Malaysian musical wows China
Local talents do country proud at Beijing’s Poly Theatre
BEIJING: The staging of a musical here has opened the eyes of Chinese audiences to the immense talent of Malaysians.
“I did not know before this that Malaysia had other talented singers besides Fish Leong, Victor Wong and Michael Wong,” said Vivian He, who watched the premiere of the Princess Wen Cheng — The Musical at the Poly Theatre on Friday night.
Over 1,000 people watched the Malaysian-made show, which traces the journey of a Tang dynasty princess to Tibet as a marriage ambassador to King Sonsten Gampo some 1,300 years ago.
It is the first musical by Malaysians ever staged in China.
She said she was touched by the performers’ “heavenly” vocals and profound interpretation of the characters in the story, which also portrayed the history of Buddhism in China.
“The singers were gorgeous, especially the performers who played the leading roles of King Songsten and Princess Wen Cheng,”
This is flying the Malaysian flag overseas and we should be proud that we have a troupe that can perform in Chinese with a Chinese storyline in China. — TAN SRI VINCENT TAN
she said.
Musical fan Wang Yanfei said she loved the dance segments of the show more than the vocal performances.
“Some performers had problems with proper Mandarin pronunciation and finishing their songs well.
“But, overall it was good entertainment,” she said.
Malaysian Liesl Cheng said she was fascinated by the elaborate costume, backdrop and the music, adding that it was like enjoying a West End or Broadway show.
Berjaya Corporation founder Tan Sri Vincent Tan, whose Berjaya Great Mall of China Co Ltd is the main sponsor of the show, said they planned to bring the musical production to Xi’an in July and to Singapore next year.
“This is flying the Malaysian flag overseas and we should be proud that we have a troupe that can perform in Chinese with a Chinese storyline in China,” he said.
The musical was conceptualised by Asia Musical Productions in 2007 and premiered at Istana Budaya in Kuala Lumpur a year later.
Last year, the musical broke new ground when it travelled to Taipei.
Evelyn Toh plays Princess Wen Cheng while Yang Wei Han takes the role of King Songsten Gampo.
Produced and directed by Ho Lin Huay and music composition by Imee Ooi, the musical will be staged here until Tuesday.