HARMONY OF MELODIES

YOU will not learn much about Malacca's history if you choose to watch the musical Puteri Hang Li Po, which is currently being staged at the Istana Budaya in Kuala Lumpur. But if you are looking for an entertaining and exclusive evening of melodious song and dance, then this one's for you.

The two-hour musical delivered what it promised to and much more. The mixed crowd of Chinese, Malays and Indians, who packed the hall on opening night, was in for a truly entertaining evening.

The play was conducted in both Mandarin and Bahasa Malaysia, and this was something that the audience appeared to be struggling with as the play progressed. Unfortunately, the English subtitles were not much help, because of typo errors and appalling mistakes.

The meaning of some of the words was lost too because of poor translation. For instance, ''messages'' was spelt as ''massages'' and this invited unnecessary laughs. Even the expressions to describe the romance between Hang Li Po and Admiral Ming Yu were all wrong. And just as you thought the subtitling was going to get worse, then came some lines which sounded like Shakespearean English!

Despite this hiccup, it was not difficult to follow the story. There is no historic journal which contains this version of the tale of Puteri Hang Li Po; the storyline, instead, was created by prolific director Rosminah Tahir who managed to incorporate randai (a fun, feisty music theatre of martial arts and epic storytelling which originated from Sumatra), Chinese opera, mak yong and other forms of Asean theatre into the musical.

The creative director successfully weaved all these elements and made the musical special right from the start.

Rosminah ''explored'' the romance between Puteri Hang Li Po and her lover, Admiral Ming Yu. The lovers had to part after the Emperor of China ordered his daughter to marry Sultan Mansor Shah of Malacca in order to strengthen the bond between the two places. However, upon reaching Malacca, the princess was smitten with the people and the culture and eventually fell in love with the Sultan, whom she later realised was a nice person.

The musical tells this story in a simplistic yet interesting and informative manner. The stage backdrop, however, which alternates between the Malacca Sultanate and medieval China, paled in comparison with previous shows staged at the Istana Budaya.

This time, the stage props were not lavish or elaborate. In fact, the majestic and imperial touch was ''almost'' missing. Even the wedding scene, which was supposed to be one of the highlights of the show, lacked the grandeur of a real palace nuptial ceremony. The pacing, too, was a bit too slow at the start but as one started absorbing the play, one would get hooked to the story, the characters and above all, the melancholic songs.

For a newcomer, TV personality and model Soong Ai Ling was outstanding in her portrayal of Li Po, which she performed with much finesse. Soong managed to show the many facets of a love-torn woman. The two-months of rehearsal proved that Soong is ready for more theatre roles.

Though Soong's diction was passable, it seemed a little affected, as if she were trying to live up to her role of an 18-year-old princess.

The rest of the cast did quite well. Louisa Chong played the role of ''Kembang Cina'' with calm sobriety and at times showed the highly-strung side of the character. The emotions displayed were just right - as if she had perfected the art acting on stage having been around in the scene for more than a decade.

Seasoned actress Azizah Mahzan easily delivered a classy performance and at times ''ad-libbed'' her lines to make things more hilarious. Only an old hand could have done this so effortlessly. One could easily sense the overwhelming love and pride she felt for her charming Sultan.

The Sultan of Malacca played by Zaefrul Nadzarine Nordin looked regal in many ways, but his portrayal was unimpressive. He failed to project that typical Sultan image. Perhaps, this was intentionally done to allow Li Po to bask in the limelight while he took a back seat. Aman Yap Choon Bo really shone in his character especially with his skilful dance movements and stylish acting.

Hamzah Tahir's narration was full of expression and was not in the least distracting.

One of the more poignant scenes was the parting scene between Admiral Ming Yu and Li Po. Pak Ngah's memorable and highly commercial song titled Our Love helped to the set the right mood for this scene.

In fact, all 13 songs by Pak Ngah, including three Chinese numbers, were so melodious, some of them continued playing in one's head even after the musical had ended. In fact, the appreciative audience actually clapped each time Soong ''sang'' her song, even though she was merely miming it!

In so far as bringing a multiracial audience together, the musical Puteri Hang Li Po was a roaring success. It was, in fact, heart-warming to see a huge Chinese audience at the Istana Budaya and this special experience became even more touching when the beautiful Soong was given a standing ovation after the show.

ZIEMAN went for the much talked about musical Puteri Hang Li Po and had a pretty good time at the show - PUBLISHED 28/4/2004