost got this award from me was Sierra Boggess (from Love Never Dies) but Sheridan totally took it home here. She just owned the show and her portrayal of Elle Woods was just perfect and funny. I'm glad to have seen her before she leaves the company in January."
MY WORST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A MUSICAL
in Phantom: The Las Vegas Spectacular at The Venetian, Las Vegas
"You were a great Grantaire, Edward Rochester and Valentin but dude, you were the worst Phantom I've seen! Your 'Music of the Night' was emotionless and I couldn't understand a word you're saying on stage. Closely followed in second place is Alistair Brammer as Marius in West End's Les Miserables."
MY WORST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A MUSICAL
Amy Nuttall as The Lady of the Lake
in Monty Python's Spamalot at Gran Opera House, York
"Shona White (in Chess) and Rebecca Seale (as Fantine in Les Miserables) had made it to my finals of this category but it was Amy Nuttall who claimed it. I'm not saying that she's a bad actress but the role just didn't suit her. She was always drowned out by everyone on the stage and even when it was her solo, she didn't do it well enough. I wish I had seen Jodie Prenger in the role."
MY BEST SCENE-STEALER
Vas Constanti as Ali Hakim
in Oklahoma! at Manchester Opera House, Manchester
"The only saving grace of the show is Vas Constanti. He was so funny and a true scene stealer of the whole show. Michael Starke (as the Narrator in The Rocky Horror Show in Leeds) was quite a scene-stealer as well."
MY BEST MALE UNDERSTUDY
Jonathan Williams as Jean Valjean
(Understudying for Simon Bowman)
in Les Miserables at Queen's Theatre, London
"Since last year, I have seen quite a number of understudies so I thought why not give them a category. For my best male understudy would have to be Jonathan Williams who usually assumes the role of Courfeyrac. He played the role of Jean Valjean very well, arguably better than Simon Bowman (from what I saw at the O2 concert). Too bad I couldn't find a decent picture of him."
MY BEST FEMALE UNDERSTUDY
Vivienne Carlyle as Mrs. Johnstone
(understudying for Niki Evans)
& Rebekah Clifford as Mrs. Lyons
(understudying for Vivienne Carlyle)
in Blood Brothers at Phoenix Theatre, London
"I gave it a tie since both of them were equally great and it didn't make me disappoint at all in terms of acting. Whenever they were both on stage interacting or arguing were one of the best moments of the show."
MY BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN
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| The actor/musician Ensemble dressed up as chess pieces |
at Lyric Theatre, The Lowry, Salford
"The best part of this musical was probably its production. I love how they dress up all the ensemble as chess pieces and how they have the chess board on the stage with them. It was cleverly used during 'The Deal' in Act Two. I think they have made use of actor/musician element very well."
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| The Arbiter's new look |
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| "The Deal (No Deal)" scene |
MY MOST UNIQUE EXPERIENCE AT THE THEATRE
The Rocky Horror Show
at Grand Theatre and Opera House, Leeds
"I went into this show knowing almost absolutely nothing about it and found myself in the middle of people donning crazy costumes. They were shouting and singing and dancing along the musical throughout the whole show. I had to get up and do the Time Warp with them at one point. A bit embarrassed, but no one seemed to care. The show itself was also very unique discussing sexual and gay issues very openly. Overall, a truly unique experience, well, at least for a Thai boy."
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| 'Let's do the time warp again' at the Finale! |
MY BEST AMATEUR PRODUCTION
at Grand Theatre and Opera House, Leeds
"I have seen 2 amateur productions this year, one was Leeds University's West Side Story which was well done for a university students. But I really admired LAOS production of Beauty and the Beast and their attempt to copy the professional production. It was nowhere near perfect but I think they had put their best effort and it definitely deserves a notice."
MY BEST THEATRE
The Phantom Theatre at the Venetian
"Definitely one of the best theatres I've been to oweing to the fact that it was custom-built for the show. But the design was just absolutely breathtaking. The chandelier was bigger and the mocked audience surrounding us just made the atmosphere of the show even more realistic."
MY REGRETS OF THE YEAR
Missing 'Hair' on the West End
"There was a couple of regrets last year, one was missing the 25th anniversary tour of Les Miserables with John Owen-Jones, another was the highly-acclaimed Pinocchio by Opera North. But the one that made me regret the most was missing "Hair" on the West End with original Broadway company including Gavin Creel and Will Swenson. I guess I never paid much attention to it until it left then I felt that I should have made an attempt and opted for it and saved Blood Brothers for later. Anyway, I got myself a souvenir brochure and hopefully I would get to see it 'someday'."
