Come Groove With Us!

The http://www.geocities.com/rhythmtappers are pleased to announce the premiere of its new piece - Now and Then - to be performed by tappers from the Federal Academy of Ballet (FAB).

The piece will have its debut at the annual FAB concert this weekend. The concert is for charity - all ticket proceeds (net costs) will be donated to a chosen cause. Details as follows:

Day/Date: Sun, July 22, 2007
Time: 5.00 pm
Contact: FAB at 03-7957-3413 (for tickets)

Come support us!

Visit the Rhythm Tappers @ Malaysia online here, or at its blog here!

the year to date

Just a slighly more sane little update of sorts (after the wisdom tooth rant) to fill in the 6-month void in blogposts :-D. After the Year of the Major Musical (which swept four awards at the 2006 Cameronian Arts Awards), didn't join Tunku The Musical this year, but did get involved in a variety of other musical excursions. View photos taken at a recent concert of German songs here. The Phil (refer also to the blog) has started having monthly Movie Nites.

And, speaking of movies, Transformers premiered in Malaysia on June 28th, a week before the official release in the US (now ain't that cool). The show has probably revived the car-sticker/decal business (Autobot car sticker - guilty as charged!), and has had grown men lining up for toys (grown women, too).

In other news, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix premieres this Thursday. But more importantly, have you booked your copy of the seventh instalment of the boy wizard's adventures? :)

words of wisdom

Warning: If you have aversions to dental treatment and drilling sounds in general... Now is the time to face your fears and read on!! (evil grin)

just back from the wisdom tooth extraction. it's the sort of thing that is so mentally and physically exhausting you just need to tell somebody.. anybody.. about it. (and yes, yes, i mean write about it - i can only make inaudible noises right now, with all that bloody (pun intended) gauze stuffed up the right side of my mouth!)

due to a combination of dense bones and the fact that the tooth in question had two curved roots and a real tight grip, the procedure took longer than expected - about one and a half hours instead of the estimated half an hour. one would have thought that one would be suitably conditioned for tooth extractions after having had four pre-molars removed during days of metallic orthodontic grins, but this turned out to be quite the ultimate test of endurance... there was a lot of what sounded like drilling (well, actually it was sawing, which doesn't sound any better :-D)... the tooth was cut into three and taken out in three separate parts. there was a lot of major pulling, jaw ache, plus the nagging anxiety that at any second the anaesthetic may wear out (am afraid i don't really have a high threshold for pain.. see other local-anaesthesia stories here..)

so, after endless rounds of tugging and sawing at the tooth and altogether 6 jabs of local anaesthetic (apparently 2 jabs are usually sufficient) you wouldn't believe the relief when the last piece of tooth finally came out.

the tooth fairy had better give me a blank cheque for this.

sights of sydney

my alarm rang at 7am. i got up at 8 :-D

(i did say the bed was cushy!)

registration was fortunately a simple affair - give name, get bag. (a couple of us who attended the finance conference in NZ earlier in the year were amusedly comparing how we got a 'goodie bag' from the Kiwis but didn't get many souvenirs here!)

i found out that yesterday evening's 17 degrees celsius temperature was NOT typical of Sydney climate. apparently at this time of the year it's usually a 'steam bath' of over 30. having just come from a perennial steam bath, i'm GLAD it's below 30.

plenty of walking done today. took a late morning walk from the hotel to the Visitors' Centre, and then on to the area near Campbells Cove for a view of the Harbour Bridge, and then turned around and walked along Circulay Quay to the Opera House.

and here's a photo i took of the Harbour Bridge, viewed from Circular Quay.

one of the nicest things about Sydney, i feel, is its cosmopolitan charm - in my conference (office) attire the locals thought i worked in the city and was on my lunch break. however if people did notice i wasn't Australian, they would assume I'm from China. even after hearing that I'm Malaysian, they would still ask "But you were originally from China, no?"

people should visit Malaysia more often :)

the conference has been good so far. there are no dedicated discussants allocated for the papers, so in the free-for-all Q&A time, the battles ranged from relentlessly bombarding presenters with queries to no comments or questions at all. some (i suspect) slyly dragged their presentations on so that there would be less time for questions, as each speaker is allocated an absolute 25 mins or so. i shall need to learn the art of answering questions of stuff i haven't the foggiest idea about :-D

in the evening i took a second walk to the Opera House (i'll bet no other tourist goes to the Opera House TWICE in ONE day.. unless it was to buy tickets and then watch the performance..) because i suddenly realised that the official souvenir shop was INSIDE the building, and not amongst the regular souvenir shops outside. no wonder i couldn't find it earlier. *hits head on wall*.

there's supposed to be a free wi-fi connection at The Rocks but i can't for the life of me connect to it. would be pretty cool if i could - i can then provide a live webcam of the landmarks of Sydney to envious viewers back home, buahaha.

