Prior to the catching it, I caught the YouTube clip of the production last year. I was pleasantly entertained with the catchy songs and hence, took up the invitation from Global Edu Hub.
(Excerpt from last year's production)
We arrived early that morning and hung around Kallang Leisure Park before the play started. (And for the record, I am very proud to say that Mama Sue did not get lost driving there AND back! Ha!) When we arrived, school buses with hordes of school children were arriving too.
Dumpling and I quickly settled in (about 10 mins before the starting time at 10am). However, there was a delay that morning and the musical ended up starting around 10.20/25am. I guess that this was due to the fact that some of the school buses was late. Thankfully, Dumpling did not fuss too much.
As this was our first time at the show, I did not know what to expect. It was quite interesting to note that the production did not use much "props" but instead, used screens to project the different backgrounds and scenes. I particularly enjoyed the effects of a "raining" scene where it looked very lifelike.
Despite the long wait, the show did not disappoint as the music was catchy and there was loads of choreographed movements. I like that some parts of the production were educational - for e.g. it touched on letter introductions, colours of the rainbow, etc.
The screens also helped in pumping up the "fun" element with its colourful and fast animation. Additionally, I like that the show touched on environmental awareness without being too "technical" and this was done through the various magical and mythical characters in the show - mushroom fairies to the guardian of the forest - Unicorn.
One thing I noted was that from Sistic site, it was stated that there was no intermission but for that morning, we had a 20 min interval. Thankfully for us, we were not in a rush (especially with the production having started later than expected) so it did not affect us.
On the production front, the entire production reminded me of Hi-5 which I watched with Dumpling last year (through the invitation of a dear mummy friend) with a similar concept of song and dance. I am no technical and sound expert but one difference I caught on was that the voice-over and songs were pre-recorded unlike Hi-5 who sang "live". I personally felt that because of the pre-recording, it sounded "flat" unlike "live" singing.
Having said that, all the performers did really well with their wide smiles, dance moves and the energy they exuded.
There was also participation garnered from the audiences where the children showed off their grooooovy moves too!
Even Dumpling caught on the dance fever and participated with some her "swim" moves. :p
All in all, Dumpling (and I dare say the rest of the children too, judging from the loud responses and the audience participation) enjoyed herself at the musical. :)
Disclaimer: I received an invitation to watch the musical with Dumpling. All opinions are entirely my own. For purchase of tickets, you may wish to visit Sistic.
