Hot & Dusty

Since it's summer here in Melbourne, we have actually had days where the max temperature climbed to almost 30 deg C. Still, the humidity has remained nowhere near Singapore standards, so thank God that it has not been unbearable so far. The weather forecasts had predicted up to 36 deg C last week ( that's higher than the highest recorded temperature in S'pore ), but thankfully, it only went up to 29 deg C, so I have not had to make too many changes to my daily wardrobe.

What's new & hot is the musical DUSTY - a totally new one based on the life & music of one Ms Mary O'Brien, whom the world knew as Dusty Springfield.

I had gotten tickets to the preview shows much earlier ( kiasu S'porean that I am ) & we found ourselves seated in the fourth row or thereabouts during the saturday matinee we attended a week ago.

And what a spectacle it was - colourful, dramatic & totally evocative of the times it portrayed. Kudos to the set & costume design team who created wonderful sets & beautiful & fantastical costumes. It was also an eye-opener as Jane, Nikolle & myself were not too familiar with Dusty's repertoire & even more so, her life story. All I knew was she sang one of my favourite Karaoke songs ( "You Don't Have To Say You Love Me" ) and some really good ones like "I Only Want To Be With You" & had a comeback of sorts in the late 80s with The Pet Shop Boys ( "What Have I Done To Deserve This" ). She died in 1999, having succumbed to cancer & but not before she had been honoured with a "dameship".

It was a revelation to us, this story about her life, including some shocking bits ( at least to us ) about her sexual orientation. Wonder if it will ever travel to Singapore in view of this ? Well, if they had "RENT", I think Dusty should be acceptable too.

Also, unlike "Mamma Mia", which was also a very enjoyable musical featuring the music of ABBA, the writers of Dusty managed to weave songs that were in Dusty's rather extensive & hitherto unknown ( at least to us ! ) into a coherent & poignant story of her roller-coaster life. It was amazing to discover "new" songs, which were all the more meaningful, when placed in this context.

I found the whole musical very moving & actually shed tears at the end when they had the scene about her death. She possessed such talent but was apparently never quite confident of herself, constantly struggling with finding the perfect "sound" and even more sadly, the love & acceptance she so desired.

As a result, I have now in my possession 2 additional Dusty CDs - the legendary "Dusty in Memphis" recording ( the reissued one ), as well as a 2 CD set entitled "Dusty Springfield - Classics & Collectibles".
Truly, she was a great singer who managed to convey all the emotion of a song & make it intensely personal to all the listeners. Definitely recommended listening for all who love music with soul & for all aspiring singers !