ISD's Man of Steel: A superhero from an unusual angle

A scene from the musical

The play by Simon Denver and Ian Dorricott, specially written for youngsters, is a comic approach to the life and adventures of everyone's favourite super hero -- Superman.

Man of Steel starts off in the bedroom of the Ken, Superman's alter ego. The landlady and her friends break out in a very light-hearted number, Land-lady blues. In comes the superhero and he seems quite bothered with the fact that he is unemployed. So, Ken is introduced to the editor of a prominent daily newspaper and he is hired as a 'weatherman'.

A group performance, We've got the news, follows. Head reporter, Linda seems to be smitten with the superhero.

Meanwhile, at the other end of the town, the goons led by the seductive vixen Olga are planning to kidnap Linda to get to the 'Man of Steel'.

The oafs, with the assistance of their moronic minions succeed in abducting Linda. Olga and her gang deliver a very vintage foot-tapping Cha Cha Cha number. As Ken tries to rescue Linda, he is trapped by the baddies and his super powers turn futile against 'Kroptonite'.

However, with the help of his friends, Ken sets himself and his lady-love, Linda free and the rogues are brought to justice.

The musical thrives in the sense that it entertains the audience with hilarious one liners, catchy numbers, innovative costumes and above all a notable teamwork among the young actors. However, one has to keep in mind that this is a school presentation, not a Broadway production. So, some minor stiffness in the performances is understandable.

The overall response from the audience, specifically to lines such as, "The Seven Million Dollar Man: inflation got to him" or "I'm not a loony, just ask my psychiatrist", was marked with rounds of applause. The mention of Liz Taylor and her ongoing list of husbands, as the cleaning ladies fancied eternal romance, was a hit.

Nader Salam as the Man of Steel, displaying Chaplin-esque facial expressions, is just right. Shaveena Anam, as Linda, plays the quintessential 'damsel in distress'. Adiba Afros, as the conniving Olga with a thick Russian accent is intriguing. Amer Habib, Tahmid Hussain, Nesarul Haque and Vijay Nair who respectively played the characters of the four goons -- Bugsy, Crusher, Knuckles and Killer, seemed to have fun. One actor that perhaps takes the cake is Charlie Carrick as the perpetually jaded and sarcastic Jerry Black, who delivers her dialogues with just the right amount of jest.

Director Liz Carrick and producer Sally Elliott deserve commendation.

Set Design, choreography and lighting were impressive, but the sound management could be better. Altogether the musical had a fresh approach and was well received.