tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-47463421813693987392024-03-05T16:43:53.862+08:00My take on Singapore Theatre & Stuff ..Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger62125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4746342181369398739.post-63217397312360935872020-02-28T01:20:00.001+08:002020-02-28T01:20:37.443+08:00Depression is such a dirty word. Or is it? - My review of Pangdemonium’s ‘The Son’<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">H</span>ow many of you know of someone who is suffering from
depression or anxiety or have suicidal tendencies or are self-hurting themselves? How many of
you know of someone who has attempted or committed suicide? How many of you think that being happy means not having depression? Is that person yourself? In today's ever increasing complex society, there are
so many issues and circumstances which can lead someone to depression such as
cyber bullying, relationship breakups, peer pressure, parental pressure, work
pressures, school pressures and more and more. Are we doing enough to help
these people? How are we doing so? Is it a case of “just suck it up .. it is a
part of life and growing up.” </div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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I just watched <b><span style="font-size: large;">P</span>angdemonium’s<span style="font-size: large;"> T</span>he<span style="font-size: large;"> S</span>on</b> at the Drama Centre
theatre and I must say it was truly remarkable. This show revolves around a
family whose son is going through depression and how the family is torn apart
by this. The father is a successful professional who wholeheartedly loves his
son and will do what it takes to help his son recover. However, is he truly
doing what his son really needs or doing what he ‘thinks’ his son needs? Is he
truly helping the son or harming his son? Is he really listening? This is the
main premise of this show and though it may seem simple, this show will exhibit
to the audience the complexities of someone facing depression and how things
can get worse by ‘loving’ the person. <o:p></o:p></div>
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The two main roles were played by the father-son duo of
Adrian and Zachary Pang. In my previous reviews, I have mentioned several times
of how Adrian Pang stands out as one of the most gifted actors in Singapore. His
ability to transmit the feelings of joy, worry, fury and sadness is just
amazing. At the end of the show, you can see the exhaustion on his face from his
focus and passion in his acting. Zachary seems to have inherited his father’s
talent. His role as the son was played well. The tone of his voice, his body
language, the gestures he makes is so natural that you can’t help but feel that
he is really a teenager facing depression. Maybe as they are father-son in real
life makes their portrayal seem so much more natural and yet heart-wrenching to
watch. The two other roles were played by Shona Benson (the mother) and Sharda
Harrison (the new partner). The two ladies also were very good in their performances.
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></div>
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Throughout the show, I can’t help but feel like I was
looking through a window of a real family facing these problems. The set of the
show is simple but fitting of this show. Just a normal living room in a normal
home. Minimal furniture to distract you from the captivating performance of the
cast. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Kudos to Pangdemonium for being special and daring to bring
such a provocative but yet relevant show to us. This is not your typical ha-ha-ha
kind of show but one which tackles serious a real-life topic in an entertaining, unforgiving, no-holds-barred manner. A big thank you and congratulations to Tracie Pang for her excellent
direction in this production. I could feel the audience really moved by the brutally honest direction of the show. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Personally, I am very glad that there was a very healthy
turnout for a weekday evening show. I am glad that people are winning against
the fear of Covid-19 and supporting our local arts. As long as the support is
there, I am sure people like Pangdemonium will continue to be energised and
motivated to produce more such high-quality theatre for us. <o:p></o:p></div>
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I would like to end on a more serious and sombre note. Depression
is all around us, heck we may be facing it but we term it as ‘work-stress’ or ‘just
being tired.’ Depression is very real and is no joking matter. If you know
someone facing depression, please do something about it. If you think you are
facing depression, please do something about it.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Go get your tickets at SISTIC to Pangdemonium's The Son and you will see and
feel the reality of depression. I implore parents of teenagers to go watch this
as what you think as ‘teenage angst’ may be hiding a darker reality. I ask for
parents of future teenagers to watch this so that you can identify the signs
early. Finally, I fully recommend everyone to watch this as this is very relevant
today and hopefully it will jolt you and you can do something to help someone
or yourself. Please don’t wait until its too late … <o:p></o:p></div>
<br />S.Drama.Mamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06477061214973390305noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4746342181369398739.post-54199556066295949742020-02-24T18:18:00.002+08:002020-02-24T18:18:58.483+08:00What’s in a name? I want to be Earnest !!! My Review of The Importance of Being Earnest 2020 by Wild Rice<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">I</span> remember in 2009, the excited anticipation before the show
started while the Tang Quartet entertained the audience at the Drama Center
Theatre. I can also fondly recall the added spring in my step and the secret chuckle
after the show. It had thoroughly entertained me. The show was The Importance
of Being Earnest. Best time in the theatre.. got free food too. Cucumber
sandwiches.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Fast forward 11 years later, I watched it again for the third time .. yet again, the same rollercoaster of emotions
from the minute I step into the theatre to the moment I leave. The only
difference is, instead of Tang Quartet, the musical interludes are now
performed by the very accomplished Concordia Quartet, and instead of the Drama
Center Theatre, it is now at Wild Rice’s own theatre. Yup !!! Cucumber
sandwiches provided too !!! I was served by Hossan Leong !!!!! <i>(Hossan,
if you are wondering, I asked you whether Kay Siu also injured his leg and you
told me it is an unfortunate result of aging !!!) </i><o:p></o:p></div>
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In a nutshell, the show was just <b><span style="font-size: large;">brilliant</span></b> !!! It had the audience laughing from start to end. The banter between the characters was sharp, witty and full of intentional puns. A special shoutout to Chua Enlai and Gavin Yap who played
Gwendolen and Cecily respectively. They played their roles wonderfully. The part
where they were ‘bitchy’ all the way to ‘reconciliatory’ was just so good
with every nuances in their expressions perfect. Definitely one of the
highlights of this show. Ivan Heng of course played the role of Lady Bracknell
as he has always done. I think he is such a natural and he can just do this in
his sleep. The two main ‘male’ characters of Algernon and John (Earnest) were played by Brendon Fernandez and Daniel York Loh. They played the same roles in Earnest
2009 and I must say they have matured into the roles since then. You can see
more feelings and a more rounded performance in Earnest 2020. However, the ‘ladies’
still stood out. Even Hossan who I personally think is getting better and
better <i>(like fine wine la, if you get my drift).</i><o:p></o:p></div>
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To something a bit more serious. As I write this, there is a
very dark cloud over Singapore with the Covid-19 virus. Businesses are
suffering. Even the local Arts scene and its community are not spared. In today’s
Straits Times, <a href="https://www.straitstimes.com/lifestyle/arts/arts-scene-hit-hard-by-virus-fears" target="_blank">“Arts scene hit hard by virus fears.”</a> highlight how
practitioners are struggling to stay afloat. Events / classes are being
postponed or cancelled all because of fear of the virus spreading. It was the
same last Saturday (22/2/2020) at the matinee show. Usually a Wild Rice show
will be filled to the rafters but instead the turnout was less than half the
theatre. When I went in and looked around, it hit me hard. I felt very sad. Imagine the cast who
can so obviously see the red of the empty seats all around the theatre. It must
be very demoralising and yet they hide it well. When Ivan Heng appeared to
welcome and greet the audience, he had his signature warm cheeky smile. All the
other cast members were also found of enthusiasm, looking so dashing in their
white shirts and blue jeans. I am not going to repeat myself on how we can
help.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You can read it <a href="https://singaporedramamama.blogspot.com/2020/02/the-show-must-go-on-covid-19-vs.html" target="_blank">here</a> where I posted
a few days ago about this issue.<o:p></o:p></div>
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However, I want to stand up and applaud all the cast and
team of Wild Rice for having the guts to go on with the show knowing the risk
that you all personally take as well as the financial risk. I applaud the cast
for putting up such a great show that really blew away my worries. <b>If laughter
is the best medicine, I would want none-other than you guys to be my doctor !!!
<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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So guys, tickets are still available at <a href="https://www.sistic.com.sg/events/earnest0320" target="_blank">SISTIC</a> !!! The show
will be running until Sunday, 8th<sup> </sup>March 2020. Go GET THEM NOW !!! Don't let this virus defeat us !! Satisfaction guaranteed, earnest-ly !! <o:p></o:p></div>
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S.Drama.Mamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06477061214973390305noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4746342181369398739.post-17919958971091235192020-02-23T01:29:00.000+08:002020-02-23T01:29:03.362+08:00The Show Must Go On !!! Covid-19 vs Singapore Arts Scene<br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">I</span>n
the dark light of the current Covid-19 situation happening in Singapore, the
local Arts community has been badly affected. Many events have been cancelled or
postponed indefinitely. For events which have carried on, the turnout has been
severely reduced resulting in high losses. Some people will comment that the
events should be cancelled anyways and if cancelled at least can minimise
losses. It isn’t such a straightforward decision. For many of these events, a
lot of time and costs have already invested and deposits on rental of venues
have already been paid many weeks earlier and are non-refundable. On top of
that, in many cases, the organisers would really want to share their blood, sweat,
tears and laughter with the public. Besides, isn’t laughter the best medicine. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">In
Singapore, due to the relatively small local support of the local Arts, high
and / or prolonged losses can have far-reaching repercussions. Smaller, startup
organisations may go into debt and be forced to shut down. To cut costs, they
may be forced to downsize on their workforce, leading to lay-offs for employees
who are already relatively poorly paid or only part-timers. This in turn may
lead to a drop in the quality of our local events. Additionally, it may turn
away budding playwrights, artists, performers, producers, directors, lighting specialists
and set producers from the local scene. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">A buddy
of mine, recently concluded a survey on the ‘<b>Effect of Covid-19 on the
Singapore Arts scene</b>.’ Many respondents were uncertain about their job security
especially in the near future. Many were concerned whether the events postponed
will ever proceed in the future. Some responded that they may not be able to
meet future financial commitments. This is not good.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="color: red; font-size: x-large;">What
can we do about it ?</span><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Before,
I give my opinions on what we can do, let me state categorically that I am NOT
under the employment of ANY LOCAL ARTS ORGANISATION. I have not in ANY WAY
WHATSOEVER been asked, requested, bribed, paid <i>(even in tickets</i>) or forced
by anyone to write this. So.. what can we do?</span></div>
<ol>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; text-indent: -18pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">I</span>f there are any events happening and you are interested, don’t be scared… GO FOR THEM !!! How is going for an arts event different from going to a shopping mall or even a hotpot meal?</b></span></span></li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; text-indent: -18pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">I</span>f you have already bought tickets for shows, please don’t go asking for a refund. You already planned to go, so just go and have a good time. <span style="text-align: justify; text-indent: -18pt;"> </span></b></span></span></li>
<li><span style="text-indent: -18pt;"><span style="background-color: white; text-align: justify; text-indent: -18pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">I</span>f you have been considering showing your gratitude for your favourite local arts organisation, what is the best way than to give a small donation to help them especially during this difficult time. Any amount adds up. That extra 50 rolls of toilet paper or 100 packs of instant noodles can wait for next month.</b></span></span></span></li>
<li><span style="text-indent: -18pt;"><span style="background-color: white; text-align: justify; text-indent: -18pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">P</span>lease don’t discourage your friends, relatives, colleagues, neighbours and pets from going. Did you and will you discourage your friends, relatives, colleagues, neighbours and pets from going to work, foodcourts for meals, supermarkets both in Singapore and in Johor Bahru to stockpile on essentials?</b></span></span></span></li>
<li><span style="text-indent: -18pt;"><span style="background-color: white; text-align: justify; text-indent: -18pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">I</span>f you did go for any local arts event and had a good time, spread the word…. tell your friends, relatives, colleagues, neighbours and pets in any and all ways. Tell them how good it was and how safe it was and not to worry. <i>It is always better karma to encourage rather than discourage.</i></b></span></span></span></li>
