Saturday, May 20, 2006
It's as if someone brought out my worst nightmare of a bad broadway musical, (wait that's a JOHN TRAVOLTA musical no less!!!!) and then charged me RM200 to see it!!! Shit!
It's as if someone brought out my worst nightmare of a bad broadway musical, (wait that's a JOHN TRAVOLTA musical no less!!!!) and then charged me RM200 to see it!!! Shit!I am a baloon. The baloon, which was all filled up with adrenaline and helium just anxious and excited to go watch Grease the Musical at the Plenary Hall in KLCC today. A baloon, with high hopes that this would be another awesome and smashing musical like Saturday Night Fever two years ago. A baloon, which at the near end of the performance, would just burst POW! (Wambam thank you, ma'am! And that's how it's done!!!! And the crowd goes wiiiiild!!) A baloon, which could still float on home after that God-awesome performance WHICH I PAID QUITE A LOT OF MONEY to go see. But today, there was no POW! sound. All you could here from me, the baloon, was ...... sssssssssssss.....bwbwtttttttwtttwtttbbttt. By the way, that was the sound of someone letting all the air out of me, the baloon, and just left me there to shrivel up and die.
As an authority of Grease (yeah that's ME because I have watched the movie uncountable times and can memorize which scenes comes before and after!) and someone who worship's the ground John Travolta walks on, I just have to say that this Grease the Musical production was something you would expect from a Malaysian troupe, and not one from the US. When my sister (who had watched the performance last Wednesday) told me the performance was only so-so and that the guy playing Danny Zucco had not much UMMPHH, I thought to myself, "Ok... maybe what the lead actor lacked they could make up in the rest of the show," because I give these musicals the benefit of the doubt. But hells spells, at the end of it, I cursed the director (in my head, of course) left, right and centre!
Arghh COME ON!!! How can Danny Zucco NOT sing the lead in Grease Lightning?! I mean, ok, granted, I'm all for improvising and ad-libbing and adding some creativity to the show, BUT, I don't remember any "cat fights" in Grease. Fine. Some of the songs that are on the soundtrack but NOT in the movie were included in this musical. I can accept that. The big letdown was the performance by the actor who played Danny Zucco, man. It was weak. Not enough of the "John Travolta" attitude. (Ok, the greasy hair-combing was can-do lah.) But ARRRRGHHHH! The scene at the high school prom dance with Born To Hand Jive was THE scene which DEFINED the entire movie, OK! but it was so anti-climax here. I only give credit to the girl who played Rizzo and the woman who portrayed the headmistress, and MAYBE the other members of the T-Birds. The music arrangements was mediocre. Nothing that made me bop to the tunes.
Instead of Danny Zucco, who is supposed to the highlight of the show, Vince Fontaine was actually doing his best to entertain the crowd. The choreography was dull and a bit messy. I remember when watching Saturday Night Fever the Musical at Istana Budaya, I was all hyped up throughout the show and was just in awe with the set design, the dancing, the portrayal of the characters and the music. Today, after Act 1 when we stopped for intermission, I was all "Bleghhhhhh, what just happened?". The only consolation (wait,.. the other is that Danny Zucco had a damn smokin' body and cute ass) was at the start of the show when the original score of Grease was played. That got the audience in the mood, but then it kind of died down although some of them sitting behind me were still singing along to the tunes of Hopelessly Devoted To You and Summer Nights. Oh yeah, and what was with the periodical sound effects of lightning every time Kenickie said the words "Grease Lightning"? What the hell was that about? I know I'm being harsh and maybe a little mean, but still, it wasn't worth the money.
From what I know, since I have been to quite a few Broadway and musical shows, the entire hall/auditorium will burst into thunderous applause when the casts come out to bow to the audience. The lead actor will usually get the most loudest applause, with whistles and whohoo-ing to boot. When the show ended today, something in the air felt that I wasn't the only one who thought that the show was way below the audience expectations. That and the fact that Danny Zucco only received mere claps, minus the whistling and whohoo-ing.
I left the Plenary Hall feeling violated and frustrated. If that wasn't bad enough, the LRT was so full that when I stepped into the carriage that was bursting at the seams, the bloody door slammed into me and knocked my sunglasses off my head, where it was resting comfortably.
