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SINGAPORE : Newsflash: The aliens have arrived and are taking over Singapore! Well, just the Singapore Expo.
Cartoon Network's alien-morphing boy hero Ben 10 comes alive in a theatrical extravaganza, "Cartoon Network Live on Stage - Power of the Omnitrix", at the Singapore Expo from December 4.
Fans and action enthusiasts will be catapulted into the electrifying world of Ben 10 as skateboarding stunts, thrilling acrobatics, adrenaline-pumping action scenes, combined with state-of-the-art special effects take audiences on an incredible adventure.
"It is very exciting. I mean, if I were a kid at that age, I'd be beside myself," producer Nick Larkin said in an interview with Primetime Morning.
"It really is a beautiful piece of theatre. It has traditional theatre sets but it also has all these projections, so it's a very modern production. [And there's a] great circus, break dancing, all sorts of skills like that."
Featuring 14 characters, including Ben (David Harrison), his cousin Gwen Tennyson (Khali Grimshaw), and Grandpa Max (Paul Holmes), you can also expect new alien superheroes Rock and Squidstrictor from the cartoon's second season "Ben 10: Alien Force", and villains such as Vilgax and Highbreed Commander.
The cast is made up of performers from Australia and Argentina, many of whom are acrobats, gymnasts or break dancers.
"They play some of the different aliens and the different cast members in the show, and the stunts are absolutely breathtaking.
"Right from the very first scene, you see them come out and the applause speaks for itself. They never cease to amaze me and they have been teaching me some stuff as well," said actor David Harrison who plays the titular character Ben.
And it is not just the stunts and action sequences that are physically-demanding, so is performing in the larger-than-life costumes.
Said Harrison, "If you've seen the show, the aliens are so extraordinary, they've got different body parts... so they've [the cast] got to manage these different bodies and they are doing extremely well."
Larkin agreed. "It still amazes me the tricks they can do in those costumes, I mean Vilgax (Ben's primary nemesis) is three and a half metres tall, he's huge, and the way he moves around that stage..."
While the characters are what draws fans to "Power of the Omnitrix", it is definitely the ending that steals the show – for both the audience as well as the cast.
Fans can decide how the stage show ends by logging on to the Ben 10 official website at www.ben10.net to vote for their favourite ending. Even the actors are kept in suspense "to keep them on their toes".
"We wanted to keep the show very interactive, so we have three alternate endings," said Larkin.
"And the actors actually only find out the ending they are going to play minutes before we get to that sequence."
Said Harrison, "It's been quite a different response because the kids actually get to go online to choose... and there's just been different response in each [ending].
"They love it. Once they find out what happens at the end, they go crazy, 'Ah yes, I chose that ending! I got to see that! I chose for Ben 10!'"
And it's not just going to be one ending for each city. Depending on the voting results, you might actually be treated to another ending on a different day.
"Last week we were in Kuala Lumpur, we played quite a couple of different endings so that was really great," said the Melbourne-based actor.
"Cartoon Network Live on Stage - Power of the Omnitrix" runs from December 4-6 at the Singapore Expo Hall 3. Tickets are available from Sistic.
- CNA/il
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