Beauty
World is an unusual marriage of styles and sensibilities: knowing
irony and earnest sentiment, self-serious politics and silly frivolity,
an intimate family drama and an expensive, effects-laden blockbuster.
Evoking the hedonistic heyday of the swinging sixties, Michael Chiang
and Dick Lee's classic musical attempts to embody a Singaporean utopia
we have always imagined but never dared to realise.
I would argue that Beauty World does not invite nostalgia;
instead, it is a testament to how little we have changed. Beneath its
glossy demeanour is a nuanced, if slightly predictable portrayal of
our apologetic, self-deprecatory brand of humour that has endured through
the times. The characters that inhabit Beauty World - be it
the obsequious go-go girl, the hilariously inept and corrupt Malay policeman,
or the uppity Eurasian Rosemary (Alemay Fernandez) who thumbs her nose
at "no class" go-go queen Lulu (Denise Tan) - are not exclusive to the
sixties, but exhibit quintessentially Singaporean traits that resonate
with current audiences. Beauty World's oscillation between Hokkien swearing
and proper English is timeless; so is the battle of race and class between
Rosemary and Lulu in the pulsing, foot-stomping number No Class.
Smoking, another lasting, if controversial aspect of the Singapore
landscape, also features prominently in both the ensemble scenes and
individual performances of Beauty World. The dancers blow smoke rings
into the audience; the businessmen that patronise the cabaret alternate
between long, deep breaths of their cigars and big gulps of XO; Ah Hock
(Daren Tan), the quintessential chao ah beng, lights up frequently;
nerdy Frankie (Dwayne Tan) chokes on a cigarette coaxed into his mouth.
Tendrils of smoke uncoil on stage, conferring even the most frantic
dance sequences with a dreamlike aesthetic. The staging of smoking -
as a rite of passage, means of escapism or perhaps even a national pastime
- is a valiant attempt to recapture the romanticism of a practice increasingly
marginalised by tightening anti-smoking restrictions and growing public
censure.
In keeping with this nationalistic spirit, Beauty World is
conceived on a scale of typical Singaporean excess. Aesthetically, the
introduction arrests you: sequined go-go girls weave through a spiffy
line of their slick-haired male counterparts on an intricate cabaret
set crowned with a stunning light-bulb-studded Beauty World
sign. This musical looks terrific, as if almost every cent was spent
in the right place. John C. Dinning's stylised sets and Moe Kasim's
glittering costumes create a rich series of stage pictures, arranged
with flair by Ivan Heng.
Ironically, this tendency towards excess also mars the pace and fluency
of several sequences. In high-stepping parade numbers like Lulu's brazen
solo, Nothing Gets In My Way, everything, it seems, gets in
Denise Tan's way. For a song attempting to convey the ruthlessness of
a character that bullies everyone else into submission, a commanding
physical and vocal presence is especially crucial. Unfortunately, on
a stage crammed with a live band, a sprawling ensemble of dancers and
kitsch cabaret furniture, Tan's movement is impeded. Her admittedly
gut-busting soprano strains to rise above the din of the band and the
chorus. Theatre is a game of space, and evidently, Heng overestimated
the size of the proscenium.
The current cast of Beauty World is a wildly uneven patchwork
of talents. True to form, Irene Ang and Neo Swee Lin exude a breezy
effortlessness in their hilarious renditions of a Cantonese-spouting
servant and cabaret "mummy" respectively. These are hardly groundbreaking
roles, and for actresses of their calibre, anything less would have
been disappointing.
The show's young starlets are less impressive. While Dwayne Tan
delivers a uniformly insipid rendition of Frankie, there is nothing
forgettable about Daren Tan's overly earnest and largely off-key
performance of Ah Hock. Warbling the tunes and fumbling with the lyrics,
his weak, shaky voice is unable to carry the loftier numbers written
for his character, giving the audience plenty to cringe about. Also,
the ensemble is a sketchy hodgepodge of reed-thin voices that fail to
adequately support the main cast. The signature cha-cha-cha number may
be visually dazzling, but is ultimately let down by bland singing.
Bucking this dismal trend is Elena Wang, who is revelatory in her note-perfect
portrayal of innocent-turned-worldly-wise Batu Pahat girl Ivy. In contrast
to Tan's vocal richness and sustained power, Wang sings beguilingly
and conversationally, lending breadth of statement and lyrical integrity
to her phrasing. While Alemay Fernandez's singing may not be as spectacular,
one can't help but like her irresistible charm as scatterbrained Rosemary
in a performance which sparkles with playful, eager energy.
In the abrupt conclusion to Beauty World, a thwarted Ah Hock
characteristically lights up a cigarette in frustration. When he most
needs it, his lighter fails him. One by one, each member of the cast
surrounding him produces a lighter, and the darkened stage becomes a
blanket of little flames. The poignancy of this moment, I feel, is not
earned, but deliberately thrust on the audience, jarring with the proudly
melodramatic character of a musical that dispenses its charm too easily
and cheaply. Nevertheless, Beauty World is largely campy, feel-good
entertainment, pitched well to an audience imbued with the new-year
spirit of good cheer and optimism. |
"Beneath its glossy demeanour is a nuanced, if slightly predictable
portrayal of our apologetic, self-deprecatory brand of humour that has
endured through the times"
Credits
Director: Ivan Heng
Producer: Tony Trickett
Book by Michael Chiang
Music and lyrics by Dick Lee
Cast: Denise Tan, Dwayne Tan, Neo Swee Lin, Alemay
Fernandez, Daren Tan, Irene Ang and Elena Wang
Ensemble: Richard Chia, Gordon Choy, Farah Dawood,
Zachary Goh, Farhan Hassan, Hang Qian Chou, Lily Nora Kamsani, Cathy
Kee, Scott Lei, Jonathan Lum, Cheryl Miles, Olivr Pang, Jacqueline Pereira,
Tony Quek, Gene Sha Rudyn, Darius Tan, Judy Tan, Filomar C. Tariao,
Kelly Tuan, Stephanie Van Den Driesen and Esther Yap
Set Design: John C. Dinning
Choreographer: Aaron Khek and Ix Wong
Lighting Design: Mac Chan
Costumes: Moe Kasim
Hair and Wigs: Ashley Lim
Sound Design: Shah Tahir
Musical Direction and Arrangement: Iskandar Ismail
Orchestral / Sound Design: Sydney Tan
Vocal Coach: Amanda Colliver
Production Manager: Koh Bee Lee
Stage Manager: Woo Hsia Ling
|
