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SINGAPORE : After months of rehearsing for Zebra Crossing’s production of the Broadway musical, “Victor/Victoria”, you’d think international jazz sensation Laura Fygi would have been bitten by the acting bug.
But even though the Dutch singer says acting “comes quite easy” for her, this would probably be her first and last acting role.
“It’s probably going to be the last one unless I get a really, really huge offer and a very nice musical,” she told channelnewsasia.com.
Despite her resistance to acting, Fygi agreed to star in “Victor/Victoria” because it’s her favourite musical, so don’t even think of approaching her unless you’ve got a musical and it had better not be in Dutch, a language which she calls unromantic, emotionless, and “a throat disease”.
“Music is my thing, so it really needs music,” she said. “I’m not an actress but this [‘Victor/Victoria’] is a great story and a comedy. Too much drama is not good for me.”
In “Victor/Victoria”, which opens at the Esplanade Theatre on November 9, Fygi plays the title character, a struggling British singer pretending to be a man impersonating a woman in 1930s Paris. The role was made famous by British actress Julie Andrews but Fygi is not looking to fill anyone's shoes.
“When she [Loretta Chen, artistic director of Zebra Crossing] sent me the email asking if I would like to be in ‘Victor/Victoria’, I told her that I don’t sing like Julie Andrews, but she doesn’t want Julie Andrews, she wants Laura Fygi.
“Julie Andrews is more classical, and I don’t have that sound. I sing the songs a little different, a little jazzier, sassy and sexy, because that’s what I am. They are all wonderful songs, beautiful melodies, chords, and the lyrics are incredible, I’m having so much fun just listening it. I think my fans will be as much surprised as I am.”
With zero acting experience, the 54-year-old knew she had a tough road ahead so she prepared well before coming to Singapore.
Director Loretta Chen spent an entire month in Holland coaching Fygi in acting but one thing she didn’t prepare the singer for was the aches and pains she would get from dance rehearsals.
“At one point, I couldn’t get out of bed anymore because my muscles were protesting. But once you get through that, it’s okay... then you get other pains like pain in your feet, pain in your neck. It just keeps on going because you’re not used to it,” she said.
“The dancing is hard work because I’m not a dancer. I do dance when I am on stage but choreography is a whole different story. It’s been hard work with every part except for the singing.”
Yes, singing comes so naturally for Fygi that she doesn’t even bother to take care of her vocal health and watch her diet, indulging in whatever she wants, including her favourite chilli crab and bak kwa (barbecued dried pork).
“What for? For my voice?” she asked. “I smoke two packets of cigarettes a day! How do you think I got this low voice? Not from drinking because I don’t drink, but I do smoke and so I have a natural male voice which is great for this role."
In fact, Fygi revealed that she has her own smoking spots at the various locations where the cast rehearsed.
“I have my own ash tray at the Drama Centre [roof terrace]... you will find a plastic bottle among the bushes. And I have my own smoking spot at LASALLE [College of the Arts] but not here [Esplanade Theatre] because it’s my first day here.”
“Victor/Victoria” is on at the Esplanade Theatre from November 9-29 at the Esplanade Theatre.
- CNA/il
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