here's the review by nomilktoday at TTA Forum:
the stage is very beautiful. it reproduces with fidelity a scenery of vietnam during the last war against the invasion of our enemy from the north, the viet cong. we can see a town with dead broken wall perforated with a multitude of wholes and old porch destroyed by recent vc incursion. old electric poles leaning on the side of the road and embossed its sorrowful shadow on old and deserted building, dying out under the tenebrous sunlight of the vietnam war. sand bag wall with barbwire. one special detail: the floor of the stage is paved with square stones, like it was in some old town in viet nam. the forehead of the stage is in slope to look like a burial mound of soldiers, on which was decorated with 30 M16, the machine gun used by most of our soldiers. they are planted along the forehead of the stage with a hellmet on each one. a more detailed and sophisticated spotlight system was in service to give different aspect and scenery of war for each performance.
the organization on the plateau and synchronization between crews were smooth and more than perfect. there were zero defection and the show was neat, was clean, was wonderfull. i say wonderfull because there is nothing better than marvelous to say or to describe its professionalism. professionalism, this time, is not only for the job of the 4 mc’s, nor singers nor music arrangement like ever before but it has extanded its wingspan to the musicals of nhu quynh and quoc khanh, bang tam and dan nguyen, khong bao gio ngan cach, chau tuan, bich van, y phung, diem lien and the background of each performance. the background is composed of dancers, substitute actors ( like civilians, soldiers, nurse, doctor... ) stage decorations and camouflages, sound affects and lighting. all had concordanced their effort and talent to make this show reaching very close now the edge of the motion picture artistry.
1 opening: bà mẹ trị thiên. thanh lan, vu khanhit’s impressive and very touching although there were just 2 singers. this was the first time i was listening to this song. it has an old melody and it’s describing the life of a mother in viet nam during 2 wars, the french occupation and the viet cong invasion of the south viet nam. also, for the first time, vu khanh loses his gracious expression to adopt a more hardy pace and it’s so good to taste his performance. co thanh lan was not less skillfull, she really gave the right image of a vietnamese woman during these desastrous wars. i got tears during this performance.
2 chuyện hẹn ḥ, ai nói yêu em đêm nay. phuong hong que, ho hoang yen.co phuong hong que sang in duet with nhat truong ( on screen ) its a perfect matching and they were really in cadence although one of them were not present on stage. she wore a beautiful ao dai with flower. at the end of her performance, we could see, emerging from the crowd of people in her background, a very special couple: a soldier with an extremely charming girl, ho hoang yen, holding a cup of wine, they must be coming back from some ballroom dance. the stage turned its light to reddish and she sang ai noi yeu em dem nay in an adorable calypso. a saxophonic accompaniment had given to this marvelous number a touch of an old old saigon. it should be a feast not only for the eyes but also for the ears.
3 xin em đừng hỏi. lam thuy van.lam thuy van was one of the rare performer to wear a dress in this show. old song like this one has its time and soul. the challenging task of the singer is to transmit the song in its integrality to the listeners and lam thuy van did it beautifully. i heard this song before sung by veteran singer but this time, lam thuy van had testified her voice and soul like a steady old time singer. i thinh her career has reached a higher level with this song.
4 anh về với em, y phụng. màu mũ anh, màu áo em. trish, spencer.y phung was sat at a sand bag wall with pixs of her boyfriend in hand, contemplating them one by one while singing anh ve voi em, nhu chim lien canh...then she stood up and went along the stage to spread in the air the sweet feeling for her loved one. i knew before going to the show that this song is reused and felt a bit sad for one of my preferred female singer. but today, this song and number is really special. there were more acting and her play on the stage was very detailed and filled with either grace and skill.
there were a short, funny but interesting story concerning the song mau mu anh, mau ao em told by anh viet dung to thuy duong before this double performance but i think it could be telling later. for the moment, trish, to my astonishment, was pronouncing vietnamese extremely good in this performance with spencer, who is making many progresses in vietnamese love song too and were now presenting this old but new song in a very nice upbeat tempo along with 12 dancers, all wearing military uniform for guys and green skirt with boots for girls. dancers were dancing and manipulating graciously machine guns like master and in a new, beautiful choreography.
