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Jet-setting Estonian Sandy Dumbrowski(Malay Mail Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge)IF we ignore the Germany 2006 World Cup qualifiers, Estonians are just as good as Australians. Hanna-Liina VoSa, who hails from the small Baltic country, proves that she can handle the role of Australian transfer student Sandy Dumbrowski (original stage production)/Olsson (1978 movie version) in Grease The Musical. Many times, in fact. Her troupe did the show for an amazing 460 performances. "I missed like, three performances during all of that," said the 25-year-old during a recent interview with The Malay Mail at Hotel Maya's Sky Lounge. She was giving the interview as part of a promotional event with Maxis One Club which sponsors the show's run in Malaysia. VoSa was joined by co-star Jamey Isenor, who hails from Minnesota, USA. Isenor plays the lead in Grease - Danny Zuko. During the interview, the rest of the cast was enjoying a break in South Korea. "Right now, the girls are going to a little island and the boys go to baseball games," said Isenor. "We're doing the three countries in 24 hours thing," laughed VoSa. Jet-setting around the world and performing almost every other night for long durations, it was a wonder that the two could deliver fresh energy every time they step from the airport to the stage. "I don't take vitamins, no special chefs or nutritionists, though we do have a physical trainer who is in the cast," said VoSa. "Everyone does their own thing. I just try and get enough sleep." "How do we keep it fresh? Well, the audiences for each show is different and they have an energy we play to," said 31-year-old Isenor. "For example, we were performing in South Korea, in different cities. I think that the audiences in Seoul are more reserved than the audiences in Pusan." "The people in Seoul enjoys the show more quietly," agreed VoSa. "We actually like it when they sing along with us. It's not a distraction to our performance at all." In fact, their troupe loves audience participation. As long as they don't try to hijack the show, of course. "We also have a dance contest before the show," said VoSa. "We try to get people up on stage before the show to dance. It's freestyle and the craziest ones would get the prizes." They also have to deal with being compared to 1978's motion picture version of Grease which had probably been seen by more people around the world than the original stage show. Particularly the show's two iconic stars John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John. "How to differentiate between me and John Travolta? Well, actually, I've never seen the movie before doing the show. It would have been hard NOT to be influenced, but I think I managed to make the character my own," said Isenor. "I saw the movie when I was very young," said VoSa. "However, I love the stage version and the characters are slightly different in it." No stranger to the show or each other, the duo seemed comfortable fielding questions from the Press in a sort of fluidity that can be compared to World Wrestling Entertainment's former tag-team champions - the Hardy Boys. "We started this in 2002 for a revival tour of Grease," said Isenor. "We performed in that production for two years before taking two years out to perform in other productions. We were called back to lead this Asian tour early this year." That's like, three years of experience performing together. Not bad. VoSa's love affair with singing, however, went even further back. "I started out when I was three," she said. Growing up in a small place at the coast of the Baltic Sea, she was surrounded by music. She started out in kindergarten under the guidance of a famous singing teacher - Ave Kumpas. She soon moved on to Estonian TV Concert Choir where she soon became the main soloist. VoSa sang in Lapland, on the beach in Barcelona, while swimming in the Dead Sea in Israel and at the home of a world-famous librettist Tim Rice in London, who noted her extraordinary command performance of his celebrated piece I Don't Know How to Love Him. On one of her trips was to New York, she discovered her passion for musicals after seeing her idol Julie Andrews on stage in Victor/Victora. At the age of 17, she decided to become a musical theatre star herself and the first step to fulfilling that dream took her to American Musical and Dramatic Academy(AMDA). Soon after graduation Hanna-Liina was chosen to perform the part of Sandy in the US National Tour of Grease. After the return home, she has become one of the most admired and loved singers in her country. The Los Angeles Times has called VoSa a 'clarion-voiced singer who is going places'. One of those places, apparently, is Malaysia. If VoSa's dreams and career path seemed laid out in front of her, Isenor's was less clear cut. "I illustrated comic books when I was younger. However, my friends could do it better than me so I took up acting," he said. "That's when I went to a liberal arts university and studied drama." Isenor graduated from Blooming Prairie High School and St Mary's College in Winona. He appeared in several Summerset productions at the FWB Theatre. He is currently a working actor in New York City and regional theatre. He played Danny Zuko opposite VoSa in the Phoenix Productions National Tour of Grease 2002-04 and also performed as Radames in Disney's Aida at Wachusett's/Foothills Theatre. Isenor also appeared in the lead role of Riverland's production of Phantom and also presented a free recital on the Casual Classics Concert Series, amongst other shows. * Catch Isenor, VoSa and the rest of the cast at the Plenary Hall, Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre, KLCC from May 16-21. Tickets are priced at RM90, RM150, RM200, RM250 and RM300. There is a student rate at RM75 for the RM90 category. Call TicketCharge Hotline at 03-7726 2002 for bookings or browse www.ticketcharge.com.my Maxis One Club members and Maxis subscribers can look forward to privileges such as an exclusive premiere show, discounts of up to 30 per cent, priority seating, chances to win free tickets and a whole suite of mobile content on Grease. Go to www.maxis.com.my/moc for details. Grease is produced by Phoenix Production, co-produced by Magic Arts and Entertainment and brought to Malaysia by Yvents Sdn Bhd in collaboration with Maxis One Club as the presenting sponsor. |