CRAZY CHRISTMAS
The glamour and glitz of old-school Hollywood come to the stage in this year’s edition of Crazy Christmas, Dream Academy’s annual feel-good Yuletide variety show.
Organised like a musical revue, the show features the top names in Singapore theatre in a heartwarming and irreverent evening.
Following the “silver screen” theme, co-directors Selena Tan and George Chan play Marilyn Monroe and Gene Kelly, comedian Kumar is Audrey Hepburn, Robin Goh plays Fred Astaire and Adrian Pang swaggers on stage as Marlon Brando.
Describing the show’s mix of musical numbers, comedic sketches, dance routines and stand-up comedy, Tan, 39, says: “Crazy Christmas is chapalang, you throw everything in except the kitchen sink.”
The show will alternate between naughty and nice versions. A cleaner cut running from Nov 28 to Dec 2 will feature Hossan Leong as Charlie Chaplin while an R(18) edition featuring risque humour from Kumar will run from Dec 4 to 9.
Tan says: “The show will be very festive. For me, it’s a celebration of friendship, love and joy at the end of the day. It’s the thing I look forward to staging at the end of every year.”
Where: Esplanade Theatre
When: Nov 28 to Dec 9 (8pm, Tuesday to Friday), (4 and 8pm Saturday), (2 and 6pm, Sunday), no shows on Monday
Admission: $17 to $117 from Sistic (call 6348-5555 or go to www.sistic.com.sg)
SANTA CLAUS THE MUSICAL
Singing reindeer, dancing penguins, crows which think they are The Beatles – this show ticks all the boxes for a fail-proof, family-friendly musical.
Performed by a cast from the United Kingdom, the story revolves around Santa Claus and his chief elf Joe trying to stop the Ice Queen and her henchman Jack Frost from cancelling Christmas around the world. Musically, the show includes all the sing-along classics: “Jingle Bells”, “Santa Claus Is Coming To Town”, “Let It Snow” and “Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree”. Take the whole family.
When: Dec 14 to 30, (7.30pm, Tuesdays to Fridays), (1 and 5pm, Saturdays and Sundays)
Where: Marina Bay Sands Grand Theater
Admission: $35 to $175 from Sistic
THE RETURN OF JAZZY CHRISTMAS: DUETS WITH JEREMY MONTEIRO AND FRIENDS
Even Santa will be getting into the groove of this all-star concert by celebrated jazz pianist and Cultural Medallion recipient Jeremy Monteiro and his gang of talented friends.
The King Of Swing will be playing with musicians such as top Asian-American jazz saxophonist Michael Paulo, American vocalist Carmen Bradford, who is from the Grammy award-winning Count Basie Orchestra, and local percussionist Mohamed Noor.
When: Dec 15, 7.30pm
Where: Esplanade Concert Hall
Admission: $35 to $75 from Sistic
SLEEPING BEAUTY
Be awakened by classical ballet’s kiss in this lush production combining a well-known fairy tale, leaping dancers and one of Tchaikovsky’s most well-known scores.
The ballet tells the story of Princess Aurora, who falls into a 100-year sleep after being cursed by a fairy called Carabosse. Then handsome Prince Florimund comes along hunting in the woods and sees a vision of the beautiful Aurora. He immediately falls in love with her and goes on a quest to save her.
Princess Aurora will be played by Rosa Park and Chihiro Uchida, while Prince Florimund will be danced by Chen Peng and Kenya Nakamura.
The production is directed by Singapore Dance Theatre’s artistic director Janek Schergen.
When: Dec 13 and 14, 8pm; Dec 15, 1 and 8pm; and Dec 16, 1 and 7pm
Where: Esplanade Theatre
Admission: $30 to $60 from Sistic
WHERE LOVE IS – CONCERT BY THE SINGAPORE LYRIC OPERA CHILDREN’S CHOIR & FRIENDS
Cherubic singing children singing during Christmas – what is there not to love? So head down to this concert by the Singapore Lyric Opera Children’s Choir. Comprising about 60 children aged eight to 16, the group will be performing a diverse selection of modern repertoire and Christmas classics such as “The Christmas Song”, “Let It Snow” and “Angel’s Carol”.
To add to the spirit of love and inclusion, about 200 other youths from five secondary schools and one junior college will be singing with the Children’s Choir, as part of the opera’s outreach initiative, the Singing For All programme.
Together, they will sing two songs, “Shin-jiru”, a beautiful song by Japanese composer Ko Matsushita about believing, and “Wherever You Are”, a moving love song written by Welsh composer Paul Mealor, most well-known for writing the music to the royal wedding of Prince William and his wife Catherine.
When: Dec 8, 7.30pm
Where: Esplanade Concert Hall
Admission: $15 to $35 from Sistic
T’ANG QUARTET’S UPSIZED CHRISTMAS
Singapore’s most prominent classical music quartet are putting together a quirky Christmas concert combining lesser-known 20th-century pieces and familiar Yuletide favourites.
They will be performing “Minimax” by German composer Paul Hindemith, a comedy string quartet piece that is a parody of marches, polkas and bad players.
There are six mini movements parodying pompous musicians and military music, and even built-in wrong notes in the score.
This will be followed by a polka from The Golden Age, a ballet by Russian composer Dmitri Shostakovich, a satirical take on the political and cultural scene in 1920s Europe.
After all the musical jokery, the quartet will round off the concert with warm and fuzzy festive tunes such as Silent Night and Let It Snow.
When: Dec 22, 7.30pm
Where: Esplanade Concert Hall
Admission: $20 to $40 from Sistic
This article was first published in The Straits Times newspaper on November 13, 2012. For similar stories, go to sph.straitstimes.com/premium/singapore. Please note: To access this section of The Straits Times online you will need to be a subscriber; to subscribe, go to www.sphsubscription.com.sg/eshop.
