Dick Lee directs revival of his musical Hotpants

Singapore singer-songwriter Dick Lee is back to doing what he does best - mashing music and comedy together in perfect harmony.

As part of celebrating his 40th anni- versary in show business this year, the 57-year-old will be staging a revival of his 1970s-themed musical comedy Hotpants, which he wrote and directed in 1997.

Hotpants, set in 1972 Singapore, features 10 quirky characters coming to terms with the changing times. The story focuses on the journey of three mother-daughter pairs, whose lives take a turn when the three girls decide to join an inter-school Talentime competition.

Since 1988, Lee has written many musicals, including Beauty World, Fried Rice Paradise, Kampong Amber, Sing To The Dawn and Forbidden City.

More recently, he has ventured into uncharted waters such as holding a solo art exhibition last October and writing war-time play Rising Son, which was staged in March.

Next year, he will be directing his first feature film with the movie Sunshine Girls, produced by Singapore's mm2 Entertainment and Modernasia Studios.

Lee says: "All these opportunities give me room to grow and I'm grateful that there are companies willing to put their money on me in letting me explore new areas. Knowing I have so much support makes trying these things less scary."

He is understandably excited to return to his forte, adding: "Even though I'm doing these new things, at the end of the day, the essence of what I am is really in this show. In Hotpants, I can just be me."

Hotpants is close to his heart because he created it from scratch and put the project together himself, he says. "This is a show I wanted to do for myself. I didn't follow any guidelines or rules. I just wrote what I felt inside and it ended up becoming something I enjoyed doing."

This is the musical's second run. The original 1997 cast included veterans Kumar, Jacintha Abisheganaden, Tan Kheng Hua and the late Emma Yong, but this year's production features a new ensemble including Denise Tan from The Dim Sum Dollies and Singapore Idol alumni Tabitha Nauser, Joakim Gomez and Dwayne Tan.

Nauser and Gomez are thrilled to be working with ex-Idol judge Lee again.

Nauser, 22, the second runner-up in the third season of Singapore Idol in 2009, says: "The moment I knew Dick was going to be directing Hotpants, I knew I wanted to be a part of this."

Gomez, 25, who came in fifth in the second season in 2006, says it was an honour that Lee asked him to try out for the show.

Both are not new to theatre. Hotpants is Nauser's second musical, while Gomez was in local parody show Chestnuts in 2009.

Nauser previously starred in the semi-fictional musical National Broadway Company presented by the Esplanade in 2012, playing Singapore singer Abisheganaden in her younger days.

The early 1970s holds fond memories for Lee, who says: "This period is so dear to me because it was when everything began."

He started his entertainment career in 1971 at the age of 15 by participating in talent contests with the bands Harmony and Dick And The Gang, before releasing his first album Life Story in 1974, featuring his original compositions.

With his extensive experience working on musicals, it comes as a surprise that this is only his second time in the director's seat, the last being 1997's Hotpants.

He says with a laugh: "I've always felt that if anyone knows musicals best in Singapore, it's got to be me. Yet nobody has asked me to direct over the years and I've been waiting to do this for so long."

He says he has been asked by Hotpants producer Annie Pek to direct an upcoming adaptation of Beauty World, one of the best known local musicals and first staged in 1988.

He is excited to give his take on the show, which has been helmed by four different directors in the past.

With an illustrious music career spanning 40 years - high points include becoming a regional pop star with his 1989 album The Mad Chinaman and receiving the Cultural Medallion in 2005 - one wonders how Lee has managed to stay in the game for so long in an industry where success may be fleeting.

He says: "I feel very fortunate to still be here because there are not many entertainers who survive this long. I guess the key is to keep doing new things and yet revisit the old."

Book it

HOTPANTS THE MUSICAL

Where: Drama Centre Theatre

When: Aug 14 to 30, Tuesday to Saturday, 8pm; Tuesday to Thursday and Saturday matinee, 3pm; Sunday matinee, 2pm

Info: $40 to $83 from Sistic (call 6348-5555 or go to sistic.com.sg)