SAY “Love Story”, and most will go, “That Ali MacGraw-Ryan O’Neal movie?”
Others, heaps younger, may wonder, “Taylor Swift?”
But anyone who has seen the 1970 movie, bawling when Jenny dies with, “Love means never having to say you’re sorry” and to that song, Where Do I Begin will agree that, with its lush melody, cheesy, dramatic lyrics and Andy Williams’ voice, it was indeed the quintessential romantic movie of the ‘70s.
Ah, to love or have loved, that is enough, wrote Victor Hugo.
The movie inspired a musical by composer Howard Goodall and lyricist Stephen Clark, which premiered in 2010 in an English town, before rocking London’s West End. So it comes as no surprise then that homegrown musical theatre company, Dama Asia Productions, is staging Love Story too this month.
For those who may not be familiar with the story, or may have forgotten, the plot revolves around Oliver Barrett IV, a rich young man who meets a spirited young woman, Jenny Cavilleri. She is poor and of Italian heritage, but attends Radcliffe College and plays the piano. They fall in love and marry, against his family’s wishes. Oliver, disinherited, attends law school, while Jenny works to support them. However, she contracts a fatal illness and dies.
In Dama’s staging, the two leads —Joshua Gui as Oliver and Michelle Tan as Jenny — have not seen the movie. Perhaps it’s because the former is only 27 while the latter is 33.
“I said, good, and don’t see it until after the musical at KLPaC,” exclaims artistic director Pun Kai Loon when I caught up with him at the Dama Asia office in Plaza Damas, Sri Hartamas recently.
Amid the shelves of music notes, books, desks and office paraphernalia, there’s a small square table right smack in the centre. Sitting around the table are rising stars Gui, Tan, with Pun, music director Khor Seng Chew, and Dama Asia’s energetic new publicist Jinnie Lim. Smiling, Pun says the personable Gui is a “... triple threat — he can sing, dance and act. So, he’s unique.”
He reveals that Dama has wanted to perform Love Story since 2014. “It was on the cards since then. We got cold feet when the time came to do something about it. But we wanted to because it cuts across the cultural divide. And it will be nostalgic for audiences here. There’s very little adaptation to the local staging as per the agreement when securing the rights for the show. The rights cost a bomb!”
The 59-year-old adds: “But we hope it’ll also open the door for us to do western musicals with the Dama ensemble.”
TALENTED CAST
The 12-strong cast for the show was arrived at after whittling the 40-odd wannabes at the auditions held in February. Today, the ensemble includes Alvin Looi, Kerry-Ann Khoo and Chacko Vadaketh.
Always a lively duo, Pun and Khor are chuffed to hear Gui and Tan say that Dama has made a name as being sustainable in the musical production genre. The company began as an informal entity in 1993 before it was formally registered in 1994.
“It’s established, and all this while, its shows have been in Chinese. So when auditions were called for Love Story, I said yes, finally, here’s something I can take part in with Dama,” says the Penang-born Tan, her delight showing in her smile.
No newbie to Dama shows, Tan, with a Master’s in Musical Theatre from Britain, has sung in Larger Than Life, Empress Wu and In Perfect Harmony. She has also appeared in Pan Productions’ Merrily We Roll Along and Monday Show Entertainment’s Tick, Tick, Boom!, among others.
For Bukit Mertajam-born Gui, Dama Asia has “done it right”. “All my relatives know the Dama name,” says Gui, who’s tickled pink at landing his first romantic lead in a musical. A Bachelor of Music (Performance) graduate from Australian International Conservatorium of Music (formerly International Conservatorium of Music), Gui shares that he learnt to dance Down Under.
On returning to Malaysia, this “triple threat” has put all his artistic skills to the test in various productions, including The Producers, Flatland: A Dance Adaptation (both 2013) and most recently as Peter Rabbit in A Tale of Peter Rabbit with the Singapore Repertory Theatre.
The duo has performed together in four productions, not necessarily as duets, unlike for Love Story where they have 13 to 14 scenes together out of the 17 scenes. “With two solos,” adds Tan, who admits that she finds the “lyrical soprano” style needed for her role a trifle challenging as she’s used to letting her powerhouse vocals run loose. “I’ve also never had to learn so many lines before or speak on stage.” This happens to be her first lead role in a musical.
Will Love Story resonate today after all these decades, you ask? A pause and Gui replies: “It’s relatable. Whatever family values have been taught are brought forward into a marriage, so you either follow or you rebel. Anyway, everyone loves a good show.”
Nodding, Tan concurs: “Marrying above your class is relevant. What would you sacrifice for any relationship to make it work? Anyway, everyone likes a good story.”
Some might even enjoy a good sob, the packet-of-tissues kind, as I only too well remember from watching the movie!
LOVE STORY
When June 10-18, 8.30pm and 3pm matinees on weekends (except opening night).
Venue Pentas 1, Kuala Lumpur Performing Arts Centre, Sentul Park, Jalan Strachan, off Jalan Sultan Azlan Shah, KL
Tickets from RM65/RM85.
Call Dama Asia Productions at +603 6201 9108 or email dama@dama.asia