anyway, on the way back in the evening i dropped by a McD's to see if they had any special Australian promotions on their otherwise standard fare, and decided on getting something from the Deli Sandwiches range. i (probably foolishly) chose the Thai Chicken. it seemed to have more lettuce than chicken pieces, and tasted nothing more than grilled chicken pieces with chilli sauce. should have known better than to try an Asian variation in a non-Asian country. *hits head on wall*. ah well. so again, I got hungry at 11pm (i missed lunch, as i spent a little too much time hanging around outside) so I dialled 1 for an Antipesto Plate with Grilled Breads. I must say I'm getting addicted to Room Service..

down under

taking in the view of the city as the plane touched down, i revelled in the surreal realisation that have actually been here before though i don't remember much of it - 20 years ago; my first ever trip overseas. in fact, I still have a (slightly discoloured) photo of 4-foot-something me with a cheesy grin and the Opera House in the background!

at least 4 hours of the 8-hour flight was over the desert... Australia is almost as large as the United States, and the distances between major cities is staggering, with distances of over 1,000km between, for example, Sydney and Brisbane.

names are familiar (the airport is still called Kingsford-Smith. hey, don't laugh, Hong Kong's and KL's have changed!) though don't remember much of what Sydney looked like then. As the taxi sped through the city (and I mean SPED - thought only Malaysian drivers could drive like that) at 9pm, i was reminded by the deserted pavements and building foyers that there would be no late-night shopping in this part of the world - shops close at 5pm, late night shopping is on Thursdays (now WHY did they have to schedule the conference dinner on Thursday?!)

the Shangri-La boasts a breathtaking view of the Harbour Bridge and the Opera House. my room, of course, happens to be on the OTHER side of the building, overlooking a highway that leads to the Harbour Bridge :-D This area, The Rocks, is the birthplace of Sydney and modern Australia itself (according to Fodor's Australia 2006, the first 11 of England's 800+ ships carrying convicts to the penal colony dropped anchor here in 1788).

when I'm through munching my wondrous late-night room-service Caesar salad (gosh, check out all that cheese and bacon!), I shall venture online (yes, I'm drafting this offline - hey, Internet access isn't free!) and post this, check out some tourist-info websites, and then hopefully head on to bed early enough for me to wake up for the conference registration at 8am tomorrow!

I love the attention to detail at this place - for example the bookmark left on a corner of the bed.

And oh, did I mention how amazingly cushy and comfortable the bed is?! (it helps, too, that i have all 4 pillows to myself! :-D)

Ipoh Down

Broken Bridges in Ipoh was a blast... so will it ever be restaged? If it does, perhaps Cheong Soh could make her grand entrance in No More like this. also, since there was only one Indian character in the current script, spicing up the play with a touch of Bollywood (see this very helpful video of suggested choreography) may not be a bad idea! In fact, it looks like we may already have the endorsement for this from one of the writers (heck, he appears in almost every frame of the aforesaid video!)

also, for the Ipoh run we had the incredible Monsieur Dominique instructing us on breathing techniques I wish I knew 2 years ago in order to audibly project the unseen Shepherd Boy's plaintive tune from backstage of stage left in Tosca without straining the voice (i'm no trained singer), and during all the unmiked singing while prancing around with Anna Glavari the Merry Widow, in this. therefore, the (last part of this) video is a tribute, of sorts, to the sore knees, yoga mats we wish we had, and above all, improved singing voices! (sorry, audience, private joke lah this one!)

...and that's three wacky videos to keep you occupied till the photo story coming up in the next post!

i woke up to monday (sung to no tune in particular)

i woke up to monday
(boy, was it blue)
rehearsals all sunday
(yeh lai xiang for you*)

my colleagues were whining
and going mad screaming
over the loud piling
for the nearby new building

the atmosphere tense
the pressure immense
my neighbour was grumbling
enough with nonsense!

for lunch we drove out
to the village so glee
at the shut stall, we shout
what, no prawn mee?!

the evening had come
my brain declared dead
unfortunately still some
vexation lay ahead

i tried to unwind
Ipoh Town** in my mind
the yoga would do me good
(of course, after food!***)

half past seven arrived at last
the rehearsal was quite a blast
we even got to go home early
so to Caltex****, went the cast

nasi lemak, tandoori chicken
80's tunes filled the cool night air
plans were made for merry-makin'
in the days ahead so fair

the sandman is now taking over
and soon i will be keeling over
but wait, before this rhyme is over
here's something for you to ponder

GO GET YOUR TICKETS FOR BROKEN BRIDGES!
we promise it will be worth your riches
come with friends, and bring some tissue
03-4047 9031 that's how to reach us!

* a line from one of the songs in Broken Bridges (which, by the way, will be performed at Taman Budaya Perak, Ipoh, this Friday to Sunday!)

** title of our opening song

*** the time before and after rehearsals is all about food. well, actually, in Malaysia, rehearsals are all about food...