So there I was, waiting for the next train to come, thinking that if John Travolta saw the musical today, he would probably have gone on stage (after sniggering in mortification at the guy who SUPPOSED to play HIM, of course) and showed them how it's really done.
After I got in my car at the Kelana Jaya station, I turned on the Grease soundtrack on full blast just to rid myself of the irritation I felt for the amateur performance and to ease my senses with the sounds of JT and the original cast doing Summer Nights and Grease Lightning. (Needless to say my car was almost about to fly when I gunned the engine to Grease Lightning.)
Damn, that was a load off my chest. Pun intended, the show lacked grease. Grease is supposed to be the word, man. Unfortunately, it was SO NOT!
What else Aida saw today?
- A woman wearing a sheer silky dress with no bra walking at the Kelana Jaya LRT station. So obvious! For God's sake lady, buy a bra!-
- A TV airing a football game in the middle of the fruit section at Carrefour, Subang. (Husband: Ok honey, you get the fruit and I'll be watching TV.)
As an authority of Grease (yeah that's ME because I have watched the movie uncountable times and can memorize which scenes comes before and after!) and someone who worship's the ground John Travolta walks on, I just have to say that this Grease the Musical production was something you would expect from a Malaysian troupe, and not one from the US. When my sister (who had watched the performance last Wednesday) told me the performance was only so-so and that the guy playing Danny Zucco had not much UMMPHH, I thought to myself, "Ok... maybe what the lead actor lacked they could make up in the rest of the show," because I give these musicals the benefit of the doubt. But hells spells, at the end of it, I cursed the director (in my head, of course) left, right and centre!
Arghh COME ON!!! How can Danny Zucco NOT sing the lead in Grease Lightning?! I mean, ok, granted, I'm all for improvising and ad-libbing and adding some creativity to the show, BUT, I don't remember any "cat fights" in Grease. Fine. Some of the songs that are on the soundtrack but NOT in the movie were included in this musical. I can accept that. The big letdown was the performance by the actor who played Danny Zucco, man. It was weak. Not enough of the "John Travolta" attitude. (Ok, the greasy hair-combing was can-do lah.) But ARRRRGHHHH! The scene at the high school prom dance with Born To Hand Jive was THE scene which DEFINED the entire movie, OK! but it was so anti-climax here. I only give credit to the girl who played Rizzo and the woman who portrayed the headmistress, and MAYBE the other members of the T-Birds. The music arrangements was mediocre. Nothing that made me bop to the tunes.
Instead of Danny Zucco, who is supposed to the highlight of the show, Vince Fontaine was actually doing his best to entertain the crowd. The choreography was dull and a bit messy. I remember when watching Saturday Night Fever the Musical at Istana Budaya, I was all hyped up throughout the show and was just in awe with the set design, the dancing, the portrayal of the characters and the music. Today, after Act 1 when we stopped for intermission, I was all "Bleghhhhhh, what just happened?". The only consolation (wait,.. the other is that Danny Zucco had a damn smokin' body and cute ass) was at the start of the show when the original score of Grease was played. That got the audience in the mood, but then it kind of died down although some of them sitting behind me were still singing along to the tunes of Hopelessly Devoted To You and Summer Nights. Oh yeah, and what was with the periodical sound effects of lightning every time Kenickie said the words "Grease Lightning"? What the hell was that about? I know I'm being harsh and maybe a little mean, but still, it wasn't worth the money.
From what I know, since I have been to quite a few Broadway and musical shows, the entire hall/auditorium will burst into thunderous applause when the casts come out to bow to the audience. The lead actor will usually get the most loudest applause, with whistles and whohoo-ing to boot. When the show ended today, something in the air felt that I wasn't the only one who thought that the show was way below the audience expectations. That and the fact that Danny Zucco only received mere claps, minus the whistling and whohoo-ing.
I left the Plenary Hall feeling violated and frustrated. If that wasn't bad enough, the LRT was so full that when I stepped into the carriage that was bursting at the seams, the bloody door slammed into me and knocked my sunglasses off my head, where it was resting comfortably.
