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SINGAPORE : Behind every great man is a great woman. Behind every ah beng is an ah lian.
But the resident Chio Bus (that's Hokkien for "pretty women", not a form of public transport) of the Broadway Beng stage series beg to disagree. They think it's the other way around.
"Broadway Beng? Who's that? Come on! We're the real stars," deadpanned theatre actress and MediaCorp Radio's Gold 90.5FM DJ Denise Tan, who plays one of the Chio Bus.
Since 2006, Denise and actress Jackie Pereira have been regular fixtures on the annual Hokkien-pride comedy cabaret centred around actor Sebastian Tan's extremely popular character.
Judee Tan, last seen in "Broadway For Suakus", was a substitute Chio Bu last year.
The upcoming fourth instalment, "Broadway Beng - Jiak Liu Lian", is the biggest so far. It's being staged at the Esplanade Theatre and is helmed by film-maker Royston Tan, self-proclaimed "techno beng" and first-time theatre director. Producers Dream Academy are also giving away around 300 to 400 tickets to Henderson Senior Citizens Home and Ang Mo Kio Family Service Centre, among others.
The show, as Jackie puts it, is "bigger, brighter, louder ... er, cruder."
Kidding aside, the Chio Bus take their roles as Sebastian's "entourage" very seriously.
"We're there to make him look good. If he needs time to rest and change costumes, we're there onstage," said Denise, whose other recent role prior to last year's "Broadway Beng" show was Lulu in "Beauty World".
"We play many roles. We also roll around," quipped Jackie, who last went onstage to play a dwarf in last year's pantomime "Snow White And The Seven Dwarfs".
"Whatever he says, we do, lor," added Judee.
At which point, Sebastian (in an outrageous-looking costume with blinking lights) walks past and, without missing a beat, jumps in with an affirmative "right".
And the Chio Bu family has now grown from three to eight. "We represent every type of woman. We have the Chinese, the Eurasian, the ang moh, the Malay - we have everything," said Judee.
And their common characteristic?
"We're all ah lians at heart," said Jackie.
"So, any girl who joins us will not be ah-lian-ated. Correct?" added Judee.
As "Broadway Beng" tradition dictates, they'll be having their very own Chio Bu number. But they're not revealing any details yet, except that they'll be "wearing very little and looking very hot", said Denise.
So, what does it take to be a Chio Bu?
Said Denise: "She's very sure of herself and doesn't have to worry about convention. 'Chio' doesn't really mean 'pretty'. It describes ... a state of mind."
We wonder what state of mind these lovely ladies are in.
Broadway Beng - Jiak Liu Lian runs until December 12, 8pm, Esplanade Theatre.
- TODAY/il
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