Sunday, July 26, 2009
Sing Dollar! Review
Sing Dollar! The Musical Comedy about Money
by Dream Academy
Esplanade Theatre
25 July 2009, 8pm
When I review a production, I tend to compare my pre- and post-show impressions. I expected some slapstick humour from Sing Dollar. I got some slapstick humour from Sing Dollar.
Of course, that was not all. The production left me mostly happy, yet slightly confused.
The musical revolves around seven residents of Geylang who find half a million dollars, throwing them into a somewhat rampant chase for, well, a golden goose (ouch, bad pun, sorry). It all starts off rather promising -- a cabaret-style opening, very much a la Dim Sum Dollies, succeded by Sebastian Tan, Lim Kay Siu, Hossan Leong and Najip Ali literally 'tearing' their way through giant-sized foreign currencies to perform caricatures of the famous faces on the dollar bills.
Well, Sing Dollar is a comedy after all. There was some truly original material, but the over-used political humour was a bit of a hit-and-miss for me. I loved the boys' MJ remake but I could really do away with the Mas Selamat jokes by now ("No grilles! The Malay escaped through the window again!").
Likewise, the plot somehow left me feeling it was not fully discovered. Its breadth certainly compromised its depth. I wonder if it is truly necessary to have seven central characters, each with their own tale. To lean towards traditional large-scale musical theatre, I would have banked in on fewer main characters and a sizable ensemble. In the case of Sing Dollar, it seems an ensemble doesn't even exist -- aplomb with big names of the industry, there were only one or two scenes that had some actors offering some sort of "back-up" or accompaniment. And unfortunately, in those cases, were more distracting than supportive. In many occasions the ambitious harmonies by Elaine Chan were not well-balanced, leaving the audience confused over who to listen to.
If the above-mentioned was not a technical problem of sound balance, this would be the dilemma of a completely star-studded cast -- who should take the spotlight? Yet, to contradict, the consistency of the performers' standards were hugely satisfying. Unlike Snow White and Botak Boys (Own Time Own Target), the entire cast could sing, act and dance pretty well. Furthermore, there was great synergy amongst the cast; you could almost feel their pride and joy as they presented Dream Academy's first musical.
Generally, Sing Dollar is pretty much like Singapore -- full of variety, vaguely interesting but really confused. In terms of music, the cheesy Hokkien and Malay songs admittedly tickled, but the Chinese lyrics were simply strange and unpoetic, especially when it was for a moment of melodrama. Characters-wise, stereotypes were aplenty. Very little time was invested in character development. Yet somehow, when it was all packaged together, it turned into a strangely delicious combination of song and dance.
I guess Sing Dollar was a good representation of writer Selena Tan's intentions: "didn't want something that was completely plot-driven, but something that was more about the characters and themes with a dose of cabaret."
If you like plain good colourful fun, Sing Dollar is for you. Some call it meaningless comedy. I call it the occasional necessity to keep your sanity.
---
Other points that would have been in the review if not for sleepiness:
1) The set was pretty impressive. High-budget.
2) Programmes were free. Fun design.
3) I love Sebastian Tan's high notes. I think I'm a fan... again.
4) CD recording is decent, though a tad pricey for 5 songs ($10). Lyrics should be provided!
5) Honestly, ignore all that criticism above. It's awesomely fun. Go catch it. Valentia and I had incredible seats, right smack in the middle. I'm 80% sure the actors were singing to us. *Self-delusional*
by Dream Academy
Esplanade Theatre
25 July 2009, 8pm
When I review a production, I tend to compare my pre- and post-show impressions. I expected some slapstick humour from Sing Dollar. I got some slapstick humour from Sing Dollar.
Of course, that was not all. The production left me mostly happy, yet slightly confused.
The musical revolves around seven residents of Geylang who find half a million dollars, throwing them into a somewhat rampant chase for, well, a golden goose (ouch, bad pun, sorry). It all starts off rather promising -- a cabaret-style opening, very much a la Dim Sum Dollies, succeded by Sebastian Tan, Lim Kay Siu, Hossan Leong and Najip Ali literally 'tearing' their way through giant-sized foreign currencies to perform caricatures of the famous faces on the dollar bills.
Well, Sing Dollar is a comedy after all. There was some truly original material, but the over-used political humour was a bit of a hit-and-miss for me. I loved the boys' MJ remake but I could really do away with the Mas Selamat jokes by now ("No grilles! The Malay escaped through the window again!").
Likewise, the plot somehow left me feeling it was not fully discovered. Its breadth certainly compromised its depth. I wonder if it is truly necessary to have seven central characters, each with their own tale. To lean towards traditional large-scale musical theatre, I would have banked in on fewer main characters and a sizable ensemble. In the case of Sing Dollar, it seems an ensemble doesn't even exist -- aplomb with big names of the industry, there were only one or two scenes that had some actors offering some sort of "back-up" or accompaniment. And unfortunately, in those cases, were more distracting than supportive. In many occasions the ambitious harmonies by Elaine Chan were not well-balanced, leaving the audience confused over who to listen to.
If the above-mentioned was not a technical problem of sound balance, this would be the dilemma of a completely star-studded cast -- who should take the spotlight? Yet, to contradict, the consistency of the performers' standards were hugely satisfying. Unlike Snow White and Botak Boys (Own Time Own Target), the entire cast could sing, act and dance pretty well. Furthermore, there was great synergy amongst the cast; you could almost feel their pride and joy as they presented Dream Academy's first musical.
Generally, Sing Dollar is pretty much like Singapore -- full of variety, vaguely interesting but really confused. In terms of music, the cheesy Hokkien and Malay songs admittedly tickled, but the Chinese lyrics were simply strange and unpoetic, especially when it was for a moment of melodrama. Characters-wise, stereotypes were aplenty. Very little time was invested in character development. Yet somehow, when it was all packaged together, it turned into a strangely delicious combination of song and dance.
I guess Sing Dollar was a good representation of writer Selena Tan's intentions: "didn't want something that was completely plot-driven, but something that was more about the characters and themes with a dose of cabaret."
If you like plain good colourful fun, Sing Dollar is for you. Some call it meaningless comedy. I call it the occasional necessity to keep your sanity.
---
Other points that would have been in the review if not for sleepiness:
1) The set was pretty impressive. High-budget.
2) Programmes were free. Fun design.
3) I love Sebastian Tan's high notes. I think I'm a fan... again.
4) CD recording is decent, though a tad pricey for 5 songs ($10). Lyrics should be provided!
5) Honestly, ignore all that criticism above. It's awesomely fun. Go catch it. Valentia and I had incredible seats, right smack in the middle. I'm 80% sure the actors were singing to us. *Self-delusional*
# posted at 11:44 PM
