Si Phaen Din : The Musical
It was in the pipeline for a decade and when Takonkiet Viravan confirmed the making of Si Phaen Din (Four Reigns), the buzz was "Who will play Mae Ploy?"
Accomplished actress Sinjai "Nok" Plengpanich also asked him this question. His spontaneous reply was, "Who else could it be?" _ meaning that she landed the leading role in the new musical, which will premiere at Muang Thai Rachadalai Theatre on Oct 19.
"We actually talked about doing Si Phaen Din many years ago but I had the opportunity to play Banlang Mek first," said the 40-something Sinjai, who's respected as an acting queen, especially for dramas. "The timing is better now and, as a more mature person, I can better fulfil the role of Mae Ploy."
In Banlang Mek: The Musical, she portrayed the ambitious and self-centred Panrung, who has four children, three of whom defy her control and deeply disappoint her. Si Phaen Din: The Musical requires Sinjai to be a kind and tender mum with a stepson and three children of her own.
"A Thai lady of the past, Mae Ploy is prim and proper and she's a wife who highly respects her husband," Sinjai said. "And it's challenging to be playing a gentle character when I relatively seem to have a strong personality."
This "ideal Thai woman" role has previously been performed by Nantawan Mekyai, Jintara Sukaphatana and Siriyakorn Pukkavesh, but in TV dramas. Entertainment company Scenario decided to stage the first musical version of the classic Thai literature, to mark the centenary of the birth of its author, MR Kukrit Pramoj.
The novel was penned based on his background. During the years of absolute monarchy, he experienced life in the Grand Palace, which made him appreciate the old way of life and culture. The aristocrat later received a Western education and became an intellectual, a journalist, a writer, an actor and even a khon performer, while his political career peaked when he became prime minister.
Si Phaen Din follows Mae Ploy's life as she grows up in the royal court, falls in love, gets married to Khun Prem and raises her four children. The essence of the story is her loyalty to the monarchy, as her life spanned over four reigns, from the reign of King Rama V to King Rama VIII.
Each era brought significant social and political changes, especially the 1932 revolution in the reign of King Rama VII that led to the establishment of a constitutional monarchy.
Sinjai is cast as the adult Mae Ploy as well as the narrator. Thus, she will be on and off the stage throughout the three-and-a-half-hour musical.
''Both acting and being the narrator makes it harder for me. But I love the whole story and reading the novel you learn a lot about Thai history and appreciate it even more,'' she said. ''If I had the choice to live in one of the four reigns, I would choose the reign of King Rama V, to see the abolition of slavery and other reforms like the railways and the post and telegraph services.''
The veteran actress has encouraged her young co-stars to read the novel too, in order to deliver a credible performance. Even though the musical introduces many new and inexperienced actors, she believes their enthusiasm and talent makes for an impressive show.
Natthanit ''Pinta'' Rattanasereekiat and Pimdao ''Mutmee'' Panichsamai play the protagonist in her younger years. A little girl but with big talent, Pinta, 12, has such a wonderful voice for her age, Sinjai noted, while Mutmee has the potential to be a leading musical actress since she majors in voice at Chulalongkorn University's Faculty of Fine and Applied Arts.
In the musical, the pretty Mutmee performs duets with Napat ''Gun'' Injaiuea who takes the male lead as the young Khun Prem. His outstanding vocal ability earned him the winner of The Star 6, a popular talent show on Moderninecorrect TV.
The musical also presents three other The Star champions: Arnatphol ''R'' Sirichumsaeng, Singharat ''Singto'' Chanphakdee, and Yuttana ''Toom Tam'' Puangklang. The heartthrobs play Mae Ploy's sons, who have different political opinions regarding the country's ruling system.
''Mae Ploy gets confused by her sons' political conflict. This is relevant to what's happening today in 2011 as members of the family may be arguing about politics over dinner,'' said Takonkiet, the director, who has to ensure that the young actors understand the historical background as well as the attitudes and values of the older generation.
A session was even held to get them talking about their country in order to uncover their attitude. After they did their homework, which includes studying the novel, rehearsals began and there's one more month to go before the opening performance.
''We wasted many boxes of tissue paper when we rehearsed act one, which is moving in many aspects, from the story of Mae Ploy to the royal activities to reform the country,'' said the director, whose objective is to present why Mae Ploy is so loyal to the institution of the monarchy, and make us aware of our roots and what made the nation what it is today.
There's two acts and that may double the tears. Nevertheless, Scenario's longest production demands an enthralling performance from the cast as well as theatrical surprises otherwise the audience may find 210 minutes a marathon to absorb MR Kukrit's masterpiece.
