Be not put off by the photo of what looks to be a very ugly transvestite
I was invited today to the press conference for Citylights Chicago 2006: Return to Beauty World - the University of Chicago's Singaporean and Malaysian Students' Union's forthcoming production of Michael Chiang and Dick Lee's Beauty World on 15th April 2006. For some reason, I was ushered to the Press row - probably someone on top's idea of a joke.
The musical will be directed by Andy Tan, and Adela Foo, Fang Yihan and Ng Weiyi will be in the musical directorial team. Lighting will be done by Chan Suven and makeup by MAC Cosmetics.
At this time, the people involved in the production, the makeup company, the legal advisors and the sponsors are all from Singapore, which made me wonder if this was going to be another product of the ghettoization of Singaporean students in the Mid-West: quintessentially Singaporean, by Singaporeans, for Singaporeans. My fears were partially allayed by information that they are currently seeking sponsorship on the American side too and working the ground there too.
Just like sneaky NUSSU and NUSPA, their Singaporean And Malaysian Students' Union (SAMSU) co-opts all incoming Singaporean and Malaysian freshmen into it, so they have an impressive paper strength of 80. However, not only are there people like My Favourite Misanthrope, not everyone can sing, dance and more importantly, do both at the same time (which is needed for a musical). Perhaps partially due to this, casting will be opened to all, but priority will be given to those who look and act the part, so it seems Singaporeans will fill the roles, followed by Asian-Americans and then those of non-Asian descent (Caucasians will supposedly only fill the chorus roles). Racially blind casting is still not universal (perhaps because a disproportionate amount of theatrical talent is still white), so this factor can probably be overlooked.
Maybe the year after next they can do something Malaysian for a change. In the meantime, if you're in Chicago on 15th April 2006, I can think of worse ways to spend US$10.
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Chicago has a lot of tests. For one module, someone told me there were 3 mid-terms (hah!) and 1 final exam. Squeezed into 10 weeks, that's an exam every 2 1/2 weeks.