**** actually, it's the mamak stall near the Caltex station on Jalan Ipoh, where we regularly "fill up" after rehearsals. i think the stall operators actually missed our boisterous company during our 2-month break from rehearsals!

wednesday (ran out of titles)

iGiveup

i found that my iPod at least still charges when i plug it in to a PC. for now, i ain't updating my iTunes any further. in fact i'm planning to get rid of version 7 altogether. found an old iTunes 6 installation file... i shall install that and hope for the best!

the Gmail accessibility problem appears to have disappeared vis-a-vis my home network. not switching email addresses back tho, since i've already set up the new account..

re-building bridges

meanwhile, rehearsals for the Broken Bridges Ipoh show commenced yesterday with a bang... it was like a reunion of sorts.. we should do this every few months! bring broken bridges to Penang! (Building the Second Bridge?) J.B. (Crooked/Scenic Bridges?) ouch.

we had four new cast members, most of whom appeared to have very impressively learnt almost all the songs already (shame on us! ah, then again, we didn't have the benefit and convenience of a CD. ha ha). one hopes, though, they won't be remembered as "the guy who's singing vincent's part" or "the guy who's doing leroy's lines"..

Leong (not his real name) christened me Gen2 for my attempts at imitating our absent pianist (named Gen. duh.) 'tis a deep honour indeed to be named after our a model of our national car. many apologies for the botched modulations, butchered chords and general honky-tonkness (the last one wasn't my fault - couldn't find out how to turn on the sustain pedal!)

ah yes, tickets for broken bridges ipoh. tickets will be on sale to the public from the 22nd to the 26th of Nov 2006 (did i get the dates right? we're performing from 24-26 but the crew will be around from the 22nd onwards) at the Taman Budaya Perak, Ipoh (where the show's gonna be). alternatively, you may contact any of us cast members (i.e. myself included) to get tickets.

for all ye who read previous blog posts and totally regretted missing the shows in KL!

Broken Bridges The Musical, a charming tale of why white coffee doesn't taste the same anymore, and which played to awestruck audiences at KLPAC in August-September 2006, goes to Ipoh this month!

24 & 25 Nov 2006 @ 8.30pm
26 Nov 2006 @ 3.00pm
tickets at RM40
Taman Budaya Perak, Ipoh, Malaysia
For more info, please call 03-4047 9031

the stage right sideshow

play the above video to view the background antics to the onstage love story (in case you've forgotten - Broken Bridges The Musical, August-September 2006 :-) - which pretty much occupied all my blog posts in the past months) i've been trying to post it up for ages (i think my patient fellow cast-members have given up on me and my empty promises to update my blog)... and when the internet connection stayed sane long enough to finally enable me to upload the entire thing, i started having problems linking it in to Blogger.. and finally now i realise that i hadn't edited the orientation of the video, so, sorry folks, just flip your screen 90 degrees CCW to view this, yeah? :-P in case i haven't raved about it elsewhere in the blog, Broken Bridges will be running in IPOH from Nov 24th to Nov 26th, 2006 (hor fun and white coffee, here we come! and oh yes, the Bidor duck noodles on the way too), so pick up your pencils/pens/styli, and mark your calendars now! 'tis the season for failing equipment. first, sis' laptop (actually, it used to be mine) kaputed of what was largely old age. then my dad's PC died of fried motherboard, which left him wondering whether he should get a new one now or patiently wait a few months for Vista (and, of course, i've run out of laptops to lend him - last one was the aforementioned one that went to sis). and today, it looks like my PDA-phone may have decided to give up the ghost too. am using a borrowed Dopod smartphone right now; haven't had time to check out its features, except that it has a pretty cool default ringtone and an SMS alert that doesn't sound too grammatically correct ("You got message!"). the email alert is a little strange too ("You got mail!") and oh, note to self: stop tapping on the screen.. in the meantime, best wishes to all for a grand Deepavali and Hari Raya. may you have a pleasant, haze-free, uncongested (traffic-wise) drive back to your kampung if you are travelling during this wonderful 5-day weekend! after a food-filled trip to penang 2 weeks ago that probably tripped the cholesterol meter by more than a few notches, i think i'll be spending the holidays attempting to sort out a decent research proposal (everybody repeat after me now, "NERD!!").

Ipoh Town - The Unauthorised Reprise

This was taken during the cast party, where someone spotted the mock-up of our Broken Bridges set lying around and started simulating the Prologue.. with the part of various characters played by handphones and plastic cups, and the part of the veg seller played by a leaf of lettuce... Don't expect ANY proper closing-of-words or clarity in pronunciation here...

would you do it all over again?

two weeks passed by in a wink of an eye.

