[It's My Life]
Last night I went to catch the musical It's My Life at the NUS University Cultural Centre.



The first thing that surprised me was that the musical was held in the theatre. I never knew that there was a theatre there even though I have been there quite a few times for the Prime Minister's National Day Rally. It was tucked in the corner and very much hidden.

The second was that I felt some of the elements resembled Kuo Pao Kun's Lao Jiu- about chasing dreams, about the education system but It's My Life stuck a heavier chord. The musical is about a group of 10 teens from different backgrounds and their individual struggles - school, love, sex and chasing dreams.

Initially the first few songs were quite bland with some of the singing not spectacular. But as the plot went deeper into the lives of the ten teens, it sounded all too familiar. I could identify with them because I went through some of the events myself.

There are two excerpts which really provide a little information about what the musical is about:

Don't tell me I lack direction
I can't say sorry for the things I haven't done
I've not walked far away to leave a trail

Take me back to the place I was young and free
Don't push and make me into a person I'll never be
This face is not what I want to see



There were set changes too! I feel that in any musical or theatre set changes are important. I love seeing how the backdrops move up and down and how the lights change colour to suit the mood.



The stories are sometimes funny and some can make you cry. It is interspersed with their sharing of issues close to their heart and is also about their journey as they prepared for the musical. The sharing sessions were sort of a dialogue with the audience.

There were stories about teenage pregnancy, the divorce of parents, being forced by parents to go into Science instead of Arts, how parents can be such a nag, living alone in Singapore and falling in love. One of the many funny parts involved Facebook. I laughed non-stop.



The five-piece band played well too. Loved some of the songs especially the love ones.