Saturday, May 17, 2008

Five reasons to watch P. Ramlee the Musical

5. Back by popular demand, it's only in Singapore till May 19 (tickets here) before moving to Kuala Lumpur from May 28 till June 15. The show sold out in both cities in its first season.

4. Experience a musical almost entirely in Malay, peppered with classic favourites like Getaran Jiwa and Jangan Tinggal Daku. No fear, for those language challenged, there are subtitles!

3. Support a local production to celebrate a local legend. I thought the female leads (especially Liza Hanim as Saloma, Atilia as Junaidah and Melissa Saila as Norizan) outshone Musly Ramlee who was debuting in place of Sean Ghazi from the original cast.

2. Go down memory lane from Penang to Singapore to KL in the 1940-70s, a time of independence, transformation and eventual separation for Singapore and Malaysia. Witness how this impacted the "people" through the eyes of P. Ramlee and his circle of loved ones, the Shaw brothers and Malay Film Production troupe.

1. Learn about a man who loved deeply and lived fully, as well as the context behind his art: He had three wives, was divorced twice, acted in 60 films (directing 37 of those), composed and performed over 250 original songs, and won multiple Asian Film Festival awards (best musical score, male actor, comedy film, most versatile talent) -- before his premature death at 45.

P. Ramlee's last song, Air Mata Di Kuala Lumpur (Tears in KL) is a poignant reflection of his life, sung here by his last wife, Saloma:

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