Catch Mina Kaye in Pangdemonium's End of the Rainbow This October

“End of the Rainbow” the West end musical drama depicting Judy Garland’s final days, opens in Singapore at the Drama Centre, National Library on 8 October 2022. Playing the legendary songbird, Mina Kaye of many talents has snagged the top role.

A third culture kid born in Singapore who grew up in Dubai and studied  internationally, Mina eventually came back to attend LaSalle College of Arts, where she trounced a BFA with First Class Honours in Musical Theatre. She then went on to Boston to do her Masters.

With a Singaporean mother, Mina returned with skills in hand from tap, ballet and jazz dancing to mimicking, yodelling and whistling. Quite different to her other roles in musical theatre, End of the Rainbow certainly takes her to a different level of depth and complexity.

Rewind to 1968 in London when Judy Garland went into a downward spiral fuelled by drugs and alcohol. Adored by so many for her depth and versatility in acting and singing, alas her internal self was struggling to find love.

When asked how she prepared for the role, Mina replied she felt very fortunate that the Pandemic gave her an extended runway to research Judy Garland’s life from many different angles. She had the luxury of understanding the multiple angles of Judy with “Get Happy”(by Gerald Clark), “Me and My Shadow” (by Judy Garland’s daughter) and another book written by her third husband. She began to see so many sides of this legendary woman.

Mina, the multi-faceted talent whose versatility knows no bounds, watched countless videos, emulating the way she moved, the way she talked, the way she sang. Having learnt the ropes in “The Rise and Fall of Little Voice” where she impersonated eight divas like Barbara Streisand, Marilyn Munroe and Edith Piaf, she was able to bring a little bit of her own life experience into the role.

“So my version is very different from what you know of Judy. It's just about finding how I as the actress can relate to the character I am playing because I have to be able to resonate with it. So that's been fun and interesting” said Mina as I popped the question of how she approached finding the character.

I wondered if Mina played Judy even after coming out of rehearsals. Was her daily life impacted in any way? She said many actors in Hollywood did practise method acting which is what it is called. "Definitely not" said Mina. She stepped out of her role as she stepped out of rehearsal, so her daily life was not impacted.

While so many saw Judy’s life as tragic she was often heard saying “you know, people always say my life is tragic but no. I'm a very, very lucky woman.” Her witty and dark sense of humour coupled with a script that is funny is what we can expect to see. The latter is what Mina has chosen to play up.

Having performed many roles in musical theatre genre, playing the role of Judy Garland was different because it was based off a real person. In terms of background work, unlike a fictional character, where stories could be invented, Mina had to dig deep and figure out Judy’s triggers.

“These are facts, part of history. It was like getting my bachelor's degree in Judy Garland, because it really felt that way. I had to be accurate with research and bring that out on stage” said Mina. 

Creating the fine balance between spoken dialogue and musical song is the ability to cross between text and lyrics, one of the reasons Judy was such a great performer. Having heard her in an interview once she declared “to be a good singer and entertainer, you need to be a good actress and communicate what you're saying to your audience. It’s not just about singing a tune. You have to really focus on the words.”

With the lead up to opening night on Saturday, 8 October 2022, it's nerve racking even for experienced Mina. “It's definitely a lot of pressure because people expect you to be amazing. It's not only living up to the audience’s expectations but also challenging myself as an actress. A mix of nervousness and excitement, I'm actually ready to have an audience. With a different take from Renee Zellweger in the recent movie Judy, hopefully it's something that people will appreciate.”

When asked if anything took her outside her comfort zone, she felt it was an unexpected extremely physically challenging experience. Daily gym workouts to build stamina, vocal health, good sleep and diet all contributed to this demanding show.

On stage nonstop for two hours with insanely quick changes on top of acting and creative challenges, the whole package for this role screamed discipline of the highest order.

To think that it all started from mimicking divas when she was young. She entertained friends who loved her and knew she would make a natural career out of it. But there were times when she was stripped down for precisely that. “Stop copying all these people” she would be told. Ironically, her friends were right and that's what she ended up doing professionally. So funny how life works out!

In front of the TV a lot, fascinated by kid actors especially, Mina would think “I can do that too. Theatre school was therapy for me, a safe space to explore and express emotions and things I went through in life that I couldn’t  otherwise express.”

I didn't go into drama school thinking I would be a star. It was just a beautiful healing process for me. I made the best friends at Theatre School who I'm still with today.

Pangdemonium ends their 2022 season with End of the Rainbow. Showing from 7th to 23rd October, 2022 every Tuesday to Friday at 8pm and Saturday / Sunday at 3pm and 8pm. Tickets from $35 to $105 it is a show that will tug at your heart strings and get you laughing too.

Expected to be a major turnout for the world loved Judy Garland! Get your tickets now.