PGL

Hey hey...I just got back from the Esplanade - Theatres By The Bay. It was my PGL night! And it was not disappointing.

Honestly, I had prepared myself to keep an open mind regarding the musical. I mean, think about it, first of all, the storyline's a little bit warped. Secondly, it compromises everything that Hang Tuah is supposed to represent (read = super duper blind loyalty). Thirdly, friggin Hang Tuah's a white dude who can't speak the language. And the list goes on. Furthermore, the movie version was a little on the s-l-o-w side with loads of cinematic rubbish and the like (eh, I did like it lah...) and the ending for the movie's a little on the bittersweet side which might not go down so well as a musical.

So there I was, all prepared for the worst and honestly lah, my worries were not exactly baseless but since I managed to convince Ms Cynic to stay away for tonight, it was all in all, extremely entertaining. For the three hours I was there, I just immersed myself in the magic that is theatre and enjoyed it for what it was - an exuberant and lively show with a couple of surprises thrown in. It was really nice to see that PGL didn't take itself too seriously this time round as it did in the film. I especially enjoyed the little Barry Manilow-like routine of Sultan Mahmud. It smacks of his overconfidence, overbearing-ness and frivolity, even if it was done at the expense of the charisma that is expected of a sacred ruler or raja berdaulat. It was just fun.

Besides the Sultan, AC Mizal definitely stood out in his portrayal of the Adipati and he deserved the loud cheers he received at the end of the night.

As for vocalists, most did pretty okay though the standout female performer for me was Bayan. She had this beautiful voice that was so rich and soothing. Most of the time, I kinda wished she had sung the Gusti's bits as well. Hehehe...no offense but Tiara's got some way to go. She wasn't bad but Bayan was indeed very good.

And seriously, what is PGL without the leads - Gusti and Tuah? Well, white dude's not too bad lah...his opening lines were pretty well articulated with the right pronounciation and all. He did have several lapses but considering that the guy doesn't even speak the language, he did a great job. Furthermore, he was real easy on the eyes though I think what really struck me about him were his dance moves and that deep, well-trained Broadway voice of his. Which brings us to Tiara. She's not a singer but it was quite evident that she had been training very hard because she sounded pretty decent for someone who probably never really sung live much prior to the musical. But her dance moves and presence were undeniably felt. I doubt another Gusti could have been good enough. But then again, who knows?

Besides the actors, the props and music were amazing. Honestly, everything was pretty good so I'm just going to limit myself to the props because that bit caught my attention the most. Somehow, the people behind the musical managed to capture the essence of different areas with clever use of these tall grand-canyon like structures, cloth and light. It was simply beautiful.

If PGL ever comes back to Singapore or even stages another one in KL, I would definitely watch it again (providing that the KL one coincides with holidays.) Well, great effort so huge bouquets all around for the people behind PGL.

I had a great night.

See ya!