Beauty World, the musical

I’ve long heard of Michael Chiang’s play but on Saturday I finally got to see it in musical form. I was quite proud to see homegrown productions take off. The music was good, the acting was humorous without being overdone, the costumes were flamboyant and the storyline was plausible. Some of us gave a standing ovation.

This is the cover of the programme.
After the show we chatted with Dick Lee’s family and I asked Dick to autograph the Beauty World CD we had purchased. A large crowd had already gathered inside the Esplanade, queuing up to meet the cast. I followed Dick as he squeezed his way through the throng, with security guards keeping our path clear. He found a marker pen and a counter table and autographed my CD. Then we took this photo:

I first met Dick when his Mad Chinaman album (my favourite) took off and there was a party at his place. I had just begun writing songs and aspired to be like him. I’ve always wanted to have a photo with him but that eluded me until yesterday.
After that, we joined the queue to meet the rest of the cast, who were in high spirits. Wherever I could recall a good song performance, I’d praise the respective cast member – it’s always good to encourage people. And they were appreciative and very friendly, no airs about them.

Me and my sister with comedienne actress Irene Ang, who was roaringly funny as the Cantonese maidservant.
The highlight was meeting the star of the show, Elena Wang. We realised she was from the same school as my sister, and she was delighted to hear about it. Her voice was crystal clear, she hit all the notes, her acting was convincing – truly a rising star.

All in all, it was a most memorable night. Singapore can be proud of this homegrown musical.