i had gotten so used to the routine that seemed to to be the reason for my existence - jumping into my car at 4.30pm and snaking my way out of the winding roads of the Back of Beyond praying for good weather and good traffic to get me into town before 6.00pm; darting from a hurried gobbling of salads and sandwiches to sweaty warm-ups on stage to rushing out to get miked-up in the middle of applying the third shade of eye shadow on the left eye; belting the instrumental parts to Miss Saigon in the dressing room with the superstars; lending cast members white eyeliner and mascara; taking in spurts of Sore Throat Spray - the elixir of life that was a panacea for symptoms ranging from parched throats to endless dust-allergy coughs; handing my locker key to our dear pianist for safekeeping; standing on stage taking in the view of the hundreds of brightly-coloured seats which would be filled with people within 45 minutes while taking in the Overture that would lead on to chorus after soaring chorus of Ipoh town; hearing what Joe/Faridah/Mervyn had to say to us for the night; returning backstage for the crucial session of vocal warm-ups while staring at the mirror patting on last-minute dashes of eyeliner; listening out for the announcements over the PA system (which wackiness went up several notches on Sunday Sept 3rd); and finally making my way out to join the Stage Left family - the schoolboys, office guys, beggar, fellow pseudo-40-something aunt, coffeeshop owner, char siew pau kid and superstar, watching the screens, exchanging break-a-leg hugs and pacing the floor; and finally, the band would strike up the familiar oriental melody of the first few bars of the Overture.. and after countless nights, the rest of the next 2 hours would run almost like clockwork.

Sunday, 3rd Sept, finally arrived. it was amazing to say the least.. we had come so far. we were passing programme books around for autographs and snapping photos at every opportunity. after messing up my eyeliner tearing up during the warm-ups due mostly to a huge surge of 'this is the last time i'll be [insert every detail of the pre-performance preparations]' (knew that would happen, being the hopelessly sentimental fool i am) i willed myself not to choke up on stage at curtain call (and even took a few extra snorts of the anti-cough sore-throat-spray before going on for whatever it was worth) but that was hard too..

and Sunday marked the curtain on two weeks of unrelenting energy on stage, equally unrelenting wackiness off-stage, the warming-up to the glare of spotlights on the stage where you take on the personality of the simple small-town character that had essentially become your alter ego, watching the screens for the 'usual' laughter-triggering sections of the show, hoping nobody would leave any more footwear or spherical pieces of processed meat on the stage, waiting eagerly for the infamous Stage Right Sideshows during Act 2 Scenes 5 and 7, running to the sound crew for mike adjustments after every other scene, running into the dressing rooms for makeup touch-ups, watching the 15-minute interval fly past, not believing the night has already progressed to "white coffee doesn't taste the same anymore", the mad rush to get de-miked after the curtain call (especially for the superstars who exit from the vormitory!), and of course supper thereafter..

the cast party had a sober feel about it. it wasn't exactly a "we'll be going our own ways now" thing (as many were people i knew i would see in future productions... and others online thanks to the Internet!) but there we were - 4 months ago we were just learning the songs, wondering if we'd remember the choreography, and freaking out over memorizing lines (with me making feeble attempts at doing it while falling asleep in the sweltering Californian summer and then in the heart of the Southern hemisphere winter). now we were holding our cheques and slowly realizing that the next day we would NOT be doing our usual thing at 6pm.. almost as if a fantasy we had been living in was over. back to reality.

i've been having a rather dreadful week at the office clearing up work built up over the last 3 weeks or so AND trying to mask the post-performance withdrawal symptoms with office routine (it doesn't help that my neighbouring colleague bought our Original Cast Soundtrack CD and plays it almost every other hour of the day!).

but it's been worth it.

and yep, i would do it all over again.

(photos in next post. haven't figured out how to distribute the infamous Stage Right videos..)

A Slipper? Beam It Up to Pentas 1, Scotty!

(1) a fictitious Slipper Scene
"Leong, you are my bestest friend.. but your SLIPPER!!!"

(2) a fictitious Meatball Moment
"Aiyah, the Ah Sohs all mengarut lah.. men are actually more like meatballs... red and meaty. Period!"


(3) what will happen next?
"It dropped out of your pocket? So much for your 'A' in Science of Pau!"


(4) how far will it go?
Superstar: "Your Chan durians are ridiculous! They're full of sand! And bricks!"
Sub-superstar: "Yeah, just like the suitcase you made me lug up the stairs earlier! Buahahahaha..."

Cinderella Calls

we had another standing ovation on Wednesday on the charity night. we must have been doing something right. i even managed to bump into a long-lost friend from school who attended the show without knowing anyone she would know would be in it, opened the programme book, found my face, and went "HEY, I KNOW THIS WOMAN!!!" and then flipping some more and going "HEY, I KNOW THE LEONG GUY TOO!!!" so, as it turns out, she and my fellow actor were in the same school bus. (and of course all three of us went to the same school at some point in time)

the arts brings people together!!

the smaller crowd on Thursday were delightfully responsive at times, despite most of us battling various degrees of exhaustion (especially after driving through sheets of torrential rain and the snarl on every single highway and byway between work and theatre yesterday). the topic of the night (and of mamak sessions thereafter, i'm sure) was, of course, The Cinderella Slipper (we still don't know who exactly crashed into whom or who trampled on whose foot resulting in a slipper left on stage, but the names Mark and Vincent are quite high up on the popularity (or is it blame) meter!), and perhaps also, The Curtain Miscall (ah well. knew we shouldn't have relied on Superstar for the cues!).

