Sherlock Sam – The Musical!
Dream Academy
Capitol Theatre
Last Friday, 7.30pm
The Sherlock Sam book series is one of Singapore’s unique exports. The adventures of the country’s greatest kid detective Samuel Tan Cher Lock and his friends, the Supper Club, have been running for a decade, during which the books have been translated into six languages, including Chinese, Korean, Turkish and Arabic.
The series, created by husband-and-wife team A.J. Low (Adan Jimenez and Felicia Low-Jimenez), has 17 titles and shows no signs of stopping. From the 97-page first book, Sherlock Sam And The Missing Heirloom In Katong, the mysteries faced by Sherlock Sam have only grown in complexity.
The latest title, Sherlock Sam And The Kidnapped Gamer In Taipei, has 247 pages and takes place in Taiwan, after Sherlock Sam has tackled – and solved – cases in London, Seoul and New York.
So it seemed apt, on the series’ 10th anniversary, that it is brought to life on stage. Directed by Dream Academy founder Selena Tan and starring comic veteran Andrew Marko as Sherlock Sam, this musical holds much promise and will play to more than 1,000 schoolchildren during its run.
But last Friday’s show was a strangely low-energy affair, with laboured choreography and anodyne songs. The cast was too focused on keeping time and hitting poses, and the kids sat in silence.
For this musical, Dream Academy has chosen the series’ second case, one about the detective and his friends encountering strange moanings at Fort Canning Hill during a school excursion. With Fort Canning’s history as a war bunker and ancient burial ground for Malay kings, it does not take long for the crew to turn their minds to the supernatural, amid debate over the correct pronunciation of “poltergeist”.
An avid science buff, Sherlock Sam insists on returning later that night to prove that ghosts do not exist. He is helped by punctuality-obsessed sister Wendy (Kimberly Chan); best friend Jimmy (Benedict Hew), whose earnest exertions left the actor panting on stage after curtains; sensitive new student Nazhar (Fadhil Daud); and pretty but aloof Eliza (Gaby Rae).
All five actors tried to pass off as primary school students, but only Hew and Rae were successful.
There was a general lack of sprightliness (this was the third show that day) though Rae’s strong singing voice lifted the proceedings.
Another bright spot was puppeteer Mitch Leow, the man behind Sherlock Sam’s sentient robot Watson. Even behind the contraption, he leaned into his role with an admirable animatedness and a dancer’s fluidity.
Meanwhile, veteran actor R. Chandran gave a valiant performance in butt-of-the-joke roles of two cleaners and a policeman.
Somewhere in this first attempt at an adaptation is a story of friendship, humility and perhaps active citizenry. If Dream Academy has its eye on future instalments – a song at the end introduces members of the Supper Club and could easily become a theme song – it will have to tweak the current “hypothesis” to give this likeable series the staging it deserves.
Book it/Sherlock Sam – The Musical!
Where: Capitol Theatre
When: Till May 20, various timings
Admission: From $38
Info: str.sg/iJ36
