MY SINGAPORE FLING! A weekend to remember for a long time.

First of all, before i start, i wanna give a shout out and a big Assalammualaikum to all my Singaporean Fans and KODOKS that i managed to meet with during my break in Singapore the past couple of days. You guys were awesome and it was ultra-terrific to finally be able to meet you guys.

How can one describe the feeling of sheer joy, the feeling of pride and the awesome experience of being there in singapore to support my friends and the group of outstanding Malaysian artistes who performed their hearts out at the Singapore Esplanade for the past four performances of Puteri Gunung Ledang the musical. DAHSYAT DAN MEMBANGGAKAN!!!!

Even the Guy who runs the ESPLANADE (a huge theatrical space much like Istana Budaya, which has hosted many international theatre productions ) was so terkejut (in awe) at how the singaporean audience responded at the show : STANDING OVATION for all shows!!! gempak siut. And i have been made the official groupie of PGL, pasal muka i memang tak tau malu.... as my wife cakap. One of the top Malaysian celebrities a groupie... PERSETANKAN! aku kata, aku bukan artis kontrol macho dan tak berperasaan... KERJA YANG BAGUS kita sokong habis-habisan.

I manage to wrangle some tickets to watch the matinee in singapore so i took all my visionworks staff there and we had a ball. Sampai terujalah sehingga tak nak balik the following day. We managed to wrangle our way into the VIP box for the last nite’s performance and although the viewing was limited we were barely three metres away from the stage and we found another level of appreciation for the performance. Me and my lovely wife were in PGL heaven and loving every minute of it.

What i was really surprised with was how the Malaysian artistes were treated there. We would assume because we think the singaporeans are all kiasu that diorang pun sure kontrol-kontrol gak but to the contrary... they were amazingly warm and supportive. I think my beautiful wife was also kinda surprise at how well the stars were treated there, kat Malaysia ni, unless u are MAWI or DATUK SITI... Nak suruh orang tepuk tangan pun... berlepek-lepek bunyinya.

The main cast were Amazing as usual.TIARA AND STEVE were reprising their roles, which i can never see anybody else doing because they have stamped their mark and sheer class into their characters. Stand out performances came from the ADIPATI (AC MIZAL), MAHMUD of MELAKA (ADLIN AMAN RAMLIE) and to my surprise an exquisite performance from BAYAN (IDA MARIANA). Tapi yang amat outstanding adalah the CHORUS LINE (the dancers and extras to some of you). Komitmen diorang sampai berlenang airmata gua tengok. They really gave it their all, HEART, BODY SOUL and whatever else they can give.

Pemuzik-pemuzik tengah 'break it DOWN' for the curtain call.
Standing ovation di esplanade memang gila babs..
Pamanku Patin taking a well deserved bow.
The picture says everything.Nasib baik last show, kalau tak memang tak pegi keje la aku esok.
Aqasha and Adlin after the show, memang dahsyat mamat tu. Hats off to you brada.
Mac Chew the new musical director is all smiles and all hugs.
Stephen Rahman aka Hang Tuah pun kuat peluk orang jugak rupanya. Tapi gua pasti mereka 'HANYA KAWAN'. heehee.
Mohd. Afif anak sultan Mahmud juga berlakon filem SUMOlah... Watch out for this kid he is going to be a major star in our country.
The creation team of PGL the Musical. Thank you guys for the gift. I would watch this journey over and over again.
Bersama the chorus line. What hard working talents they are.
You guys deserve another photo.
The wonderful, talented , sexy and married Ida Mariana who plays Bayan, what a performance by her.
I'm too sexy for my shirt.
the cast thanking the musicians in the pit while going to their meet the fans session.
Jenny Chin, Boudeng, Mac Chew and Me. The Roslan Aziz Production team reunion or as MAC calls it, 'The masih boleh cari makan club'
My bro AJI the latest addition to the musicians line-up. My songwriting partner for ERTI HIDUP.
The most talented ensmble of Malaysian musicians ever to be put together for PGL THE MUSICAL.
The stage backdrops hanging on the trusses
Mukasurat terakhir skrip PGL the Musical yang sedang terbuka onstage
stage manager punya console to make sure everything is going well. macam sekuriti guard punya control room aje.
PAT GUI, PGLM punya stage manager. the person running the show on stage.
View from stage left at the Esplanade theatre.
And so the journey ends in Singapore.

I am so proud of them and so proud that we as Malaysians have a world class production in our hands. As I have said before and I will say it again, this production deserves its own home in Malaysia where people from everywhere can keep coming and be filled with all the energy , zest and talent that our country can offer.

As for my wife and me, well let’s just say we had a great time and loved our time together. She is my love, a great companion and I am so blessed to be able to experience life with her. Oh and she is a major PGL groupie too.

POWER TO THE ARTS

AFDLIN SHAUKI