Musicals in Singapore seem to be pushing the envelope when it comes to MDA no-nos. Today, The Straits Times reported that a Singapore production of Tony award-winning musical Rent, by Pangdemonium, will stage two different versions of the show, one with a same-sex kiss (R18) and the other with the kiss removed (Advisory 16). Inspired by Puccini’s La Boheme, the story of Rent moves the action to New York City’s Lower East Side, during the beginning of the AIDS epidemic.
This is not the first time a big-deal musical has been the focal point of a mini-controversy. Earlier this year, Les Miserables by Cameron Mackintosh was told to remove a same-sex peck, initially missed during the rating process but caught when some righteous audience member reported it, to keep in line with its G rating. But a show with two versions that have two different ratings seems like an interesting way to circumvent the limitations of the ratings system.
We made a quick phone call to Pangedemonium’s PR to know how the two ratings came about. A spokesperson explained that originally, the show received an R18 rating due to the kiss. The team felt that the musical should be seen, heard and enjoyed by a wider audience, and submitted a second version of the show, minus the kiss, for an Advisory 16 rating. The original show will go on with the kiss, but younger audience members who want to see it will still be able to catch four stagings of the kiss-free version. While it would be great if same-sex kisses weren’t such a kiss of death, we’re impressed that Pangdemonium chose to retain the original version of the show.
