Ken Hickson reviews four musicals for The Art of Travel
In a year which saw four big-time musicals hitting the Marina Bay Sands Singapore stage, including an all-time favourite Phantom of the Opera and the marvelously updated Aladdin, how did we rate the last two productions: Sweeney Todd and Cats?
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
It has come and gone. What did it feel like?
We don’t regret touting it as a show worth attending.
If for nothing more than two very good reasons:
- Support the Singapore Repertory Theatre, which consistently goes out on a limb to bring us quality theatre performances, and
- Because it featured none other than the lady we regard as “Asia’s Queen of Musicals” Lea Salonga.
But it didn’t live up to our billing. Unfortunately.
We’ve been promoting this show for months and we certainly encouraged theatre-goers to get along and see it for themselves.
“If you love Lea Salonga and Steven Sondheim‘s musical style, you’ll enjoy Sweeney Todd”.
That’s what we posted on Facebook once we’d seen the show to encourage others to go for it.
We’re not one of those critics who tell regular theatre-goers to “give it a miss”.
We noticed that the full house audience on 28 November was obviously in love with Lea Salonga and didn’t see or feel there was anything wrong with her performance or the rest of the cast, many of them very talented professionals from the Philippines.
But we have to say that it’s not a musical everyone would enjoy. In spite of the best efforts of a very capable cast, led by the one and only Lea, who we saw on the West End years ago in “Miss Saigon”.
It’s not just the rather morbid theme – all about a disgruntled barber who sets about to kill as many of his customers as possible – as there have been some pretty horrific themes in other classical musicals like Les Miserables, Phantom of the Opera and even West Side Story. Even Shakespeare plays are not exactly “gentle”, with more than their share of death and deception.
So we’ve come to the conclusion that “it’s the music, stupid”. Was there one song that you could hum along to? Was there a memorable number that stayed with you long after you left the theatre?
None other than legendary film critic and Time magazine editor, Richard Corliss, once wrote of Stephen Sondheim – the Sweeney Todd composer of music and lyrics – that he “didn’t write songs; he wrote scores,” and that his melodies were “meant to challenge the ear, not to soothe it.”
So it wasn’t the performance of principals or the particular production we witnessed that was at fault. It was the composer!
Even Lea Salonga has been quoted as saying “the music is challenging”.
What did other critics think? Let’s turn to Andrew Leci writing in the Robb Report:
“With complex lyrics and technically challenging music, the ‘Musical Thriller’ makes almost as many demands on audience members as it does on the performers. It’s an uncomfortable show, not only for its bleak examination on the themes of injustice and vengeance, but also for rarely giving theatre goers anything to hum about.”
Critics rarely agree but Andrew’s summation would be very similar to ours:
“The phrase ‘stealing the show’ is a common one in theatre, and Lea Salonga is guilty of grand larceny. While the production has more flaws than a multi-storey carpark, and is uncomfortable for all the wrong reasons, Salonga’s performance is worth the admission money alone.”
So thanks to the Singapore Repertory Theatre (SRT), Atlantis and Sands Theatre for letting us experience the wonderful and versatile talent of Lea Salonga. She made the show and for that reason alone, we thank SRT for presenting it.
It’s good to know that our very loveable “Queen of Musicals” is coming back to Singapore next March to perform at the Esplanade. It will be a sell-out were sure.
CATS
What about Cats then? The musical on stage at Marina Bay Sands, not the movie that is hardly getting rave reviews!
Presented by Base Entertainment, which continues to give us the best of international shows, Cats comes from David Ian Productions, a leading entertainment company based in London’s Covent Garden.
It’s colourful. It’s entertaining. The exuberance of the principals and cast could not be denied. The dancing was athletic, even acrobatic.
As Teng Yong Ping, Lifestyle Editor of Yahoo News points out:
“If you haven’t watched Cats before, you need to know that it’s not the typical musical. There is hardly any plot, story and spoken dialogue. As many writers have said before, Cats is a song and dance spectacular. It’s a very dance-based musical, spanning dance genres such as ballet and tap dance, and if you can appreciate that, you’ll enjoy the show very much”.
Agreed. It’s a show that can be every enjoyed by young and old.
Does it have “star quality”? Not as much as expected of an international cast.
Does the music and the singing captivate the audience as musical theatre is supposed to? Not to the degree that we’ve come to expect in Singapore.
Even the big number – the very well-known “Memory” – was something of a let-down.
So what’s to like about this production of Cats?
Great colourful costuming. Every conceivable cat you could imagine.