.. yes i'm gonna leave you with those entirely useless bits of information .. now go GET YOUR TICKETS!

anyway, i decided to stay in and work from home today to make sure i don't develop a headache by the end of the day.

a friend working with a subsidiary of the show's title sponsor turned down two free tickets for tomorrow's show to catch Eason Chan in Concert. ![insert expletive here]! anyway, i've asked the said friend to get whatever free tickets she can from her boss and pass them to me to be given away (apparently the response from her colleagues was rather lukewarm.. must be bloody Eason Chan fans....) so yeah, IF i get a bunch of free tickets to tomorrow's Broken Bridges you'll hear about it... that is, if i still have any left after giving them away...

by the way (nothing related to Broken Bridges at all) a bit of fun stuff and free advertising for the world's largest software company (not that they need me to do it).. get your free Microsoft Tech.Ed 2006 Meego (i.e. interactive MSN Messenger display picture) at http://www2.meegos.com/teched/?PUID=0006BFFD82F61EFB&TCID=2169. (i suppose i'm also supposed to also go on to say "go register for Tech.Ed 2006!" :-D)

oh yes, we have a review on Broken Bridges on Kakiseni, by Nigel.. (and i thought Nigel was here just to watch us in the show! geez.. :-D) here's the review (surf over to the original source of this article on Kakiseni, where there are PHOTOS too!):

The Scenic Bridge of Ipoh
Broken Bridges: Can a musical theatre work by first timers be entertaining?
by Nigel Skelchy
24-08-2006
(from http://www.kakiseni.com/articles/reviews/MDkyMw.html)

There is always that moment of trepidation when a curtain rises on a musical for the first time. If the impact of the first scene is less than a sonic boom, it muffles the rest of the musical. What more an all Malaysian musical written by two untried and untested neophytes? It is the rare one that lives up to the promise of their glossy literature. Broken Bridges, running at KLPac – Pentas 1 right now, opens humbly enough with a beggar woman (Fang Chyi) shuffling quietly onto stage. Then the sepia toned frames, doubling as backdrops, are whisked apart as the townsfolk enter singing “Lively town, lovely town, Where it’s bound to astound…” From the sweet solo strains of Fang’s voice as she wanders the streets at dawn to the Ah Sohs going, “how’s the kailan, not so nice, get some tau foo,” to the men joining in with their baritone, the opening number builds to a big, rousing broadway finish, and nicely segues into the introduction of the protagonists.

Set in Ipoh of 1959, Ming and Leong are teens who have just completed their Senior Cambridge. Leong is content to eventually take over his father’s business and make a brand out of Chan Durians. But Ming, son of a coffee shop owner, Wong, is full of dreams and is chomping at the bit to leave Ipoh and make a name for himself.

Chan and Wong, the boys’ fathers, however have other plans. They waste no time in arranging the marriage of Ming to Chan’s 17 year old daughter, Siew Yee. With great reluctance, Ming goes on a date with her. The three aunties, Yat Soh, Yee Soh, and Sam Soh (although she has a Chinese title, she is, in Muhibbah Malaysia, an Indian), coach the adolescent girl in the arts of attracting a man (men are like char siew pau, “white and clean on the outside but red and meaty on the inside”).

When the two youths return from their date, the fathers joyfully announce their intentions much to Ming’s dismay. It is this conflict of interests that drives the plot to its unexpected but appropriate end.

Likeable small town folks

Broken Bridges, as directed by Joe Hasham and produced by Datuk Faridah Merican, is structured in typical musical theatre style from start to end and makes no pretensions to be anything other than a piece of great entertainment. And as entertainment, it naturally stars some heavy hitters. Douglas Lim, of Kopi Tiam fame leads the cast of very seasoned veterans in the role of Ming. Other notables include the cabaret comedienne Joanne Kam Poh Poh as Yat Soh and popular TV actor Tony Eusoff as Ringo. Choir trainer Colin Kirton plays Ming’s father, Wong. Ming’s best friend Leong is played by Ho Soon Yoon and his father, Chan, is played by comedian Monti.

The leads have their coming timing down pat and the one-liners are delivered with much aplomb. The audience is naturally drawn to the likable small town folks. The loyal friend is played to great effect by Ho Soon Yoon who injects his performance with empathy, and frivolity. Douglas Lim PERFORMS – as opposed to just SINGS – his role to perfection. His theatricality, the larger than life gestures, and the emotive singing are perfect for musical theatre. And Yes, Douglas Lim can sing!

Kudos to Colin Kirton who acts with such nuance that although he plays this tradition bound father who is overly strict with his son, you feel for his pain and bewilderment.