5 16 trăng tṛn. tuong nguyen, tuong khue.the tuong brothers were performing this song with 9 dancers in gracious white ao dai. while dancing, they were following the 2 singers and sometimes formed a circle around them. i like their uniform of infantry with a large belt and identification plaque on their neck lace. it was a very nice slow and the arrangement was new but drawn the listener, along with their uniform and old fashioned ao dai, to the old time when nhat truong was still in the army. it is said that this song was written in 1950. stunning number.
6 1 đời yêu em. thien kim, philip huy.thien kim and philip huy was wearing in old fashioned costumes. philip was in uniform with a wreath of laureate on his left shoulder and thien kim looked imperial but very attractive in her red ao dai with high collar. this slow rock song was loveably performed by this couple of swans recalled all the love stories from the 50’s and 60’s and thien kim’s voice was stunning! our old veterans should be very proud to see again their old time:
“... Anh chết trong em suốt một đời. Nên ngất ngư câu hát nửa vời
Anh ơi đêm rồi không gian lặng câm
Em say trên dương cầm. Mơ hồ tiếng hát Trương Chi...”
7 phút giao mùa. trung chinh, ngoc minh.anh viet dzung said that this song was written by tran thien thanh for one of his friend, dai uy Phuc, who was died in 1969 at kongtum, some upland in vietnam. chu trung chinh was wearing like a soldier in the armored vehicle branch with black beret. ngoc minh with ao dai. they weren’t playing like other couple of this show because this is a real couple, i think, of this old time when tran thien thanh was writing this splendid song. this number was a remarkable piece of ancient memory and with other numbers, lead the audience back into the past time in vietnam.
8 yêu. thuy huong, doan phi.there’s a video clip of co khanh ly interviewing the song writer, tran thien thanh who talked about this song. it’s his first song when he was 15! thuy huong and doan phi interpreted this song successfully with 12 dancers in a colorful and vivacious stage. thuy huong wore red skirt, doan phi with dark blue shirt and formal black trousers, dancers wore yellow! a very nice, enjoyable swing upbeat.
9 hăy trả lời em. thanh thuy.co thanh thuy wore a black ao dai with flowers. she sang this slow song with all her soul and the happiness she had lived with during all this tormented wartime found unexpectedly at this moment of the show. we can see how endearing was this happiness through her eyes and her voice, although already marked by some pace of time, but still able to give bright transcript of the happy time when she was still living in her country. a master piece.
10 không bao giờ ngăn cách. chau tuan, bich van, y phuong, diem lien.chau tuan was in a splendid white uniform of the vietnamese naval force. the 3 girls were extremely loveable in their khaki style ao dai with large opening at the neck and collarless. people told me that its exactly the style of ao dai of this time. although not intended to be a play or musical at all but the play of the 4 singers along with their performance have made this number one of the most interesting of this already very remarkable show. according to their play, i must say chau tuan and bich van were principal actor and actress. chau tuan was released from duty and go home to found his girlfriend, bich van fell lovingly into the arm of her boyfriend under the wide opened eyes of her 2 girlfriends, standing behind and watched with pleasure the cute couple caring for each other. suddenly...well i prefer to let you discover the rest of this very interesting number after the release of the dvd. may i underline that their acting ( all the four ) are very remarkable. bich van was so cute and unpredictable
11 gặp nhau làm ngơ. dang the luan, thuy duong.there’re 10 girls dancers who wore in white with very large folding hand held fan. they were moving in a quite indefinite movement behind the acting of dang the luan and thuy duong who had a very beautiful off white ao dai with ornemental imprint in the same tone. dang the luan had a silver shirt and formal trousers. the white and silent movement of those large fans seemed to accentuate the vague feeling of the 2 people who were on the verge of love and discovering they’ve got a passion for each other but still in the stage of renouncing to fall for. it’s a nice and beautiful performance nevertheless, i have the feeling that thuy duong’s acting was overshadowing ( a bit ). she gained more performance and sung better ( with more confidence )
12 trên đỉnh mùa đông. quoc khanh, nhu quynh.co thanh lan were interviewed before the number, she had interesting confidences about nhat truong around the making of tren dinh mua dong and a brief outlook of the tran thien thanh on video clip. the scenario and script of the musical is written by her. in fact, this is not a remake of tren dinh mua dong. it’s just a musical. its not a piece of drama like we all were thinking and it was performed greatly by nhu quynh, who made me very proud to be her fan and a quoc khanh to be discovered after the release of the dvd.
