Entertainment Tonight

Remember my rave reivew of Guangzhou Acrobatic Troupe's Journey to the West.

I don't talk about it much on the blog but we actually watch a lot of shows - I'm not referring to the movies. About twice a month. It may not seem like a lot to some of you but for someone who has missed out the past 5 years she was in France, this is entertainment heaven.

I'm going to review some of our other favorite shows of the year - the most recent being The Merchants of Bollywood. My Indian colleague was surprised to hear that I bought tickets for this show. Ha he hasn't met Bollywood's biggest fan - The Girl.

I loved it. So what if I don't know what they are singing, the music is catchy, the costumes glamorous (they had SO many changes), high energy level and above all, great dance moves. Be it free form Western or classical Indian dance - they were just a joy to watch. And the audience was lapping it all up, cheering & clapping all the way. Now that's entertainment folks.

Our number one favorite show goes to Korean comedic martial arts group, Jump ! Be sure to catch them the next time they come to town. It had us in stitches the entire time. There was audience participation, fancy martial arts moves but mostly, they were just plain funny.

They built the Arena Stadium Waterfront just for Reverie - Cirque on Ice. Although it is touted as Cirque du Soleil on ice, the show is really made up of 2 parts - skating & acrobatic performances. After the show, I was surprised to read that there is a storyline so needless to say, it was inconsequential compared to the spectacle of acrobatic, effects & costumes.

If you remember that we met in Havana, it should be no surprise that we went to watch the Afro Cuban All Stars. I love Latin Music. The musicians were very old school, performing in suits & wing tipped shoes. By the 3rd song, the audience was already spilling over to the aisles dancing & swaying to the music.

Sowesto - a South African Gospel Choir was another of our favorite. Their colorful traditional dress, animated dancing, drums & perfect harmony will make a believer of you. It is a very powerful & inspiring performance. You have to watch it live to feel their energy & passion.

There are shows that I pick because it will appeal to The Girl. In general, I don't like to watch kiddie shows because well, they tend to be very kiddie & I don't fancy watching a bunch of cartoon characters parading on stage. Those productions are very popular here but I guess I'm just fussy about what we watch.

But there are a couple of shows that appealed to both young & old. One of them is Duck & Dive. I made a note of the production company & wanted to make sure I catch their other performances. The storyline borrows from 2 classics - the ugly duckling & the frog prince. The music score & lyrics are catchy. The acting credible. More importantly, we all enjoyed it.

Despite being disappointed with SingDollar Musical, I wanted to give our local productions another try. Thank god Beauty & the Beast delivered. It was so much fun. Over the top costumes & a dialogue sprinkled with local humor. Very kitschy. Very fun. Even though this is not your typical children's show, The Girl loved it & this is exactly the type of show that we love - something we can watch as a family.

So dear readers, what about you ? Anything you watched that inspired you & that you would recommend ?