Monday, February 23, 2009

Mesmerized and blown away...

Nope - this has nothing to do with a certain Mongolian beauty who met with a gruesome end not so long ago on a secluded hill/mountain somewhere. But, this is about another beauty...who...errr...has something to do with a mountain, too. Different beauty, different era, different ending. And different mountain. So, sit back, and relax :)

I had never been to a Musical before. Not even when I was residing in London way back in 1991-92 when the West End was a just a tube ride away from where I was staying. I don't know why I was never interested to go and see Phantom of the Opera, Cats, Miss Saigon and the likes then. The closest I got to a Musical was all those Christmas pantomimes at the end of the year. Pathetic, huh?

When Istana Budaya was having Puteri Gunung Ledang The Musical Season 1, I never bothered to find out when the show was on, or even how much the tickets cost. I was saying to myself, "Alangkan West End shows pun I tak tengok...why should I go and watch PGL kan?" (I know...I know...sungguh macam diva, kan?!) And I guess because I never got to watch PGL The Movie, there was no "attachment" to PGL The Musical. I started to pay attention and show some interests only after hearing the rave reviews it got.

PGL 2 came....and went. Just like that. Both Ayah and I were just too busy. By the time we decided that we could go and watch it, all the tickets were sold out. And we thought, that was it. There goes our chance to witness the most talked-about Musical in town.

So, when we heard that there was going to be PGL 3, we decided that whatever the prices were, we would just get the tickets. Everybody else we knew seemed to have watched The Musical. Some had even gone to watch both PGL1 and PGL2 and were going back to watch PGL3, too! So, there must be something with this Musical which kept on pulling/calling people back to it, kan?

We decided to coincide this PGL3 outing with two of our MT members' 40th birthday celebration - Ibu and Re*a. It was kind of a belated birthday treat for them, as theirs were the only 40th birthday parties of the MTs and hubbies' which we didn't manage to organize properly last year. So, their PGL tickets were on the rest of us :)

So, armed with 3 credit cards which entitled us to a 15% discount on the tickets, Ab*d and I went to Ro*k Co*ne* at The Cu*ve about a month ago to purchase the tickets. As one person could only buy 5 tickets per one credit card, we decided that I would purchase 5 with one of my credit cards, and Abid would purchase another 7 using 2 of her credit cards. And we managed to get quite good seats for Thursday 19 February. (I was sitting right smack in the middle - in fact almost directly behind PM Pak Lah malam tu, albeit selang 4 seats behind him! And before anyone starts asking me, NOPE! I didn't see him sleep/doze off that night. Hehehe!)

There were a few celebs which caught our eyes that night, one of whom was the ultimate Perempuan Melayu herself - Datin Seri No*ma*a Sh*msu*in. There were a few dramatists whom the MTs for the lives of ALL of us could not remember their names at all! Haiyaaaa...where got time to watch all those Samarinda and yang sewaktu dengannya, and hafal their names what...I must say Datin Seri NS memang anggun and jelita in real life (or should I say "LEBIH" anggun and jelita dari dulu?)

The show started right on time, and from the moment the curtains were up, we were all mesmerized and blown away with everything The Musical had to offer. There were moments when I suddenly realized my mouth was gaping while watching the superb performance. There were moments when my eyes were welled with tears. There were times when I would just laugh at the hilarious antics portrayed on stage. And the songs...and, oh, the dances - they were just brilliant. And the backdrops and props and all those special effects. Oh my...VERY impressive indeed. Kudos to the whole PGL3 Team!

I can't even pick my favourite character(s) of the night! I loved AC Mizal as Adipatih. I also loved Ida Mariana who played Bayan - she has such a beautiful voice. She was the best singer on stage that night, I must say. But, Stephen Rahman-Hughes a.k.a HUNKY Tuah has such a wonderful and dreamy voice, too! And Adlin Aman Ramli - Mahmud Melaka, was one hell of an entertainer, too. And Datin Seri Tiara Jacquelina - what can I say? She was in all her elements that night. She was really into her character...

After the show, the rest of the MTs and their hubbies decided to go for a Teh Tarik session in Keramat, but Ayah and I had to give it a miss as Ayah had to rush back to TMC to see a patient. We also had to fetch the kids from Mak's house in PJ and bring them back to SD as the next day was a school day.

All in all, we had a great time at PGL3 The Musical. Worthed all the money and time spent. And Ayah and I have decided that when P.Ramlee The Musical makes its next round, we're definitely going. This time, bringing the kids with us, insya Allah.

Who needs West End musicals when we have such superb talents in our own backyard, huh? (says the once-a-diva-me-when-it-comes-to-local-musicals... Hehehe!)

(Errrr...do I get commissions for this 6-Star review?)

Here are some (BLUR) pics...

20 comments:

Mrs.A said...

Best kan... Masih teringat lagi.. tiap2 hari pasang CD.. lagu dah nak hafal dah ni.. ha ha ha

Desert Rose said...

Akak,

I baru nak tanya Pak Lah tak tido ke, akak dah jawab ha ha. Sian dia.

Apakah 'kelebihan' Datin NS itu adalah kelebihan secara alami atau yg telah dicemari seperti 'kelbihan' yang dipunyai oleh our deperately 1st Lady Wannabe tu????

MrsNordin said...

I've watched both PGL2 and P.Ramlee. But between these 2, I like PGL better. They said, PGL3 is better than the first 2. I would imagine so because they improvise overtime.

A.C Mizal is good, kan?

ms hart said...