Wonderful dancing and a magical set.
Getting up close and personal with the cats was a warm and friendly touch,
as the characters come down from the stage to go among the audience while performing.
What better time – during the season of goodwill, peace, hope and love – to enjoy a night out with a bunch of noisy, active cats!
It’s fun, it’s lively and if you can cope with the high decibel sound coming at you from all sides, it’s entertaining night out for young and old.
So treat family and friends in this “season of giving” to some quality time with a bunch of talented festive felines!
Cats is showing at Sands Theatre at Marina Bay Sands until 5 January 2020. Go here for more information and to book.
Aladdin
This Genie is a Genius was one heading in the August issue of The Art of Travel.
Watch and listen to the brilliant Genie in the production of Aladdin showing in Singapore.
The star of the show, Frankston-born Australian Gareth Jacobs, trained in musical theatre at the University of Ballarat in country Victoria and honed his skills on the high seas as lead vocalist and vocal captain for Royal Caribbean International and Celebrity Cruises.
He was a Top 24 contestant on The X Factor and played the role of Jimmy Early in StageArt’s Dreamgirls. He has been understudying Genie, Sultan and Babkak in Disney’s Aladdin since the Australian premiere in August 2016.
We’ve hailed this production as definitely one of the best musical productions of all time!
Here’s how we raved on Facebook at the time:
“Brilliant in every way! Attended the Opening night of Aladdin at MBS Theatre Singapore last night. This is professional musical theatre at its best. As good as anything you’ll see on Broadway and West End. See the best “Genie” in the world.
After a very successful season in Australia and New Zealand, this production has uncovered a number of international musical theatre stars. See for yourself – “Jasmine” from Malaysia via Australia and “Aladdin” from New Zealand via Australia. Set, costumes, lighting and “illusions” all amazing. This will go down as one of the best musical productions of all time.
Another heading at the time read: “Love is in the Air”
You can hear it in their voices. See it in their eyes. Feel it on stage. It must be love.
Aladdin (Graeme Isaako) and Jasmine (Shubshri Kandiah) exude love and incredible talent right through this production of Aladdin now showing in Singapore. Surely these two “discoveries” will go much further, going by the magic and musicality they demonstrate in their first big international showtime outing.
Graeme spent his early years in Auckland, New Zealand before making his Australia stage debut in Oliver.
Originally from Malaysia, Shubshri trained in musical theatre in Brisbane and Perth, appearing in musicals, like West Side Story, before taking the lead in Aladdin.
We also linked to a full run down with all the facts on the musical production and its cast. More on the production here.
So rave reviews for Aladdin, which enjoyed a spectacular Singapore season.
Phantom of the Opera
The first of the big-time musicals to hit Singapore between the eyes and ears in 2019 was Phantom of the Opera, arguably the most spectacular and popular of Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber’s inventions.
In the June issue of The Art of Travel we raved and we implored:
“Experience Phantom of the Opera at Marina Bay Sands – it’s still showing until 8 June – where you can appreciate the exceptional talent of cast and musicians.
The spectacular “Masquerade” song sequence, plus all the music and the action is of course great credit to the original creator, Andrew Lloyd Webber.
Think for a moment of all the people behind the scenes, responsible for the production. There’s Director Rainer Field, Musical Director David Andrews and Choreographer Jee Hyun Noh.
We talked with Randy Buck, who’s ultimately responsible for this and many other touring shows.
Read my take on The man who takes musical theatre to the world.
We also posed the question (in our June issue):
“Has Singapore become the arts/entertainment capital of Asia? You would think so based on the number and quality international musicals coming to town. “Phantom of the Opera” is pulling in the crowds and finishes 8 June. “Aladdin”, the musical arrives for a season at Marina Bay Sands from 21 July. But you’ll have to wait until December for “Cats“. But there’s a host of other arts events – foreign and local – to entertain all tastes, every day of the week.”
Yes, definitely. Singapore is the place to see and experience international musical theatre of a very high caliber. There are local productions of an international standard too.
The sign of maturity in the arts market is such that not every production will have universal appeal. But keep them coming!
Very mature theatre markets like Broadway and the West End have many different shows running at the same time to appeal to a variety of tastes.
Singapore is not there yet. But we’re seeing sizeable audiences to justify longer seasons for imported shows, as well as for more quality local productions.
So, we’ll continue to promote and attend the best the musical and arts world has to offer. And we’re sure Singapore will continue to support and enjoy what’s showing, as well as what’s in the wind.
