剧评：Secondary: The Musical

 

凯门剧场《中学》音乐剧谢幕。（作者提供）

Curtain call of Checkpoint Theatre's Secondary: The Musical. (Photo by Writer)

《歌之肺腑》——观《中学》音乐剧（Secondary: The Musical）

文 / 郭毅杰

两年前，我在截止当日匆忙完成并呈交大学的最后一份作业，便即刻上网查询余票——周四当晚Cat 2跟3全面售罄，仅剩五六张Cat 1。票价不菲，我却毅然将其当作送给自己十六年教育的一份成年礼。本来没打算进剧院看戏，乍似为学生观众打造的剧种，加上前导预告片非传统芭乐的主题歌，以及近乎默默无名的演员卡司，都难以在第一时间吸引大众。不过，难得三两脸书好友（本地英文文坛人士）发文对其赞不绝口，于是决定一睹为快，怎料竟一试成主顾。

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《中学》音乐剧去年荣获《海峡时报》生活！戏剧奖年度剧作，今年重演，说是乘胜追击也好，不可否认是明智地打铁趁热，毕竟叫好又叫座便是票房保证。本次演出表面上异动不大，固然有人观出其中编排微调的精益求精，我则留意到这次特别安排替补演员，以防演员病倒开天窗，而这通常是国外制作才具备的规格。毕竟首演首周主演声带受损，编剧兼词曲创作人weish临危上阵；而这次重演换另一位主演脚踝扭伤，所幸事前部署周全，替补演员接演得天衣无缝，表现亦旗鼓相当。

以校园为题材的作品极易沦为直线性的样板cringe，尤其配以音乐剧的演出形式或会更甚。然而，《中学》给予故事充裕的时间与空间开枝散叶，让每一个人物根植观众心目。Lilin是Huxley中学3F放牛班的英文文学老师，下得管教与培育学生，上则需向主任与校长汇报、周旋；他一心希望调往总部从事课程规划，却必须先通过教学（以及为人处事）的重重考核。

学生群以Ming、Omar、Reyansh三人死党为核心，他们不仅面对短期的升学压力，更须直面各自的人生成长课题，在处理家庭碎片的同时，也不断思索自我的声音定位。教师群方面，则有外表铁腕、内里柔软的文学主任Mandy，还有喜剧担当、滑稽幽默的数学老师Charlie。剧中没有任何角色是滥竽充数，就连六位群戏演员也各自一人分饰至少三角：学生、老师，甚至Lilin被拟人化的情绪与价值观。

有人诟病全剧时长略显冗长，但我认为，若要使戏剧达到如此面面俱到且相当完整的程度，充分赋予每个角色其身而为人该有的主体性，并直面探讨种族／阶级、权力体系，同时不回避心理健康议题，那么近三个小时的长度并不过分。时间是最好的发酵剂。

无论时长还是风格，《中学》显然都不同于大众对传统大型音乐剧的认知。它没有《歌剧魅影》或《悲惨世界》的典型芭乐，反而更接近Hamilton和SIX这类当代音乐剧：编剧与歌曲创作由同一个／群人完成，以至故事内容和音乐形式得以相辅相成。weish为剧中六位主要角色量身打造各自的主题曲——例如Omar的“Buang Aku”以饶舌说唱被离异父亲抛弃的痛楚；Charlie的“Because Why”则以偏爵士的曲风理性算数处世之道——每一首既贴合人物语言与性格，又紧扣剧情发展，同时亦能独立成歌。

本剧的创意设计同样出色。凯门剧场及其多位长期合作的设计师携手打造汇聚声色的音乐剧，从布景灯光到服装妆发，乃至创意字幕，皆堪称本地剧场典范。值得一提的是，凯门跟weish特别邀请活跃于本地独立音乐圈的Ian Lee与Daniel Alex Chia负责编曲制作，使一些不常见于音乐剧舞台的乐器音色得以呈现，带来耳目一新的听觉体验，曲风亦变化多端而不显单调。尤其最后的重唱组曲，几乎将全剧曲目以电子编曲重新整合，而导演、编舞与演员等在此基础上建构出压轴场景，其完成度甚至不逊于西区与百老汇制作。

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郭宝崑在一次演讲中将新加坡现代剧场分为六类，其二为“消费的剧场”，论及商业性质的西方音乐剧与演唱会促成民众忽视自身文化的失落，丧失自己的感性与敏锐。二十年过去，新加坡的情况似乎未有根本改变，甚至有过之而无不及。而《中学》音乐剧不经意地遥相回应其话语：我们固然能搬演外国音乐剧经典，也能制作点唱机音乐剧。我们同样具备整合本地剧场与各文化艺术领域人才的能力，去回应当下（尤其是青年）的社会议题，关怀独立文化产业，并在此基础上原地创作出真正能引发观众共鸣与共情的（音乐）剧作。只要有心。

参考资料

柯思仁《导论：郭宝崑的批判性剧场与新加坡认同的建构》，载柯思仁、潘正镭编《郭宝崑全集•第三卷•华文戏剧3•1990年代》（新加坡：实践表演艺术中心、八方文化创作室，2009 年），页xiii–xxviii。

剧评刊登于《联合早报》艺评

关于演出：2026年04月11日，8PM，维多利亚剧院，凯门剧场呈现

演出详情：https://checkpoint-theatre.org/event/stm-2026/

《中学》音乐剧（2026年）预告片。

Trailer of Secondary: The Musical (2026).

