When I first heard that P Ramlee the Musical was going to be restaged, I immediately thought of Alysha, my partner in crime when it comes to going to concerts and musicals. We have attended dozens of concerts as well as musicals such as P Ramlee and Cuci (I don't remember why I kept missing PGL). We first met in the Sri Inai school back in 2004 and due to our common interest in music, singing and the entertainment industry, we normally end up going to these concerts and theatres together.
I went to her house in the evening to catch up with her since it has been so long since we last met and started to get ready at about 5.30pm. We had early dinner at home together with her mum, Aunty Suliana and we left the house to pick up Abang Kazran and Kak Ema before heading off to Istana Budaya. Abang Kazran checked Waze beforehand to avoid any jam and we managed to arrive at Istana Budaya just in time to pick up tickets and take photos before entering the theatre.
#OOTN photo before we left for Istana Budaya
Ready to enjoy the show
The entrance to the theatre, P Ramlee days feeling sudah mari
View from our seats. Sat behind Deborah Henry...she is so tall ! Spotted my senior from Sri Utama school, Adib who was there with his family, Erra Fazira, Umie Aida and hubby, who sat one row behind us, Dato' Sri Shabery Cheek and a few other politicians.
We gave a standing ovation for the amazing cast, ensemble, back stage/production crew and the Enfiniti team at the curtain call. Every time I leave Istana Budaya after watching a musical, I am inspired by these passionate people who painstakingly hone their craft and present to us an entertaining piece of art.
This season, the scenes with his respective wives : Junaidah, Norizan & Saloma and his first love, Azizah has been reduced but nevertheless with the new cast, we got to see something slightly different in the characters that they portrayed.
Tony Eusoff who played the legendary P Ramlee sounded so much like P Ramlee when he sang. His acting is no doubt, superb! Lisa Surihani acted as Junaidah and I must say I have never seen her being this gedik. It's my first time hearing her sing live, it was really good! Tiara Jacquelina played Norizan, the consort to the Sultan of Perak who left the life in the Istana to be with P Ramlee. We could feel her loneliness and frustration during her big fight with her husband which eventually led to a divorce. Nadia Aqilah Baijuri who acted as Saloma, was the star of the night. When she started singing, I had goosebumps! She hit the high notes effortlessly and was so professional even when her dress sangkut at the heel after she stood up from a sitting position. I've been her fan since the Emil Emilda drama days and I was privileged enough to have a chance to sing in front of her at Alysha's birthday party a few months back. In fact, I was seated next to her at the table and we talked about music and she motivated me to keep working hard and that she liked my song 'Fly High'.
Even though P Ramlee's first love, Azizah didn't have many scenes this time round, Ruzana Ibrahim played her role really well. She stood out in the other scenes as well as part of the ensemble together with Safia Hanifah, who was my senior in Sri Utama school. There was something about them that captures your attention. P Ramlee's best friend, Sukardi was played by Iedil Putra. He was outstanding and brought a more youthful interpretation of Sukardi. Dia punya lawak memang buat hangpa ketawa. Pak Nil (Aznil Hj Nawawi) played Junainah & Junaidah's father, D Harris. He was hilarious especially the scene where he made P Ramlee choose the coffee so that he could marry him off to Junaidah. If you have watched the previous seasons, you would probably have realised that Chedd (he played Sukardi in the earlier seasons) had a cameo role as the Tok Kadi when Junaidah and P Ramlee got married. #SukarDiLupakan
The few favourite scenes would definitely be....
1) The scene where P Ramlee leaves Penang with his best friend, Sukardi. The train with TJ 1010 (which is Tiara Jacquelina's number plate btw) appears and you can hear the audience clapping away
1) The scene where the Shaw brothers throw a party to congratulate P Ramlee on his marriage to Norizan. 'Lamree ah Lamree...' and the Cantonese parts in that scene
2) P Ramlee's conversation with his second wife, Norizan
Norizan : You balik lambat, I keluar!
P Ramlee : You keluar I balik lambat!
3) P Ramlee and Saloma singing 'Gelora' and they kept going P Ramlee...Saloma...P Ramlee....Saloma until one of the guys had to say sudah mau cut ke belum?? Hahahaha
This season, the scenes with his respective wives : Junaidah, Norizan & Saloma and his first love, Azizah has been reduced but nevertheless with the new cast, we got to see something slightly different in the characters that they portrayed.
Tony Eusoff who played the legendary P Ramlee sounded so much like P Ramlee when he sang. His acting is no doubt, superb! Lisa Surihani acted as Junaidah and I must say I have never seen her being this gedik. It's my first time hearing her sing live, it was really good! Tiara Jacquelina played Norizan, the consort to the Sultan of Perak who left the life in the Istana to be with P Ramlee. We could feel her loneliness and frustration during her big fight with her husband which eventually led to a divorce. Nadia Aqilah Baijuri who acted as Saloma, was the star of the night. When she started singing, I had goosebumps! She hit the high notes effortlessly and was so professional even when her dress sangkut at the heel after she stood up from a sitting position. I've been her fan since the Emil Emilda drama days and I was privileged enough to have a chance to sing in front of her at Alysha's birthday party a few months back. In fact, I was seated next to her at the table and we talked about music and she motivated me to keep working hard and that she liked my song 'Fly High'.
The few favourite scenes would definitely be....
1) The scene where P Ramlee leaves Penang with his best friend, Sukardi. The train with TJ 1010 (which is Tiara Jacquelina's number plate btw) appears and you can hear the audience clapping away
1) The scene where the Shaw brothers throw a party to congratulate P Ramlee on his marriage to Norizan. 'Lamree ah Lamree...' and the Cantonese parts in that scene
2) P Ramlee's conversation with his second wife, Norizan
Norizan : You balik lambat, I keluar!
P Ramlee : You keluar I balik lambat!
3) P Ramlee and Saloma singing 'Gelora' and they kept going P Ramlee...Saloma...P Ramlee....Saloma until one of the guys had to say sudah mau cut ke belum?? Hahahaha
During the intermission, Alysha managed to queue up at the photo booth and 'we travelled back in time to Studio Jalan Ampas' with the help of the props that were available. It was a fun night out, ended it with a sleepover just like old times.
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