[JaredHK]

Why Karen Mok though?? Don't we have better talent in HK or in Asia than her?

[HKPhooey]

Very few HK actresses are as talented as she is. She can speak 5 languages, act, sing, not to mention play 2 or 3 musical instruments? Thats fairly impressive. I`m guessing that the fact she is fluent in English helped too.

[KnowItAll]

HKPhooey,

Hmmm... other than the media (who honestly don't have a shred of integrity in them...) not many people other than you, are raving about Karen and Rent here, in Hong Kong.

So... time for full disclosure.

By the way these two statements don't match up.

>> guessing that the fact she is fluent in English helped too

>> Karen will obviously be seen as the weak link because a) she`s singing in a foreign language

Bottom line .. she's the wrong choice. Too bad the people seem to have gotten caught up in the hype.

[hkbrit]

Oh bugger!!! I arrived in HK two weeks ago to start a 6 month secondment from the UK. My folks are heading out for Christmas, and as a Christmas present to show my appreciation I've bought tickets to..........Rent!!

Maybe Karen will pull an extra special performance out of the bag for Christmas! Otherwise I'll have to rely on their jet lag to take the edges off any bad performance.

[rani]

Never know ... may be she might read this and get inspired.

[hkbrit]

Or do a runner!!! Which would be even more of a disaster than a bad performance!

I knew I should've just planned to take them for a top meal!

[weekend]

I saw Rent musical ( asia tour ) twice in fact. The 1st time i saw it, it was ok. I wasnt awed by the performance although i did enjoy the songs and the musical as a whole. It was entertaining although not exceptionally spectacular.

However watching a second time the following weekend, i must admit Karen Mok's performance did improve. She was stronger vocally and i think she was more at ease than the previous performance.

For me ( though i do not speak for all ), she was initially the partial the reason i caught Rent the musical. Although the second time was more for the fact that i did enjoy the musical nonetheless despite the lack of energy from the cast compared to other more established musicals eg les miserables etc.

Afterall, she is not a trained broadway singer, she is a "canto pop singer" and an articulate and eloquent one too.

On much reflection, i still think she is one of the better choices for the role of mimi in Rent from Asia. I cant think of anyone else. Who do you think can do a better job as an Asian broadway performer reprising the role of mimi in Rent than she has already done?

[bigblue]

Hi to all,

For those of you who saw Rent in HK and was dissapointed with Karen, but applauded Angel, here is what I have to say.

First of all, don't forget that for all the other casts, they have performed Rent like 200 times - usually they do it for about 6 months minimum. And don't forget that it is only Karen's first ever musical and not just that, performing Rent just after 10 days or less in Singapore! And if you give her another 200 performances, we'll see if she can do better. Overall, I think she did fantastic because its a very tough role!

Most of you have only watched Rent the first time. I have watched it 3 times - once in London (most of the original Broadway cast performed included the original Angel) and the other in New York just this year. And I can tell you that I was most dissapointed with the Angel in this tour. He couldn't even dance and sing - compared to the other 2 Angels that I've seen. His role was created to standout and its his songs/role that made him stood out. If you had seen the original Angel (Jermaine Heredia) then you would know what I'm talking about.

Anyway, everyone is entitled to the own opinion, so thats it.

Bigblue.

[Apple Pie]

I saw a Singapore and Filipino production of rent a few years ago in Singapore.

The Filipinos in the cast were spectacular. Very energetic, talented... There are A LOT of people who could have done better than the "ah lian" that Karen Mok is.

She does have nice legs though! haha

[caroline13]

This is one time I'm glad I waited to see what the reviews would be like before getting tickets. I'd watched Rent before in New York and thought it was a fun musical. Thought of catching it again while it's running in HK ...but after all I've read in this forum, I think i'm the one that's going to be running.....away from the ticket booth! haha..