<li><span style="text-indent: -18pt;"><span style="background-color: white; text-align: justify; text-indent: -18pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">I</span>f you are going for any of these events, practice good personal hygiene. Wash your hands with soap, wear a mask if you wish.</b></span></span></span></li>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">There
are many other things which we can all do to help.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">To
put it bluntly, all our local arts guys are also risking themselves by
continuing to do what they love to entertain us but do we not them putting on
a face mask or running away in fear? So why should we do that? I do not see you
running away from queuing up at the nearby Buzz newsagents when they have face masks to sell? I am very sure that all measures will be taken to ensure that
everyone who attends will be safe. Heck even our arts guys want to be safe right? Please have some empathy. They are performing their hearts for you and putting up their most beautiful art works but
then they see a half-empty theatre, an empty auditorium or a ‘dead’ gallery,
how would they feel? <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I am
doing what I can to help because not only do I have good friends who are involved
in the local Arts scene, but because this is a matter very close to my heart. Please
do not let our local Arts wither due to this virus. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">A
big thanks to our local Arts community members who continue to work hard for
us. Thanks for putting the laughter and joy in our lives. I think it is about
time that we put a smile on your face as well !! Take care and be safe. THE
SHOW MUST GO ON !!!!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">*special
thanks to Mr Terence Tan and his team for the work done on the survey.</span><o:p></o:p></i></div>
<br />S.Drama.Mamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06477061214973390305noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4746342181369398739.post-87962541302958973552019-09-16T02:44:00.002+08:002019-09-16T02:44:43.531+08:00Beyond words .. My Review of Emily of Emerald Hill 2019 <br />
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<img height="360" src="https://scontent-sin2-2.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/61842289_2414853588578696_3049197222747963392_n.jpg?_nc_cat=111&_nc_oc=AQkCA6Ebg7Cya4pw5LPr8wSM1WYRHAHGdQ6XoRnjRItaqEv0qYCHp52Rn7Ip3eTwDrA&_nc_ht=scontent-sin2-2.xx&oh=83b43cba4018af655ca694ae6bba3776&oe=5DF7DC89" width="640" /></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Earlier
this afternoon, I watched W!ld Rice’s latest adaptation of “Emily on Emerald
Hill” at the newly opened Ngee Ann Kongsi Theatre @ W!ld Rice Funan. Emily was
played by Ivan Heng. As you may already know, Emily on Emerald Hill is written
by playwright Stella Kon which tells the story of a Nonya at different stages
of her life: as a young girl, a young wife, a loving mother and dignified
grandmother. These stages of her life are acted out by a single cast member
through a 2-hour monologue, which takes you through a myriad of emotions. Emily
on Emerald Hill is one of the most well-known plays in the region with countless
of retellings by theatre stalwarts such as Margaret Chang, Neo Swee Lin, Pearly
Chua, Karen Tan and Ivan Heng. I have watched this play acted by Ivan Heng in
2011, Karen Tan in 2015, Pearly Chua in 2017 and Ivan Heng again in 2019. Each
time I saw it, they were very good and different in its own way, but this 2019
version was really special.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Firstly,
I must say that this new venue is world-class. The intimacy and closeness of
the audience to the stage is beyond anything available in the region. I was
seated in the front row and the stage was only an arm’s length away. This
closeness enabled Ivan to interact with the audience in ways I have never
experienced before. Ivan didn’t just break the proverbial ‘fourth wall’, he
demolished it and put a glass door!! Several times during the performance, he interacted
with the audience so that the audience felt like they were part of Emily’s life
and not just someone looking in. <i><span style="color: red;">I was extremely lucky to be called to stand up
earlier and I felt so happy to be a part of the production.</span></i> Due to the superb
sound staging and acoustics, every footstep, every swish of the baju kebaya and
most importantly every little change in Ivan’s tone can be heard and felt so
clearly. The costumes used today were beautiful and all the bling on Ivan … WOW
!!! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://www.wildrice.com.sg/cache/widgetkit/gallery/3/emily%20reszied%20PR1-3c19c3be3e.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><img alt="emily reszied PR1" border="0" height="320" src="https://www.wildrice.com.sg/cache/widgetkit/gallery/3/emily%20reszied%20PR1-3c19c3be3e.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Next,…
</span><span style="font-size: x-large;">I</span><span style="font-size: large;">van </span><span style="font-size: x-large;">H</span><span style="font-size: large;">eng. What can I say about Ivan Heng that has not been said and published by
countless of international theatre reviewers? Through the years of experiencing
Ivan, I have run out of superlatives to describe how good he is. (<i>Some of you
readers may be thinking what a fanboy I am. I believe in giving credit where it
is due.)</i> Only two actors in Singapore can perform such magic on stage, Adrian
Pang and Ivan Heng. Ivan Heng’s portrayal of Emily in 2011 was very good, this
time, it was mesmerizingly perfect. His ability to emanate the emotions of joyous
elation, enthusiasm, anger and sorrow is second to none. Remember that there
are no other cast members but himself. Backdrop, props, lighting are all a
small part of this play, 90% of the experience was down to Ivan. Every raise of
his eyebrow, every flick of his finger, every shake of his hips, every step he
takes is just spot-on. His acting had the audience in a trance, controlling
their every emotion, from heart-wrenching sorrow to joy and laughter.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">As a
bonus at today’s performance, we were taught several important lessons. One was
on ‘theatre etiquette’ and the other, the recipe for ‘Babi Buah Keluak.’ As we
often experience during theatre performances here in Singapore, there will be a
handful of the audience who come late to the performance and those who use
their handphones during the show to take a photo. During today’s show, they
were called out by Ivan. I am glad that theatre practitioners and artists
nowadays call them out because this lack of respect has gone on for too long
and theatre goers must learn to respect the cast and the majority of the audience
who are on time <i>(at least 15 minutes before the show)</i> and what it means by ‘keep
your mobile phone.’ The ‘punishment’ was done in good humour but I think they
will never be late again. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">The extraordinary atmosphere <i>(due in no small part to the W!ld Rice theatre)</i>,
inspired imagination and direction of Glenn Goei and Ivan Heng’s flawless acting
has made this production an exceptional masterpiece. As 'instructed' by Ivan today, "a memory is not a photo
taken by a camera, but more importantly it is something you remember in your
mind and in your heart." </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">As I
conclude this, I cannot help but think of the words of the late P. Ramlee, immortalised
in “<i>Getaran Jiwa</i>” as the most apt description of my Emily on Emerald Hill 2019 experience - </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Getaran
jiwa melanda hatiku <i>(Soul vibration hits my heart)</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Moga
dapat membangkitkan <i>(Hope it could touch you)</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Sedarlah
akmu wahai insan <i>(You have to realise)</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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</div>
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Tak
mungkin hilang <i>(Will not be lost)</i></span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Thank you W!ld Rice for touching my heart and the hearts of thousands... you truly deserve the ovations...</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">---</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: #3d85c6; font-size: large;"><i><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Emily
on Emerald Hill will be showing from the 4 – 28 September 2019 at The Ngee Ann
Kongsi Theatre @ W!ld Rice, Funan. As of time of writing, tickets are extremely
limited and or sold out already. My advice is to check regularly </span><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">(every hour)</span><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">
on the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pg/wildrice.sg/events/?ref=page_internal" target="_blank">W!ld Rice Facebook page</a> and hope / pray that additional shows are added.
</span></i></span><o:p></o:p></div>
<br />S.Drama.Mamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06477061214973390305noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4746342181369398739.post-71792525146099039972019-08-30T04:00:00.002+08:002019-08-30T04:00:39.668+08:00Sudah-Lah .. NOT !! .. My Review of Hossan-Ah 50! Love you Leong time!<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
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<img src="https://www.sistic.com.sg/sistic/images/events/18451/1556244963111.jpg" /></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Greetings
and salutations to all of you. It has been two years and 9 days since I last wrote
my last review on Army Daze 2. Due to work and personal commitment, I went into
semi-retirement from this blog. Over that period, I went for Phantom earlier
this year </span><i>(pretty bad)</i><span style="font-size: large;">, Pangdemonium’s ‘This is What Happens to Pretty
Girls’ </span><i>(superb)</i><span style="font-size: large;"> and ‘Broadway Beng 2019’</span><i>(good)</i><span style="font-size: large;">. However, I have
decided to come out of my hiatus because of Hossan Leong’s ‘Hossan-ah-50 – Love
you Leong time.’</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Firstly,
I must say that I was very lucky to be able to get tickets for this show. As of
the time of writing, tickets for the remaining two shows have already been sold
out. Sorry Hossan that I couldn’t give you my 5-star rating earlier as I could
only get tickets for the 29/8/19 show. <i><span style="color: #3d85c6;">(as though Hossan is going to read
this !!!)</span> </i>For those who couldn’t get tickets, I must say that you have
missed out <b>BIG TIME !! </b><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">At
50 years old, I must say that Hossan is still very energetic. He performed for almost
two hours straight without any break or interval. He sang, played the piano, did
his stand-up comedy routines full of his typical gusto and charm. Everything he
did on stage was excellent. His singing was wonderful and his jokes had the entire
drama centre laughing off their seats. The timing of his jokes coupled with his
actions / facial expressions and improv skills were spot on. All totally new
material. I have not laughed so hard and much at any show ever. In fact, I
think this must have been the best comedy show I have seen by a local artiste ever
!! Hossan must have really gone through a lot of planning and preparation for
this show. During the widely-acclaimed ‘princess segment’ even the videos
flashed against the backdrop were all carefully scripted to extract maximum
laughter from the audience. If there was anything to complain about this show,
it was that two hours of Hossan was not enough. It was as close to a perfect
performance by Hossan as possible. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">It
is kinda sad that he has decided to cut back on his solo performances and
instead move on to other challenges. I for one will surely miss him and I am
very sure many, many in Singapore will miss him greatly. <span style="color: red;">Thank you Hossan for
this wonderful show. You are sure-as-hell not a ‘has-been.’ </span>It is because of artistes
like you that I happily do this. Hope to laugh with and/or at you again very
soon. </span><o:p></o:p></div>
<br />S.Drama.Mamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06477061214973390305noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4746342181369398739.post-61561979029525472462017-08-24T00:40:00.000+08:002017-08-24T00:47:04.039+08:00I still want my Kuih Chang ... my preview of Grandmother Tongue<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhPNbbkqAbwjtxP0h4-X8tU8B3a8kqkenSvY0gOs6jXA5VugjzpYyaXh4yIKHyLDwzWEK7RaNIy37L7RoOrfUbDs3OBEU1ejYBBqrRbUFrXG696ME87fHO-C-WWok5J1vZ92WjcgQs7kDt/s1600/Grandmother+Tongue+Hi-Res+image.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1132" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhPNbbkqAbwjtxP0h4-X8tU8B3a8kqkenSvY0gOs6jXA5VugjzpYyaXh4yIKHyLDwzWEK7RaNIy37L7RoOrfUbDs3OBEU1ejYBBqrRbUFrXG696ME87fHO-C-WWok5J1vZ92WjcgQs7kDt/s400/Grandmother+Tongue+Hi-Res+image.jpg" width="282" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">T</span>here is a lot of evidence that a
particular language has a strong impact on its culture and vice versa. Language
refers to the words used, the sentence structure, intonation of words and etc.
For the Chinese people especially here in Singapore and Malaysia, the Chinese
language is split further into the various dialects of Hokkien, Teochew,
Cantonese, Hainanese, Hakka and Mandarin. It is extremely fascinating to see
how words and structure and tone are associated to the common seen traits of
their respective cultures.</div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span lang="EN-US">I have been attending intensive
Japanese language courses the past few months and knowing a bit of the Japanese
culture has greatly helped me in the understanding of the Japanese language.
For example, the Japanese people are generally known to be extremely polite and
respectful. They are also known to talk rather softly (unless there is too much
sake). One may easily get confused and conversations may get a bit long-winded
due to the Japanese cultural need to avoid being direct and be perceived to be
rude. But these are the nuances which we accept as part of their culture.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span lang="EN-US">Another example of the close
intertwining of language and culture is the Peranakan or Baba Nonya people. The
language is mainly Malay with a generous splattering of Hokkien, English, Portuguese,
Dutch and Tamil. This is because the Paranakans originated from Malacca and
Penang during the colonial days in Malaysia. They were originally Chinese in
descent but due to interracial marriages with Malays, Europeans and Indians in
those times, the Peranakan culture was born. An example would be the words ‘kuih
chang’ which is a combination of a Malay and a Chinese word. This perfectly
exemplifies the Malay-Chinese culture of the Peranakans. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span lang="EN-US">Sorry for the <b><span style="font-size: large;">LONG</span></b> introduction but
this brings us to the upcoming play by <span style="font-size: large;">W</span>!ld <span style="font-size: large;">R</span>ice called <b><span style="color: red; font-size: large;">Grandmother Tongue</span></b>.
