Not Another Drag Show II—Battle of the Divas

23 May 2003

DBS Arts Centre

Review by Jorg

"Wow, everyone so handsome what!"
"Aiyoh, it's my ex over there! Don't look!"

The crowd was full of anticipation as we queued up outside the theatre to have our temperatures taken. We joined our gay Holland Village neighbours and friends who had showed up in full force, not wanting to miss such a momentous occasion.

There was a definite buzz hanging over the gay crowd; looks were exchanged, old friends welcomed, new friends made. Then the bell rung and we went to find our seats. More 'hellos' and 'how are you's' ensued when friends were discovered in the audience. Then the show began...

Sam, Wei and Alan appeared (wow, so pretty in make-up) and started the evening to the tunes of 'Cabaret'. These three and their playful banter were to accompany us all throughout the evening—displaying their camp stage personalities: Sam played the hunky little slut, Wei was also slutty but more shy and Alan was the conflicted closet queen. All very believable because it was rooted in their own personalities, albeit in an exaggerated form (except for Sam). Their voices were amazing and they kept on surprising us with their sheer range. Sam dazzled with his cuteness and wits, Wei with his hunkiness and smile, and Alan ...—Alan's voice is so impressive it cries out to be used professionally.

Their lines were well rehearsed and sounded almost spontaneous, and it was then and in the big show-numbers (when they were joined by the 'dancers'—Eric Ben, Gerald C., Lawrence Tan, Dan Tung, and Ming) that Ming's masterful direction and choreography came through: The costumes, lights, backgrounds and props (rainbow flags and posters about how 'God loves sperm') fitted together seamlessly and beautifully and gave the show a very professional appeal. The director himself (Ming) was happy to be reduced to his role in the background and some daring, flamboyant dance moves.

The songs covered all areas of gay life—from being closeted to longing for 'The Boyfriend' to having 'Sex All Night' and finally having 'One Voice'. Gerald Yong, the 'man' of the group, joined the camp trio a few times and did some amazing solos but since he had a non-camp role, there was less chance to connect with the audience.

One of the tightest numbers (pardon the pun) was Wei's sauna-solo: Everybody found it hard to concentrate on the lyrics while Sean, Jason, Eric and Joseph (did you see those abs??) were cruising in the background, clad in only a towel...

And the audience lapped it up—they came prepared to have a good time, and a great time they had. The laughter roared through the theatre during bitchy numbers of 'Anything You Can Do (I Can Do Better)' and particularly for the highlight of the show, a "battle of the divas" shootout between Mariah (Sam) and Whitney (Alan) to the tune of 'Over The Rainbow'. Hilarious highlights were also Sam's 30-minute stand-up (and the best moments were the non-scripted ones) as well as 'Every Sperm is Sacred', the song about the (conflicted) Roman-Catholic ("Christian and gay...can or cannot? Can? Cannot? Never mind, have sex first!") with the dancers forming a protest march ("God Loves Sperm!").

The second half calmed down a bit and saw impressive solos by all four main singers—and a touching moment when Sam dedicated his song to boyfriend Edward, on the eve of their second anniversary and commitment ceremony.

There was even a boyband-moment when all four —Sam, Alan, Wei and Gerald all in white like F4—performed to 'One Voice', supported by the chorus members.

The audience was ecstatic and the applause was deafening. Flowers rained on the performers (and confetti on the audience). For hours and the whole weekend, THE topic in Taboo, during tea, and in countless SMS's all over the island nation was NADS II and how great it was. It was truly a proud and gay event, and the fact that the few straight viewers also loved it goes a long way towards community-building. It was consummately professional (thanks to director Ming) and we all cannot wait for next year's production.

"Where are the feather boas?" our friend Wilson asked. There were none. In fact, there was no real drag save for Wei—but it was one hell of a show.