When I first heard about the LKY Musical, I wondered if it could be anything more than a glorified National Education performance brought to a larger audience. The show is indeed a quick lesson about 25 years of Singapore’s history between World War II and Independence, but it is also much more than that. I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of the local production and it’s definitely worth watching.
It is not an easy task to cover 25 years within 2 hours and some historical events and characters got skimmed over a bit. The Japanese Occupation seemed to be little more than young men being marched around by bayonet-bearing Japanese and the brutality of the Japanese was not seen. But Adrian Pang and Benjamin Chow were so brilliant in their roles of Lee Kuan Yew and Lim Chin Siong respectively and their battle for the hearts and minds of the people of Singapore was played out to great effect. And honestly, I never knew Adrian Pang could sing so well!
The use of space on the stage was made visually arresting by the multi-tiered performance area, the brisk sliding segments, and the projections of maps and videos. One of my favourite scenes was when the singing of Negara Ku after merger was juxtaposed with news and images about the riots and violence taking place in Singapore.
The LKY Musical is a moving performance, not just about LKY the man, but also the difficult road to independence and the beginning of modern Singapore. It exceeded my expectations and I’m glad I managed to catch it.
World War II
the start of a beautiful relationship
planning Singapore’s future
hard at work
friend or foe?
colleagues, for now
LKY
behind every successful man…
TICKETING AND SHOW INFORMATION
SEASON: 21 July to 16 August 2015
VENUE: Sands Theatre, MasterCard Theatres, Marina Bay Sands
PERFORMANCE TIMES: Tue – Fri 7.30pm; Sat: 3pm and 7.30pm; Sun: 1.30pm and 6pm
TICKET PRICE: From $50 through to $150
THROUGH INTERNET: www.MarinaBaySands.com/Ticketing or www.sistic.com.sg
BY PHONE: IN PERSON AT: Marina Bay Sands Box Offices (Museum, Theatres, SkyPark, Retail Mall and Hotel Tower 1 Lobby).
Disclaimer: We received two complimentary tickets to watch this performance. All opinions are my own. All photos used are from Metropolitan Productions.