This was written by Thomas Lim who wanted to show the close inter-relationship
between a language and its culture. Thomas Lim wants to show via conversations
and interactions between a grandmother and her grandson the Teochew culture. This
play was last shown at the 2016 Singapore Theatre Festival and tickets were
sold out weeks before the performance. Tickets to additional shows were also
sold out weeks before. This show promises to bring on the laughter, tears and
the lightbulb moments (sometimes all at once). The 2017 production is again
directed by Thomas Lim with a tiny cast of 3 people. The show runs from the 28<sup>th</sup>
September to the 21<sup>st</sup> October and will be held at the SOTA Studio
Theatre. The latest information I got from W!ld Rice is that tickets for all the
shows have been sold out. However, they may be adding more shows. So in order
get tickets, kindly email to <a href="mailto:sales@wildrice.com.sg">sales@wildrice.com.sg</a>
with your name, contact number, choice of performance dates and number of
tickets. They will then contact you should seats open up or should there be
additional shows. Also don’t worry if you do not understand Teochew. There will
be surtitles in English and Mandarin. <span style="font-size: large;">QUICKLY EMAIL THEM !!</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span lang="EN-US">I really hope that W!ld Rice will
find a way to add more shows because I think it is very important for us to remember
and treasure our culture. The Chinese dialects are quickly disappearing as the
younger generation is focused only on languages they learn at school and not at
home. With the disappearance of the language comes the disappearance of the
culture. I for one will surely be very upset when ‘kuih chang’ disappears. I
will surely be watching this as my Grandmother’s tongue is ... Teochew… <o:p></o:p></span></div>
S.Drama.Mamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06477061214973390305noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4746342181369398739.post-84354360830410358992017-08-21T13:56:00.000+08:002017-08-21T13:56:41.513+08:00In a Daze ... my review of Army Daze 2<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJV-yPYmzf6FF6DrbJQvfw3nk6E-TYiIQDAfpYSbnyShOwDHtUIwe4UZV0du0-YPztshn0hGO19ewnJqow3nMhBsABuXVxpjN7bAOidoalesvfm_7iRxzoYHCFd8JbDCGzgRnrheYfwppL/s1600/army+daze+2+banner.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="199" data-original-width="950" height="132" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJV-yPYmzf6FF6DrbJQvfw3nk6E-TYiIQDAfpYSbnyShOwDHtUIwe4UZV0du0-YPztshn0hGO19ewnJqow3nMhBsABuXVxpjN7bAOidoalesvfm_7iRxzoYHCFd8JbDCGzgRnrheYfwppL/s640/army+daze+2+banner.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span lang="EN-US">I watched Army Daze 2 last Saturday
at the Drama Centre. I was quite psyched up about Army Daze 2 as this is SG50,
music composition done by Don Richmond, all star cast .. and hey it is Army
Daze .. what can go wrong?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span lang="EN-US">This show
shared the same problems with the show ‘High Class’ several years ago. Music
was excellent – catchy and upbeat, the humor was kinda there, large and
beautiful sets, lots of fade in – fade out transitions between scenes, a strong
cast but not much character development and no depth. In this show we had the
likes of Chua Enlai, Shane Mardjuki, Hossan Leong and Jo Tan. These are easily
within the top ten local entertainers in Singapore today. Chua Enlai only
brought on the laughs with Hokkien Rhapsody. All other times he was just
reciting lines. Shane Mardjuki did a decent job as the colorful Kenny Pereira
but again he was just ‘colorful.’ Hossan Leong was a shadow of himself as
Malcolm Png. Usually Hossan can make the crowd cry with laughter with just a
flick of his finger but in Army Daze 2, just a bit of giggles and laughs here
and there. Jo Tan was the only one who was funny in the show. Even her humor
came from bad English</span><span lang="EN-US"> </span>pronunciation<span lang="EN-US"> and extreme ah-lian-ness rather
than wit and acting. Ms Oon Shu On is one of the rising stars in Singapore
theatre and again her role was very muted. As for Ms Natalie Ong, her singing
was good but her acting well, you can tell she is new. At the end of the day,
she only sang for a little of the show for ‘Jin Pai Tia.’ As for the actors
playing the young recruits, their roles were too small and short to comment. For
the acting, the actors were very much let down and were not given much chance
and time to shine in their uniqueness.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span lang="EN-US">The story was fairly decent and the
twist in the plot was shocking. But that was it. Just a twist. After that
flat-line again. There were little parts
about the new recruits bonding with each other, little parts about the love triangle between two of
the recruits and Renee, little parts about the relationship between Malcolm and
the new Chief, a little part between Malcolm and his son. That the issue with
this show, they were all little parts, just a touch and move on. I felt that
there was too many characters and not enough ‘screen time.’ However, the show
lasted only slightly longer than 1 hour 40 minutes which was very short.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span lang="EN-US">As mentioned earlier in this review,
the music was good and the dancing was well choreographed. My favourite was ‘Jin
Pai Tia,’ ‘Look, See, Believe’ and ‘Hokkien Rhapsody.’ The lyrics were well
written and the dancing especially the ballet scene was well done. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span lang="EN-US">I bet there were many who really enjoyed Army Daze 2 but sadly I wasn't one of them. Hopefully Army Daze 2 will be made into a movie with a bigger budget and please continue to cast Enlai and Jo and Hossan in it because they deserved to shine. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<i><span style="font-size: x-small;">*Please note that this review was intentionally done / published after the show ended to avoid having any effect during the run.</span></i></div>
S.Drama.Mamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06477061214973390305noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4746342181369398739.post-25162406479165009602017-07-30T13:48:00.000+08:002017-07-30T13:48:00.613+08:00Wah Sibei Song ah !! Army Daze 2 lai liao !!!! <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjy-tTWE_7p1Fg19NcLJPrQE6V0uHsCQSiuiwyPJeI7EPFfmyjN3JrKkPPX2zcTMhMQSvMbLQ08DsifCvE8Inl1LrVQn8KQF5mOTLxNCPxP5NA0jsoUKsCt7QiHW8wX3eptu3obidN4_sw/s1600/army+daze+2+square.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="427" data-original-width="640" height="425" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjy-tTWE_7p1Fg19NcLJPrQE6V0uHsCQSiuiwyPJeI7EPFfmyjN3JrKkPPX2zcTMhMQSvMbLQ08DsifCvE8Inl1LrVQn8KQF5mOTLxNCPxP5NA0jsoUKsCt7QiHW8wX3eptu3obidN4_sw/s640/army+daze+2+square.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">M</span>any of you would have watched Michael Chiang’s Army Daze
before. It was originally a novel made into a theatre play which was first
released in 1987 and made into a highly successful movie in 1996. There have
been several reruns of this widely acclaimed play since then with minor tweaks
such as different lines, different songs and with different cast members. However,
the premise has been the same. It is about 5 young men from various backgrounds,
of different races and most importantly different behaviours enlisting for
National Service. The play tells in highly hilarious way on the troubles of
these 5 men adopting to NS, being away from their loved ones and how they grow
through NS and what happens when they end NS.</div>
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<br /></div>
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This time, Army Daze <u><b><span style="font-size: large;">2</span></b></u> is the continuation of the original.
Army Daze 2 is a brand new play again written by Michael Chiang and directed by
Beatrice Chia-Richmond. The show also promises many new songs composed by Don
Richmond himself (btw he is my Sec 3 and 4 classmate!!!). Army Daze 2 tells the
story of the original 5 men and their lives after NS, in fact 30 years after
ROD. To make matters more interesting, there is also an underlying comparison
between NS today and then through the NS journey of one of the original 5’s
son. </div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Army Daze promises to be a barrel of laughs with great
acting. Just looking at the cast and you are guaranteed high quality
top-of-the-drawer entertainment. We have Hossan Leong, Chua Enlai, Shane Mardjuki,
Joshua Lim and Ebi Shankara .. all current top Singapore play actors and comedians.
Then we also have Jo Tan last seen in La Cage and Oon Shu An from the recently
concluded Boeing Boeing. In addition, Army Daze 2 debuts Singapore’s own
X-Factor (Australia) sensation – Ms Natalie Ong.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Script by Michael Chiang
+ Stellar cast + Don Richmond’s Music + Beatrice Chia direction = <span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">SURE
WIN LA !!!</span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
Army Daze 2 will be showing from 4/8/2017 to 20/8/2017 at
the Drama Centre Theatre at the National Library. Tickets are selling out
really fast and you can grab them at SISTIC.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
What better way to salute our men in uniform this NS50 year
than to laugh it all out at Army Daze 2. Make sure you find a way to catch the
original Army Daze before hand !!!!</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
See ya there .... </div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4746342181369398739.post-38859528635867645492017-07-30T12:59:00.002+08:002017-07-30T12:59:32.386+08:00We are born of love; Love is our mother. ... my preview of Mother I (2) by Ver Theatre<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEig6XFIasK2tFCS0t7E_6HfD_JNeKr_Z3DL4sK_gP5oqrspcm0nNt65U0BX5WJfZJmnIMFAkbFRpKoQYx47PuKWc_9PBTukKPpxOp10ADkxE7sa8t8iAFfXedqEiJTSzBe4VVT5DMZQw2E/s1600/PosterDraft7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEig6XFIasK2tFCS0t7E_6HfD_JNeKr_Z3DL4sK_gP5oqrspcm0nNt65U0BX5WJfZJmnIMFAkbFRpKoQYx47PuKWc_9PBTukKPpxOp10ADkxE7sa8t8iAFfXedqEiJTSzBe4VVT5DMZQw2E/s400/PosterDraft7.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Once in a while I like to watch and experience
something ‘off the beaten track’, away from the W!ld Rice’s colorful
pantomimes, or the Pangdemonium’s big budgets epics. The last few years I have
caught Melancholy Play by Couch Theatre and Boom by Sigh Lines and really
enjoyed them and the very high quality of presentation. These works depend heavily on the acting and delivery due to the
usually smaller budget, lesser use of props and smaller venues. Also they
normally tackle very serious topics which are usually taboo.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">I am very glad to be invited by my good buddy
Catherine to catch her upcoming show called <b><span style="color: red; font-size: large;">Mother I (2)</span></b>. This is presented by
<span style="font-size: large;">V</span>er Theatre. It is called Mother I (2) because there was a first part done last
year. The general theme of the show is about mothers. Their
growth, feelings, and journey through different phases of motherhood. The first
part of Mother I was about the trials and tribulations of being a mother during
childbirth in this new era. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Mother I (2) continues this with the child
growing up and the mother having to go through this growing up stage with the
added complications of current world issues such as when the child is separate
from the mother, bringing up a challenged child and having to cope with a child
facing gender acceptance issues. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">These are very heavy issues and I will really
be anticipating on how a small cast of just three persons will be able to
convince the audience to share in their joy and pain. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">The venue for Mother I (2) is the Goodman Arts
Centre Black Box at Goodman Road and tickets are on sale now at <a href="http://motheri2.peatix.com/">http://motheri2.peatix.com</a> This show will
run from 10/8/2017 to 13/8/2017 with just 5 shows. So quickly go grab your
tickets before they are sold out.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">I for one will want to watch this as I
personally feel that small independent production houses need to be heard and
you will be amazed at the acting of some of these newcomers. Just better bring
your Kleenex as I am sure it will be a tear jerker.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Stay tuned for a review of Mother I (2).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
S.Drama.Mamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06477061214973390305noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4746342181369398739.post-63362349145625543632017-06-25T04:15:00.000+08:002017-06-25T04:15:02.901+08:00Good Evening Ladies and Gentlemen. Fasten your seat belts, lean back and let W!ld Rice Airlines take care of all your entertainment needs - My Review of Boeing Boeing 2017<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikQMJSKi73yNARj_BRmpdo3xJPBnA6Hp4thI9zpKU2YtvQPr32GSrzl2RbzbUHGfDT-fhNg5vp6LimSoGdcr6-15hZAyKJUNeMFH-Z69AoQnObzZ62WBJWWMzCueIyhmIpHezDBPNYSTY/s1600/BB17_Boeinglaunch_v2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1238" data-original-width="1240" height="318" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikQMJSKi73yNARj_BRmpdo3xJPBnA6Hp4thI9zpKU2YtvQPr32GSrzl2RbzbUHGfDT-fhNg5vp6LimSoGdcr6-15hZAyKJUNeMFH-Z69AoQnObzZ62WBJWWMzCueIyhmIpHezDBPNYSTY/s320/BB17_Boeinglaunch_v2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Before taking a flight, many things run through your mind. Questions
swirl around the in-flight meal, the entertainment, who is going to be sitting
next to you throughout the flight and whether the person sitting behind you is
going to be kicking your seat throughout the flight? Every flight experience is
unique in its pleasant and unpleasant moments.</div>
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Watching W!ld Rice’s Boeing
Boeing in 2017 evoked the same questions before the show. I did not watch the
original staging in 2002 but I caught the 2010 staging. It was the second W!ld
Rice show I watched after “The Importance of Being Earnest.” Adrian Pang played
the lead role of Bernard with Daniel York as Robert. The nationalities of the
stewardesses were Singaporean, Hong Konger and Japanese, played by Chermaine
Ang, Wendy Kweh and the late Emma Yong respectively. Siti Khalijah played the
role of Rosa. </div>
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That version was directed by
Glenn Goei. It was a very strong cast with Chermaine, Emma and Glenn returning
from the 1<sup>st</sup> staging. I remember that I enjoyed the show
tremendously and the show was an eye-opener. It showed me how good Singapore
theatre could be. In fact, it was after watching Boeing Boeing 2010 that I
decided I was going to start a blog on the local theatre. Fast forward to 2017
....</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYUIKsxQ1ubQfKJPt__BY7-VwXE63xGZAkPyKf0_0RyJBHCUE0JfbDpnMC5X960JUX0QuATFnQ2Po3odl_GYIw0Ukd2UJ7opV8tF286eIHafoV1KucBkUMNgB-bjk_e9xJhXPTbWLTQp8/s1600/BB17-masthead-blue.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="595" data-original-width="1600" height="118" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYUIKsxQ1ubQfKJPt__BY7-VwXE63xGZAkPyKf0_0RyJBHCUE0JfbDpnMC5X960JUX0QuATFnQ2Po3odl_GYIw0Ukd2UJ7opV8tF286eIHafoV1KucBkUMNgB-bjk_e9xJhXPTbWLTQp8/s320/BB17-masthead-blue.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Boeing Boeing 2017 is directed by
Pam Oei <i>(who starred in the 2002 staging)</i>. Rodney Oliveiro plays Bernard with
Shane Mardjuki as Robert. The nationalities of the stewardesses are changed to
Singaporean, Indian and Mainland Chinese, played by Oon Shu An, Rebekah Sangeetha
Dorai and Judee Tan respectively. Bibeth Orteza plays the role of Rosa. I will
go more into the acting shortly...</div>
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The set of Boeing Boeing is just
a living room with many doors. For the 2017 staging, the choice was to have a
more Scandinavian look with lots of wood in the walls. It was neat and cosy. Also the doors were very strong considering they were being slammed shut
many times in each show. I very much appreciate that the set had several layers.
You can see that behind the doors are actual bedroom sets rather than just
empty stage. Well done to the stage set guys !! I also so love Victoria Theatre. The closeness to the stage really feels nice and warm. </div>
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Overall, the acting was good. It is arguable who had the bigger role between the two men. I personally
felt that Shane (Robert) had more stage time as compared to Rodney (Bernard).
At the earlier parts of the show, Shane was a bit more awkward but as the show
went along, he got better. Rodney played the part of Bernard well but I think he
could have been better. I have definitely seen him better. Throughout the show,
he had the same level of intensity of expression. It would have been good if he
was able to show varying degrees of emotion at the different points of the
show. When he was confident.. he had a certain look, when he was panicking.. he
had the same look and when he was relieved.. the same look. I personally could not
feel the emotions as much as I could from Shane.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_VLswpOluUwsvKPRrOKEjng0TDuuql97M_QUxl2QKSPBhyphenhyphenmQ8Z-CGpGjutVCwiTSSVAtC4eELFmikpPC64wlGNWR5mQXYEjrFR3xuU8xYyZm1ngVu3JqLyqt4OyjjBeo4UkL4SVdFPvc/s1600/Boeing+Boeing+by+W%2521LD+RICE+photo+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="965" data-original-width="1452" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_VLswpOluUwsvKPRrOKEjng0TDuuql97M_QUxl2QKSPBhyphenhyphenmQ8Z-CGpGjutVCwiTSSVAtC4eELFmikpPC64wlGNWR5mQXYEjrFR3xuU8xYyZm1ngVu3JqLyqt4OyjjBeo4UkL4SVdFPvc/s400/Boeing+Boeing+by+W%2521LD+RICE+photo+1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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The nationalities of the
stewardesses were changed to suit the strengths of the three ladies. Shu An
played the role of the SIA stewardess. I can so imagine an SIA stewardess
talking and behaving in the same way after they get home. She brought on the
laughter with her ‘ah-lianness.’ Rebekah played the role of an Air India
stewardess. I felt that this role could be further enhanced. The only thing
special about this role was the ‘Indian accent’ and the sari. Even after a
while, the accent was lost amongst all the lines. There was nothing there which
made her stand our as an Indian girl or even an Air Indian girl. Judee Tan
played the role of the China Airlines girl. She really stood out amongst all the
cast. She brought the house down with her exaggerated China-English accent and
her Opera moves. <i>(I could hear Chua Enlai guffawing)</i> It was really an excellent
choice casting Judee for this role.</div>
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I feel that the role of Rosa is very
important to this show. She is the person who glues all the roles together and
provides most of the humour to the show with her constant grumblings and ranting.