So there I was, waiting for the next train to come, thinking that if John Travolta saw the musical today, he would probably have gone on stage (after sniggering in mortification at the guy who SUPPOSED to play HIM, of course) and showed them how it's really done.
After I got in my car at the Kelana Jaya station, I turned on the Grease soundtrack on full blast just to rid myself of the irritation I felt for the amateur performance and to ease my senses with the sounds of JT and the original cast doing Summer Nights and Grease Lightning. (Needless to say my car was almost about to fly when I gunned the engine to Grease Lightning.)
Damn, that was a load off my chest. Pun intended, the show lacked grease. Grease is supposed to be the word, man. Unfortunately, it was SO NOT!
What else Aida saw today?
- A woman wearing a sheer silky dress with no bra walking at the Kelana Jaya LRT station. So obvious! For God's sake lady, buy a bra!-
- A TV airing a football game in the middle of the fruit section at Carrefour, Subang. (Husband: Ok honey, you get the fruit and I'll be watching TV.)
green leaf ;
Monday, May 08, 2006
Could Malaysian television be more unoriginal? What is the whole idea of having a local version of Ashton Kucsher's Punk'd - inaptly named Wakenabeb on NTV7? It's just irritating in so many ways. From what I have read on a local online forum, the show sucks, big time! What's even worse is the "prank" is only shown during the last 15 minutes of the program. The first half is the rehersal of carrying out the prank on the unfortunate local celebrity. Why the fuck would the audience wanna see that? It just makes my blood boil that our local stations can't seem to come up with an original program, be it a reality shows, LIVE CHAT SHOWS, comedies or sitcoms that, by my definition does NOT make us want to hurl the remote towards the tv screen! Please. Why are we, the so-called next generation, being advised to be proud of our nation and culture and to not emulate the west when, in fact, they are doing the exact same thing on tv? AND poorly, for that matter. That's just sad.
green leaf ;
Sunday, May 07, 2006
We are all different. Our diversity makes the world go round. If all of us possessed the same traits, it would be a very dull place. Did we ever stop to think that what we find normal in our culture and on this side of the equator would be completely ABNORMAL to some parts of the world? And in vice-versa of course.
I just finished watching a very interesting, albeit DISTURBING documentary on the Discovery Channel called Fat Fiancees. Now, they had shown this program before so bear with me. It tells the story of how the Bahima tribe in Uganda prefer robust, obese women as opposed to skinny women. On the contrary to us, they consider skinny as "unattractive" and fat as "beautiful". One of the Bahima women said that a skinny woman would not look attractive in their national costume compared to a fat one. Anyway, the story is centred on 20-year-old Moses, who is seeking to marry Sheila, a 17-year-old girl, who is unfortunately very skinny. Needless to say he likes his woman to be big, so Sheila is thrown into her grandmother's care to fatten her up. For two months, Sheila is force-fed full creamed cow's milk and butter 24-7. Her grandmother, who to me seemed a tad sadistic, will sit by Sheila's side and makes sure she finishes the entire gourd (translation: satu belanga) of milk, failing which, Sheila will receive some caning. Moses can only see Sheila a few days before the wedding, or at least until she is deemed fat enough by her parents. (Actually, Sheila is an orphan and her "parents" are her uncle and aunt.)
As time goes by, Sheila has gained about 80 pounds. Her sister-in-law said she had to go through the same thing. The sister-in-law is so fat now that she can't walk 50 metres without gasping for breath. Despite the weight that Sheila has gained, she is still required to gain more after she is married. Moses is of course delighted to see Sheila as he lifts up her veil. All fat and with stretch marks to boot. Yes, her mother made sure the stretch marks were visible before walking down the aisle. Before the official ceremony, a priest gave advice to Moses about the wedding night, stressing that Moses should not force sex upon Sheila and that he should be gentle.
After the wedding day, Sheila is still being fed cow's milk to gain more weight. When interviewed, Sheila said all she wanted to do was go to college and get an education. But unfortunately, she had no choice but to follow her parents' orders. According to her father, education is nothing. It wasn't important compared to making sure the daughter was married off and of course, fat enough to make her husband happy.
It's funny, eh? Although times have changed here, people in some parts of the world still conform to such practices of not giving choices to their offsprings. None whatsoever. It's either the parents' way or the highway. It's a scary thought.
