Shout! Absolutely fetching!

The Stars: The delightful Tisha, Shaney, Ning, Nikki, Tria and Joanna.

Its a good thing that I have absolutely no idea what Shout! The Mod Musical is all about when we went to watch it on the opening night at KL Pac last evening. I was rather busy earlier in the day so much so I had forgotten to Google the musical, as I usually do if I’m to watch a movie or go for a show.

And I’m glad I didn’t (Google it, I mean) as what happened in the end was a real super pleasant surprise. Shout! The Mod Musical is indeed an excellent off-broadway show.

The musical was Broadway Academy’s debut presentation, featuring golden songs from yesteryear. Apparently, BA is the first Malaysian company granted professional licence to produce Broadway musicals from New York with homegrown casts.

Set in Britain, the musical is about modern magazine Shout!, which focuses on 1960s music, fashion and liberation. It revolves around five girls – homebody Orange Girl (brilliantly played by Ning Baizura), slutty Green Girl (delightfully funny Tria Aziz), awkward Red Girl (versatile Shanel Shanty James), icy but beautiful Blue Girl (the classy Tisha Zarina) and loud American Yellow Girl (fabulous Nikki Palikat).

With a shimmy and a shake, the girls (in patent leather high boots, tight skirts and psychedelic outfits from the 60s) belted out hit songs from that era such as To Sir With Love (Lulu), Downtown (Petula Clark), Diamonds Are Forever (Shirley Bassey), Wishin’ And Hopin’ (Dusty Springfield), These Boots Are Made For Walkin’ (Nancy Sinatra) and Georgy Girl (The Seekers).

Besides singing, they talked about new fads like Beatles, Twiggy, face creams, the Pill and independence. They also sent in lonely heart letters to Agony Aunt Gwendolyn Holmes (played by the amazing Joanna Bessey) who thinks every problem can be solved with “a fetching new hairstyle” or “a new shade of lipstick”.

We certainly have loads of fun watching and ‘experiencing’ the musical. Yeah, it was an experience. Ning and gang were all equally fantastic with wonderful voices and brilliant comic timing (ntv7's Audition season one champ Tria Aziz is simply hilarious. The music was great and the choreography was easily eye catching and feet stomping. The crowd really got into it.

And as I said earlier, I'm glad I didn't read about this show before going as I might want to cmpare these girls with the original performers (but when I got home, I've youtubed and watched another mat salleh's off-broadway version.... and I have to give our girls the thumbs-up).

I believe that if you are into musicals ala Mamma Mia, this one is not to be missed. Naturally, this high-energy musical held my undivided attention throughout. It brought me back to the lively music of the sixties. A nostalgic trip, indeed. (no, I’m not that old - started my schooling years in the 70's okay!)). But really, if you are from that era, you can't miss the joy. I was smiling the whole time. My teenaged girls seemed to enjoy most of the 60’s music for the first time as they were tapping away in their seats.

So if you are wondering what to do these next few days, why don’t you check out this musical. It’s magically groovy!

Shout! The Mod Musical runs from July 15 till 21 at Pentas 1, Kuala Lumpur Performing Arts Centre, Sentul Park, Kuala Lumpur. Showtime is 8.30pm (with extra 3pm shows from July 16 onwards). Tickets are priced between RM96 and RM225. Tickets can be purchased at Axcess ticket outlets or KLPac’s box office. For details, call 03-7725 6175/4047 9000 or browse broadwayacademy.asia.