However, I feel that Bibeth was a bit lacking in this role. It is intentional
for her to repeat certain lines as a typical Filipino helper, but I felt that
it became rather jarring to hear her repeat the line again and again listlessly.
I think it may be the artistic direction for her to appear drained and tired
but it just felt boring. I cannot help but remember when Siti was playing this
role, she was the highlight of the 2010 show. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVPnwMJ3DbcofraUW56O73fQs6mlpz704pRBG2UvwB8pTDBk3Nnv9hDFGCcFNpxaa1gtDaP4lD4lyNGqH9Q6srybq3pr2UVA3HXDwbsbxe8n80bRc4E7MtZjQru_JTAFB9_54upW4IdQs/s1600/Boeing+Boeing+by+W%2521LD+RICE+photo+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="965" data-original-width="1452" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVPnwMJ3DbcofraUW56O73fQs6mlpz704pRBG2UvwB8pTDBk3Nnv9hDFGCcFNpxaa1gtDaP4lD4lyNGqH9Q6srybq3pr2UVA3HXDwbsbxe8n80bRc4E7MtZjQru_JTAFB9_54upW4IdQs/s400/Boeing+Boeing+by+W%2521LD+RICE+photo+3.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">O</span>verall, Boeing Boeing 2017 is
highly entertaining and an extremely funny take on polygamy. If you ever wanted 3 stewardess girlfriends .. watch this and you
will surely realise the 'Ascends' and 'Descends' of polygamy !! As promised by W!ld Rice,
Boeing Boeing 2017 is really this year’s sexiest comedy.</div>
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For those of you who have seen
the earlier versions, this is pleasantly different but yet comfortably
familiar. It is like being on a different aircraft but with the same airline.
For those who are thinking to watch it for the first time... it is going to be
like taking a flight for the first time...exciting and full of anticipation. <span style="font-size: large;">W</span>hatever it is, <span style="font-size: medium;">fasten your seat belt, sit back and
enjoy the excellent service and hospitality of <span style="color: red;"><span style="font-size: large;">W</span>!ld</span> <span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: large;">R</span>ice</span> <span style="color: purple;"><span style="font-size: large;">A</span>irlines</span></span><span style="font-size: large;">. </span></div>
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Don’t forget the last flight from Victoria Theatre Airport is
on 22<sup>nd</sup> July 2017. Quickly grab your tickets online and check in to
Boeing Boeing 2017 before it departs.<br />
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I would like to take this
opportunity to wish all my Muslim readers<span style="color: #38761d;"> <span style="font-size: x-large;">S</span><span style="font-size: large;">elamat </span><span style="font-size: x-large;">H</span><span style="font-size: large;">ari </span><span style="font-size: x-large;">R</span><span style="font-size: large;">aya </span><span style="font-size: x-large;">A</span><span style="font-size: large;">idilfitri – Maaf Zahir
dan Batin. </span></span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4746342181369398739.post-48418406220841552962017-04-22T02:39:00.000+08:002017-04-27T15:04:45.838+08:00Familiar yet Wonderfully different... Review of La Cage Aux Folles<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhl0KGyuINNd2Ql0rzr2vQNjUXhlkPfQ7IdtElvAzTc2xVezlFFG6dZiPYzG1eJXzbvj6WNtL61eKURJBAdXxPodmKwfv0MTYp3I0fn0-uKhvJyff6zMApzhFltQgumaV_Eef0C-8ymfWo/s1600/la+cage+2017.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhl0KGyuINNd2Ql0rzr2vQNjUXhlkPfQ7IdtElvAzTc2xVezlFFG6dZiPYzG1eJXzbvj6WNtL61eKURJBAdXxPodmKwfv0MTYp3I0fn0-uKhvJyff6zMApzhFltQgumaV_Eef0C-8ymfWo/s400/la+cage+2017.jpg" width="381" /></a></div>
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<b><span style="color: red;">La Cage Aux Folles</span> by <span style="color: red;">W!LD RICE</span></b></h2>
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Gala Night, 8pm @ Victoria Theatre Singapore</h3>
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<span style="color: blue; font-size: large; text-align: justify;">A</span><span style="text-align: justify;">s readers of my blog will already know, I caught
the 2012 production and got a rave review by me. Until today, it is one of the
best locally produced musical I have watched in Singapore. The 2017 production? ... </span><span style="font-size: large; text-align: justify;">E</span><span style="text-align: justify;">xcellent.</span></div>
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You can read more about La Cage <a href="http://singaporedramamama.blogspot.sg/2017/01/akan-datang-wld-rices-la-cage-aux-folles.html" target="_blank">here</a> in my preview
of this show. Today, its all about the review. </div>
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Let me start by asking you this .. What makes a great musical? Superb acting, beautiful singing, a dash of humour and lots of heart. W!ld Rice’s La Cage Aux Folles had all this and more.</div>
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Victoria Theatre is the perfect venue for the
staging of La Cage. It is small and yet cosy. The close proximity of the audience
to the stage brings a level of ‘intimacy’ with the actors. I was seated in the
Circle seats on the second floor but yet I had full view of the stage and could
feel the warmth and emotion from the show. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTN3C9aTNq3gWnSasAvJO5jozccoGWrDGHSYjUxCH1QlKhlmHFs35zmci8idXBwENEI77DdUKEcx55AAM0KOxSdvscAhet3HOTAlb6b3gCZcY77xKk76n23in0eywEHp4gxr8o8kT3Uos/s1600/lacage2012_1_sirius+%25281%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTN3C9aTNq3gWnSasAvJO5jozccoGWrDGHSYjUxCH1QlKhlmHFs35zmci8idXBwENEI77DdUKEcx55AAM0KOxSdvscAhet3HOTAlb6b3gCZcY77xKk76n23in0eywEHp4gxr8o8kT3Uos/s320/lacage2012_1_sirius+%25281%2529.jpg" width="320" /></a>Firstly, let me start with the Cagelles. I have no
idea how they can be so graceful IN HEELS. They were doing splits, can-can,
burlesque and even cartwheels. Their feet must be aching like crazy now!! They are
very good and I especially liked the ‘tap’ routine. Kudos to you guys .. your
hours of practicing have paid off with your spectacular routines. </div>
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The lead actors, Ivan Heng and Sean Ghazi were superb. I cannot think of anyone in
Singapore and even in Asia who can play the role of Albin / Zaza except Ivan Heng. The
flamboyance, the mood swings, the emotions, the singing ... all perfectly performed by Ivan. The role of George involved more singing and Sean Ghazi did not disappoint with his voice. His rendition of ‘Song on the Sand’ and ‘Look
over There’ was just breathtaking. I could see other members of the audience
dabbing their eyes moved with emotion at his singing. The on stage chemistry
between the two leads was good but I feel that this could be improved. This is
understandable as this is only the second night, as the show goes on the
chemistry should grow. However, please do not let this minor point take away
the due praise I have for the two lead actors for their excellent performance.</div>
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The supporting cast provided most of the comic
relief throughout the show. Hossan Leong was his usual impish self which we all
love. I feel that Aaron Khaled as Jonathan’s acting and singing could be
stronger with more emotion. From where I sat, his singing was often muffled and
drowned out by the music. <i><span style="color: red;">(edit - at my second viewing of La Cage, Aaron Khaled was excellent and his singing was spot-on. His rendition of 'Look over there' brought tears to my eyes.)</span></i> Jo Tan brought a lot of laughs from the audience and
Darius Tan did a good job as the ‘stiff’ Dr. C.K. Tan <span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>(pun intended)</i></span>. <span style="color: #cc0000;">Congratulations</span>
to Mae Elliessa on her Singapore stage debut. Her role as Ann was too short for
me to comment but I could see she definitely has the potential to be excellent
under the tutelage of the W!ld Rice team. I expected more stage time from Erwin
Shah Ismail. I have always maintained that he is one of the future stars of
Singapore theatre.</div>
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A special mention MUST go Frederick Lee the costume
designer of this show. The costumes are breathtaking. I normally have photos of
the show in my review, but for this review I decided not to so that the audience
<i><span style="font-size: x-small;">(who read this blog)</span></i> can be as awe-struck as me by Frederick’s super work. </div>
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I am sure that W!ld Rice’s re-telling of La Cage
will be nominated for many categories at the next ST Life! Theatre Awards and
they deserve it. Standing ovations tonight and last night .. they deserve it. I
foresee standing ovations at every show .. they deserve it. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUngJNz7uUdNGhFNZFv4Dk26eBX6upj7AO56jq8TpmgEHeqIWefd5nDXsMhJlM1mbgRok5YzqqbRjkZ8kX4oUIN9xpHqILFQzhC2BJHfrjipevIyq_u0MQg4aENoTZPi8NjEO1ly_C68g/s1600/image1+%25281%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUngJNz7uUdNGhFNZFv4Dk26eBX6upj7AO56jq8TpmgEHeqIWefd5nDXsMhJlM1mbgRok5YzqqbRjkZ8kX4oUIN9xpHqILFQzhC2BJHfrjipevIyq_u0MQg4aENoTZPi8NjEO1ly_C68g/s320/image1+%25281%2529.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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I strongly <b>urge / recommend / coerce / influence /
force</b> you to go get tickets to La Cage if you haven’t. The show will run until
the 13<sup>th</sup> May 2017. As I understand there are not many tickets left
so quickly log on to <a href="https://www.sistic.com.sg/events/aux0517" target="_blank">SISTIC</a> and get your tickets. This is one show you mustn’t
miss, in fact try to catch it several times !! I will be catching it again
tomorrow afternoon and if time permits I hope to watch it one more time before
it ends and I have to wait 5 more years.</div>
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Thanks again to W!ld Rice for this awesome production
of La Cage. You have showed me once again what Singapore theatre is capable
of.... La Da Da Da ... and I am young .. and in love....</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4746342181369398739.post-17589809083865826332017-01-15T11:48:00.001+08:002017-01-15T11:48:29.872+08:00Akan Datang - W!ld Rice's La Cage Aux Folles .. <div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Happy New Year</span><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"> to all of you</span><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"> !! </span><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">May</span><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"> 2017 b</span><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">ring you</span><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"> Great Health
</span><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">and</span><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"> Wealth !!</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKrGz-EhOkIenNLLBahmMQRbmTQFoWuoi8g8C1MAAZrmM0Wd7cZXkD3rm0BJRIIXA-66HzhXz4S0pVaQKaLc3kdtx4S9fGssSle3gIPsqpeN3nTyuum9vRCNgtkCJidmdLNmr77oDp-cQ/s1600/la+cage+2017.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKrGz-EhOkIenNLLBahmMQRbmTQFoWuoi8g8C1MAAZrmM0Wd7cZXkD3rm0BJRIIXA-66HzhXz4S0pVaQKaLc3kdtx4S9fGssSle3gIPsqpeN3nTyuum9vRCNgtkCJidmdLNmr77oDp-cQ/s400/la+cage+2017.jpg" width="381" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: red; font-size: large;">La Cage Aux Folles</span>. This is not the first time
La Cage has been done by W!ld Rice. W!ld Rice brought La Cage to us at the Esplanade
Theatre in mid 2012. My biggest regret was that I could only watch it once as
tickets were sold out weeks before it opened. I wanted to watch it again and
again. I loved the songs, the singing was excellent, the dancing was brilliant
and the acting brought tears to my eyes. I was not the only one mesmerised. From
what I read, the house had standing ovations every night during that 2012 run. My
review of the 2012 edition can be found at <a href="http://singaporedramamama.blogspot.sg/2012/07/open-your-eyes-and-welcome-to-la-cage.html" target="_blank">here</a>.</div>
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La Cage Aux Folles is a musical comedy based on a play
written in 1973 but its meaning and values are even more valid today than then.
It is about embracing diversity in our ever increasing complex relationships.