Yat Soh, Yee Soh, and Sam Soh, the dragon ladies, played by Joanne Kam Poh Poh, Chan Wen Li, and Pangasaanii G, add much colour to the fabric of Ipoh society as portrayed in Broken Bridges. The trio are reminiscent of the mice in the movie Babe. Unlike the mice however, they are active participants in the plot and sub-plot.

Do the right thing

Tony Eusoff does his usual star pirouette but his role begs more development. We don’t know enough about him for a character who is the catalyst for Ming’s decision to leave home. Same problem with Ming’s girlfriend, Mei Ling, played by Janice Yap, in the second half. She is introduced as a smart, modern girl with a penchant for reading and thinking – a stark contrast to the girls introduced to Ming by the intrepid trio of dragon ladies. Without much explanation however, she is eventually reduced to being the small town Ipoh girl stereotype. These two seem to have interesting back stories which could be explored further.
Another question mark is Ming’s argument with the townsfolk over Mei Ling’s fate. While it is obvious that the townsfolk blames Ming, his retort that it is their fault is not explored, leaving a feeling that the townsfolk have too readily accepted his judgment in the matter without any discussion. It feels glossed over, this issue of personal responsibility and how people need to do the “right thing”.

While it’s unlikely that the composer and writer are intending to create a musical with issues, it’s the issues that make a story interesting. In a sense, everything that Ming’s father was driven to do – arrange the marriage, dismiss his son’s aspirations as frivolous, and ultimately deliver an ultimatum that becomes too hard to retract – stems from his own desire for his son to be secure and protected. The issue of the father-son relationship is at the heart of this musical and to a large extent any aspect of the plot that has an impact on it deserves some exploration. For example, what does Wong think of Ringo, Ming’s cousin, for example? It’s possible that Wong despises Ringo. It’s also possible that he thinks the world of his sophisticated nephew. Would he have been more willing to listen to reason if approached by Ringo about Ming’s leaving for Kuala Lumpur?

Thankfully, however, none of these unsolved mysteries affect my enjoyment of the musical. They remain as intriguing questions that could be answered in part or in full in the next run, perhaps?
And for completely personal reasons, I think another portion deserving of more time is the cabaret boys scene. They come out looking like outtakes from a Chippendales show and before you can blink, it is over. In a musical, any excuse for a cheesy, corny, sexy number is ALWAYS welcome. Choy Le Roy, nice arms.

No pretensions

Pacing is superb. There is not one moment when the story drags. The singing is polished. The ensemble is well rehearsed by Mervyn Peters, timing is tight and the mood is nuanced. The music, directed by James Boyle, sounds obviously computerised in parts. But given the budget and the small orchestra, the music is pretty okay. Some voices sound tight and do not have the polish of Broadway performers (in a manner of compliment, I don’t think it is unfair to compare them to the industry’s best at all).

The choreography by Pat Chan is not spectacular but is nevertheless serviceable. Look out for Joanne Kam’s four-fingered instructions.

The production designers deserve special mention. Loo Jia Wei and Arica Chia outdo themselves with the clever use of mobile sets and those sepia toned photos of straits settlement shops on the hanging frame. Discordance, disharmony, and discontent are visualised by skewing the hangings and using projectors to display images of cracks.

For a musical that moves forward almost 47 years in 2 hours, costumes can be particularly challenging. But Chin Khin Yeow deserves much praise. From pleated A line skirts to the drainpipe trousers of the men, Broken Bridges is certainly well-dressed for its times.

In musical theatre, plot is secondary to the music. The music needs to be singable, clever, and able to advance the plot. No matter how cheesy or corny the plot could be, the music needs to reflect the mood of the scenes while a central theme tie the entire musical together. The opening number “Ipoh Town” seems to be the theme song but it is not reflected in the interludes. Hence it seems like the song is repeated 3 times rather than being used as a central motif binding the musical together like a ribbon on a present.
The melodies are catchy and the lyrics original. The “question and answer” format of the conflict music – with the singers “arguing” with each other – produces some of the slickest and cleverest songs I’ve heard in a long time. Look out for “Proud,” “Why,” and “No More” to catch this exciting bit of musical creativity. You will never have guessed that the composer and writer, Teng Ky-Gan and Lim Chuan Yik, are first timers.
On the whole, Broken Bridges is accessible, empathetic, and ultimately entertaining. Everything a good musical should be. It has no pretensions to be anything other than what it is. Like a good Malaysian food court, it has something for everyone. Fun songs delivered well, interesting conflict to make the audience root for the characters of their choice, poignant relationships, love, anger, and blind ignorance. In short, people will find it very easy to relate to, whether you are a child, a parent, a sibling, a best friend, or even a well meaning neighbour.

Huge claps on the back for everyone especially to Teng Ky-Gan and Lim Chuang Yik. When’s the next one coming out boys?

Broken Bridges is running at KLPac – Pentas 1, from Sat 19 Aug – Sun 3 Sep 2006. Tel: 603-4047 9000.

