11 Sept 2006 Forbidden City +++++ By David Chew Show needs to engage audience if it’s to make grand debut abroad WHAT: Forbidden City WHEN: Until Sept 30 WHERE: Esplanade Theatre. Tickets from Sistic THIS may be the third staging of the Singapore Repertory Theatre’s best- known production of the past four years, but the brains behind Forbidden City have some work to do if this is meant to be a dry run before the musical is taken abroad. Forbidden City recounts the life of China’s Empress Dowager Cixi (Kit Chan plays the young empress, Sheila Francisco the older one) through the eyes of a sympathetic American portrait painter (Leigh McDonald) who wants to get at the true story behind the reclusive and misunderstood dragon lady. Recounting the tumultuous period of the empress’ late 19th century reign, the musical does succeed in creating a suitably exotic atmosphere through its use of lights, sound and set design. The overall quality of the singing during Saturday afternoon’s matinee performance was also encouraging, even if Kit’s voice faltered at times. Where the musical falls short is in its ability to get the audience involved in the story. Trying to cover too much of the history in a three-hour musical (with intermission) only makes the production seem rushed, the storytelling seem linear and predictable and the characters come across as flat and under- developed. Sadly, it’s hard to summon much of a response to Kit Chan’s show- stopping number Why Dream of Love when everything that came before seems to have rushed right past. Judging from past reviews of the musical, the core of the production remains unchanged and is thus open to the same sorts of criticism. The difference is that, this time, the musical is being prepared to tour the world, making it more important than ever to re-evaluate the script. --

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