What I love about La Cage is it brings a new perspective on family
relationships and challenges our preconceived archaic norms on it. La Cage
debuted on Broadway in 1983 and has been played all over the world to sold-out
crowds garnering many awards. The movie ‘Birdcage’ starring Nathan Lane and the
late Robin Williams was also based on this musical.</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">W</span>!ld Rice promises a re-imagination of La Cage in 2017. The
producer Glen Goei, has assembled a team of the very best in the industry from
the music director, the choreographer for the dance scenes, costume designers
(absolutely stunning.. I have seen a sneak preview) and actors. The two main
roles will be played by <span style="font-size: large;">I</span>van Heng and <span style="font-size: large;">S</span>ean Ghazi. <span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Need I say more?</span> Supporting
actors include Hossan Leong, Darius Tan, Jo Tan, Dwayne Lau and Erwin Shah <i><span style="font-size: x-small;">(all of whom are outstanding in their own right)</span></i>.</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicDJNlwg3zlTHVqq1ZOfaVP8tExfXox2tR7qmvVoCz_94kcsUCUVx8A-Y2G-HVa_M0bTtYRn79CKQI-2EgiNQGYmSJ7D_vWzraO-paE8bvAqETy9wIS1kVDNZ-xZVLYlm08cBJw0nJLCU/s1600/lacage2012_2_sirius.tif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicDJNlwg3zlTHVqq1ZOfaVP8tExfXox2tR7qmvVoCz_94kcsUCUVx8A-Y2G-HVa_M0bTtYRn79CKQI-2EgiNQGYmSJ7D_vWzraO-paE8bvAqETy9wIS1kVDNZ-xZVLYlm08cBJw0nJLCU/s400/lacage2012_2_sirius.tif" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dazzling photo from the 2012 production</td></tr>
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For the 2017 re-telling, W!ld Rice has decided to play at
the Victoria Theatre. Imagine the dazzling lights, gorgeous costumes against
the backdrop of the classic Victoria Theatre. WoW ... its gonna be great ! If
anyone here can make La Cage shine ... its will be W!ld Rice. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
W!ld rice will have a La Cage Aux Folles specific website at
<a href="http://lacage.sg/">http://lacage.sg</a> which goes live on 16 January
2017. Tickets also go on sale via SISTIC on the same day. Showdates are from 19 April to 13 May 2017. My advice to all of
you is get your tickets early !! I am very sure that tickets are going to fly
off really really fast. Also there will be various discount tiers based on how
early you buy your tickets from bumper discounts of up to 25%. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
As we enter 2017, Singapore faces a lot of uncertainty
economically but to borrow a line from one of the songs of La Cage, “<i><span style="color: magenta;">We face
life though its sometimes sweet and sometimes bitter; face life, with a little
cuts and lots of glitter</span>.</i>” Let W!ld Rice give you something sweet and glittery
this year. Go catch La Cage....</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4746342181369398739.post-58271919311624682412016-12-04T23:41:00.002+08:002016-12-04T23:41:38.244+08:00Mayday or Wu Yeh Tian (五月天) ... 突然好想你 (suddenly miss you so much)<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">H</span>i all !!
Greetings from <span style="font-size: large;">S</span>ingapore<span style="font-size: large;">D</span>rama<span style="font-size: large;">M</span>ama. Sorry it has been almost 6 mths since my
last post. Honestly, Les Mis was the last thing I caught in the theatre. Since
then I have been busy with real life to watch anything much. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">What I DID
catch was Mayday concert in August and Jay Chou concert in September. The less
I say about the Jay Chou concert the better. All I wanna say is I will never
watch a Jay Chou concert again and no more concerts in National Stadium as
well.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMGA7mcx8tMlhjZGifoJ5Eb_uls4aJK2lVQe2upwQ2YMAaP2qppvdXBBRrLgo8VmBRy7p8HnNSc2lLJ9ZmhqFfCy9mqOZwybQkB5oLjL7fgaCr1V52c4XEa3CpXp9R8YnM9j4Mer0AWN4/s1600/Mayday2016_eDM_Banner-600x400.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMGA7mcx8tMlhjZGifoJ5Eb_uls4aJK2lVQe2upwQ2YMAaP2qppvdXBBRrLgo8VmBRy7p8HnNSc2lLJ9ZmhqFfCy9mqOZwybQkB5oLjL7fgaCr1V52c4XEa3CpXp9R8YnM9j4Mer0AWN4/s1600/Mayday2016_eDM_Banner-600x400.jpg" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Which
brings us to the Mayday concert. Most of you may not know who Mayday is. Mayday
is a Taiwanese rock band. More information about them can be found <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mayday_(Taiwanese_band)" target="_blank">here</a>. They
have been around for ages but I only knew about them about 8 years ago as introduce
by S. Only in the last 1-2 years have I started actively listening to them. I
heard that their concerts were super so when they were coming here for concert,
I thought I had to see them. This year, they came to Singapore for two nights (5<sup>th</sup>
& 6<sup>th</sup> August). I only managed to get 1 single ticket for the 5<sup>th</sup>
August and so I couldn’t bring S with me. They were here for their “Just Rock
It” tour. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">I will not
be going into full details of the concert as you can easily read more about the
concerts on the internet. All I can say is IT WAS ABSOLUTELY FANTASTIC !!! It
was so good that I did my best to get another two tickets for the 2<sup>nd</sup>
day concert and took S along. IT WAS INCREDIBLE !!!! BOTH NIGHTS !!! I have
never been so entertained at any show, any concert, any play and any event in
my entire life. Every minute of the 3 hours per concert was filled with joy.
Over the years I have gone for Santana, Clapton, Metallica, Mr Big, Emi Fujita
etc concerts but this is easily the best ever. In October I went for the Mayday
concert in Kuala Lumpur as well and it was again wonderful. I will be going for
2 nights of Mayday concert in Tokyo early 2017 as well !! This time at the Budokan
!!! This is my first time to the legendary Budokan and to watch Mayday !! If
not for work commitments, I will be in Taipei now to catch the Mayday concert.
9 days of Mayday concert !!!!! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">For once, I
am lost for words about how great the concert was. The showmanship, the energy,
the crowd, the music .. all together just WoW !!!! The ironic part is that, I
do not even understand Chinese but I am so crazy about a Taiwanese rock band
!!! As I told S, she has made me into a Mayday-monster. My friends all think I
must be the biggest Mayday fan in the world to travel all around the world to
watch them. Also at every concert, they sing generally the same songs.. BUT …
each concert is the same BUT YET different. I just cannot explain it but the
joy I feel at the concert is just unexplainable. Even now as I watch their
music videos, I cannot help but smile but yet I feel sad because I am not able
to watch them live. I have never felt such an affinity to any other musical
artist or group before. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">It is very
disappointing that just one month after the Mayday concert in Singapore, I
watched Jay Chou and wow … talk about such a big difference. The Jay Chou
concert was boring, drab and so bad that I left halfway. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Anyways,
with the festive season coming up, let me take this opportunity to wish all my
readers a Merry Xmas and a Happy New Year. May 2017 bring you all good health
and continued blessings !!! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-size: large;">C</span>heers !!! </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">(which is coincidentally the
title of one of my fav Mayday songs)<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4746342181369398739.post-11162242769086432322016-06-02T01:36:00.000+08:002016-06-02T12:42:14.363+08:00Magical nonetheless - Review of Les Miserables - Singapore 2016<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">G</span>reetings all. Sorry I have been away for like almost a year
and my last review on anything was April 2015. I haven’t had the time to watch
much and what I watched wasn’t worth writing about.</div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">A</span>nyways, welcome to my latest review. <span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: red;">Les</span> <span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: blue;">Miserables</span></span></span> 2016 in
Singapore. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2MhWJXhP5SUG2TBEJjRitQOuQ9AI-O61kxosxdL1lv4XlESxeqFyvpoN2AqB6YKE9FuVVV6rop6fUCINK5rRA2BXqxlXNBrE4sFuJi0dz_Lb2B3tFLoWsNqVw9H3EohVxoeZNqbluQBQ/s1600/LesMiserables2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2MhWJXhP5SUG2TBEJjRitQOuQ9AI-O61kxosxdL1lv4XlESxeqFyvpoN2AqB6YKE9FuVVV6rop6fUCINK5rRA2BXqxlXNBrE4sFuJi0dz_Lb2B3tFLoWsNqVw9H3EohVxoeZNqbluQBQ/s320/LesMiserables2.jpg" width="239" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I</span>n late 2013, I watched <a href="http://singaporedramamama.blogspot.sg/2013/08/italy-has-no-churches-my-review-of.html" target="_blank">Chestnuts 6.9</a> and Jonathan Lim did
several skits playfully mocking Les Mis – the movie version and then the spark
in me was lit. I got very caught up with the songs from Les Mis. I bought the
DVD of the special 10<sup>th</sup> Anniversary Concert and the Blu-ray of the
25<sup>th</sup> Anniversary Concert and watched them at least 30 times each.
In 2014, I finally caught it live in London and I have been wishing to catch it
live again. So when it was announced the Les Mis was returning to Singapore...
my wish came true... I planned to watch this every week. <i>(yup that is how much I love Les Mis!!!)</i></div>
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The problem I had was that I had watched the special anniversary
concerts many times and so I knew the perfection of Colm Wilkinson, Alfie Boe,
Philip Quast <i>(best Javert ever!!)</i>, Lea Salonga, Ruthie Henshall, Michael Ball,
Alun Armstrong <i>(best Thenardier!!)</i> and the ever lovable Jenny Galloway as
Madame Thenadier. I had also heard the original UK cast on CD, MP3 and LP
countless of times. How was this latest show gonna match up?</div>
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Unfortunately, it does not. To give you some sort of
imagery, imagine savouring a Grade A5 Wagyu beef tenderloin and then expecting
a Black Angus beef steak to be the same. Sorry, eventhough Black Angus beef is
good, but A5 Wagyu beef is just way up there. </div>
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I feel that all the cast were lacking that extra something
in their voices to make the hairs on your arms stand or stir your soul. Thats the difference between being good and being legendary. In my opinion, the
best of this cast was Eponine, who was played by Kerrie Anne Greenland. She
stood out amongst the cast with her strong voice, great expression and strong
stage presence. Another who left an impression was Gavroche <i>(Kieran McGinlay)</i>.
All the other cast members were just fine. Jean Valjean had very strong stage
presence but his singing was frequently not in tune with the orchestra. Javert
also had good presence but the voice was just ok and his rendition of “Stars”
left me unsatisfied. Fantine and Cosette had good range in their singing but
their voices were very ‘shrill’ with no ‘oomph.’</div>
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Another thing which disappointed me was that all the songs
were kind rushed through. This made it seem like the cast members sang in a
less sustained way and more curt. </div>
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The stage, set and lighting was great. The very clever and
innovative use of constantly moving images on the backdrop together with the
detailed props and stage settings gave a lot of realism to the show. </div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">U</span>ltimately, I <b><u>DID</u></b> enjoy myself at this show. I just had to
curb my expectations. Compared to the Les Mis movie, this 2016 production is
excellent. For people who have never watched or listened to Les Mis before, or
have only watched the movie, please go get your tickets and watch it. The last time Les Mis came to Singapore was more than <span style="color: #cc0000; font-size: large;">22</span> years ago.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">W</span>atever
it is, I will be telling my friends to go catch this as watching Les Mis live, several meters from the stage, will
always be <span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="color: magenta;">m</span><span style="color: #f1c232;">a</span><span style="color: #e06666;">g</span><span style="color: #674ea7;">i</span><span style="color: #f9cb9c;">c</span><span style="color: cyan;">a</span><span style="color: magenta;">l</span></span>. For those who have heard or seen the best, kindly leave all
your expectations at the door and just enjoy Les Mis... now to watch a Les
Miserables anniversary concert in London one day !! Until then, should I watch this again next week?? hmmm<br />
<br />
Take it easy guyz and have a great week !! ;)<br />
<br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4746342181369398739.post-62624506283555200812015-08-28T00:01:00.003+08:002015-08-28T00:01:49.948+08:00Coming Soon : The Effect by Lucy Prebble ... presented by Couch Theatre ... HIGHLY RECOMMENDED <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUo0nSDZ3M-d677QowdXeePL8vfvDO3UCV8pg8isfGtPr6SWX6NslwPZzZ46_A7r6qyYxbNzx0ANHSDfqxyKFSh2t_Bf2Z_XTaqPaAULFEvfXtjpJkRNqFmDyk80yDiKLL5zUkdk1BLSA/s1600/800x1135_lightbox.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUo0nSDZ3M-d677QowdXeePL8vfvDO3UCV8pg8isfGtPr6SWX6NslwPZzZ46_A7r6qyYxbNzx0ANHSDfqxyKFSh2t_Bf2Z_XTaqPaAULFEvfXtjpJkRNqFmDyk80yDiKLL5zUkdk1BLSA/s640/800x1135_lightbox.jpg" width="449" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">C</span><span style="font-size: large;">ouch </span><span style="font-size: x-large;">T</span><span style="font-size: large;">hea</span><span style="font-size: x-large;">t</span><span style="font-size: large;">re</span> emailed me a few weeks ago and asked if I wanted to do a preview and review post for their upcoming production and I immediately replied YES OF COS I WOULD !!<br />
<br />
The last production from Couch Theatre I caught was the <span style="font-size: x-large;">M</span>elancholy <span style="font-size: x-large;">P</span>lay by Sarah Ruhl and they did a marvelous job. As some of you may know, I have been rather dismayed by some of the local productions which I caught over the past 18 months. It has been so bad that I did not even bother to write a review for them. However, deep inside me, I know Couch Theatre will not disappoint.<br />
<br />
I watch Melancholy Play about 2 years ago and the production blew me away. The actors were superb was the direction was nothing short of excellent. You can see my review of Melancholy Play here (<a href="http://singaporedramamama.blogspot.sg/2013/07/the-beauty-of-melancholy-my-review-of.html">http://singaporedramamama.blogspot.sg/2013/07/the-beauty-of-melancholy-my-review-of.html</a>).<br />
<br />
Couch Theatre is again taking on a very bold and ambitious project in <span style="color: #cc0000; font-size: x-large;">T</span><span style="color: #cc0000; font-size: large;">he</span><span style="color: #cc0000; font-size: x-large;"> E</span><span style="color: #cc0000; font-size: large;">ffec</span><span style="color: #cc0000; font-size: x-large;">t</span>. As I have never seen this before, all the information I have about was given to me via Couch Theatre and from the SISTIC sypnosis. The setting of the play is in the context of a drug trial where two people meet and fall in love. However, questions are raised as whether is this 'true love' or a side-effect of the drugs. Couch Theatre wants the audience to ponder and reflect as to who and what we are? Just physical body-parts put together? What are memories? Where do they come from? What are feelings and emotions? How are they developed and shaped?<br />
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilby1F5IWcSrF_vmQtZWQJVtYK6YBn1SCYE4Z_VqftAGzSXKHeUgHUcWMHj5cZ4DxDD8Ozf7C9fRwPuWzwsdeW-4qUJxEm76BRcU2rnbMoNoPnv3BjL2vE8lOIzbA8D1KGN-KDQiDwjDw/s1600/combined+poster+no+words.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilby1F5IWcSrF_vmQtZWQJVtYK6YBn1SCYE4Z_VqftAGzSXKHeUgHUcWMHj5cZ4DxDD8Ozf7C9fRwPuWzwsdeW-4qUJxEm76BRcU2rnbMoNoPnv3BjL2vE8lOIzbA8D1KGN-KDQiDwjDw/s320/combined+poster+no+words.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">WoW</span> very deep stuff !!! I enjoy watching such plays because it really makes you think. This is more than just 2 hours of ha-ha-ha / singing but it makes you wonder .. makes you experience the raw emotions which makes us human. You leave the venue feeling like some lightbulb is coming to life in your head and you go like "Ohhhhhhh..."<br />
