(Photo: PAN Productions)
With a six-piece band, music director Dennis Law is set to take the audience down memory lane in new musical That’s Entertainment – A Night of Radio Hits. Nevertheless, one can expect for familiar tunes to have a refreshing new sound.
“I can guarantee, it won’t sound like a six-piece band, it will sound more like an orchestra,” says director Nell Ng when we sat down with her and Law for a chat about the show, which opens today.
PAN Productions, known for their award-winning musical theatre productions, have returned with an original story set to popular and enduring hit songs from the 1950s up till present in this jukebox musical, which features an eclectic mix of songs from names like Elvis Presley, P Ramlee, Anita Mui, Madonna, Wonder Girls and Adele.
The story itself is a timeless tale about love, as Ng shares, “I always write about love. We need to be reminded of more good things rather than bad things.”
To convey the emotions that love brings, of utmost importance is the “underrated” role of the music director, especially in this case. In comes pianist and experienced music producer Law, who reluctantly took on the role of music director in a musical theatre production for the first time.
“I didn’t want to do it for the longest time, thinking it’s not my forte,” admits Law with a laugh. But Ng persisted, and the pair have worked together to bring a fresh perspective using familiar songs. He adds, “Basically, I had to get into her head. We talked about what kind of story we will be presenting, everything she wants to portray in the musical and then I worked on arranging the music.”
One of the songs that will be performed is P Ramlee’s iconic Bila Larut Malam. Ng declares, “This is my second guarantee - it will be something you have never heard of before. We have turned this timeless classic into a very fun mini skit, as a result of Dennis’ musical genius with a little of craziness thrown in.”
That’s Entertainment – A Night of Radio Hits is showing from June 28 until July 7. See here for ticketing details.
