Book by Vincent Wong, Lyrics by Ivan Ho, Music by Kenneth Lyen, Music Arranged by Bang Wenfu

Reviewed by Mona Lim

The Arts Magazine September 2001

 

Sayang (which means love in Malay), the musical, is a contemporary love story between a radio deejay played by RJ Rosales, and a flower shop girl, played by Karen Goh. It opens on Valentine's Day, with a parade of lovers, lonely hearts and assorted lovelorn characters phoning in declarations of love to DJ Mike. The play has an authentic city life flavour, characterised by familiar scene instantly recognisable to Singaporean audiences. The script enjoyed a promising start, but what caught this reviewer's fancy was the unusual way the romance is set off, when Raine, a flower shop girl, falls in love with Mike's voice and sends him flowers. A nice departure from the usual boy-chase-girl routine!

 

Accompanying the script were rather memorable tunes reminiscent of Andrew Lloyd Webber and Stephen Sondheim. Overall the tuneful music transformed the play into a light-hearted and enjoyable Broadway-like musical. Kenneth Lyen, paediatrician by day, composer by any other free time, wrote them in just two weeks; Sayang is his seventh musical.

 

Bang Wenfu's music arrangements worked well with Ivan Ho's lyrics, especially in Net Chat, where DJ Aileen (Karen Lim), DJ Mike's co-host, meets with the chorus on the internet chatroom. The song conveyed with subtlety and humour the pitfalls and dangers of seeking love online. It was the most memorable scene of the play. Kudos to Richard Tan for the choreography.

 

Despite the promising start, Sayang lost its sense of direction and momentum towards the end. The ending was abrupt and there was little attempt to explore the deeper meanings and implications of "sayang". Mike and Raine's romance was superficial and the audience was left with the impression that the scriptwriter just wanted to end the play quickly for all to go home.

 

The audience enjoyment was also marred by the inadequate sound system. Combined with the uneven singing, the effect left much to be desired. Strong acting from Karen Lim saved the play; she certainly overshadowed the rest.

 

Sayang was an enjoyable and light-hearted way to spend the evening and, at the same time, contribute to charity, as the staging was a fundraising project of the Rotary Club of Singapore North.

 

[The review first appeared in The Arts Magazine September 2001.

Sadly RJ Rosales passed away in 2011.]