we had a wall of sand bag on the left side with a donjon right behind. a strong light was sweeping from the top of the donjon surrounded with barbwire. in the center was another wall of sand bag with soldiers posted behind with machine guns and radio with long antenna. another wall of sand bag was on the far right of the stage, covered with barbwire. there were soldiers with M16 posting and moving all over behind. a soldier who were talking with a civilian at the left side, next to the donjon completed this spectacular and splendid scenery of vietnam war. it was in this context that quoc khanh and nhu quynh were playing this beautiful, very beautiful and touching musical in which i don’t know how to describe how good and terrific it felt to see nhu quynh acting with virtuosity in the arm of this very handsome and vigorous army officer, our multitalented quoc khanh. it’s a sin to miss this dvd.
13 comedy skit, the birthday gift.14 đôi ngă đôi ta? chế linh, phuong dung.again, we are having here for this unique performance, the presence of 2 legendary masters of the vietnamese musical history, co phuong dung and chu che linh, who have brought all the suave moment from the past, comprised with all of its quintessence and splendor of love, memory, human spirit on this stage. they didn’t even forget the soulful moon of their old time in vietnam either and colored the performance of its yellowish shade. this is the first time i am listening to this song. it’s so sentimental and brought me far far away to vietnam. chu che linh wore army uniform from around the 50 or 60’s. co phuong dung in old Fashionned ao dai with long span and high collar. it’s a solid for ever love song.
15 ta từ trong đêm. chí tâm, ngoc huyen.the presence of chi tam was a sudden surprise for everyone. he performed along with the marvelous and sweet voice of ngoc huyen a tan co song. i can’t comment on the tan co part. but from a standpoint of a listener. this number was great for every fans and the 2 of them, although younger than veteran singers, didn’t miss anything while delivering this splendid song from tran thien thanh, and this, for having earned all the vietnamese spirit along their career in cai luong.
16 mùa xuân lá khô. tuan vu, my huyen.my lan was interviewed by anh viet dzung before this number. in her confidence, she let know the secret, the reason why she felt for tran thien thanh. my huyen had a very beautiful ao dai. her dress is bordered by a thin white stripe on all the contour, from the collar to the 2 long spans. the body of the dress has two distinct colors, black for the top and red on the bottom but is divided by a slanting line from the left under arm to the right thigh. along of which line were falling down gold and silver imprints, i think, of leaves. tuan vu was in formal army uniform. but the song was performed in a much much more beautiful way. this is an exceptional amalgam of 2 prestigious silky voices to carry with professionalism and passion this very beautiful love song.
“ Tôi trở lại vùng hành quân vùng xa xôi đá sỏi biết buồn
Ba tháng hậu phương yên b́nh tuy vết thương chưa lành hẳn...”
17 chúa nhật này trẫm nhớ ái khanh khong. anh minh, justin.
ái khanh anh minh and trẫm justin looked stunning in this newly performance, supported by 12 splendid dancers, a very modern choreography with wonderful formation and paces. i’ve never heard about this song before, either its title. but it’s a cute romantic love song performed by a cute couple too. anh minh wore an adorable yellow skirt with a vertical white stripe in the center.18 chuyện t́nh mộng thường. bang tam, dan nguyen.it was told that this song is based on a real and tragic love story of an officer with an airlines hostess nguyen thi mong thuong. they met each other during a flight. he got to be decorated after his duty at the front of mua he do lua. mong thuong was taking a bus ride, city to city, to attend the ceremony of her boyfriend but the bus exploded into pieces by a viet cong mine or missile and mong thuong was heavily wounded and were transported to the next hospital. the officer came to see her and here was the next part on asia stage.
bang tam ( mong thuong ) was lying on a hospital bed with a fluid transfusion line by the side of the bed. she looked badly pale with bruises on her forehead and many slits all over her arms. a female doctor was taking care of her when a nurse came in and told that there is an officer who wanted to see mong thuong. the doctor agreed but ordered that he shouldn’t stay so long. then came in dan nguyen ( the officer ) he came by the bed and help mong thuong to raise herself on the bed. she told him what was happening then they started the song. it’s so moving and touching. when the 1st part of the song ended and yielded for the accompaniment, the officer let her down on the bed and gave her some milk in a glass.
