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SINGAPORE: A friend of mine, having just quit her job to be a homemaker in the midst of the recession, refuses to be bombarded by the constant stream of news on credit crunch and chronic job losses.
Preferring instead to retreat into her snug, well-provided cocoon (Reason being: "There's nothing I can do about it what!"), the only way to pound any sense of reality in her – without bringing on the blues – is to get her to laugh about it.
In comes Dream Academy's 2009 musical offering, Sing Dollar!, which is tailored for those who, like my friend, are looking for some humour in the present downturn.
The theatre production company, which is behind huge local comedy hits like the Dim Sum Dollies and Broadway Beng, is putting up its first, full-length musical about money or rather, the lack of it.
Boasting an "8-in-1 recession laughter package" of top comedians – Selena Tan, Pam Oei, Emma Yong, Hossan Leong, Sebastian Tan, Lim Kay Siu, Kumar and Najip Ali – the story takes place in Singapore's red light district where hawkers, cleaning makciks, beer aunties and prostitutes eke out a living.
Selena, who not only plays a Tiger Beer Aunty, but also wrote the musical, said: "It so happened that while I was deciding whether there was going to be a new Dim Sum Dollies show this year, the financial crisis happened in September '08. Every day, there were reports on banks collapsing, retrenchments and how people were dealing with the economic downturn.
"I was watching events unfold on TV and real life around me and decided that with all this money talk, it would be great to write a new musical comedy about money. Help us and everyone laugh about a very serious situation and find humour in a difficult time."
Besides exploring the notion of what money means to Singaporeans and foreigners residing here, the production also hopes to celebrate resilience and diversity in society.
"The characters (in the show) represent, in many ways, the average man and woman in the street... Geylang, to me, is also part of ordinary life in Singapore, but ordinary certainly does not mean boring!
"These characters and the setting of Geylang allow me to explore very real issues... In my research, I've interviewed prostitutes from the PRC and they have given me valuable insights into their trade and the co-existence between locals and foreigners in Singapore," she explained.
Also keeping it real are cast members Pam, Hossan and Najip, who were interviewed on Channel NewsAsia's Primetime Morning on Friday.
Pam, who plays a Moonlighting Maid in Sing Dollar!, admitted that the recession has hit her in some ways as the number of bread-and-butter corporate gigs has been slashed during these hard times.
But with an ensemble like theirs, it's not hard to leave troubles at the door when they come together for rehearsals.
"Because of all the people who are involved, what we bring to the floor is also very exciting. Sometimes, a line might be a line, but when Najip does something very stupid, we'll be like, 'Wah, that's very funny! Put it in! Put it in!'" Pam recalled, to heaps of laughter all round.
"Yah! It's great to collaborate! We are working with Najip for the first time and we've got Kumar who's playing a man... Kay Siu, Sebastian and the dollies, it's a blast! We just go to rehearsals and LAUGH!" said the ever-youthful Hossan, who turned 40 on Friday.
Hawking the show as a good remedy for recession blues, he added: "Come and relax, and forget about life for a while because I think it's great to step out of that 'Oh my gosh, what am I going to do tomorrow? Where's my next paycheck coming from?'
"Just go and sit down for an evening, have a nice dinner, relax, laugh and you'll realise that you can actually be quite positive about life."
"Yeah, but dinner's not included," Najib asserted quickly.
Sing Dollar! opens at the Esplanade Theatre on July 23. Tickets are available at SISTIC.
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