The Lena Show
The Movie Musical reviewed by Kenneth Lyen
The high concept of the show is that the protagonist, police detective Lena, is totally unaware that she is living in an artificial world scripted by Ritchie, her boss and police chief. It is only a bit later that the audience is informed of this simulated reality and that the entire story and plot are entirely fabricated.
It starts off as a murder mystery but we are given hints that there was no murder because the dead body is able to move spontaneously. We are then brought to a scene where the suspected murderer, Rachel, is caught and Lena and Ritchie are interrogating her. During the questioning, Rachel claims that all the crimes taking place in the city are actually committed by the mafia, and that in return for freeing her, she would lead the police to the mafia hideout. However, Rachel is actually part of the mafia and makes an about-turn and has Lena captured by the mafia.
Rachel then makes another shift in stance, and informs Lena of the truth, namely, that the world they are living in is a forged deception. In the meantime police chief Ritchie finds out that Rachel has betrayed him, and orders his police force to shoot the mafia so that Lena will continue to believe they are out to capture the mafia.
Ritchie is afraid that if Lena discovers the truth that the world she is living in is a scripted drama, she will realise she has been exploited, and will no longer want to be part of this make-believe set, and thus this entire TV show will end, something that he has spent the past 20 years building up.
The Lena Show is produced by Teoh Jun Jie and Karena Chin Hwee Hua.
It is directed by Wong Si Ya, Jason Ku Wai Yee, and Chew Xin Jie.
The script is written by Erik Lars Loo Yang Rui and edited by Ignatius Koh Zhongren and Darren Tan. Everyone deserves high praise for successfully tackling this tricky topic, and managing to pull it off.
It is written as a musical with melodic tunes and lyrics by a team of songwriters, music directors including Sun Yu Pei, Phang Jun Leng and Chong Kai Yu, and they are tasked with the difficult job of converting the complex plot into intelligible song and dance drama.
The choral team include Teo Jia Yu, Ken Timothy Limanza and Sherry Chew Zhi Hui.
Dance is an important component of musical theatre, and the choreography in this musical is engaging and the dancing well-synchronised. The team includes Shirlene Tan Zhi Hui, Shannon Yong Xiao Ying, Marcus Lai Zhe Li, Jermaine Ng Wei Hao and Jane Ang Kang Qing. They deserve strong commendation.
The cinematographic team responsible for filming The Lena Show include Jason Ku Wai Yee, David Liu Kangxun and Brian Wong Chong Jun. This could be the start of their future Oscar-winning careers!
The main character, Lena is played by Eu Hui Sin and she pulls it off, believable as someone who has been deceived into thinking hers is a real world, upset when she learns the truth. Rachel, played by Gwee Lee En-Yi, is initially made out to be the villain, but in the end she is the good dude trying to tell Lena the truth. Ritchie is played by Christopher Goh Liang Chia, and this police chief turns out to be the selfish reprobate who is trying to deceive Lena that the TV world is real.
The mafia boss Geoff is played Xu Tianhan, and is portrayed as a fairly nice guy. Chloe, the junior detective is played by Charn Xin, and plays a good supporting role.
The Master of Raffles Hall, Stella Tan, makes a cameo appearance driving a luxury car which contrasts with the rest of the cast who either walk or ride bicycles, and are therefore eco-friendly. The JCRC and SCRC teams need to be congratulated for their hard work in managing the first movie musical of Raffles Hall. Thanks to Teo Ru Min, Nicole Low Yi Lian, Prof Stella Tan, Prof Feng Mengling ‘Mornin”, and Nguyen Tri Tin. Your hard work is greatly appreciated!
The over-arching theme of this film is that the world we are living in is like a reality TV show, and we cannot distinguish fiction from reality. The Truman Show starring Jim Carrey also tackles this same theme and is the inspiration of The Lena Show. The exploration of this philosophical concept is really difficult to pull off, but Raffles Hall can be applauded for achieving such a tremendous success!
Congrats!
Kenneth Lyen
6 February 2022
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