they then started to sing again while the war was occurring all around them with troops, helicopters and deadly detonations with fire, a lot of smoke, noise. it was in this tumultuous turbulences of the vietnam war that the song ended. mong thuong called her boyfriend’s name many times while she was slipping down little by little from his arm. at first, he was surprised and couldn’t help thinking she’s about to pass away, but after a few more calls, when she closed her eyes definitely and was about to fall off from his arm that he realized about the fact, held her back and raised her completely with his arms from the floor, looked into her eyes and called, mong thuong! mong thuong! he then screamed out her name loudly in distress and with great suffering: mong thuong died in his arms.
19 dấu đạn thù trên tường vôi trắng. anh khoa, y phuong.this song was also from a real love story. it’s about a soldier’s girlfriend. a young charming girl who used to raise with all her love and affection roses at a place next to a wall painted in white, nearby her house. one day, the girl were killed during a viet cong invasion and later when the soldier were coming to see her. he just found a mute white wall with plenty of whole ( from the invasion gun fire ) and the roses her girlfriend used to take care of. this song was beautifully interpreted by 2 master voices of love songs, anh khoa and y phuong who didn’t take away anything from all the cupid and endearing newborn love which also has been one of anh khoa’s specialty (...co canh hoa dep anh hai cho em, em khong them nhan, anh chet cho xem..., du am ) and y phuong’s tendency ( giac mo tinh yeu, cuoc doi hong ) this song was accompanied by a marvelous arrangement.
20 trời chưa muốn sáng. nguyen khang, diem lien.this was how the song had been introduced by chu nam loc: “when people find themselves at a culminating point of misery, their unique last exit is to believe in God. this song had one of the nicest background of the program. some village in vietnam must have been devastating by a viet cong invasion. they all gathered inside of a church for a refuge. i saw soldiers secured and took care of wounded civilians. while everyone was busy with wounds and fighting with vc from the outside, within misery and cries, diem lien and nguyen khang rose their voices. far behind them, in this dark day and tenebrous moment, were the great gothic wall of the church with enormous windows through which, from the high sky were going down painful slanting sunlight to assuage everybody of sore and discomfort caused by the war, it’s the divine protection of God. this was a very nice number but how sad and how good it was. it also was a very nice acting of all the girls from lac hong group as substitute actors. my homage to the whole group
21 lời cho người yêu nhỏ. tien dung, thanh truc.nhat truong tran thien thanh wrote this song for trung uy tran cong tho. this was the first time i was listening to tien dung. i think that he was doing a quite good job. his voice is soft and nice like a breeze. if possible, i think he would form a decent group with the tuong brother but this is just an inference. he were in army uniform, looked good and thanh truc was not less remarkable for this cute song.
22 ending: bắc đẩu. nguyễn hồng nhung, lam nhat tien.this song was written for dai uy thiet giap nguyen ngoc bich whose atroce death, told by anh viet dzung, were enough for all of us to cry for the incommensurable sacrifice of the soldier of the republic of viet nam in their pledge and commitment: nation, honor, responsibility ( to quoc, danh du, trach nhiem ) and the suffering of misery caused by viet cong to our country and people during the viet nam war. which important fact had been taken notice of and paid homage by two important president of the united states of america, the president John Kennedy and Ronald Reagan in a video clip.
the song was sung with glory by lam nhat tien, a young singer of the vietnamese oversea community and nguyen hong nhung, a young girl who was brought up and came from the northern part of the 17th latitude crossing vietnam. between 2 rows of flags from all the branches of our army, and 2 more rows of soldiers in formal uniform and yellow flag, they had nobly rose their voices in remembrance of the sacrifice of dai uy nguyen ngoc bich. especially nguyen hong nhung, we felt the love from her expression and the pain when she shed her tears for the tragic death of the soldier of the republic of viet nam. she has washed away the injustice of the tragic destiny or the vietnam war and accentuated with more importance our noble cause for freedom and peace.
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