The Identity of Showmanship in Malay Musical Theatres

The touch of magic in performances is one of the observable ‘wow-factor’ elements through musical theatres. The uniqueness of portraying imagination into reality is a definite difference compared to the other types of theatre performances. The emergence of various Malay musical theatres specifically around the 21st century has displayed variations in their artistic depictions of showmanship following the creator’s understanding and creativity. The showmanship in modern Malay musicals is overshadowed by Western characteristics which is Broadway. The struggle in glorifying Malay musical theatres surprisingly is inclined to follow the pattern shaped by the Westerns as the world’s musical theatres pioneer. This research will disclose the formation of showmanship of Malay musical theatres as the identity of local work of arts based on several samples of staged performances in Istana Budaya, Kuala Lumpur. The questions on identity has become a debatable issue to look at the aspects that uplift it as local works of art. The formation of structure in delivering a showmanship combination between the director and the composer is also shown to gain conveyed influence through every touch in every work. Today, Malay musical theatres are shackled with questions on identity portrayal or are they basically mimicking the integrated form from Broadway. Referring to the structuring concept proposed by John Kenrick (2010), comparison of showmanship will be conducted to unwind the Broadway supremacy and the value of identity which can depict it as a Malay musical theatre. The results of this research contribute to the improvement of the performance’s structure and illustrating the elements that uplift the identity of local works of art through the showmanship of Malay musical theatres as a reference for creators and academicians.