Thursday, June 15, 2006

Broadway Beng!

I got invited again by Kimmy (of Gardner and Wife Theater) to lim teh (drink tea) on Tuesday at Montes. This time round it was for the media do for Broadway Beng. I only came across the email late Monday night and since my command of Hokkien wasn't that good, I got Lyn to go with me. Lyn, thanks for driving and accompanying me though I kinda asked you at the eleventh hour. When I reached the venue, I saw some elderly ladies around. Lyn and I joked that it was okay if I didn't understand, if the elderly folks laughed, that would be my cue to laugh too. I didn't want to be stonefaced while people around me are laughing there heads off!

I had braced myself for a clueless time and hoped that Lyn will be able to translate for me. After an intro by director, Selena Tan (yes, the lady behind "Wanton Me"), Ah Beng (who is actually Sebastian Tan) came on and launched into the famous showtune "There's No Business Like Show Business". He then rattled off some Hokkien (or Fu*kien as he says). Luckily, he translated it to English and I was not clueless anymore! Yay! He did the translation even for a Hokkien song he sang. I remembered two lines of it...
"30% up to God, 70% you must work a lot. You must work hard if you want to winnnnnnn....". LOL! Well, you have to be there to hear him sing the translated English Fu*kien song. It was funny. So, even if one doesn't really understand Fu*kien, you will still be laughing at Broadway Ah Beng. Like Ah Beng says "Who Say Broadway Music Is Only For Ang Mohs?"
He will be joined by 3 cha bohs (girls) on stage
Broadway Ah Beng is a madcap stand-up comedy musical in true blue Ah Beng "Fu*kien-Engrish"! According to the press release, it's karaoke without the sleaze...Wait! Or...maybe with! Ha ha ha...After the short showcase, and before making his exit, Ah Beng told us "Bring your mudder, fudder, brudder, Ah Gong, Ah Mah to my show!". That we intend to do, as a matter of fact, Lyn and I got ourselves 6 tickets.

Sebastian Tan, comes with credible credentials, having performed in Miss Saigon (UK tour run) and after I heard him sing, it's verified. He'll be belting out showtunes along the way. He has been on TV and musical variety shows too. As a matter of fact, Selena mentioned that we will be getting a good deal as there will be a 8 minute medley of songs from Miss Saigon, basically summarizing the whole story! How's that for getting your money's worth? Ha ha... He looks different in this head shot pose of his. See what some blond highlights and donning a blinding blue suit can do to a person? LOL...
Oh, and that's Gardner in the background (in white). Did you catch Gardner in the Astro football ad as a football commentator?
By the way, the photos without my blog address are courtesy of Gardner&Wife Theater, from the press kit. Well, Ah Beng, this not quite so Ah Lian and friends will be seeing you soon! But I'm not sure about my mudder and brudder. Sorry, my fudder, Ah Gong and Ah Mah definitely won't be able to make it, they are busy "living it up there". ;o)

Laughter is a tranquilizer with no side effects. ~ Arnold Glasow

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