<br />
Based on the SISTIC website, this is a 2.5 hours play and will be at the Drama Centre Black Box. Knowing Couch Theatre and the venue, <span style="color: #cc0000;">the main focus will be on the acting</span> and not elaborate sets or loud distracting music. It is a cosy venue where the acting will need to be at its best as the audience is just sitting barely 2 metres from the set. Every facial expression, every intonation in the lines and every slight body movement will be seen up front. If anyone can pull this off well, I am very sure Couch Theatre can.<br />
<br />
In my previous previews I hardly recommend a production as strongly as I am recommending this one. For all of you who want something different from the <span style="color: magenta; font-size: large;">rah rah</span> which our local production houses have been churning out (<i>sadly disappointing</i>), go catch The Effect. It is priced very reasonably and there are only 8 shows and not to mention limited seats due to the venue. Go get your tickets now at <a href="http://sistic.com.sg/events/lucy0915">http://sistic.com.sg/events/lucy0915</a>.<br />
<br />
In the meantime .. think about this .. "<span style="color: purple;"><span style="font-size: large;">H</span>ow are you feeling now and <span style="font-size: large;">Why</span></span>?"<br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4746342181369398739.post-5918320394377022012015-06-09T15:18:00.000+08:002015-06-09T15:19:07.570+08:00Coming Soon ....A play titled ' 8 - 5 ' ... a fundraiser for the Woodbridge Hospital Charity Fund<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcJ3HQKFBjCb82AxGk0Lm41-k3yT2FeS4E7qGVart7Mv4pxHORy2CxaAvkB757dy0KNGexMVCgwOrkJj5WoNv9YIL8T9ocQREvloZCMa3w2QSYK-r58JediFPuhYyfz5w3fmoolYHD24s/s1600/IMH-play-edm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcJ3HQKFBjCb82AxGk0Lm41-k3yT2FeS4E7qGVart7Mv4pxHORy2CxaAvkB757dy0KNGexMVCgwOrkJj5WoNv9YIL8T9ocQREvloZCMa3w2QSYK-r58JediFPuhYyfz5w3fmoolYHD24s/s640/IMH-play-edm.jpg" width="451" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;">‘<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace; font-size: x-large;">8 – 5</span>’
… 2 numbers, separated by a dash. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;">‘<span style="color: #8e7cc3; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace; font-size: x-large;">8 – 5</span>’
… visions of a white round clock .. up on the wall … ticking
continuously … never stopping. That is our life … never stopping .. so much of
a routine. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;">‘<span style="color: #ffd966; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace; font-size: x-large;">8 – 5</span>’
… the hours we spend at work .. some people call it the lifeless hours .. </span>trudging<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;"> </span><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;">through our jobs … <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;">‘<span style="color: magenta; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace; font-size: x-large;">8 – 5</span>’
… full of energy at 8 … drained of energy at 5 … our natural aging process<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<h2 style="text-align: center;">
<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">S</span><span style="font-size: large;">o what
does ‘</span><span style="color: red; font-size: x-large;"><b>8 – 5</b></span><span style="font-size: large;">’ mean to you ? …</span></span></span></h2>
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<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;">---------------</span></div>
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<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;">.. all </span><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;">net</span><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;"> </span><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;">ticket sales proceeds will </span><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;">go</span><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;"> to the <span style="font-size: large;">W</span>oodbridge <span style="font-size: large;">H</span>ospital <span style="font-size: large;">C</span>harity <span style="font-size: large;">F</span>und. The cast,
crew, production team are all </span><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;">staff, </span><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;">volunteers, and patients </span><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;">from the Institute of Mental
Health. You can get your tickets at <a href="http://www.imh.com.sg/eshop">www.imh.com.sg/eshop</a>
or you can contact Ms Ng Sijia at <a href="mailto:si_jia_ng@imh.com.sg">si_jia_ng@imh.com.sg</a>. </span><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;">There is </span><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;">only
a limited run of 4 shows over 1 weekend <i>(29<sup>th</sup> & 30<sup>th</sup>
August 2015)</i> so try to catch it if you can. Click poster for more information.</span></div>
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<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;">I will post more information on this place over the next few weeks. <i>Trying to get a chance to interview the cast and director as well as get a sneek peek ... Stay Tuned !!!</i></span></div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4746342181369398739.post-88960425647268307222015-04-15T17:09:00.000+08:002015-04-15T17:09:03.188+08:00.. Watching soon ... W!ld Rice's Public Enemy !!<br />
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<img src="http://www.wildrice.com.sg/images/shows/Public_Enemy_Poster_image_for_W_web.jpg" height="400" width="283" /></div>
<br />
I just bought tickets for W!ld Rice’s Public Enemy 22/4/15, 8pm show. This is showing from 9<sup>th</sup> April to 25<sup>th</sup> April at the Victoria Theatre.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: x-large;">B</span>ig name stars .. <i><span style="color: #674ea7;"><span style="font-size: large;">K</span>ay <span style="font-size: large;">S</span>iu</span> and <span style="color: #6aa84f;"><span style="font-size: large;">I</span>van <span style="font-size: large;">H</span>eng</span></i> … <span style="font-size: x-large;">D</span>ependable director ... <i style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #f1c232;"><span style="font-size: large;">G</span>lenn <span style="font-size: large;">G</span>oei</span></i> … <span style="font-size: x-large;">B</span>ig name production company … <i><span style="color: #cc0000;"><span style="font-size: large;">W</span>!ld <span style="font-size: large;">R</span>ice</span></i> … should be good right? I really hope so .. ! The supporting cast looks pretty good too !!<br />
<br />
Sorry I am not doing a detailed preview of this. Have been busy so didn't have time to do so. Surely I will do a review of it !!! Stay tuned !!<br />
<i><br /></i>
<i><b><span style="color: #741b47;">Have a Great Day folks !!!</span></b></i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i><span style="font-size: x-small;">If any of the W!ld Rice guys want to meet up after the Ishow to chat, drop me a line. Will be glad to give you my honest opinion. </span></i>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4746342181369398739.post-60783483287170450252015-04-15T16:54:00.001+08:002015-04-15T16:54:40.661+08:00Standard of Singapore theatre ... comments please ... <div class="MsoNormal">
I must admit that the last few local productions I caught
were really disappointing. Big name stars .. big name production companies ..
usually dependable writers … so much hype … BAD show. Local theatre has sadly deteriorated to the funny shows which are not funny with actors who can't act and singers who can't sing. I find a lot more enjoyment from the smaller productions. Small budgets but full of emotions. They know they have a lot more to prove and the actors / actresses try their
best to actually act. There is only so much that the big names can do with
ticket sales. Read my review of Great World Cabaret to understand how a big
name like Mark Lee could not even fill 30% of the venue on a Saturday evening
!!!! <o:p></o:p></div>
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I was talking to a local theatre producer a few weeks ago
and he also agrees that the standard of local theatre is declining … FAST. He
suggested that someone should form a “theatre critic circle.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I may not be the best
qualified to say this but then my opinion is that other reviewers are generally
“very nice” and do not write negative reviews. They are always very politically
correct .. and if a show is ‘bad’ .. no review is done. <i>(I am guilty of this as well … didn’t write reviews of W!ld Rice’s
Monkey Goes West and Dim Sum Dollies History of Singapore Part 2 because I felt
they were below the usual high standards set by W!ld Rice and Dim Sum Dollies
respectively)</i><o:p></o:p></div>
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<i><br /></i></div>
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Again I stress that
this is my opinion and I am no theatre practitioner or have a degree in the
performing arts. I just write based on my feelings of what I see, hear and
experience during the show. I have received severe flak from some production directors,
writers, actors, fanboys before because of my negative reviews. I take it in ..
it is part and parcel of a writing blog .. not everyone agrees with what I write.
So these theatre practitioners should also understand that not everyone agrees
with that they write and what they think is ‘perfect.’ <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Anyways, I want to know what my readers think? Do you all
also feel that local theatre is losing its quality? Please comment as I want to
know whether it is only me feeling this way. Is it that my expectations are too
high? What can we do to improve the quality of local theatre? <o:p></o:p></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4746342181369398739.post-60897876207931777822015-04-15T14:56:00.000+08:002015-04-15T14:56:18.589+08:00A True Beauty... my Review of Beauty and the Beast<div class="MsoNormal">
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<img height="280" src="http://www.sistic.com.sg/sistic/images/events/8784/1423799867254.jpg" width="640" /></div>
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I caught <span style="color: red;"><span style="font-size: large;">B</span>eauty and the <span style="font-size: large;">B</span>east</span> a few weekends ago. It was
staged at the Mastercard Theatres at MBS. In my opinion, the seats at the Mastercard Theatres are
extremely uncomfortable and the acoustics here are not as good that at the
Esplanade and Victoria Theatre. I also caught Phantom and Sound of Music at the Mastercard Theatres
and the music and singing can be muffled at times. That is why I try to avoid
catching anything there. I wonder sometimes why they choose to stage these
musicals there. Anyways it was pretty full with way more adults than children.
I guess these adults must have loved the original Disney cartoon. A bit of a
spoiler here but though the storyline is the same as the cartoon, NOT all the
songs are the same. So how was it? <o:p></o:p></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
It was good. Really beautiful backdrops, sets and props. The
singing was absolutely marvellous. Especially Belle !! I think she really stood
out amongst all the other cast members. The Beast was good and Gaston did his
smug, strutting act well but next to Belle, they all paled in comparison. I
think she will do an excellent Dorothy from Wizard of Oz. I can just imagine
her singing “Somewhere over the Rainbow” in blue overalls and white blouse and
red ruby shoes !!! The other supporting
cast – Lumiere, Cogsworth, Mrs Potts & Chip were all good too in their
roles and brought everything together very nicely. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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The backup dancers were superb. They were very
energetic and the costumes that they were in … <span style="color: #f1c232;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">W</span>O<span style="font-size: x-large;">W</span></span> !! A lot of money must have
been spent on the costumes and the backdrop sets and props. The props and sets
were not just 2-dimensional but full 3 dimensional and interactive as well.
That may be why tickets are so expensive !! But I feel that they were worth it.
In fact, just watching “Be Our Guest” on stage was worth it !! The colors, the
dancing, the effects .. spectacular !!<o:p></o:p></div>
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If I had any complaints, it would be minor things like the
Beast and Gaston could up their singing more. I don’t think Disney or the
production can do anything about the uncomfortable seats or the acoustics in
the theatre. <o:p></o:p></div>
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So folks, go catch Beauty and the Beast … it will be here up
to the <u><b>3<sup>rd</sup> May 2015</b></u>. This is the original Broadway production .. so
expect really high production values and fantastic entertainment !! It is a
real visual treat for the whole family !!! .. just make sure you bring some
comfy pillows !!!<o:p></o:p></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4746342181369398739.post-88603234614241716802015-02-24T16:06:00.000+08:002015-02-25T23:18:32.088+08:00Tasteless Bubur Cha Cha : My Review of Great World Cabaret Let’s Bo Bo Cha Cha<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">When I bought the tickets to
<span style="background-color: white; color: red;">G</span>reat <span style="color: blue;">W</span>orld <span style="color: #ea9999;">C</span>abaret, I was thinking.. WOW Mark, Judee, Sebastian and Hossan all
in one show .. CABARET STYLE … have to buy la. 4 blockbuster acts .. lots of
Hokkien laughs .. tickets will surely be flying. Quickly buy .. however, the
start of my disappointment came when I found out </span><i style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">(on the day of the show)</i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"> that they were separate .. one superstar
one week. I told myself .. its ok .. Mark Lee will be super funny too even if
it was for 1.5 hours. I was already contemplating buying tickets for the
Sebastian shows as well </span><i style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">(super big fan of
Sebastian)</i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">This was my first time to
the RWS theatre and I must say it is very nice. Very plush and grand. <b><span style="color: red;">VERY UNLIKE THE MBS
MASTERCARD THEATRE</span></b> which is grey and cold. I had super VIP seats
right in the middle of the theatre and plenty of legroom with even a little
table to put my drinks. </span><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">ROCKSTAR SEATS</span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">. As it got nearer to 8pm, the
seats began to fill up. As the RWS theatre is very large, I was thinking would
it be possible for it to be full-house .. especially on the 3<sup>rd</sup> day
night of the Lunar New Year. Sadly, I was right .. it didn’t fill up.. it was
barely 40% filled. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">The show then started. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: #e69138; font-size: x-small;">(DISCLAIMER !!!</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: #c27ba0; font-size: x-small;">Before I continue, I must
stress that this is solely my opinion based on what I saw that night and
comparing to other plays and shows and theatre that I have seen previously. If
you do not agree, then go read something else. OK disclaimer done .. back to my
review.)</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">The show was a mess. It was
amateur and badly put together. The premise of the show was about this man who
is now elderly remembering the days when he was younger and working in a
carbaret show in Singapore in the 60s. The different 'segments' of the show
were like different 'acts' which used to be featured at a cabaret at that time.
