Hotpants | 4/5

SINGAPORE — To be honest, I vaguely remember not being impressed by the 1997 version of Dick Lee’s Hotpants. Well, if only because I was then a four-year-old child who was dragged by her mother to come along with her to the theatre. I guess the lyrics’ “girly problems” didn’t quite cut it for me back then.

Fast forward to the current restaging and, yes, I’m now a convert. It was, in many ways, phenomenal, really.

Hotpants is Hairspray meets Dreamgirls. Set in the conservative ’70s, the tale is told through Penny (Cheryl Tan), a secondary school outcast who, because she can play the guitar, is suddenly accepted by popular girls Daphne (Kimberly Chan) and Sharon (Tabitha Nauser), who want to join the school’s Talentime competition. On the other hand, you’ve got their respective unusual mothers: “Wooden panty”-wearing Nellie (Eleanor Tan), vain housewife Connie (Denise Tan) and the very sexy and sexually frustrated single mum Suzy (Nikki Muller), who takes one night of drinking a bit too far with teenager Desmond (Joakim Gomez), who happens to be Sharon’s boyfriend! Things, as expected, unravel.

We’re already familiar with the talents of Singapore Idol alums Gomez and Nauser, but it’s Cheryl Tan who surprises, her clear, crisp voice slicing through the air right from the opening song.

The cast was hilarious and ever charming, and the characters’ distinct traits and personalities thoroughly engaged us. And even Lee himself seemed to be having fun, dishing out side-splitting jokes that occasionally alluded to his own works (“Fried Rice Circumcise” anyone?). Yes, the tunes are unique, but the jokes are better.

Too bad we couldn’t hear most of the lyrics half the time—particularly during certain solo performances, where actors failed to project over the band’s booming percussion, leaving us to strain our ears to catch words fired out at breakneck speed.

Nonetheless, Hotpants had an air of confidence to it. You could almost hear Lee going: “This will definitely be a hit.” And it really looked like it was — the audiences adored this updated version (complete with One Direction wisecracks and sexual banter).