Five-Foot Broadway Mini Musicals

Longing for a piece of the action, UrbanWire headed down to the Esplanade on 16 Jun to catch the performance.

The Performance

Set in soft purple-tinted lights, with soothing jazzy music playing in the background, it is no doubt a simple yet comfortable setting. Draped with cloth, the “stage” is  merely a slightly raised platform that was only half a metre away from the audience.

To mark the start of the performance, 3 musicians – 2 keyboardists and a violinist- took a bow and seated themselves at the back of the stage. You could see genuine camaraderie among them as they gave each other high-fives, before taking up their respective positions with a relaxed demeanour and smile on their faces.

The Invisible Man

First up is “Now You See Me”, which is about a scientist who became invisible after a freak laboratory accident. A social recluse who is down in the dumps, the scientist found out, thanks to his invisibility, that his girlfriend has been cheating on him with his best friend. However, this invisible man is given a new lease of life when he bumps into a blind lady on the streets, and falls in love with her at first glance.

Then, he meets a bunch of outcasts in Cardboard City who, like him and paper cardboard, have been thrown out by society. Though they aren’t able to see him, they welcomed him and even danced for him. They give the invisible man a new outlook on life with their optimism and joyfulness.

A simple and light-hearted piece about one’s search for true love, and finding joy in everyday life, UrbanWire likes the funky and upbeat song and dance. Plus, it is a happy ending for the poor scientist who managed to become visible again, and eventually got together with the blind lady,who is the love of his life.

Opposites Attract

How many lies does it take to find true love on love.com.sg? “A Delicious Pretence” aptly pinpoints the downfalls of Internet dating and shows how people often lie about themselves on the Internet, out of fear that they wouldn’t be accepted for who they are. In a desperate bid to find love, two vastly different individuals decides to find their other half via the Internet. Upon introduction, they both think that they’ve finally found The One. But alas, they discover over a glass of chendol (Asian ice dessert), that things aren’t as simple as they’ve made it out to be. The audience was kept amused throughout, especially when references were made in the Singapore context. Think chilli crab, Dhoby Ghaut MRT station and Bukit Timah hill.

Beauty in Love

“The Tale of the Pretty Pretty Princess” touches on the theme of beauty. Princess, a plastic surgeon with a Barbie doll figure and perfect face, live in a plastic world where beauty is merely skin-deep. Only judged by her appearance, Princess never knew what true love is until she met her Prince.

This entertaining satire about love and beauty touches more than the surface, tugging at the audience’s heartstrings with its perceptive take on modern day women, superficiality and finding perfection in imperfection.

Ghost of the Past

Hoping to resolve the ordeals of the past 40 years, Pierre confronted his younger self, Peter. “Peter & Pierre” is a poignant and sad story addressing the regrets and hurt that one accumulates over the years. By recounting past hurt and forgotten dreams, Pierre teaches Peter about forgiveness. In return, Peter helps Pierre to remember the man he was like when he was younger.

Love Rekindled

A couple on the verge of breaking up finally rekindles their love after a car accident. Looking back at themselves when they were dating, they found the spark to reignite their love once again.

UrbanWire thinks that this was one of the most touching musicals of the six, with aptly written songs and a well-played out recount of the couple’s past.

BMT, boys?

Saving the best for the last, “Singapore Boys” is a humorous and heart-warming story of the life and struggles of an NS man. The males in the audience chuckled and grinned as the story played out, with the recruits’ incessant complaints about the army life. “Singapore Boys” certainly struck a chord with the audience, especially the older males, as it reminded them of their hey-days.

Denouement

Quoting the famous Shakespeare saying, “If music be the food of love… play on, give me excess of it”, UrbanWire had only praises to sing for this local production. Thoroughly impressed by the originality of the songs, and the local humour injected at all the right moments, UrbanWire feels that Five Foot Broadway Mini Musicals have good organisation and structure. By masterfully varying the more sombre musicals with light-hearted ones in between, they provide a good mix of emotions, thus bringing the audience on a journey of emotional highs and lows.

Full of Singaporean lingo and anecdotes, each musical brought out different themes like love, self-identity, beauty that are highly relatable in everyones’ life.

That said, UrbanWire feels that the downside is that only a true blue Singaporean will be able to fully appreciate the musical’s humour.

On the whole, the six musicals are highly enjoyable. Like Benjamin Wong, 49, a father of two aptly puts, “This local production is definitely a breakthrough in the local arts scene.”

This article is part of UrbanWire’s 9-week Singapore Arts Festival 2008 special. Get all the latest Arts Fest updates and reviews on UrbanWire.