Glad to Have You Around!

we had a standing ovation tonight.

in fact, the near-full house audience were great and wonderfully receptive throughout. it was a pleasant surprise, as most of us didn't feel (or i didn't think anyway) that we put on an exceptionally stellar performance tonight, possibly due the exhaustion from the weekend opening run. for me, yesterday's 'break' turned out to be a day of catching up with work instead.. so i was rather difficult today to get into the swing of things.. it seemed ages since i last stepped into the theatre. the usual 45-minute warm-ups in the car didn't inspire my unresponsive grey matter, and after getting miked i had started to nod off (horror of horrors!) during the soundcheck process.

thank you all ye wonderful people who attended our show and provided valuable feedack thereafter.

also, contrary to what was told to me by Box Office staff a few weeks ago, i found out that tickets ARE in fact still available on Saturday August 26th. both RM80 and RM60. so go get your Broken Bridges tickets! Box Office Tel 03-40479000!

Come on down to Ipoh town!

This is Ipoh Life!

(photo on left taken during a rehearsal)

am still reeling from Opening Night Euphoria... the culmination of 4 months of hard work has been nothing less than a thrilling rush of exhilaration... imagine watching your favourite musical from the stalls and wishing you could be one of the actors on stage, revelling in moment after moment of rapture and giving all you've got to the audience.. now imagine actually being up there on stage. this was not my first stage appearance, but certainly a debut appearance in musical theatre... and first freaking LEAD ROLE in ANY musical performance... i suppose this is a pretty significant milestone in anything in the performing arts i've done in the past 6 years (strangely enough, not even being a Grisette in Merry Widow - my first major dancing role - came close!)

could almost not deal with the magnificent surge of backstage adrenaline rapidly welling up as as the band striked up the Overture to the serene Beggar's opening to the rousing first 8 bars of the signature tune (which, by the way, has been my all-time favourite moment of the play - the strings, piano and drums setting the mood and revving us all up to our first appearance as townsfolk of an town awakening to the hustle and bustle of a typical morning).

everything seemed perfect.. from the klutzy cha-cha amongst the drink-drinkers (our Ringo says I look like Olive Oyl in the costume - complete with lanky limbs and hair up in a bun - I must say I haven't heard a better analogy!! :-D) .. to the energy, passion and intensity of the second Act.. tears were coming on as if on cue... they might as well have included boxes of Kleenex on the prop rack ... i could swear a good majority of the cast was so emotionally involved in the story they were trying awfully hard not to choke on their tears by the time they got on stage for the requiem scene and thereafter..

i'd figure if there was such a thing as pure rapture, the Opening Night of Broken Bridges would come pretty close. (and i don't think it's the champagne in me speaking! :-D)

it was quite amusing how some friends thought that the musical accompaniment was "pre-recorded by an orchestra"... (now WHOM did you guys think we were acknowledging at when we turned to face the back of the stage during the curtain call? :-D) i guess the band should take that as a compliment.. i.e. that the music was so perfect it sounded too good to be live.. There IS a 4-piece live band at the back, folks! and (God forbid) in case anyone is guessing, we were singing live too.. (each of us was carrying a few thousand dollars worth of equipment on our heads and around our waists, which had to be subject to painstaking sound-checks before every performance..)

must say i was pretty impressed with our programme book too ... 76 freaking thick glossy pages in full colour where everyone looked absolutely stunning .. and they even printed freaking lyrics to all the songs... all that at a value-for-money 10 bucks! i was quite taken by the simplicity of the cast's unassuming biodatas... right now you guys are the people i love most on this planet...

oh yeah, also, i have a new warm-up CD now for the long drives to the theatre the next 2 weeks ... the Original Cast Recording of songs from Broken Bridges The Musical! i play Track 1, Ipoh Town, and i start to cry. i'm going nuts!!

tickets to Broken Bridges The Musical are still available! call the KLPAC Box Office (03-4047 9000) to get your tickets NOW!

here's to a grand 2 weeks ahead, all you wonderful Ipoh towners!!

of tents

3 more days.

time to brace self for long nights of tech and dress rehearsals.

must eat well and drink lots of water too, in order that i shall continue to look glowing and resplendent in the floral tent of a samfoo. no, no, really, it's quite comfortable. airy, too. one of the most comfy costumes I've ever had (second only to the the nun's habit in Tosca). and no, you're not getting a photo of the Floral Tent.. you'll have to come and watch the show! :)

spotlights

one week to opening night! can't believe we've actually made it through all those months of rehearsals already.. it wasn't too long ago when we were gaping awestruck at the killer rehearsal schedule and sitting in the rehearsal room trying to remember the melodies and lyrics.. or when we were sitting around outside the audition room waiting for our turns.. in no time it will all be over and we'll be wondering what we ever did with our lives after office hours :-D

will there be life after Broken Bridges?

there's SongFest and Xmas stuff with The Phil which i hope to still have the time and stamina to join in by then (family members who haven't seen me much in recent months may start to forget that i exist!). i can probably also get back to watching some shows (especially the ones that are up for judging, before the organising people of the awards start shooting me dirty looks, haha). and to get back to leisurely late breakfasts on weekends without having to worry about whether my digestive system would revolt later on during the warm-ups.

