PASSIONATE, BUT ULTIMATELY SUPERFICIAL

There is no shortage of passion and potential in the new Thai-language musical, 21¾ , about the dreams and struggles of urbanites in their early 20s.

Directed by Napisi Reyes, 21¾ is the first song-cycle musical to be written in Thailand. This type of musical usually has no overarching storyline, and the scenes and songs are tied together by a theme. The four performers in 21¾ play various characters — all of them over 21 but not yet 22 years of age, all of them at some kind of a crossroads or another.

In a way, a song cycle is the perfect style of musical for a generation that came of age right around the advent of BuzzFeed and listicles. With its 13 songs, 21¾ feels like a listicle article with a headline that reads, “13 problems Thai university graduates are facing”.

Unfortunately, the musical is not a listicle at its best — funny, witty, perceptive — but what people find the most problematic about it — trivial and superficial. It starts off promising — energetic and competent performers, clever staging and set design, zestful music — and ends up as nothing more interesting than a grocery list. Each scene superficially touches on a dilemma or an issue — education vs romance, freelancing vs full-time employment, pursuing one’s passion vs facing reality — instead of telling a compelling story with insights and characters that feel real.

Yossral Songkiatkul is a capable composer, and the energy in his music reveals the passion and the drive behind the production. If you like Thai pop music, you may find Yossral’s compositions exciting, but for a musical, I was expecting something more richly textured.

And for a musical about youth, it is sorely lacking in novelty and an experimental streak. The entire musical sounds like a generic pop concert.

The performers and lyricists — Santipat Santichaiananta, Parkpoom Sakornsathien, Tanyalak Lauruangthana and Tunyaluk Boonruang of the vocal group Fascinating Four — are undeniably talented singers and exhibit potential for both comedy and drama. It’s unfortunate that, while the performers get to play characters their age, the writing is simply not challenging or layered enough for them to fully shine.

21¾ is truly a product of its time in its earnest belief that passion will get you anywhere. Passion is certainly palpable here, but the musical has little curiosity in the complexity of the generation it’s portraying. In that case, we can only follow along so far before we lose interest.