Bangsawan "Musang Berjanggut"

I made it to the 'Musang Berjanggut' premiere all on my own! Woot! Woot! Ok, maybe a small feat to most people but to someone who has lousy sense of direction this is truly a deed worth celebrating. I didn't even get lost. Not even once. Am so proud! *pats self on the back*

'Musang Berjanggut' was definitely entertaining but definitely not as grand or as well rehearsed as 'Batu Belah Batu Bertangkup' which is a terrible shame really. That show truly had potential. It was kinda draggy and the in between performances were really bleargh! But again... I marvel at these people's eye for props and details. The makeup = superb. Props = amazing. If only I had that kind of budget back in my theater days. The things I would do... the things I would do *sigh*

I took the liberty of taking some pictures to help with what I'm writing but seeing how crappy the pics turned out I don't know if it'll help at all. So I stopped halfway through the show. But do enjoy whatever pictures I took (if you can, that is).

The King's Palace. A truly magnificient scene. The costumes... the props... SUPERB!!

1st Interval: Siti Nurhaliza song. Forgot the title but this gal did it justice. But the dancers... eeuurrgghhh... lose the costumes. T-A-C-K-Y!

The prince's quest for the gal with marriage material. But instead he found this "betina". Demeaning to ladies everywhere? Totally. Does anybody care? Not a one.

Junior performers doing the 'zapin'. They weren't the best dancers in the world but you just can't help but go aww at their cuteness. I just love the girl's costumes.

This fella is Haziq from one of the AF seasons. I know he doesn't look it in the picture but if you squint your left eye and tilt your head 2 inches to the right you can totally see that its him.


This is when the prince finally meets his non-betina girlfriend, Dang Sri Arif Laksana.

So yeah... after this guy I just gave up. 1.) The show was getting kinda boring. 2.) I was hungry as hell. 3.) My battery was dangerouly close to giving up on me. But nothing much was missed. The play ends with the infamous scene of the king and ministers being fooled by the beautiful Dang Sri Arif Laksana and eventually leading up to the scene where the "musang berjanggut" was revealed.

One thing I must say is that malaysian theater has totally lifted its censorship bar since sexual entendres were blatant throughout the entire show despite the presence of kids under the age of 12. Awkward much?

But I think I'm totally hooked on bangsawan. I'm looking forward to Panggung Bandaraya's lineup for bangsawan shows next year. New year's resolution no. 212: Be a regular at bangsawan shows. Kak Ani, IIU's current drama teacher, will be proud.