BUT OF COURSE, there's the Ipoh run of Broken Bridges which i can hopefully join depending on the rehearsal schedule! who knows, perhaps somebody will want us up in Penang too (and all our lines will have to be Hokkien-ified ... I can see it already ... "Rule Number 2! Always look down! Pai-seh a bit...")

anyway, for now, am glad for tomorrow's day off. the huge mouth ulcer that has been maiming me for the past four days can finally take a break!

in other news, heathrow airport is in chaos after security measures were put in place resulting from the revelation of a (foiled) terror plot. disturbing. sometimes things are more disconcerting when you think of what *could* have happened rather than what actually happened. (like the incident last year that could possibly been an attempt by road bullies to get me out of my car) anyway, a friend is due to fly back from london within the next few days, and another is due to fly there tomorrow. wonder how their travel plans would be affected.

auntified and ancient

oi, haven you heard the latest news? the Bloken Bliges show ah, sold out aleady on Saterday 26 Auges and Saterday 2nd September wor! yalor, tiket all moh sai. No More! so laku one. but then ah, they say ah, still got a lot of tiket on Auges 19.. nehh, the one they call opening night lor... so ah, anyway, you all must go and call the Kay El Pack faster faster and buy. ha. cannot just stay put lidat one, mus take some action lah! make sure that you not too late!

okokok i tell you all secret lah. mus watch one this show, very keng one, got all the ipoh place inside one. nehh, Hiu Loh Street*, Cathay cinema, all that they got say one. Tiger Lane also got say.. haiyo, so long never hear Tiger Lane.. now that road dunno call Sultan Aslan dunno wat name lah, so hard to lemember one... surrender, surrender (sigh)! haiya but better than Kay El lah, still stuck in that.. wat they call ah? nutshell.

yalor ipoh famous aleady after this show. hai, din know the people who write the show were so lek chai..

haiya, sorry ah, Day By Day become yee soh for so long aleady, the Lingo also become lidat aleady...

eh, don read anymore aleady lah. afterwards people think you are not doing your work...

* Hugh Low Street . Aiya, the spelling just seemed too refined, lah.

opportunities

was flipping channels on the telly last night (that's about all i do nowadays after rehearsals) when it landed Maximum eXposure and i spotted the Malay translation their tagline "we have lots of Really, Really Bad Days for you" flashing away as "kami ada banyak hari-hari yang malang untuk anda". it's a literal translation, nothing really wrong about it, but it just sounded.. weird. dunno. maybe some taglines aren't meant to be translated.

anyway, today has started off as a pretty Good Day. received an encouraging review on one of my academic papers. this particular paper is also possibly one tiny step closer to being published in a journal. *fingers crossed* also, i hope the boss approves my second overseas conference for the year in December! *more fingers crossed* and i hope the conference won't clash with the usual Christmas festivities of the Selangor Phil! *run out of fingers*

we received news yesterday that the PM will be attending the Sept 2 Broken Bridges show, which will coincide with the official opening of the KLPAC. sweet. he attended our performance of Tosca back in 2003 when he was DPM, together with PM Mahathir (as he was then); and i have a somewhat odd photo of self shaking hands with Dr M, with a man in a bloodied shirt and red lipstick standing on my right doing the introductions (well actually that was our Director who played Cavaradossi that night, who was shot dead at the end of Act 3 - hence the bloodied shirt) but unfortunately the photographers probably thought DPM Abdullah (as he was then) wasn't quite important enough to have photos taken shaking hands with the cast. ah well. i'll try and get my Abdullah photo this time lah. and at least i don't think i'll have any bloodied men standing near me who will need Photoshopping out ;) (yipes.. unless we have the Ghost of Mei Ling or The Unborn Child! :P)

anyway, we're having our photos taken for the programme book tonight. found out this morning that i ran out of concealer.. and started wishing that i worked in the city, where a dozen shops selling makeup would be within walking distance. ah well, will have to rely on Photoshop as usual lah.

Sneak Preview of Broken Bridges!

This was taken by Nazrul who attended our press conference last Tuesday. Enjoy! Also check out the post by Jasiminne (who also attended the PC) who also has some nice photos of the actors on stage..

We also appeared in the Weekend Mail on Sunday July 30th.. if you have a copy I can take/borrow (to photocopy lah)... I owe you teh tarik! Or perhaps Ipoh white coffee!

And if you're a reader of periodicals, check out the August issue of Her World where some of the ladies of the cast gave their few sen worth of what Malaysian women want.. (In other news, the FCUK top I wore in that shoot has finally entered the sale racks :-)) Anyway, don't bother trying to figure out which is me. I looked so different it took me quite a few seconds to find myself in that photo..