Beauty World (musical)
Encyclopedia
Beauty World is a Singapore
an musical
written by Michael Chiang
and composed by Dick Lee
in 1988. Drawing on the tradition of 1950s black-and-white Cantonese movies, it tells the story of a young Malaysian girl who comes from Batu Pahat
to 1960s Singapore
in search of her father and winds up in the eponymous sleazy night club.
Written in English
with some Singlish
elements and Singaporean slang, it is one of the best known musicals of Singapore. With Makan Place, which was also written in 1988, it is one of the first two Singaporean musicals.
The cast of the first production included Jacintha Abisheganaden
, Margaret Chan, Ivan Heng
, Tan Kheng Hua
, and Claire Wong
.
Beauty World toured Japan in 1994. In 1998, Beauty World was remade for Television for the President's Star Charity Show, and starred a stellar cast with Sharon Au(欧菁仙)
as Lulu, and Evelyn Tan(陈毓芸) as Ivy. The remake brought much acclaim and sealed its mass popularity with Singaporeans.
An amateur production took place on April 15th 2006 at the University of Chicago
. Dubbed Return to Beauty World it was directed by Andy Tan a fourth year economics major in the college.
Most recently the King's College London
Malaysian Singaporean Society put up a student production of Beauty World at The Albany in Deptford South-East London on the 2nd and 3rd March 2009. It was produced by Debra Lam and directed by Kang Yanyi.
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
an musical
Musical theatre
Musical theatre is a form of theatre combining songs, spoken dialogue, acting, and dance. The emotional content of the piece – humor, pathos, love, anger – as well as the story itself, is communicated through the words, music, movement and technical aspects of the entertainment as an...
written by Michael Chiang
Michael Chiang
Michael Chiang is a prolific playwright of the '80s and '90s art scene in Singapore. He wrote Army Daze and Beauty World.He is also editorial director of Mediacorp Publishing, which publishes 8 Days .-External links:...
and composed by Dick Lee
Dick Lee
Richard "Dick" Lee Peng Boon is a Singaporean pop singer, composer, songwriter, and playwright. He is best known as a Singapore Idol judge, but often too as spokesperson for the New Asian generation....
in 1988. Drawing on the tradition of 1950s black-and-white Cantonese movies, it tells the story of a young Malaysian girl who comes from Batu Pahat
Batu Pahat
Batu Pahat is a district in the state of Johor, Malaysia. It lies south-east of Muar, south-west of Kluang, north-west of Pontian, and south of Segamat and the new Ledang district. The capital of the district is Bandar Penggaram, Batu Pahat....
to 1960s Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
in search of her father and winds up in the eponymous sleazy night club.
Written in English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
with some Singlish
Singlish
Colloquial Singaporean English, also known as Singlish, is an English-based creole language spoken in Singapore.Singlish is commonly regarded with low prestige in Singapore. The Singaporean government and many Singaporeans alike heavily discourage the use of Singlish in favour of Standard English...
elements and Singaporean slang, it is one of the best known musicals of Singapore. With Makan Place, which was also written in 1988, it is one of the first two Singaporean musicals.
The cast of the first production included Jacintha Abisheganaden
Jacintha Abisheganaden
Jacintha Abisheganaden , also known as Jacintha or Ja for short, is a Singaporean singer and actress.- Discography :Studio albums* 1998: Here's To Ben - A Vocal Tribute To Ben Webster...
, Margaret Chan, Ivan Heng
Ivan Heng
Ivan Heng is a Peranakan- -Hokkien-Chinese-Singaporean stage actor and director. He is the founding artistic director of W!LD RICE, a theatre company in Singapore....
, Tan Kheng Hua
Tan Kheng Hua
Tan Kheng Hua is a popular Singaporean actress best known for her role as Margaret Phua in Singapore-based MediaCorp TV Channel 5's longest-running hit television sitcom Phua Chu Kang Pte Ltd...
, and Claire Wong
Claire Wong
Claire Wong is a Singapore based stage and film actress, director and writer.Born in Malaysia, she a resident of Singapore. A qualified lawyer, she also obtained her Master of Fine Arts in theatre at Columbia University in New York. During the 1990s she performed in leading roles in Ong Keng Sen's...
.
Beauty World toured Japan in 1994. In 1998, Beauty World was remade for Television for the President's Star Charity Show, and starred a stellar cast with Sharon Au(欧菁仙)
Sharon Au
Sharon Au is a MediaCorp actress from Singapore. She was voted one of the Top 10 Most Popular Female Artistes in the annual Star Awards, an award ceremony for Singapore's MediaCorp Channel 8 and Channel U for 5 year between 1999 to 2004.-Career:...
as Lulu, and Evelyn Tan(陈毓芸) as Ivy. The remake brought much acclaim and sealed its mass popularity with Singaporeans.
An amateur production took place on April 15th 2006 at the University of Chicago
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...
. Dubbed Return to Beauty World it was directed by Andy Tan a fourth year economics major in the college.
Most recently the King's College London
King's College London
King's College London is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom and a constituent college of the federal University of London. King's has a claim to being the third oldest university in England, having been founded by King George IV and the Duke of Wellington in 1829, and...
Malaysian Singaporean Society put up a student production of Beauty World at The Albany in Deptford South-East London on the 2nd and 3rd March 2009. It was produced by Debra Lam and directed by Kang Yanyi.
External links
- Julia Ng, ' Singapore students bring Beauty World musical to Chicago', Channel NewsAsia (September 15, 2005). Retrieved January 2, 2006.
- Kenneth Lyen, 'Incubating New Musicals', BraveJournal (July 24, 2005). Retrieved January 2, 2006.
- Allen Koay, 'The world's her stage', The Star (Singapore: September 1, 2003). Retrieved January 2, 2006.
- Official Beauty World 2006 Website
- Beauty World lures audiences with old world charm