Reliving the heyday of Cantopop
The musical Cabaret Series: Golden Melody will be staged at klpac from Sept 23 to 27
LONG before the rise of K-Pop, Cantopop dominated the music scene in this region. For the very first time, klpac and The Actors Studio Seni Teater Rakyat’s Cabaret Series pays tribute to the biggest stars of Cantopop with Cabaret Series: Golden Melody, supported by MUKA SPACE, staging from Sept 23 to 27 in Pentas 2, klpac.
The 80s, also known as the Golden Age of Cantopop, saw the rise of several mega superstars. Singers like Alan Tam, Anita Mui, Danny Chan, Leslie Cheung, Priscilla Chan, Sammi Cheng, Hacken Lee, Grasshopper and many more became household names, with legions of fans all over the world.
One cannot stage a Cantopop tribute without featuring at least one of the Four Heavenly Kings of Cantopop. In this case, the spotlight is on Jacky Cheung, also known as the God of Songs. His track I Just Want To
Spend My Lifetime With You will be one of the highlights in the upcoming concert.
Cabaret Series: Golden Melody also pays tribute to two stars who are still fondly remembered today –
Leslie Cheung and Anita Mui, who both passed away in 2003.
Cheung was much beloved as an actor, and his music managed to reach the Japanese and South Korean music charts. His legendary track Chase will be performed during the show.
Meanwhile, Mui earned the title of the Madonna of the East for her showmanship, and fans will be thrilled by the performance of her song Dream Partner.
The tribute show will also feature music from iconic films, including Faye
Wong’s rendition of Dream Lover from the Wong Kar Wai-helmed
Chungking Express (1994),
George Lam’s Need You
Every Minute from
Silent Love
(1986), as well as For
Love from I
Have a Date with Spring (1994).
Cabaret Series: Golden Melody will be directed by Ian Chow, a Cantopop fan himself, who also directed the past three Yesterday Once More concerts under the Cabaret series.
This time, he has enlisted performers including MayJune Tan (ntv7 Star Idol Malaysia), Ruby Faye (winner of NEWAY Advocating the Great Leap Forward Female Singer Award), Tan Li Yang (leader of
La Voce Choir), Dickson Chai
(winner of Best Original Music,
ADA Drama Award) as well as
Toh Shir Ling & Jacqueline
Teng (Best Overall Production,
Short+Sweet Malaysia).
The Cabaret Series
is a monthly feature as part of klpac and The Actors Studio’s ongoing Covid-19 Relief Fundraiser. The final edition under this series is Divas Live!, set to take place from Oct 28 to Nov 1.
klpac and The Actors Studio are fundraising to cover the almost RM1.4 million losses it has incurred due to the Covid-19 pandemic. klpac itself has to raise another RM300,000 by end of December to stay afloat.
Members of the public can help by buying a ticket to a show, shopping on Barang Best @ klpac, or making a donation via www.klpac.org/donations/.
klpac has comprehensive safety measures in place including compulsory mask-wearing, health screening, physical distancing measures, sanitisation and disinfection, visitor education, and a contactless experience via e-ticketing and staff training.
Patrons are advised to read through its full SOP guide on bit.ly/klpacSOP or watch the instructional video at bit.ly/klpacSOPvideo.