SINGAPORE — Dick Lee, the acclaimed songwriter behind Beauty World, Fried Rice Paradise and Forbidden City, is back with a new musical, LightSeeker, which will premiere at Resorts World Sentosa Theatre in November.

This is the third original resident show at the integrated resort after Voyage De La Vie and Incanto, and the fantasy-themed LightSeeker tells the story of a general in search of a mysterious power called The Light for a menacing emperor. The quest eventually leads to a young girl who has the ability to create the power but whose very presence threatens the world.

Notably, the 2005 Cultural Medallion recipient’s last musical was P Ramlee The Musical, which ran in 2007 in Kuala Lumpur and 2008 in Singapore. His play Beauty Kings was staged in 2011. He also performed — and was a character — in TheatreWorks’ National Broadway Company production for the Esplanade’s 10th anniversary celebrations last year.

This year, he was named a Steinway Artist and became Creative Director of the revamped Rediffusion radio station.

“I was quite inspired by the storyline,” said Lee about his decision to do this musical. “(Musicals are) my most favourite medium. I get to write what I feel ... a suite of songs, rather than just one pop song.”

He added: “The song arrangements are so non-traditional, in terms of a musical theatre genre, so it was finding a middle ground for me.”

With this being the first musical for many of the people involved, Lee said that it allowed for the approach to be different. “Also, there’s the large number of stunts — I’ve never worked with that — and you have to allow for it in the songwriting.”

The 90-minute production, helmed by Voyage De La Vie Director Michael La Fleur, will be performed by an international ensemble cast, which will include performers from West End.

And just why should anyone see this show? “Kids could see it as a spectacle,” said Andrea Teo, Resorts World Sentosa’s Vice President Of Entertainment, and the show’s Executive Producer and Creative Director. “But you could also watch it as a story about our lives in the modern age.”

“Theatre audiences all over the world love musicals, but they’re also getting a bit lazy,” said Lee. “They just want to go in, sit down and have fun. So this original work, to me as a composer, is quite remarkable. It’s also a sci-fi fantasy musical and you don’t see a lot of those around.”

Quipped Teo: “It’s like watching Avatar — with songs!”

LightSeeker runs from Nov 24 to March 23 at Resorts World Sentosa Theatre. Tickets from S$48 to S$148 from Sistic, RWS ticketing counters and website from Sept 16. For more information, visit www.lightseeker.com.sg.