What's up in Singapore?

CEBU, Philippines - Singapore is a city-state that continually reinvents itself, so that its artistic and cultural scenes are among the region’s most dynamic. If you still have to firm up your summer vacation itinerary, check out Singapore – it’s just 3 & a half hours away, English is the official language, comparatively much safer than other places in Asia, fun is the order of the day and budget is manageable.

WICKED: “ The defining musical of the decade.” (NY Times)

 Onstage at the Grand Theater of the humongous Marina Bay Sands since December 9, 2011, this fantabulous Broadway box office gold mine will definitely end by April 22, 2012. So, better get yourself a ticket to Singapore…you will not want to miss WICKED: The Untold Story of the Witches of Oz.

I was fortunate to catch it on my first night in Singapore, last week. Straight from the airport, I hurried to Marina Bay Sands to collect my ticket at the box office, and had a quick dinner of, what else?, chicken rice at Rasapura Masters (street food stalls serving various Asian cuisines just a level below the theater). Then off to the show with time to spare!

 My seat was J-20, just 7 rows away from the stage! (Thank you, Amanda Osborne of Base Entertainment-Asia). The full house was transported into the Land of Oz soon after the first strains of the overture by the live orchestra. The story unravels through 54 scenes and locations that demand specific variations in lights and mood for the Australian touring company who sports 69 wigs (costing bet. US$1,600 - $2,700), wearing intricate costumes – 350 per show – that have won the Tony Award (total cost: over US$3 million) on a stage that becomes the magical Land of Oz!

Based on the popular novel by Gregory Maguire, WICKED is on its 8th year run at the Gershwin Theater on Broadway, carting away 35 major awards to include 1 Grammy statuette, 3 Tony Awards and 6 Helpmann Awards that includes the “Best Musical” distinction.

I won’t go into the details of the show’s astounding special effects so that audience will really get a surprise (I was still agog despite watching it twice before in Los Angeles & on Broadway). Suffice it to say, that the Australian touring company is as good as the American productions. I was enamored by the vibrant acting and excellent voice of Scottish (grew up in Perth) actress Suzie Mathers who plays Glinda the “Good” Witch, and of recording artist/leading man David Harris (who shared a stage w/our own Lea Salonga in Vietnam) of the Australian “Miss Saigon” fame. Harris is the quintessential leading man: obviously good looking, muscular, fit physique, notable masculine baritone and good acting – definitely a perfect match to the captivating Glinda and the formidable Elphaba the “Wicked” Witch.

What is delightful in WICKED is its humorous take on various realities in our lives, making it understandable to audiences of all ages: 1) The discrimination against those who are different from the rest of us – how we look at them as ugly and not nice…even wicked! 2) How we strive for public acceptance, even at the expense of common decency, moral obligation and the ties of friendship. 3) How we get magnetized by a beautiful face, unmindful of the person’s inner self. 4) How history evolves according to the machinations of a powerful few; how a lie becomes the truth over time, when repeated over and over again. 5) And the familiar lesson: Some people come to our lives for a reason…

 “A Chorus Line” comes onstage by May 27, 2012.