End of the Rainbow: An Interview with director Tracie Pang and actress Mina Kaye

Who was Judy Garland? For some, she will always be remembered as Dorothy in MGM’s The Wizard of Oz. For others, she’s been immortalised for her iconic voice across her recordings, forever pure, sweet and soulful. And for others, she is nothing and nobody, a product of the previous generation lost to drugs and time.

Come October however, local theatre company Pangdemonium will end their 2022 season and make sure that you know the person Judy Garland was, behind the roles, behind the voice, behind the media frenzy and industry abuse that killed her, as they stage Peter Quilter’s End of the Rainbow. Directed by Tracie Pang, the musical is set in London, 1968, where Judy Garland is set to make her comeback, only to face a downward spiral fuelled by a tornado of drugs and alcohol. Between numbers performed, we learn of her story as a woman-child adored by millions around the world, but also exploited by the industry, leading to her untimely end.

“We wanted to stage something audience would like to have after the pandemic without it being too heavy, which led to End of the Rainbow, with its music and nostalgia. I think Judy Garland is a beloved figure for many generations growing up, from our parents and grandparents’ time, to me as a kid watching The Wizard of Oz at Christmas,” says director Tracie Pang, on the choice to stage End of the Rainbow. “This is someone we grew up with, and this play provides insight into her life that people may not be aware of. And she’s also so significant for the communities out there who see her as an icon and idol, and it’s just so meaningful for us all to see her and present these last few weeks of how her life played out. I’m glad that after several postponements, we can finally stage it, and show this stunning story of the hardships of working in the industry.”

“It is our job to root it in truth, and make sure the show is as insightful as it is enjoyable.”

Tracie Pang

“Some people may find it disrespectful to dig up the dirt, but it’s also part of understanding the human being as a whole, and how she burnt out. Theatre is not all political, but we have a responsibility to audience to give them something to talk about when they go home. It is our job to root it in truth, and make sure the show is as insightful as it is enjoyable.” 

Set to play Garland is Mina Kaye, who’s often considered one of Singapore’s strongest vocalists in the theatre industry. But even with that accolade and having known about and prepared for the role for about 1.5 years now, Mina still feels the pressure of living up to expectations, and her portrayal of the tragic songbird. “I think the difficulty is that everyone expects you to be good, and I was really terrified, I was like ‘holy sh*t!’ when they cast me for this show,” says Mina. “It’s a huge deal to be playing such a legend, and I literally have to graduate with a bachelor’s degree in Judy Garland. I’m a perfectionist by nature, but it’s all I can do to try my absolute darndest, and regardless of how it’s received, I’ll know I have done my best.”

“(LaSalle) told me I can’t just copy them for everything I did, and stripped me down before building me up again, to find the humanity behind the superficiality.”

Mina Kaye

“Over my time in theatre, I’ve been given a lot of diva characters, and perhaps that reflects on my own influences growing up, and how I loved listening to and watching divas like Bette Midler, Bernadette Peters and of course, Judy Garland,” says Mina. “When I went to Lasalle, I was actually told off for that because every performance I did a diva-type character. So they told me I can’t just copy them for everything I did, and stripped me down before building me up again, to find the humanity behind the superficiality.”

“For my performance, I’m not going to impersonate Judy. If you look at Tracie Bennett, who originated the role in End of the Rainbow, and Renee Zellweger, who played her in Judy, the film adaptation of the show, they both give very different portrayals. So I’m going to play up certain elements in my own way, because Judy actually reminds me of someone I know in real life, and bring in my own life experiences into the role as well.”

Mina is no stranger to working with Pangdemonium, taking on lead roles in both The Rise and Fall of Little Voice (2014) and Urinetown (2019). But Judy Garland in End of the Rainbow will by far be her toughest role yet, one Mina approaches with gusto. “Since I learnt about doing the role, every night before bed, I would tell my husband that I’m going to Judyland. I would make an effort to at least read about her or watch clips of her concerts – that’s the groundwork expected of me as an actor, and basic things you can do before I go into rehearsals,” says Mina. “And I also had to get in shape physically and vocally as well, going to the gym every day to keep up my stamina, and building my vocal stamina too.”

“Since I learnt about doing the role, every night before bed, I would tell my husband that I’m going to Judyland.”

Mina Kaye

“The thing about Singapore compared to other countries is that we don’t have an understudy culture, so if the actor is sick, the show gets cancelled,” she adds. “I remember back during The Rise and Fall of Little Voice, I was down with strep throat, and on the third day I told Tracie to record my voice and I would lip sync in case anything happened to me, but thankfully we never had to use it.”

