Five Foot Broadway Mini Musicals

Presented by MUSICAL THEATRE LIMITED

SIX new short musicals are performed In-Concert style, showcasing local musicals writers:

YS: I won't be around for this, so why don't you turn up and let me know how it goes?

1. MEE POK MAN (Ng YiSheng and Ting Si Hao)

2. CUPID'S BET (Darius Lim and Ken Lyen)
3. THE OTHER WOMAN (Stella Kon and Desmond Moey)
4. IL CASINO (Richard Lord and Ken Lyen)
5. ESTHER (Joshua Greene)
6. BIRTHDAY BLUES (Mohamad Shaifulbahri and Ken Lyen)

FREE Admission - Register through email MTLminimusicals.register@yahoo.com.sg .
The HALL, The Arts House
2010 July 9 FRI 7:30pm (SOLD OUT)
2010 Jul 10 SAT 2:30pm (SOLD OUT)

2010 Jul 10 SAT 7:30pm (NEW SHOW!)
Call Desmond Moey (+65) 92721648

I'll be doing a presentation on my musical "Georgette" next Saturday, 3 October, 2:30 to 4:45pm

Drop by!

Rethinking the Nanyang

There's a public forum happening at 3:15 on Sat 25 September at the National Library on the Nanyang Artists (i.e. folks like Liu Kang, Georgette Chen and Cheong Soo Pieng who established a natively Malayan school of painting here in the '50s). Come if you like.

I'll be speaking the week after on Saturday 3 October, 3pm, same time, about the development of the musical "Georgette". Details forthcoming.

My review for The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee...

... kena censor by Straits Times in today's Life!. Sigh.

Don't really want fight, since I'm just doing it for the money. But the bit that got cut is the focal point of my review (and pretty damn scandalous, so I guess ST didn't want to cause a conservative uproar), so I reproduce it here, excised material in bold.

> theatre
The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee
Atlantis Productions, Inc.
Victoria Theatre
Wednesday

The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee is full of surprises. Sure, you might have expected this Tony Award-winner to be a song and dance extravaganza that inspires children to excel academically. Instead, it turns out to be a wonderfully mischievous drama, charming audiences young and old with its vivid characters.

The show takes a while to warm up. There is an energy missing from the first few scenes, as the cast sings too softly, moving without the exuberance one would expect of an opening. Even a song like “Pandemonium”, in which the contestants leap off their chairs in frustration, comes across as a little too tame.

However, as the players gain momentum, we warm to their roles. Johann Dela Fuente plays the endearing Leaf Coneybear, a child of hippies who feels out of place among all the geniuses, as he relates in his song “I’m Not That Smart”.

Another memorable figure is Nancy Park, an overachieving Korean-American girl played by Shiela Valderrama Martinez. After her solo, “I Speak Six Languages”, she dramatically forces herself to fail, encouraged by a kindly apparition of Jesus.

Extra spice is added through audience participation. Four “guest spellers” are invited on stage at every show, pretending to be students, and made to spell ridiculously obscure or ridiculously simple words – my night, guests got terms as varied as “pilgarlick” and “dog”.

Remarkably, these hapless guests are soon persuaded to join in some of the basic choreography, while the MC improvises commentary on their appearances, noting, for instance, how they were the first in their grade to grow facial hair.

The biggest surprise, however, is the level of adult humour in the show. This ranges from intellectual references to Nietzsche to shocking flashes of sequined panties under checkered skirts.

One character faces pressure from her gay fathers (their relationship is fairly dysfunctional, which is probably why the censors okayed it). Another character, played excellently by Felix Rivera, has a lament about the circumstances which caused him to misspell his word, entitled “My Unfortunate Erection”. Pretty funny stuff – and fortunately, it goes right over the heads of younger children.

Spelling Bee is not your typical big-budget musical, nor, in my opinion, is it brilliantly executed by this cast. Still, the power of the script and its lovable band of quirky characters shines through. Audiences can still expect a satisfying, rib-tickling evening at the theatre. Thankfully, no surprises there.

Auditions for Georgette, the Musical

Georgette, The Musical, will be staged in The Philippines (Manila),
during the last week of November, 2008.

Sing Avenue Productions will be holding auditions to cast the five
main roles for the musical, on August 23 and 24 (Sat and Sun) 2pm –
6pm at Musical Theatre Limited's Playroom, 21 Cavan Road Level 2
Singapore 209852 (nearest MRT station is Lavender).

Description of the roles:
a) Georgette – the heroine, a petite but an intelligent and lively
artist portrayed in her 20s thru to her 40s
b) Eugene Chen:Georgette's first husband, a diplomat, who is
portrayed from his 40s to his 50s
c) Mr Zhang - Georgette's father, a shrewd businessman in his 60s.
d) Mrs Zhang - Georgette's stepmother, a businesswoman in her 40s. An
aristocrat in temperament
e) Narrator - A woman who plays various roles.

Actors will be required to sing, act and dance. All performers must
be available to be in the Philippines from 17 to 30 November 2008 and
also attend rehearsals in Singapore from 8th September 2008 in the
evenings and also the weekends. Performers will be paid a fee.

Please come prepared to sing two theatre musical songs, which are
contrasting in mood and tempo. Please prepare a short monologue (2
minutes, maximum) to present. You may be asked to do a short
improvisation.

For your songs, please provide your own minus-ones (in a CD) or be
prepared to sing a capella. Bring along a photograph (any photo will
do) and your bio-data/resume.

Please call to book an appointment with Amos Shao on 91454196 or
email: amosqi@yahoo.com.sg

Thank you.