I just finished watching a very interesting, albeit DISTURBING documentary on the Discovery Channel called Fat Fiancees. Now, they had shown this program before so bear with me. It tells the story of how the Bahima tribe in Uganda prefer robust, obese women as opposed to skinny women. On the contrary to us, they consider skinny as "unattractive" and fat as "beautiful". One of the Bahima women said that a skinny woman would not look attractive in their national costume compared to a fat one. Anyway, the story is centred on 20-year-old Moses, who is seeking to marry Sheila, a 17-year-old girl, who is unfortunately very skinny. Needless to say he likes his woman to be big, so Sheila is thrown into her grandmother's care to fatten her up. For two months, Sheila is force-fed full creamed cow's milk and butter 24-7. Her grandmother, who to me seemed a tad sadistic, will sit by Sheila's side and makes sure she finishes the entire gourd (translation: satu belanga) of milk, failing which, Sheila will receive some caning. Moses can only see Sheila a few days before the wedding, or at least until she is deemed fat enough by her parents. (Actually, Sheila is an orphan and her "parents" are her uncle and aunt.)
As time goes by, Sheila has gained about 80 pounds. Her sister-in-law said she had to go through the same thing. The sister-in-law is so fat now that she can't walk 50 metres without gasping for breath. Despite the weight that Sheila has gained, she is still required to gain more after she is married. Moses is of course delighted to see Sheila as he lifts up her veil. All fat and with stretch marks to boot. Yes, her mother made sure the stretch marks were visible before walking down the aisle. Before the official ceremony, a priest gave advice to Moses about the wedding night, stressing that Moses should not force sex upon Sheila and that he should be gentle.
After the wedding day, Sheila is still being fed cow's milk to gain more weight. When interviewed, Sheila said all she wanted to do was go to college and get an education. But unfortunately, she had no choice but to follow her parents' orders. According to her father, education is nothing. It wasn't important compared to making sure the daughter was married off and of course, fat enough to make her husband happy.
It's funny, eh? Although times have changed here, people in some parts of the world still conform to such practices of not giving choices to their offsprings. None whatsoever. It's either the parents' way or the highway. It's a scary thought.
green leaf ;
Friday, May 05, 2006
..... I know I should update my blog sooner or later ...... new skin but no update .... come on brain! I know there is something to churn out ..... thinking ..... thinking ...... thinking ..... nothing. Dry as the Sahara desert. Sigh. (knock, knock! hey there. Journalists should be able to write and soon as their finger tips hit the keyboard! Shame, shame .... says my conscience)
I guess I could blame it on brain drain from writing the shit loads of stories for J2 and Feature Writing for the past months. I'm totally maxed out! Shees. I remember my days at the office on a dry day when I had to generate stories using my resources. Of course when the editor snaps his fingers, there ain't no time for thumb-twiddling. I sometimes miss that adrenaline rush. It's what kept me going on and on and on ... you know like the Energizer bunny. But actually, I MISS GETTING PAID!!! Oh well, those days will come back eventually.
Today I cooked my all time favourite sambal fried rice and rasam. For those of you who don't know what rasam is, it's an Indian spicy soup made from tamarind, tomatoes, garlic and spices. Damn, it tasted good. I know I have to update my recipe book soon. As usual, keep procrastinating. Now there's one thing for me to do during the holiday. Why didn't I just become a chef?
I guess I could blame it on brain drain from writing the shit loads of stories for J2 and Feature Writing for the past months. I'm totally maxed out! Shees. I remember my days at the office on a dry day when I had to generate stories using my resources. Of course when the editor snaps his fingers, there ain't no time for thumb-twiddling. I sometimes miss that adrenaline rush. It's what kept me going on and on and on ... you know like the Energizer bunny. But actually, I MISS GETTING PAID!!! Oh well, those days will come back eventually.
Today I cooked my all time favourite sambal fried rice and rasam. For those of you who don't know what rasam is, it's an Indian spicy soup made from tamarind, tomatoes, garlic and spices. Damn, it tasted good. I know I have to update my recipe book soon. As usual, keep procrastinating. Now there's one thing for me to do during the holiday. Why didn't I just become a chef?
green leaf ;