“You know, when Mina did Little Voice, she was so passionate and we got so many comments about the numbers, and people kept saying they thought it was recorded when it was actually sung live,” adds Tracie. “Nothing beats seeing and hearing these numbers performed live, and that’s the same feeling we want people to come in to End of the Rainbow and experience – to go wow, give them goosebumps, and realise that’s what live theatre can do.”

“Judy was a product of her time, and specifically treated like a product they could mould and shape and sell, and not a human being.”

Tracie Pang

Coming back to Judy Garland, both Tracie and Mina recognise the toxicity of the Hollywood environment at the time, and how terrible things were for Judy, and wants to show a degree of that onstage. “It’s still timely as a concept, to see and become aware of how easy it was to get Judy relying on drugs, to the point she couldn’t perform without them,” says Tracie. “We did plenty of research, from reading biographies and watching interviews and performances, and it’s a lot to unpack, so much of it can’t be sugar-coated, because she was someone who struggled.”

“What I hope they think about is how Judy was a product of her time, and specifically treated like a product they could mould and shape and sell, and not a human being,” adds Tracie. “And even today, you see how child stars are mismanaged and how they turn out, like Britney Spears or Miley Cyrus, and they were all too innocent to know what was happening. All this beautiful immense talent, spoiled by the industry.”

“She was this woman who gets back up again and again, full of this persistence and determination.”

Mina Kaye

“My take on it is that even though it was a different time back then, Judy was such a worldly person, and I think she would have thrived in our culture. She was a rebel, she would shout and demand for what she deserves, and yes she was a diva, but she stands up for herself and never gives up,” says Mina. “She was this woman who gets back up again and again, full of this persistence and determination, and that’s why she has so many queer followers because they see her as this icon, and connect with her struggle.”

“It wasn’t her fault she was drugs at a young age, and they were basically telling her ‘dance monkey, dance!’ What we focus on in our story then, is the consequence of years of drug abuse, and we wonder what life would have been like if she had never been subject to this,” she continues. “In my research, I have two ‘bibles’ dedicated to this – Get Happy: The Life of Judy Garland by Gerald Clarke, and A Star Is Born: Judy Garland and the Film that Got Away , by Lorna Luft, Judy’s own daughter. It’s crazy reading about all that happened to her, this expose about what the terrible Hollywood system did to her.”

That naturally leads us into the challenges of the theatre industry and how it’s perceived by the public, both during and after the height of the pandemic. “Some people say theatre’s a young person’s game, but I think we’re very passionate about the work we do, and that’s what ultimate drives us at the end of the day,” says Tracie. “Financially, we were in a good place before the pandemic, with support from the community, the National Arts Council and more sponsors, but now that’s been knocked away, with so many people who need support and less to go around.”

And beyond the industry woes, Tracie has also had to deal with an empty nest at home, with both her sons away for school in the UK. “It’s been a tough year with both of my sons away, and I need to still travel and remain part of their life, or have them back home from time to time,” says Tracie. “They’re doing well for themselves though, with Zack in his final year now, while Xander was in Edinburgh performing a couple of shows during the Fringe. We keep close and in touch, and both Adrian and I are proud to see them flourishing in a new place and just maturing.”

Pangdemonium as a whole has had an incredibly busy 2022. Not only have they staged two production, but Tracie and husband Adrian have also been busy heading the nation’s biggest event of the year – the National Day Parade, before Adrian jumped right into rehearsals and performances for Aiwei and Singapore Repertory Theatre’s The LKY Musical .“We come back from the pandemic and it’s nose to the grindstone. It’s been hard to get audiences back into the theatres after the pandemic, partly because of the economy, and how we’re competing with people spending on travel, or the slew of shows and events,” says Tracie. “Sometimes people are also just not used to going out, or having a night out. It’s a bit like starting over again, and it feels like when we first started over a decade ago with The Full Monty, where we have to get ourselves out there and get audiences in again.” 

“We spent a lot of the pandemic thinking about how we wanted to move forward with our youth arm and create an opportunity for young people to have a deep dive into what it takes to put on a show.”

