Zebra Crossing Productions is a young but dynamic company, helmed by Artistic Director, Loretta Chen and Executive Producer Felina Khong, who together, strike the quirky balance that makes for a creative and profitable company.
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
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