Samantha ChoongWhen John Travolta took to the screens as Tony Manero in 1977, he made history as an instant sensation. Backed by the Bee Gees’s music, his slick dancing and suave portrayal of the 19-year-old made him a household name overnight. The movie was even added to the National Film Registry (of USA), an honor reserved for films that have cultural, historical or aesthetic significance (This includes titles like Back to The Future and Pulp Fiction). But even with such a huge reputation to live up to, Saturday Night Fever: The Musical didn’t disappoint.
With only a short run in Marina Bay Sands’ MasterCard Theatres, Saturday Night Fever unleashes a talented cast to rival the original’s success. Starring Broadway actor, Brandon Rubendall, as our light-footed protagonist; Jenna Rubaii as Stephanie Mangano and Filipino actress, Mikkie Bradshaw, as Annette; we were treated to 2 hours of 70s teen angst amidst the disco sensation.
We have to give Rubendall enormous credit for his singing prowess. Each solo he performed was executed flawlessly, even while he danced in time to the disco tune. On every occasion, he had the crowd cheering and applauding his talent. His voice was silky smooth and harmonized beautifully with his co-star.
One of the highlight of Travolta’s Manero was his skill on the dance floor, and Rubendall just cannot disappoint in that aspect. Happily, between busting out disco moves on the 2001 Odyssey dance floor and practicing the tango with Stephanie, Rubendall’s skills were flaunted for the audience. We have to say, he’s certainly a triple threat with his ravishing good looks.
Jenna Rubaii as Stephanie Mangano was also quite enthralling. From her first appearance dancing at the Odyssey to her final moment with Tony, Rubaii pulls off each aspect of her character with ease. From Mangano’s snobby Manhattan facade to her sweeter Brooklyn persona, Rubaii switches gears smoothly. Her dance floor skills also match up to Rubendall’s, clearly shown when they partner up to win the dance competition in the Odyssey.
While Rubendall and Rubaii were undoubtedly the stars of the show, we can’t forget the rest of the cast – the predominantly Filipino ensemble was brilliant in their performances and they were a nice change from the usual Australian casts that are seen in Singaporean live theater shows.
Mikkie Bradshaw’s Annette made us root hard for the underdog in her futile attempts at vying for Tony’s affections. Bradshaw’s rendition of “If I Can’t Have You” made our hearts ache with her flaring passion and genuine emotion. If we can’t have Bradshaw as Annette, we don’t want nobody, baby.
Saturday Night Fever had the audience laughing, cheering and boogieing in their seats. Plus, we won’t soon forget the audience’s reaction when Rubendall stripped down to his undies and flexed his muscles for the many approving wolf-whistles.
We have to mention one last thing that espcially caught our eye about Rubaii – her resemblance to the bubbling Anna Kendrick. We wonder how Kendrick would do in a reboot of the movie.
Managed to catch the Fever? Let us know what you thought in the comments below!
Saturday Night Fever runs now till 4 October 2015.
Info:
Where: Marina Bay Sands MasterCard Theaters
Runtime: 150 minutes (With 20 minutes intermission)
Ticket Prices: VIP Reserve : S$175
A Reserve : S$145
B Reserve : S$125
C Reserve : S$105
D Reserve : S$95