Welcome aboard!! he he I was so lucky to have the ticket for the finale show! Ya, ya...watched it again!! :) Glad you had a wonderful experience there, Shana. It's something Malaysians should try not to miss, really!

Take care!

Naz in Norway said...

Hmmm...the shows were always on when I'm out of the country! AGGGGHH!
Thanks for the nice pictures. And yes, you look anggun too :)

KG said...

Shana,

I dont mean to potong steam...but I think the movie (even tough it's not fair to compare a musical to a movie) is better, Haq and I tertidurq during some parts before intermission...think P Ramlee the musical is better, but hats off to the props and special effect, and i think AC Mizal should become hang tuah and mbok Ida Mriani should be Puteri...

Kerp (Ph.D) said...

Kak Shana,

i think i'll pass this one. never been a fan of any musical or anything of that sort.

just drop in to say hello to akak and doc. been a while since i last hopped in here. hope you have fully recovered from the flu and the ear thing.

Mior Azhar said...

I missed PGL again... hmmmm...apapun yeay go and see P. Ramlee the musical nanti. I was hugely entertained. And you didn't bother to watch any of those west end productions... alamak ruginya.. I watched Miss Saigon sekali tu and sampai sekarang feel the chill

wanshana said...

Amy,

Memang best :)

I also bought the CD, tapi tak sempat lagi nak dengar. I gave it to Hanna and Hasya to listen to that night, and it's still with them. Not sure if they would want to listen to the songs though...coz' they have not been to the Musical.

wanshana said...

Desert Rose,

Hehehe! Akak memang check every now and then malam tu - kot-kot Pak Lah tidoq...But, Ayah said dia dah tidoq masa meeting siang tu, so malam dia segaq...Hehehe!

Hmmm...tak tau lah nak comment tang DSNS, and DSRM. Tapi, the former tu, rasanya asli kot? The latter...takut nak comment ;) Hehehe!

wanshana said...

BJ,

Yes, AC Mizal was brilliant :)

I wouldn't know if PGL3 is better than the previous ones coz' that was my first time watching it.

I guess you can't really compare PGL and P.Ramlee The Musical kot? The ambience of the whole thing would be very different, kan?

wanshana said...

ms hart,

Hehehe! I know! I read your posting on your fourth time at PGL, tapi tak sempat nak comment. Waaaaa...macam nak stock up kenangan PGL nampak? Hehehe!

I don't mind spending some dosh if the standard of our local musicals is the same or at least nearly as good as PGL. Nanti, kalau ada musicals lain, I'll check your blog for the review before deciding whether it's worth going to or not ;)

wanshana said...

Naz,

Me? Anggun? You tersilap tengok gambar kot? Yang tu gambar Datin Seri Tiara tu...Hehehe! (But, thanks :))

Next time why don't you find out the scheduled shows at Istana Budaya for the year, and plan your trip home so that it coincides with the Musical you want to watch? I'm sure you'll enjoy it :)

wanshana said...

Yani,

Hehehe...Tak potong steam aiihhh :)

Yes, there were a couple of scenes yang a bit dragging, but overall I think the show was superb.

And being a first timer to a Musical, I guess I don't have anything else to compare it with, so, I was totally spell-bound by it.

I think Ida Mariana is PGL's understudy, and I heard that the next round, she's going to be the Princess. That'll be awesome.

AC Mizal as Hang Tuah? Hmmmm, I still think he should stick to his brilliant portrayal of Adipatih :)

wanshana said...

Hello Kerp!

How are you doing? I've been reading your blog, but tak sempat nak leave comments.

The ear-ache and stiff-neck are still there, albeit not so bad. I was told that it will take time to clear off totally. So, kena sabar
sikit lah...It is rather frustrating, because rasa helpless sometimes.

(Time-time macam ni baru tahu the drawbacks of marrying a cardiologist and not an ENT specialist. Hahaha!)

Take care, Kerp :)

wanshana said...

Mior,

Tu lah tu...Rugi, kan? I had all the opportunities to go and watch the musicals kat London West End and I didn't even go to one!

But, if I were given a chance to choose just one, I would choose to watch Miss Saigon, too. A friend of mine went to watch it 7 times! (and if we were to pay in GBP Sterling, that's a LOT of money to pay, kan?)

P.Ramlee The Musical - yes, definitely will go and watch it when it makes its next round, insya Allah :)

bella said...

Kak Shana,
I saw them masa PGL1, I bet it is so much better this time around. I wish wish wish that Theatre shows can be more affordable.So that more people and younger generation can learn to appreciate it. I used to go to theatres in France, it was dirt cheap same price as the cinema ticket for certain shows, and there was a multitude of choice every week for various type of genres...

Y said...

Shana,
I've chosen you to be one of the recipient of the Mom of the Year Blog Award...pls drop by at my blog to collect the award, k..TQ

wanshana said...

Bella,

Yes, those who had been following PGL since Season 1 do say that PGL3was the best.

And yes, I agree with you - if only Musicals are more affordable in Malaysia, kan? After watching PGL3, I would love to bring my kids to watch future shows. But, if nak kena spend more than RM1k for the whole family, kena fikir 3-4 kali jugak, kan?

But, Ibu said Bandaraya do have theatre shows every now and then, and the tickets are very cheap. I might just start the kids on that first :)

wanshana said...

Dear Kak Yati,

Thanks so much for the award :)

And saya sudah menjalankan tugas - already posted and entry on the Mom of the Year Award ;)

Thanks again!