Tracie Pang

In many ways, Pangdemonium has been consistently pushing and expanding what they do, not only with their season of productions, but even the programmes they organise and lead on the side as well. “We have a relatively younger demographic compared to other companies, and we need to encourage this theatre-going, arts-loving culture in the youths,” says Tracie. “We spent a lot of the pandemic thinking about how we wanted to move forward with our youth arm and create an opportunity for young people to perform in a production where they’re surrounded by support from professionals, but also learn about marketing a show, light a show, stage manage, and really have a deep dive into what it takes to put on a show. And so we have Timothy Koh with us this year, who directed Muswell Hill, and not only been assisting with direction on our main productions, but also leads the Very Youthful Company wing of Pangdemonium, and directing them in a show in December. “

Mina has also been busy since returning from her studies at Boston Conservatory, teaching classes while also involving herself in various productions, including the recently concluded, inaugural Musical Theatre Fringe Festival by Sing’theatre. “I came back to Singapore in part for family, but also because I realised I didn’t like the theatre culture in New York. Singapore is smaller and feels like family, while New York is more of a dog eat dog world, cutthroat to the point where you really see actors just there for themselves, making friends only to disappear and with some productions really lacking heart,” she says. “I honestly felt quite lost at times, and it wasn’t sitting right with me. And I think that if I did go down that route, I wouldn’t be happy.”

“In fact, a lot about Broadway is just about typecasting. Like how certain actors are simply handpicked for roles without an audition process. At the time, an ‘ethnic’ looking actor wasn’t on anyone’s radar, but if you were a gorgeous white blonde girl, you’d get into shows just like that, and I had so many friends who could use that to just become swings or understudies on Broadway,” she adds. “You might walk into an audition and someone says you look like my ex-girlfriend, and you won’t get the part, or there will always be dream roles you always want to play but won’t be able to because you’re not white. Though, things are changing – I remember I got a callback for Eliza in Hamilton and I was thinking ‘wow’, and now it’s different, with more diversity and ethnicities, but I haven’t been back to see what the scene is like.”

“I honestly felt quite lost at times, and it wasn’t sitting right with me. And I think that if I did go down that route, I wouldn’t be happy.”

Mina Kaye

“Maybe that’s also why I enjoyed being a part of the Musical Theatre Fringe Festival – it’s something that’s done a lot in the USA, but completely new here, and so great for people interested in the art form, and a great platform for people new to the whole thing,” muses Mina. “While it was very tight in terms of production timing and putting things together, I’m still happy with what we managed to put out, because it was the best we could do given the time and resources we had. Besides, it was the first edition of a festival, and it was great that all the people involved were so happy to do something they love.” 

“My worth is not measured by the awards I get or the work I do, I put my heart into everything, from motherhood to my career to my craft activities I do at home. I make it a point to do my best and enjoy all the things I do.”

Mina Kaye

In spite of her American education and the prestige of Boston Conservatory, Mina remains immensely humble and down-to-earth. Mina is no diva – she’s an ordinary person who happens to have an extraordinary voice. “After I did Little Voice, my next role was as a Winx Club character at Takashimaya. I’m not famous, I’m just a working actor, and take the bus and train like you,” she says. “If we’re talking about making my mark, I guess want to contribute to this industry in my own way – I’ve started putting up stories on my Instagram about how you should navigate the business and people go ‘oh, I’ve never thought of it that way’. 95% of an actor’s life is auditioning, and if you get a show, that’s a bonus. Don’t be upset, keep working and with a little luck, your turn will eventually come. In the meantime, be happy for others who do get the part, and celebrate them.”

“Otherwise, I have my family – my son and my husband, who support me, ground me, and keep me going,” she adds. “My worth is not measured by the awards I get or the work I do, I put my heart into everything, from motherhood to my career to my craft activities I do at home. I make it a point to do my best and enjoy all the things I do. Yes, it gets hard sometimes, but it’s about the mindset and using even the downs as a lesson to learn from rather than something to bring you down.”

For now though, the pot of gold seems to be in sight for Mina, Tracie and Pangdemonium as a whole, with even more great things to come in time. “The Pangdemonium season ticket is coming back, 3 years since the last one, and that’s a sign of an upswing in things to come,” says Tracie. “All our shows will be held at the new Singtel Waterfront Theatre at the Esplanade next year, with 3 different configurations of the space. I’m excited to see it and plan around it, and for us to get in there and transform the space for our shows.”

“Everything that comes to me is a blessing, and every show I get, like I said, I see it as a bonus, and if I get more gigs? Sure that’s great,” concludes Mina. “I just hope that with this show, we manage to connect with the audience and what we’re trying to bring across. That’s my job as an actor, and if I’ve achieved that, then I’ve done my job.”

Photo Credit: Pangdemonium!

End of the Rainbow runs from 7th to 23rd October 2022 at the Drama Centre Theatre. Tickets and more information available here.