"Baik Hati" —Review of Secondary: The Musical

Review by Quek Yee Kiat

Translated by Quek Yee Kiat (polished with ChatGPT)

Two years ago, I hurriedly completed and submitted my final university assignment just before the deadline, then immediately went online to check for remaining tickets—Cat 2 and Cat 3 were completely sold out for that Thursday evening, with only five or six Cat 1 seats left in the stalls. The price was steep, but I nevertheless decided to gift myself this coming-of-age present after sixteen years of formal education. I had not intended to watch the show in the first place: it appeared to be aimed at a student audience; its trailer did not feature a conventional musical ballad; and the cast lacked recognisable star power. Altogether, these factors made it difficult to attract audiences at first glance. However, a handful of Facebook friends (local English-language writers) posted glowing praise of the musical, and I decided to give it a shot—little did I know I would end up completely won over.

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Secondary: The Musical returned this year following its Production of the Year win at The Straits Times Life! Theatre Awards last year. One might call it a strategic move, but it is undeniably a wise one—after all, it is rare for a production to win over both critics and theatregoers, a combination that almost guarantees box-office success. 

At first glance, this restaging does not appear to differ significantly from its original run. While keen-eyed audiences may notice subtle refinements in staging, what stood out to me was the introduction of understudies—ensuring that the show can go on even if an actor falls ill, a practice more commonly seen in overseas productions. During the initial run, Genevieve (who plays Lilin) suffered a vocal injury in the first week, prompting playwright-composer weish to step in at the last minute. In this staging, Rebekah (who plays Mandy) sustained an ankle injury; fortunately, the foresight of assigning understudies allowed Nadya to step in seamlessly.

A school-based narrative can easily lapse into linear, stereotypical cringe—arguably even more so in musical form. Yet Secondary grants its story ample time and space to unfold, allowing each character to take root in the audience’s consciousness. Lilin is an English literature teacher at Huxley Secondary School, in charge of the so-called “bottom” class, 3F. She must discipline and nurture her students while simultaneously reporting to—and appeasing—the demands of her superiors. She dreams of going to headquarters to work in curriculum planning, but must first pass a series of tests, both as a teacher and as a person.

Ming, Omar, and Reyansh form the core trio among the students of 3F. Beyond the immediate pressures of academic promotion, they grapple with broader questions of growing up, each confronting familial fractures while searching for their own voice and sense of self. Among the teachers, the seemingly iron-fisted yet quietly compassionate Department Head Mandy stands alongside Charlie, the humorous and endearingly eccentric Mathematics teacher who provides comic relief. No character feels superfluous: even the six ensemble performers each take on at least three roles—as students, teachers, and even as personifications of Lilin’s inner emotions and values.

Some have criticised the show’s runtime as overly long. However, I would argue that in order to achieve such breadth and completeness—fully fleshing out each character’s subjectivity, while directly engaging with issues of race, class, power structures, and mental health—a duration of nearly three hours is entirely justified. Time is the best catalyst after all.

In both duration and style, Secondary departs from what most audiences might expect of a conventional large-scale musical. It lacks the grand, sweeping ballads of The Phantom of the Opera or Les Misérables, and instead aligns more closely with contemporary works such as Hamilton and SIX, where the book, music, and lyrics are created by the same artist or team—allowing narrative and musical form to work in tandem. weish crafts distinct musical identities for each of the six principal characters: Omar’s “Buang Aku” employs rap to convey the pain of abandonment by an estranged father, while Charlie’s “Because Why” adopts a jazz-inflected style to rationalise life’s practicalities. Each number is attuned to the character’s voice and mannerisms, tightly integrated into the narrative, yet capable of standing independently.

The production’s creative design is equally commendable. Checkpoint Theatre collaborates once again with their longtime creative partners to deliver a richly textured musical experience—from set and lighting to costume, hair, and make-up—setting a benchmark for local theatre. Particularly noteworthy is the inclusion of local indie musicians Ian Lee and Daniel Alex Chia as arrangers and producers. Their contributions introduce instrumental textures and sonic palettes seldom heard in musical theatre, resulting in a dynamic and varied soundscape. The final reprise is especially striking: a pulsating electronic medley that weaves together much of the show’s musical material, providing a powerful foundation upon which the director, choreographers, and performers construct a rousing finale—one that rivals productions in the West End and on Broadway.

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In a speech, Kuo Pao Kun identified six categories of modern Singapore theatre, one of which he termed “theatre that consumes”. He argued that commercially driven Western musicals and concerts risk causing audiences to neglect their own cultural identities, dulling their emotional acuity and sensitivity. Twenty years on, Singapore appears much the same—if not more so. Yet Secondary: The Musical seems, perhaps unintentionally, to offer a distant response to this concern. 

We are capable of staging foreign musical classics, and of producing jukebox musicals. But we are equally capable of bringing together local talents across theatre and the wider arts community, engaging meaningfully with contemporary (especially youth-related) social issues, and supporting independent cultural ecosystems—creating original works that resonate deeply with local audiences.

As long as we baik hati.

References

Kuo Pao Kun, “Uprooted and Searching”, in John O’Toole and Kate Donelan, eds., Drama Culture and Empowerment: The IDEA Dialogues (Brisbane: IDEA Publications, 1996), pp. 167–174.

This review was first published in Lianhe Zaobao under Arts Review.

This review was written following the performance on 11 April 2026, 8pm, at Victoria Theatre, presented by Checkpoint Theatre.

Show details: https://checkpoint-theatre.org/event/stm-2026/