As the impending doom of the midterm exams begin treading towards our horizon, the tension of Newton’s general populace has skyrocketed with constant revision to prepare for such an occasion. Yet, the search for relaxation, and comfort during such times has been never ending, until now. Once again, NovaDrama has organised another rendition of the annual musical medley, bringing joy to an audience of over 200 individuals. Although I’m not exactly a drama or theatre enthusiast, I found myself having quite an enjoyable experience watching this whole ordeal. The entirety of the production spanned over two hours of non-stop rhythmic storytelling, consisting of four total shows, with great commentary by Poonya during the break intervals.
For the first show of the event, they presented a short, yet enchanting interpretation of a recently animated movie. The main protagonist was played by Maihom, whom she captured the character’s resilient, yet charming leadership marvelously. As for the show itself, it replicated three of the movie’s songs. Richy, one of the co-stars, was also able to excellently
bring out his character’s admiration for a famous demigod, whilst also projecting his voice very clearly throughout the songs. My favourite section of this story was the sequence where they had performed the song “Get Lost,” which was sung by Chamint extravagantly. This segment was jam-packed, full of constant action and a beautiful orchestra.
During the second show, there were three songs displayed, illustrating a play about one of the founding fathers of the US, Alexander Hamilton. This spectacle highlighted the irreparable damage that deception and cheating could do to the livelihoods of women, showing the rollercoaster of emotions experienced, and the distrust that occurs from such an occurrence. I loved the enthusiasm that was shown by Yuki, Nene, and Ohm. It seemed as if you could see the glimmer in their eyes, and how much their world lit up when they were in the presence of who they thought to be their trusted significant other. This is where Cheer’s character came in, and I believe that he played it to an excellent degree, in how unlikeable and blinded by his self interest he was. His deceptive nature brought out the reactions of the female cast really well, making their outrage completely justified. As for my favourite song played, it has to be their final song, in which Cheer’s character was off screen. It demonstrated the strength within these women, and how their independence can allow them to persevere through such circumstances, whilst still being really catchy.
For the third, and second longest show, they had their own unique spin on another classic story that is supposed to be a technical continuation and prequel to “The Wizard of Oz,” and this play is titled “Cursed.” Although the play only featured a majority of the first Act of the actual musical, I found it to be even more enjoyable. The actors involved in this show all displayed their emotions and their character’s likeness very well, and their choreography was always very synchronised with one another, making the experience all the more immersive. For the limited resources available, I found that the cast was able to replicate the magical nature of Oz nicely.