Abstract
Musical theatre production in Malaysia in recent years has been growing. Some productions are low-budget small scale concerns, while some are larger-scale musicals, involving professionals from different areas of expertise, a huge budget and a longer period of planning. The larger-scale musicals have proven their success, such as Puteri Gunung Ledang, Siddharta, Butterfly Lovers and Jewel of Tibet. Among the many musical productions, four main organizations that are actively involved in musical productions have been examined for their identity and characteristics of the musicals they produce. The article highlights how local musicals have been performed in a Westernized concept. Some issues will be discussed regarding the approach, opinions and methods stated by music directors and composers from different local musical theatres. It is shown that the influence of the Western Musicals is strongly reflected in local modern musical theatre.