INTRODUCTION

The musical Home, Truly nearly got cancelled. Ten days before the production date, five of key players, comprising 50% of the main cast came down with COVID-19. Without these lead players the show certainly could not go on. Luckily they all fully recovered and tested negative after a few days, and no-one else fell ill. Phew! Green light!

 

Home, Truly the musical is immensely enjoyable. Every element clicked together perfectly and created a beautiful work of art.

 

THE STORY

The theme of Home, Truly is about how university hall of residence boarders have two homes: the first in this case is Raffles Hall of the National University of Singapore and the second is one’s own family home. The plot revolves around Axel, a bright-eyed freshman of the university who is full of energy and wants to take part in many societies including music and sports. But he has to balance time spent at the university and the expectations of his family at home, especially in taking care of his disabled wheelchair-bound sister. Things take a turn for the worse when Axel’s father is badly injured at a workplace accident. His mother has to take care of father in hospital, and nobody is at home to look after his sister. Other frustrations encountered by Axel include when he is thrown out of the singing group by the brilliant but faultfinding perfectionist Roxane, and when his basketball rapper friends, the BackSeat Boys, play a joke on him which turns sour, Axel is on the verge of leaving the hall. Fortunately, a final year university friend, Henry, acts as a mediator and helps repair the fractured friendships, and brings everyone back together. The family joins the hall residents in singing the finale song “We are one family after all”.

 

COMMENTS

What is particularly memorable in this production is the high quality of singing, dancing and acting. The leads Axel (Teo Hsin Yeong) and Roxane (Tan Si Yi) sung very clearly and manage some of the complex songs with alacrity. I also liked the voices of Rachel (Sherise Tan) and Henry (Ang Wee Kiat); also I cannot forget the Backstreet Boys who were so energetic and hilarious (Wong Jun Xiang, Kee Song Yang and Thomas Chuah). Axel's family, including his siter Amanda (Tong Joymin), his Mother (Anika Lee) and Father (Raymond Sng) all added to the pathos of the musical. Every word could be heard clearly, and they all sang in tune.

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The other striking thing about this musical is the well-designed sets which beautifully captured the different locations, from the university function room, the home sitting/dining room, the mini performance stage, and the hall student room. 

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Home, Truly touches on many contemporary issues affecting Singaporeans, including the COVID-19 pandemic, workplace safety, mental health and work-life balance in the educational system. Raynard Tay wrote the book of the musical, and he deserves the congratulations. The songs range from happy to sad and to triumphant. The singing is excellent, accompanied by a small orchestra. The dance is imaginatively and brilliantly choreographed. The backdrop scenery, the sound and lighting system, are all very well done. The teamwork is really impressive.