The show opened with the big dance and song routine which though was very
bright and colourful just felt short of exciting. This was followed up by the ‘three
drunken sailors’ routine which was just unnecessary. There was no excitement to
it. Next came the singing /dancing act where 3 ladies came out to sing and
dance. The only one who stood out was the second lady singing ‘Bunga
Melur’ as Kartina Dahari. Rose Chan and Sakura Teng wwere just bad imitations. I
have seen Hui Xuan sing and dance before and this performance was muted and more
focus on ‘removing her clothes’ rather than on her singing and dancing (<i>which I
know she is superb at</i>). It did not help that the accompanying music drowned out
their voices (which was the common thing throughout the show). <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">The next ‘segment’ was the
Magic Show which was not too bad. One or two of the magic tricks were pretty
impressive but then the others were like again just so ‘<i><span style="color: #999999;">ho-hum</span></i>.’ The magician’s
assistant was applauding the magician more than the audience. This was followed
by the ‘Siglap brothers’ routine which I feel must be the worst thing I have
ever watched to date. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: #bf9000;">M</span>ark Lee’s routine came next
and it was above average for the evening. To be honest, it really would not
have taken much to shine amongst all the other ‘segments’. He was funny in his
unique <i><span style="color: #cc0000;">gangster-ah beng</span></i> way and though
his jokes were very much cliché, his presentation and style made it all funny.
However, he was BARELY on stage for longer than 20 mins. The next act was the
Qing Dao Acrobatic troupe which was pretty good too. The stunts performed were
quite entertaining and suspenseful. This was followed by another song-and-dance
routine and rounded up with the entire cast <i>(magician and acrobats included)</i>
singing on stage. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">Before I wrote this review,
I was read other reviews of this show. Generally the reviews from other
reviewers were more negative and positive. My view is that the show was hastily
put together and it showed. I was very surprised as it was directed by George
Chan and written by the highly dependable Alfian Sa’at. I guess the dancing was
well choreographed and there were not many lines in it anyway so it was not
fair to judge George and Alfian based on this show. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">I was very disappointed with
the quality of the segments. It felt to me like lets get whoever wants to
perform, add a dash of star power in the form of Mark / Judee / Sebastian /
Hossan, add some nostalgic music and dancing and sell it to the public as a
<b>SG50</b> show to teach the young about entertainment in the 60s. There narrative
which was meant to string the segments together was very flimsy, the quality of
the segments was really mediocre and it just all felt amateur. I doubt that a cabaret show in the 60s was in English and with an American accent too. It was
smart idea to push Mark Lee and Sebastian to lure the hokkien-speaking Aunty
crowd but just for 15 minutes? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">I am very surprised that
Dream Academy came out with something of this low quality. I was very
surprised that 40% of the seats were filled (<i>there were 30% discount coupons
being distributed in the Food court… and
IMHO .. it still wasn’t worth it)</i>. After watching ‘Great World Cabaret’ and ‘Dim
Sum Dollies : History of Singapore Part 2’ late last year, I am beginning to
wonder about the quality of productions by Dream Academy. <b>I have nothing
personal against anyone in Dream Academy and Dream Academy itself.</b> I have
always enjoyed their previous shows like Crazy Christmas and such but lately
the quality of their productions seem to be going down ... STEEPLY. Ticket
prices have increased and the
audience will surely want to watch something highly entertaining and fun. Studying the audiences reaction after the finale, I could tell that they were not
entertained at all. Very little laughter and applause throughout the show. When
the segments ended, it was more like .. “err are we supposed to clap now” kind
of reaction.<br />
<!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">If anyone from Dream Academy
want to contact me about this review and what I think about the
show so that hopefully something can be improved, please feel free to. I will
be glad to share my experience with you so that we can improve the quality of
our local productions. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">One thing’s for sure .. I
will not be buying tickets for the Sebastian variant of Great World Cabaret.<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0South East Asia1.2852925793638672 103.8317871093750.77731507936386723 103.186340109375 1.7932700793638672 104.477234109375tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4746342181369398739.post-88797056642026210502014-11-11T14:20:00.001+08:002014-11-12T12:51:02.880+08:00Coming Soon. Vocaluptuous ... Love .. Laugh .. Live ... Charity concert<br />
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Hello folks …. its been a loooong time since I last posted
here … sorry was working overseas and was really swamped blah blah blah .. Anyways
what better way to get back into <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: x-large;">S</span>in<span style="color: blue;">g</span>apore<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">d</span>rama<span style="color: #c27ba0; font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-large;">m</span>ama</span> and to welcome the festive
season than a Vocaluptuous preview !!!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUrNUALZErh7ezEPQIstdw1saK3W5aMBFEm6kj-xtbh6RULmkgFuL25VYCBfuBZaEPc0j99rVsBrNIbdAK53tFJLj92TsJQJW7YZ4xggBsg1OCLtTKyN2fcB3Sto-iPjJjW9HeYxsKZAo/s1600/vocaluptuous+2014+banner_400x210.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUrNUALZErh7ezEPQIstdw1saK3W5aMBFEm6kj-xtbh6RULmkgFuL25VYCBfuBZaEPc0j99rVsBrNIbdAK53tFJLj92TsJQJW7YZ4xggBsg1OCLtTKyN2fcB3Sto-iPjJjW9HeYxsKZAo/s1600/vocaluptuous+2014+banner_400x210.jpg" height="210" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><strong><span style="color: #990000;">V</span>ocaluptuous</strong></span></span> is Singapore’s numero uno Acapella singing
group. I can easily attest that they are also one of the best in the region …
<em><span style="font-size: x-small;">and some say Batam</span></em>. They have performed all around the world and have been
invited many times as special guests to international Acapella events. To date
I have heard them about 6 times at various editions of Crazy Christmas, other
Acapella events and of course their own concerts. They get better and better
every time I see them, from the improved harmonies to the on-stage showmanship.
Their singing style comes across to be as fun, heartfelt, perfectly in harmony
and blended with a dash of jazz for added kick. The onstage actions are
playful, cheeky yet sincere and heartwarming <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: #6aa84f; font-size: x-small;">(you must experience them to understand what I mean</span>)</i>. It is really
a combination of all that makes them so good.<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWrLnlrmNk7iSQlj08Dukpo3yLo04Rf828oiZpZbpUr_r_j82m6N7VtFlRL5_mMAvGYLRSPejnA5BvbXyek5bxqxERHn8HL0oOMp3A94vcF1ifHObpIqmPp5jDf7H-NGN0FLCHi7ms274/s1600/edm-public.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWrLnlrmNk7iSQlj08Dukpo3yLo04Rf828oiZpZbpUr_r_j82m6N7VtFlRL5_mMAvGYLRSPejnA5BvbXyek5bxqxERHn8HL0oOMp3A94vcF1ifHObpIqmPp5jDf7H-NGN0FLCHi7ms274/s1600/edm-public.jpg" height="253" width="400" /></a><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">V</span>ocaluptuous is having a concert this <u><strong>22 December 2014</strong></u> at the
<strong><u>Esplanade Concert Hall</u></strong>. It is going to be a <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;">one-nite-only</span></b> show. It is going to be a full-length Vocaluptuous-only
concert and not the Vocaluptuous teaser of 1-2 songs. <em><strong>IMAGINE THAT -
VOCALUPTUOUS FOR ONE AND A HALF HOURS !!! </strong></em>This concert is titled ‘<span style="color: red;"><span style="font-size: large;">L</span>ove <span style="font-size: large;">L</span>augh
<span style="font-size: large;">L</span>ive</span>’. This is the perfect time to spread the message of Living in Love and
Laughter. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> The song list includes new compositions, old classics and of course Christmas favourites with the Vocaluptuous twist. </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaJG7hlr4rlOD1BlgYum9U23rBaOAWadTYD8k9B2HYWLn5gtzOFEGJMpb7-M4eRHD7WPzDA7ZJCfRLjYAmGEcPP2XWsBQLDlg1Hw_mx00TxMgvnne0L40ob0MZ5UsJT3_VSQ6QTXjn68s/s1600/edmv4.1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaJG7hlr4rlOD1BlgYum9U23rBaOAWadTYD8k9B2HYWLn5gtzOFEGJMpb7-M4eRHD7WPzDA7ZJCfRLjYAmGEcPP2XWsBQLDlg1Hw_mx00TxMgvnne0L40ob0MZ5UsJT3_VSQ6QTXjn68s/s1600/edmv4.1.jpg" height="400" width="265" /></a><br />
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: large;">I</span>t is a very special concert too as through this event as this concert is a <u><span style="font-size: large;"><strong><span style="font-size: x-large;">F</span>undraiser </strong><span style="font-size: small;">for the</span><strong> <span style="font-size: x-large;">A</span>sissi <span style="font-size: x-large;">H</span>ospice</strong></span></u>. <br />
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">So much recently has been about Pioneer Generation and how much it can save you on medical fees .. but what if there isn’t any medical care left .. then what subsidies are there? What is hospice care? The Asissi Hospice helps to ensure that the Love and Laughter goes on for the terminally ill. </span></span>All ticket proceeds and donations will be donated to the Asissi Hospice. Vocaluptuous target is to raise $300,000 for the Hospice so that they are able to reach out further to more who need palliative and hospice care. </span></span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">(more details on
donations can be found on the flyers)</i><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">So what are you waiting for guys, go share with your friends
about this concert and head to Sistic to grab yer tickets for what promises to
be a wonderful treat to your senses by Vocaluptuous. More information can be found at <a href="https://www.facebook.com/Vocaluptuous">https://www.facebook.com/Vocaluptuous</a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span></span> </div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">It’s the season for giving
.. it’s the season for sharing .. what better way than to give the present of
Love and Laughter to the ones who need it most this Christmas.… it may be their last...<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4746342181369398739.post-78583991596319784592013-08-22T18:59:00.002+08:002013-08-22T18:59:24.636+08:00Italy has no Churches ... my review of Chestnuts 6.9
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: #674ea7; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">A</span>s many of you already know, I am a super big fan of
Chestnuts. So after a 18 month hiatus, Chestnuts is BACK !!!!!!!!!!!!! 16<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span></sup>
August came .. and that was my first viewing of <span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: large;">C</span>hestnuts <span style="color: #3d85c6;">6.9</span>. I watched it
again with my friends on the 18<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span></sup> evening as well. I usually watch
Chestnuts on opening night knowing that there will be some jitters amongst the
actors as well as other technical issues. This is because this is when Jonathan
usually bares all <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">(not literally)</i>.
After 2-3 shows, he will start trimming and making changes to the skits to make
the show a lot better. Which explains why I watch it a second time. Ok enough
about me .. more about the show …</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">There were at least 15 “segments” throughout the show. This
is excluding all the minor video skits which serve as fillers while the actors
do their costume changes and the production team does set changes. The show
starts out with a song about what has been happening in Singapore since the
last Chestnuts show. Jon’s witty lines could be seen as the cast sing about the
recent sex scandals, money scandals, political scandals, Hello Kitty queues
amongst other things. The lyrics were full of intended puns and innuendoes ..
however it was quite hard to pick them up as they were sung very quickly. It
was easier when reading the “subtitles” at the sides and there were video / photos
on the backdrop of the specific subject. However it was difficult to try and
view everything together. This made that skit lose its impact.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">This was followed by a short video introduction of the guest
actor… Tim. Scattered throughout the show, there were many short video clips of
Tim serving National Service and how he took many of our local “lingo”
literally. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">The show then started on the main “Les Miserables” theme.
The lyrics of popular Les Mis songs were given the Jon Lim treatment with a “skewed”
undertone ending with a very passionate kiss !!! We were then treated to a
local scene at a local toy shop. Other notable skit during the first half was
the Phantom/Jersey Boys/Wicked/Addams Family musical skit. This was fairly
entertaining though it could be seen that as much as the crowd liked the
singing and the music, they were a bit lost with the Addams Family bit. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Theatre in 10 this year covered La Cage, Spring Awakenings,
Romeo and Juilet, Othello, High Class, Army Daze and Cook a Pot of Curry amongst
other local theatre productions. I felt that it was generally a bit ‘touch and
go.’ There were bits which were genuinely funny but there were some which were
downright “huh??? What was that about…” </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">First half ended with a skit showing the singing prowess of
the main 4 actors. They were randomly given “Les Mis” parts to sing .. and were
required to re-enact the Act 1 Finale of Les Mis. That means that each actor
had to learn ALL <span style="color: #cc0000; font-size: large;">8</span> .. YES EIGHT parts and be able to sing it well and blend it
well with each other. It was done well and deserved a standing ovation. The
first time ... Judee Tan got Javert and Valjean which would have been super
tough. In my second viewing, Jon got Cosette and Mdm Thenardier which was
hilarious.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">The second half of the show started with Jon’s parody of Ah
Boys to Men. This was followed by the continuation of the Les Mis arc. This
time it was Les Mis meets Wolverine. Tim played the role of Wolverine well. His
body statute and size seemed to fit nicely into that role. However, I
personally felt that this whole segment was very draggy. There were sub-parts
which were unnecessary and though the concept may have been good .. the
execution was in my opinion poor. It was not the acting or the singing which
was bad but just something wasn’t right. The Judee Tan ‘body morphing’ was a
very original idea but I felt a bit irrelevant. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">The highlight of the night was the irresistible Judee Tan as
Ivory Low in the Pondan News Network segment. Somehow without Rodney, it was a
bit different<span style="font-size: x-small;"> </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">(one of my friends was
extremely disappointed that Rodney was not in it .. yeah you JACQ!!!)</span> </i>but I
felt Dwayne did well replacing Rodney. Hopefully Rodney comes back from his
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: lime;">B</span><span style="color: #ffe599;">r</span><span style="color: #93c47d;">a</span><span style="color: #ffd966;">z</span><span style="color: #38761d;">i</span><span style="color: #f1c232;">l</span></span> trip soon. The Water Wally bit had me in stitches for the longest time …
the Amy Chia bit was amusing but when Ivory came on … all in the audience were
gasping for air after laughing so much and loud !!! Shingz to u all ... Judee
is quickly growing into the new queen of comedy albeit from the Ah-Lian
perspective. And what did she say to the rude old Auntie???</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">The show ended <em>(2.5 hours later)</em> with the re-make of “Do you
hear the people Sing” with lyrics focussed on the 6.9m White paper issue. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Since my second viewing, I have read many reviews of
Chestnuts 6.9. Many of the reviews gave it the thumbs up because of the wit of
Jon in the lines and the difficulty in putting together so many singing roles
and skits amongst such a small cast. To me, this is the minimum in expectation
from any Chestnuts production. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">On a whole, as per previous Chestnuts … there were segments
and skits which connected and some which didn’t. The reason why some connect is
because of the familiarity with the content and the context of the segment.