The BJ Song

You can listen to my song "Touch the Sky", in support of the Singapore team to the Beijing Olympics, this Saturday at Ngee Ann City/Takashimaya. It's organised by Musical Theatre Limited.

Programme: August 2, SAT Ngee Ann City CivicPlaza

1. 230pm to 415pm - Official Programme in presence of Dr Vivian.
2. 4pm - MTL Singers perform Paralympics Theme Song "Best That We Can Be" with Choir from Grace Orchard School (www.go.edu.sg)
3. 430pm - MatthewQUEK MiniConcert, and DariusLIM SeraphimChoir MiniConcert
4. 7p to 9pm - MTL Songwriter Showcase.
5. 9pm - MTL Singers demo perform the song inspired by TEAM Singapore "Touch The Sky" {Lyrics NG-YiSheng, Music DesmondMOEY}

It should actually be performed several times over the evening.

Gah, I'm such a hypocrite.


I don't even have the guts to boycott profiteering off the Olympics.

Feed the body, feed the soul

My depression is laughably hormonal. I've just made cookies for the cast of "Georgette" and I'm happy again. Chocolate chip and walnut with butterscotch and raisins (actually, it tastes rather boring; not sure what went wrong).

Georgette: the musical

Time to promote my upcoming musical, based on the life of pioneer Singapore artist Georgette Chen!

It was developed by Musical Theatre Ltd under their Five-Foot Broadway programme, scored by Clement Yang (with arrangements by Chris Nolan and Esther Yang), and is being directed by Lee Yew Moon. It was given a thumbs-up by a panel of theatre luminaries - see here.

Esplanade Recital Studio
7:30pm [corrected from 8pm!]
Sat 9 and Sun 10 June 2007
For tickets, click here.

Of course, some of my avant-garde artsy friends have chided me for elevating such a conventional oil painter adverse to innovation, reliant on personal charm and connections for her success - but I like her paintings, dammit. And I'm a sucker for a strong woman.

Go watch; it's not groundbreaking, but it's quite nice.

UPDATE: Just posted this on my personal blog - am going flyering with director Yew Moon tomorrow morning. Had to cancel the 3pm show cos not enough people were buying tickets. (Hint hint)

Five Foot Broadway Unplugged

Due to our heavy advertising, everyone already knows that my play 251 is being staged this week. What you probably don't know is that excerpts of my musical Georgette, based on the life of pioneer Singapore painter Georgette Chen, will be presented for free at the concourse this Wednesday and Thursday evening. See below:

This week, from Monday to Thursday, Musical Theatre Singapore will be showcasing the products of its new musical incubation programme. We'll be performing half-hour excerpts of the musicals at the Esplanade concourse, open to all, for free, naturally. :) Come by and clap a bit. Here's a schedule:

MONDAY 2 APRIL
7:30: Alex Yang's "Believe/Crash and Burn" Pt 1
8:30: Alex Yang's "Believe/Crash and Burn" Pt 2

TUESDAY 3 APRIL
7:30: Marcelly Suhaili's "O Crystal Ball"
8:30: Alex Yang's "Believe/Crash and Burn"

WEDNESDAY 4 APRIL
7:30: Jack Tan's "Tuesdays with Joe"
8:30 Ng Yi-Sheng's "Georgette"

THURSDAY 5 APRIL
7:30: Joshua Greene's "Esther"
8:30: Ng Yi-Sheng's "Georgette"

SYNOPSIS OF SHOWS

ESTHER
Writer/Composer: Joshua Greene
A young queen's decision to risk everything foils the murderous plot of an arrogant chief minister against her people. Based on the Biblical story.

O CRYSTAL BALL!
Writer : Marcelly Suhali Composer: Clement Yang
A light hearted love story that involves a young girl next door, a charming rich boy and eccentric fortune teller. It reminds everyone about the power of true love, how it can transcend all obstacles and overcome destinies. It is set in modern day London, England.

TUESDAYS WITH JOE
Writer/Composer: Jack Tan
A musical about a love story revolving around a popular radio DJ, and a girl living in the same apartment block who finds solace in listening to Joe's radio program. As their paths cross, they do not realize who each other really is, but instead only see the other's stubborn outward behavior.

GEORGETTE
Writer: Ng Yi Sheng Composer: Clement Yang
A biography of Georgette Chen, the pioneer Singapore artist, as she struggles to be accepted as a painter in a time of prejudice and war.

BELIEVE/CRASH AND BURN
Writer/Composer: Alex Yang
A school musical about a teenage gangster and his struggle to break free from a society that sees him as a loser.

Musical Theatre Auditions 27-28 Jan 2007 1-4 pm

Hey - gonna advertise a little. If you like singing, why not come down this weekend to audition for the dry presentation of my musical, "Georgette", plus other members' projects?

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/artscommunity/message/15308
You are invited to audition for a number of Exciting Original Musicals for a presentation on the 10 March 2007 at the Esplanade Rehearsal Room.

Interested parties may walk in for an audition. If you would like to confirm your schedule, please contact Frederick at 81618031 (Between 9 AM to 6 PM) or email : Musical Theatre Club
<singaporemusicals@gmail.com>

DATE : 27 January 2007, Saturday
28 January 2007, Sunday
TIME : 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm
PLACE : 65 Sing Avenue (Off Rangoon Road)
MRT : Farrer Park

Please prepare TWO BROADWAY SONGS (One slow/ One Fast) that will show your RANGE and EXPRESSION. These songs are to be sung a cappella or accompanied by your own minus one. Bring along a photograph (any photo will do) and your bio-data/resume if possible.