Broadway Parodies Lagi Lah 20 Sep 08

Broadway Parodies Lagi Lah 20 Sep 08 (KL PAC)

If you didn't know, Broadway Parodies Lagi Lah is in its second run after the overwhelming success last year. Hence, the "lagi lah"... aiyo! Anyway, this time the producers decided to bring it on a nationwide tour. First up KL, then Penang, Ipoh, Johor Bahru and kota Kinabalu. 

The cast mainly consisting of new members with the exception of Ho Soon Yoon from the "Broken Bridges" fame and Glamourique Arshad. Last year, the likes of Joanne Kam, Malaysia's favourite diva, comedian Douglas Lim and soprano Doreen Tang were part of this musical spoofing ensemble but this time, it is such a delight to have Mia Palencia, our Malaysian jazz queen, Tria Aziz and Sham Sunder Binwani join the cast. The other newcomers Tabitha Kong, Zeqthy Nattrah, Janet Lee, Sarah Low and Keith Yew did well to bring the cohesiveness and energy that brought the house down laughing and cheering. 

What is most impressive is that these performers are not only talented, they can sing and dance but most of them are also young... I believe these guys and gals will certainly shape the musical theatre scene in Malaysia in the coming years. I certainly look forward to seeing more from them in the future. 

Now, it is obvious that I had a great time. I thought the show started a bit cranky but it soon warmed up through the mid-point of first half. Second half was ecstatic. I think the entire cast did extremely well and it is difficult to highlight which song was done better. Anyway, I have dug deep and here are some of my personal favorites (I wanted to name 5 but I just couldn't omit the last one).  

(1) "Bomoh of the Bursa" sang to the tune of "Phantom of the Opera"... Soon Yoon and Tabitha certainly demonstrated that Malaysians can sing... strong and steady vocals; Climaxed with Tabitha singing the high E (I think so?) at the end... wow, Sarah B(rightman) please step down hor... Glamourique, miming the bomoh upstage provided the the comic relieve moments 

(2) The finale - "Bodoh - Why you So Like That?" sung by Mia Palencia to the tune of "Do, Re, Me" from the Sound of Music. I love Mia's voice. It is certainly refreshing to hear her sing musical tunes, a departure  from her usual soul and jazz pieces that she is more known for. The skit running up to the song with tourist stranded at the baggage collection point at our KLIA, was original and fun. The choreography was effective and it was the perfect ending to the show.

(3) The tap rountine from "Delisted" sung to Cole Porter's "Delovely"... excellent tap dancing from Ho Soon Yoon and Glamorique. Again, Soon Yoon was impressive. Demonstrating his versatility as a musical theatre performer, awing the audience with his tap, roundhouse kick and trademark jumping side split routine. 

(4) Tria Aziz as Datin... she is so funny. What can I say? She is definitely one of the reasons to watch the show. Her Datin kind of borders on the "kampung" side but she is nonetheless captivating and is able to get the crowd going. 

(5) Tabitha singing "Good Morning Towel" to the tune "Good Morning Starshine", as a frustrated housewife lamenting her love for the towel over her husband, due to more practical reasons rather. Tabitha is a star in the making. Definitely want to see more of her in the future. 

(6) "I want to be in Malaysia" sung to the tune of "America" from West Side Story. The Filipino girls were great. I think it was Tabitha, Shahila and Zeqthy. The entire ensemble provided the energy required. The dancing was not bad except that the routine was repeated a few times. I am convinced that perhaps we can now put up a local production of West Side Story... 

Anyway, I had said the good stuff... now, areas for improvement.

(1) Pre-show announcement - still don't understand why the pre-show announcement was done in 3 different accents... I can understand if it is 3 different languages or dialects but 3 different accents? Plus another reminder in the first song of the show! Malaysian theatre goers, I believe are generally courteous, 3+1 reminder seems a bit too many

(2) Music - hmmm midi.... argghhhh. I understand it may be a budget constraint but certainly hope that the production will move on to real music soon. Anyway, the minus one in the second half provided some relief

(3) The lyrics - some of the lyrics were repeated several times... I think we got the message the first time round and we were waiting for what is next... Dear Mr. Producer, if Broadway parodies is going to "lagi lah" one more time, I seriously suggest some revision to the lyrics

(4) Dance choreography - actually, this is more of a positive for me... Well done, Farah. I thought the choreography was great overall. Just that, there were too many ensemble "fall-in to the circle" routine which became mundane after awhile.

(5) This is a minor one... Stagehands - you have to be quicker off your blocks. Poor performers had to freeze for almost an entire minute to wait for the boards to align; Again, not a major item... surely the audience would understand but I think it will just add to the professionalism of the presentation

If you haven't caught Broadway Parodies Lagi Lah, please do so. You won't regret it. If you have already seen it last year, I suggest you see it again. I didn't catch the previous show but according to those who saw both, the singing is much better and there are more dance routine this time.