Mamak Mee-Ah! review

I watched Mamak Mee-Ah! The Musical Spoof last Sunday. The conclusion is, it was good, much better than what I have expected.

The story revolves around topics like Malaysia-Singapore relationship, local social and political jokes, youth issues and, what else, food!

Gotta love the humorous and sarcastic Singaporean jokes they keep cracking. I really had a good laugh.

Although the script was good, but it doesn’t really stand out as much as the songs.

List of songs

1. We Love the Good Food (Food, Glorious Food from Oliver!)
2. I Feel Hungry (I Feel Pretty from West Side Story)
3. Under the Tree (Under the Sea from Little Mermaid)
4. I’ll Eat Anything (I’d Do Anything from Oliver!)
5. Empty Chairs at Plastic Tables (Empty Chairs at Empty Tables from Les Misérables)
6. I Got to Get a Message to You (Bee Gees)
7. Love Letters (The Pat Boone Classic)
8. SMS (SOS from Mamma Mia!)
9. Sambal Nights (Summer Nights from Grease!)
10. Mak Cik Life (Mack the Knife from The Threepenny Opera)
11. If I Were a Tan Sri (If I Were a Rich Man from Fiddler on the Roof)
12. Over the Causeway (Over the Rainbow from Wizard of Oz)
13. Bare Celebrities (Bare Necessities from Jungle Book)
14. Low Class Bad Word (Lonely Goatherd from Sound of Music)
15. No Pork No Pork (New York, New York)
16. Bodoh (Bui Doi from Miss Saigon)
17. What I Had for Lunch (What I Did for Love from A Chorus Line)
18. Peas and Rice (JC Superstar)
19. Mamak Mee-Ah! (Mamma Mia!)

I like how they have chosen songs from different genre and most of the casts can really sing well.

The only thing with the songs is the composition. It’s obvious that the music wasn’t composed with real musical instruments. They end up sounded a little bit like MIDI music. And the cut-and-paste overture at the beginning really makes me raise my eyebrows.

Besides, there are times we can’t really hear what the casts are singing clearly. Maybe it’s the sound system or maybe the singers themselves. Or, maybe it’s like what Ted said, our England is not good enough.

My favourite song out of so many is definitely No Pork No Pork (originally New York, New York). Ah Fatt‘s exaggerated act can really portray the typical Malaysian Chinese biggest concern — an Islamic state with no pork and Char Siew.

Look at his face in the picture below, so convincing that the face shouts, “No pork? NO PORK???!!! NOOO……!!!”

All in all, it was a good local musical production. My friends and I really enjoyed it.

If after you read this and you feel like watching this musical, it’s not too late (as of writing). The show ends this coming Sunday, 18 April 2010. Find out more info about ticketing on my previous post.

P/S: My last complaint would be, the studio is too hot and the seat makes my ass numb.