An anthology of musicals to premiere in Chennai

A six-part anthology of short musicals will premiere in Chennai on June 16 and 17

Music and movement form the core of theatre. Chennai has long been an enthusiast of musical theatre both from a regional and Western lens. Lately, it has brought young enthusiasts from across the city together with song, dance and rhythm in tow. City-based theatre practitioner Craig Lobo’s first time on stage was to perform a musical, and so it only made sense that his debut curatorial project is a musical anthology, he says. Once Upon a Musical, a collection of six short musicals performed back to back, was thus born.

“With each musical, we tell a different story,” says Craig who has curated the anthology. And in turn, different concepts are bound to come to the fore. While an anthology of musicals is somewhat unheard of, Craig’s idea was to bring a diverse group of thespians with a shared passion for the genre.

And so, the evening will feature a mix of seasoned performers and debutants: leading with familiar players like Venkataraman Balakrishnan’s Theatre Nisha, Freddy Koikaran’s Stage Fright Productions, and Jayachandran and younger entrants like Vinithra Menon from Hystericals, Antara Chacko, Deandra Clementine Nicholas. “I specifically wanted the younger generation to be involved. Their ideas are different. With plays like Hamilton coming to OTT platforms, they seem very clued in,” says Craig. 

While Craig doesn’t wish to give away too much, he says that stylistically, each play will be different, spanning languages. While Theatre Nisha’s production will be in Hindi, Jayachandran’s will be performed in Tamil, and Vinithra will take a ‘Tanglish’ approach. The rest are English plays. “Some of the music has been originally composed, while others take a jukebox musical approach,” says Craig. 

Once Upon a Musical opens doors on June 16, 7pm and June 17, 2pm and 6pm at Eduoard Michelin Auditorium, Alliance Francaise. Tickets are online. For reservations, call 8148167520.