Seen.By.Ice.Queen: coming to my senses

In my humble opinion, CROCS footwear was a cult by itself. There're die-hard fans who swear by it. And then, there are others...

The truth is, for the longest time, CROCS has been associated with clunky, brightly-colored, 'acquired taste' kinda footwear (OK, so some may even think it's OOGLIE..)

As for yours truly, I do not dispel the fact that it is ideal fashion for some (let's just say i thought CROCS should be limited to the age of 5 and below) but attending the Launch of CROCS Spring/Summer 2009 Collection last night truly blew me away.


I was presented a tray, yes, a tray.. of CROCS footwear by a hunky guy (that helped..) to choose from for a TRY OUT. I decided to pick out a gray pair of HAVANA to match my attire of the evening (short denim skirt + black vest. Read: Casual sexy) and was I impressed or what! It didn't make me feel like Phua Chu Kang's niece! I was relieved to be rid of my heels that were giving me countless blisters after a long day of walking around and was threatening to walk off in my fashionable HAVANAs. I only agreed to return it to Mr. Hunk when he dished out a 15% discount card for my next CROCS purchase.

As host Stephanie Carrington aptly put it, CROCS has been around for God knows how long. I was grateful that it finally did something to reach out to fellow fashionistas out there who DO want to have comfort on top of beauty.

And who was it who said you can't have the cake and eat it too? I'm eating mine right away!

It is this dynamism that is seeing Jazz sensation Laura Fygi breaking from her comfort zone, that being a Jazz performer, to join the ranks of being an artsy, Theatre/Musical artiste. This sultry-voiced dynamite herself set foot onto our sunny shores on April Fools' Day 2009 to grace the press conference for the musical she is starring in November 2009, Victor/Victoria.

Without delving into the musical and spoiling the fun for all you musical fans out there, I shall share the funny story that led to Laura's (oh do indulge me in addressing her on a first name basis..) sparkling appearance on our little dot of a country called Singapore.


As Loretta mused, the idea to feature Victor/Victoria had brewed years ago but it was not easy casting the lead character cos you need "not just anybody who can sing but a professional Singer who has lived the life of a Singer", in order to portray the character in its essence.

Laura Fygi sprang into her mind and of course, with Felina Khong's strict fingers over the purse strings, Loretta knew there was no way in hell she'd be allowed to even attempt casting Laura in this production.

However, Loretta being Loretta (read: unconventional, out-of-this-world crazy, no-box-needed-to-think-out-of style), she thought, What's the worse that can happen if she just sends Laura an email? At most, she'd delete it. End of story. So the story goes that Laura, at that same point of time was deliberating her performing career, thinking, nobody's ever going to cast me in anything else but a witch.. blah blah blah in a play. Talk about cosmic telepathy! And just when Laura's manager was about to reject the role on her behalf, Laura decided, wait a minute, I want to explore all possibilities, no matter how small it might seem.

The next thing you know, the email exchanges between Laura and Loretta progressed to SMSes (all these still done behind Felina's back) and before you knew it, Laura called Loretta one night while Loretta was stark naked (hehe.. what a twist eh? and before your dirty minds plays it up, she was getting dressed to go out for dinner!) to chat and before long, Loretta had to confess the 'relationship' to Felina before they could take it to the next level.

And that is how yours truly is seated in Victoria Bar @ Hotel Intercontinental, wolfing down cakes and tea while trying not to choke over the hilarious anecdotes of 'How Laura Came To Be'.

And may I just say that I am totally mesmerized by Laura Fygi's combination of sultry voice and comic-timing (yes , the Jazz Queen is funny!). I am sooooo looking forward to the production of Victor/Victoria.

For more ticketing information, please visit: Zebra Crossing Productions Pte Ltd

Went to catch this play on Saturday at Drama Centre and was seated at Circle 2's front row. Before watching this Oscar Wilde comedy, directed by Glen Goei and starring an all male cast, I was wondering if I might be revolted by the portrayal of the males in their gender-bending depiction.

Don't get me wrong, I am not gay-phobic but most times, males acting as females in theater tends to overplay the 'feminine factor' and the dramatized depiction gets a little uneasy and unnatural.

I was glad to experience none of the unnatural-'ness' as the gender-bending characters played by Ivan Heng (Lady Bracknell), Chua Enlai (Gwendolyn Fairfax), Hossan Leong (Miss Prism) and Gavin Yap (Cecily Cardew) were a natural balance of masculine-femininity. Much like how a normal girl might be in real life. Of course, I'm not referring to a dainty, 'manja' girlish type but a typical new age female.

The actors did not try too hard to up the girlish-ness of feminine factor and in fact interjected masculine outbursts at certain points for comical effect.

The direction given to this play by Glen Goei, from the beautiful classical pieces serenading the crowd by T'ang Quartet, to the laid-back setting of an otherwise 'snooty' era the play is set in, made the play very 'consumable' to non-theater goers (in my opinion anyways).

Particularly commendable are the portrayals by Brendon Fernandez (as Algernon Moncrief), the cheeky young lad who is never serious about anything and lives life beyond his means, as well as, Gavin Yap's portrayal of a ditsy and pretty 18-year-old Cecily Cardew. Together, their young, romantic antics and comic timing brought many laughs to the audience.

Ivan Heng in 'her' royal-highness, did a grand portrayal of diva-ness and Hossan Leong as usual never fails to entertain with his shrilly, old maid style. However, it failed to impress not because they were not great but simply because I expect them to be this good.

Kudos to T'ang Quartet for being so candid in their segments, being part of the lively act between cast and musician. I can definitely bear a late start to the show simply because their music make time irrelevant.

Another point to note is the beautiful costumes designed for this cast by Frederick Lee. I used to model for his bridal shows but seeing his creations in this play makes me wanna be living in the play just to wear his clothes all over again.

You don't have to be an 'artsy' theater-goer. If you are a comedy-buff, fashionista, music lover or simply wants to be entertained, this play is worth being at. And at the price the tickets are going for, Wild Rice is definitely pegging it to current financial situations.

Rating:


Show details:
Date: 25 Mar - 11 Apr 2009
Venue: Drama Centre Theatre @ National Library Building
Tickets: www.sistic.com.sg