Stage Review: Showstoppers - Music from Broadway

An ah pek admission here – despite my obvious love for the stage, I have never ever been to the Dewan Filharmonik Petronas. Oh gawd! The travesty! You say. I agree totally.

So I’ve been bugging KG to ajak me for an MPO performance – anything at all, provided it doesn’t require me to mortgage my house. Well well well – the most opportune show appeared, and that was how I found myself, deliriously percolating, in DFP yesterday to catch Hang Tuah in person.

The hall is impressively intimate, with the obvious focal point being the orchestra. KG waxed lyrical about how canggih the acoustics is – from the wooden panels to the moveable roof. And his favourite statement du jour – Even if that fella 3 rows away punya stomach starts to growl – you can hear it! But really, the sound is amazing – trumping Istana Budaya.

The final show of the 3-performance run scored a full house.

As John Georgiadis, the affable conductor, gently led the orchestra into the first piece – Selections from My Fair Lady – I could hardly believe my ears. The piece was perfect; I could enjoy the music for what it was. In comparison, if you were to attend any other Malaysian production, the experience would be marred by technical problems or mediocre, if any, attention to detail. Here, the lush orchestra moved up and down the sound intensity scale without sounding muffled or jarring. The polite beats of the percussion, as well as the gentle notes from the harp, were as clear as day. *Wow* Is this really Malaysia?

Stephen Rahman Hughes (SRH) appeared on stage right for his first song – I Dreamed A Dream from Les Miserables. Looking debonair in a black suit and purple sequined shoes (!!), SRH belted out his version of the tune made popular again recently by Susan Boyle. He belted… and botched it. The song, in context, is an emotionally-charged number, while SRH treated it like a contemporary piece sans the feelings. Sorry, Suzie wins this hands down.

SRH then delivered a delightful rendition of Journey Home from AR Rahman’s Bombay Dreams, including the Indian vocalizations. His voice soared. He must have made a most outstanding Akaash. I enjoyed SRH’s Maria from West Side Story as well, and boy can he reach the upper registers. Luck Be A Lady from Guys and Dolls was fun – though SRH could’ve shown a bit more of his moves – he’s a trained dancer no?

POTO’s The Music of the Night was alright. Had to remind myself that SRH is no Michael Crawford or Ramin Karimloo – so begone unrealistic expectations! Over The Rainbow from Wizard of Oz was obviously a jazzed-up version. Definitely overdone for purists like me, but hey – you need some variety I guess. And this was the reason for the sequined shoes, which he emphatically stated was not his.

Then, my least favourite song for the show – The Impossible Dream from The Man of La Mancha. The arrangement was atrocious. Why didn’t they leave it as it beautifully was? Obviously, one cannot put on ‘showstoppers’ without another Andrew Lloyd Webber tune – and he chose Don’t Cry For Me Argentina from Evita. SRH performed 2 encore numbers – Can You Feel The Love Tonight? from The Lion King – a gorgeous piece. I felt that this song worked very well with his voice. And he did Luck Be A Lady again.

The MPO well deserved the rapturous applause they got. My musically-rudimentary ears could not find a fault. At all. This, is what it means to enjoy the performance for the content. Man, I’m proud of this orchestra.

The show also took on an informal ambience, with SRH sharing a witty banter with John. SRH can sing. SRH can dance. SRH can crack jokes too! These intimate revues, I thought, are non-existent in Malaysia. Well, not any more. An excellent way to spend my afternoon – and at a most reasonable price, RM 40! Despite my petty complaints on the smaller subjective matters, I thoroughly enjoyed myself.

My only wish for future shows is to have newer hits on the list. Why only pander to the aunties and uncles? Showcase the diverse musicality of the stage – from Rent and Spring Awakening to Wicked and The Color Purple to Avenue Q and Monty Python’s Spamalot. Yeah, now you would have to throw in the compulsory Love Never Dies as well. Sigh. Andrew, Andrew, Andrew, will we never be free of you?