Another reason why is that they are just downright funny and honest (Ivory
Low). To me, after watching the last 3 Chestnuts productions, I was quite
disappointed with Chestnuts 6.9. It was entertaining at times, it was funny at
times but it was mediocre most times. There seems to be something lacking this
edition which I cannot put my finger on. Eventhough 2.5 hours is good value for
money, I felt that easily an hour of that was below the high expectation I have
seen of Jon’s direction and writing. The humour here was more slapstick and
less witty. I have mentioned many times in my previous posts that this kind of
slapstick humour is what the Singapore public enjoys but we must be careful and
stick to our roots and reserve the slapstick-ah-beng-dialect-in your face
humour to the likes of the Hossan Show, Broadway Beng and Kumar. Don’t get me
wrong. I am not <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">atas</i>. I love such bawdy,
obvious humour which I get from watching Hossan and Sebastian on stage. However,
I expect different from Jon. More sharp jibes about <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>the local scene …. about the haze and PSI… about
the Hello Kitty queues … something about Gangnam style … about the immigration
issues rather than Les Miserables. What is the overall theme of Chestnuts 6.9?
Why 6.9 when that was only discussed about in the last 15 minutes of the show? </span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I think this review is Chestnuts 6.9’s first semi-negative
review so far. No matter what, I still encourage all Chestnuts virgins to go
watch the show. I also encourage all readers to please comment on this blog and
tell me what are your thoughts about Chestnuts 6.9. Very much appreciated …
<span style="color: red; font-size: x-large;">S</span>hingz to you Jonathan Lim ….</span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4746342181369398739.post-79159663184861810972013-08-05T11:30:00.001+08:002013-08-05T11:30:48.017+08:00Le Mis + Wolverine + 6.9 + Jon Lim = Chestnuts 6.9 : the Less Miserable White Paper Preview !!!
<span style="clear: right; float: right; font-family: Calibri; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="" aria-busy="false" aria-describedby="fbPhotosSnowliftCaption" class="spotlight" height="400" src="https://fbcdn-sphotos-d-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash3/993654_10201692652100366_100405862_n.jpg" width="282" /></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The last time there was a <span style="font-size: x-large;">C</span>hestnuts show was January 2012.
It has been almost been 18-19 months since then. No Chestnuts. I have been
pestering the producer .. when is the next Chestnuts?? When when when??? The response
I got was usually .. Not so soon la .. or Not enough material to hold a meaty
show. So we waited and waited … IT HAS FINALLY ARRIVED … a brand-new Chestnuts
.. complete with all new content (<em><span style="font-size: x-small;">this was what I was promised</span></em>). The last
Chestnuts show was Chestnuts <span style="color: red;">15</span> … this one is <span style="font-size: large;">Chestnuts 6.9 : the Less
Miserable <span style="color: orange;">White</span> Paper</span>. I guess most of us would know what the number 6.9 means
!!! At least those of us in Singapore would. </span><br />
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">As expected from the penmanship of Mr Jonathan Lim … the
show promises new mash-ups, bash-ups and an evening full of ‘roll-on-the-floor’
laughter. From what I have read in Jon’s rehearsal notes, there is going to be singing
(<em>le Mis + Jonathan style</em>) .. there is some physical stuff with barriers ..
there is going to be parts about the latest Wolverine movie (<em>so advice is to
quickly catch the movie before you watch Chestnuts</em>)… and MORE. You can view
videos of their past “works” at their facebook page ( </span><a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/18575522912/"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Calibri;">https://www.facebook.com/groups/18575522912/</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;">
). You can also read my preview / review of their last show somewhere on this
blog. </span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Why change something when it ain’t broken right? So the
original cast are back minus Rodney plus a ‘special guest.’ Both <span style="color: blue;">Judy</span> and
<span style="color: #cc0000;">Judee</span>, <span style="color: #7f6000;">Dwayne </span>and of cos <span style="color: #666666;">Jon</span> will be acting / singing / dancing. The venue for
this edition of Chestnuts will be at the Drama Centre Theatre from the 16<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span></sup>
– 25<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span></sup> August. There will be no shows on Monday and Tuesday (<em><span style="font-size: x-small;">hey 5
actors – 3 hours .. need to rest leh!!</span></em>). You can find out more details from
again from the FB page and you can grab your tickets from Sistic. </span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">If anything .. Chestnuts is one of the funniest shows put
together in Singapore. It is no slapstick ha-ha comedy .. but witty lines and
super good/accurate parodies translated to Singapore context. So if you need a
night or more of laughter to get away from the 6.9million people .. there is no
better place than to catch <span style="font-size: large;">C</span>hestnuts !!! Anyone fancy more nuts???</span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4746342181369398739.post-15142531593924259602013-07-29T13:33:00.006+08:002013-07-29T13:40:22.186+08:00The Beauty of Melancholy ... My review of "Melancholy Play" presented by Couch Theatre<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">T</span>o start off, let me ask you this question … who do you find
more attractive and fall in love with :</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt 36pt; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Someone who sighs wistfully, looks out of the
window, has a facial expression like a forlorn puppy, always seems to
vulnerable and just on the edge of depression … or</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt 36pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -18pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Someone who is running around screaming in joy, growing
happier daily, perpetually grinning and singing and humming a merry tune and
just on the edge of insanity … </span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">For me, I would prefer the former. Why? I guess I want to
provide for the person and care for the person and seem like I am “protecting”
the person. What more can I do for a really happy person? </span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">This is what I got from watching “<span style="color: #999999;"><span style="color: #666666; font-size: x-large;">M</span>elancholy <span style="color: #666666; font-size: large;">P</span>lay</span>” by Sarah
Ruhl. I caught this on Friday evening at the Drama Centre BlackBox at the
National Library. This play was presented by Couch Theatre. The theme of the
play is the feeling of “Melancholia” and how someone who is melancholy can have
such an effect on others feelings and emotions. When the melancholia goes away
.. the feelings change. The play also showed me the beauty of being melancholy
and why it isn’t such a bad thing after all. </span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I have never read this play, or neither did I do any deep
research into it prior to attending the play / writing my preview several weeks
ago. All I knew was that this play was about “Being Melancholy” and something
about an “almond.” But I got so much deeper meaning from watching the play. I
guess this was only because the direction and the cast was excellent.</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">It is extremely refreshing and joyous to see a cast of
actors and actresses whom I have never seen before. This is because then
everything starts from a clean slate .. no expectations, no “previous” roles
kind of baggage in my mind. Couch Theatre was formed by a group of students ..
young ‘tweenagers’ who have a strong passion for the theatres. I has the chance
to speak to the director and the production manager after the show and I was
very impressed by the aims and aspirations of Couch Theatre. Currently, they
are planning 2 productions a year with an aim of 4 yearly in the future. They
also want to move away from the mainstream ha-ha-ha kind of play <em><span style="font-size: x-small;">(which I
personally think we have too much of)</span></em> and more into something more engaging and
thoughtful. I truly support their aims !!!</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">The acting was above par. Considering that the main cast of
6 persons have never had any prior professional training, their acting is above
par to that of some of the so-called “professional actors” here in Singapore.
The one person who stood out for me was Ms
<span style="color: red; font-size: large;">C</span>heryl Foo who played the main role of “Tilly.” The transition between the
mournful melancholy Tilly to the slightly crazed, wild-eyed Tilly was seamless
and looked effortless on her part. Her facial expressions were spot on..
delivery of her lines were clear and timing was excellent. Cheryl had a very
polished and confident performance with a strong stage presence. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Cheryl will go far if she wishes to continue in
theatre. I can see her being the new Emma Yong <em>(just needs to improve her
singing)</em>… and I say that honestly !!! I haven’t seen such a bright and great
talent since I saw Erwin Shah.</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">The acting of the two main male roles played by Ziyad and
Shien Hian were of a high standard. Again they were confident actors, had good
poise, spoke strong and well <em>(though for Shien Hian, sometimes the accent
resulted in words being mumbled)</em>, had the right expressions and most important
did not ‘overact.’ My pet peeve is with actors and actresses who overact. A
good actor / actress acts with just the right amount of emotion in their poise,
stance, tone and expression. </span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">For the remaining two female roles, Rei-En and Selene did a
good job. However, their roles were too small to make a very long lasting
impression as compared to the role of Tilly. Also their roles were rather
one-dimensional so I am unable to see the depth in their acting. </span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">If I had anything to complain about, it would be for two
small things. Firstly, the singing. It is quite clear that none of the cast
<em>(except for Adrian, the cellist)</em> had much or any singing background. The singing
was not exactly well blended amongst the 5 voices and the cello. It was rather
jarring at certain points. However, I thought this somehow fitted into this “melancholy”
theme. When we are happy, we hear music with happy, strong melodies of a Major chord.
When we are sad and down, we tend to enjoy music which is more of the
disjointed and of a Minor chord. Next is the follow-on spotlighting. But there
were a few times when I felt that the spot lighting was not spot-on (pun
intended). I know this is a very small issue but it does have an effect on the
overall performance.</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">O</span>verall</span>, I really enjoyed myself at “<span style="background-color: white; color: #999999; font-size: large;"><span style="color: #444444;">M</span><span style="font-size: small;">e</span>l<span style="color: #cccccc;">a</span><span style="color: #444444;">n</span><span style="font-size: x-small;">c</span>h<span style="color: black; font-size: small;">o</span><span style="color: #666666;">l</span>y P<span style="color: #cccccc;">l</span><span style="font-size: x-large;">a</span><span style="color: #444444;">y</span></span>,” and I
would really like to thank Jasmine for the invite and the great seat. The Drama
Centre BlackBox is a great venue because it gives a very intimate and cosy
feeling to the audience. It also gives the chance for the audience to view the
cast close-up. I was seated between family of one of the cast members. I spoke
to the father and was glad to hear that he encouraged and supported his
daughter to do this. The whole family seemed to be enjoying themselves and must
have been very proud to see their daughter in action <em>(I am not sure if it was
Cheryl, Rei-En or Selene)</em>. These days parents are too busy telling their
children that they should be a professional so that can earn lots of money blah
blah blah. Again I hope
to see more of Couch Theatre’s future productions and I wish them all the best
on fulfilling their aims and aspirations. If their future productions are going
to be like this production of “Melancholy Play,” I will proudly be a supporter.
Keep up the hard work !!!</span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4746342181369398739.post-79324565564319777362013-07-22T18:02:00.002+08:002013-07-22T18:02:31.869+08:00Could have been better .. Review of Phantom of the Opera (Singapore 2013)
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">I</span> watched <span style="font-size: large;">P</span>hantom of the <span style="font-size: large;">O</span>pera in Singapore on 20<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span></sup>
July 2013 at 2pm at the Marina Bay Sands Mastercard Theatre. This musical first
debuted in 1986 and is still showing in London. It has been viewed by at least
150 million people all over the world. </span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I know of many people who have seen Phantom of the Opera
several times, either on Broadway or in London’s West End or in the countless
of re-productions in Australia, Singapore, Japan and many other countries in
the world. Countless of people have also bought and listened to the CD
recordings of this musical by the original cast of Michael Crawford (Phantom),
Sarah Brightman (Christine) and Steve Barton (Raoul). I for one have seen
Phantom of the Opera in London (not the original cast) in 2002 and more than 10
years later .. I watched it again in Singapore. </span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Somehow, I wasn’t as overwhelmed by the recent viewing as
compared to watching it the first time. Why? Firstly, I felt that the singing
was not as good. There were many parts where I could hardly hear the singing
(this may be due to the bad acoustics at the MBS Theatre) … but there were
parts where I could hear .. but the words were either being mumbled or just
mashed up with the orchestra. I have listened to the original cast CD (..in
fact I own two copies) .. many times since I got it in 1986 as a present from
my sister. I know it is unfair to compare the CD to the performance as the CD
may be a studio recording as compared to a live performance. However, I can’t
help but feel that the singing can be better .. clearer and brighter. The
acting was good by the 3 leading cast members (Phantom, Christine and Raoul).
The supporting cast members did their part well but yet again when it was time
to sing, I found it quite lacking. Again it is rather unfair as the singing I
am accustomed to is off the Phantom CD. </span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">The stage / backdrops and effects were very good though I
wished the chandelier could have come crashing a lot faster. </span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">As Phantom of the Opera is a musical, the orchestra plays a
very big part of the entire production. The orchestra was not too bad except
for some parts where I felt that the tempo was going “Allegro” rather than “Adagio.”
This was highly apparent during their performance of “All I Ask of You.” Again
this is when compared to what I am more familiar with.</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Overall, it was a satisfactory performance but to be
brutally honest, not a ‘standing ovation’ kind of performance. For first-timers
to Phantom of the Opera, this production would be a good one … but for Phantom
of the Opera “veterans,” the differences are too wide to go unnoticed. </span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com5