I Have A Date With Spring

Ever since mum and I watched Dama Orchestra's "September Tales", we were quite smitten by the their productions and Tan Soo Suan's voice (most probably it was because we were Teresa Teng junkies as well). Following that, we bought tickets to "Butterfly Lovers". Once again, we were bowled over by their musical prowess and voice talent. Come 2009, I knew I had to watch their musical "I Have A Date With Spring". For those of you who have gone to KTV with me, you would know that oldies are my staple. So it was definitely a must-watch. SK, mum and I caught the matinee show last Sunday at KLPAC and we weren't disappointed. The musical is an adaptation of To Kwok Wai's play of the same name. It's in Cantonese with english and chinese subtitles. The story revolves around 4 aspiring singers-- Butterfly Yiu (played by the talented Tan Soo Suan), Lulu, Nancy and Feng Ping. They shared their lives, careers, trials and tribulations. There's love, hate and humour. Throw in some flashbacks, wars, curfews... and you get a gripping tale. Some parts of the story were not very convincing, but hey, it's a musical.

My favourite character is Nancy, who is played by Fang Chyi Chang. Her voice was superb. Strong. Solid. And she played the part of the stubborn and faithful friend to a T. And in the whole script, I think she spoke more than 20 pok-kais. Hehe. Another great distraction was Nell Ng's Yuen Pik, the curvy and sashaying singer whom everybody loves to hate. And of course, the songs are the main stars of the musical. I liked Nancy's "As Time Goes By" and "Kiss Me, Honey, Honey, Kiss Me". And I especially loved the groups rendition of "Sneaking Around" and Yuen Pik's "Spring Kisses On My Cheek". Such classics! The set was quite innovative with the use of 2-way mirrors, but the show was marred by a curtain malfunction. But overall, it was a great show. The women definitely sang better than the men but one can always forgive a face like Steve Yap's. :P.

A wonderful piece of work Dama! Looking forward to 2010's production of Empress Wu.

P.S.: Oh yeah, forgot to bad mouth the Japanese restuarant in KLPAC. I did not bother to remember the name. Just don't eat there. The food quality is sub-standard!!! Just ask SK.
P.P.S: Extra shows till November 1st if you're interested.