Island Girl

Nothing quite prepared me for the genuine enthusiasm of Kristian Lei towards the Philippines. Krish is a late addition to the cast of Once on This Island, the latest musical being mounted by our company, Actor’s Actors Inc.

She first flashed her smile and the room lit up, her jet black hair framing her large brown eyes when she sang for us. She eventually landed the pivotal role of Ti Moune, alternating with Born Diva champ Raki Vega.

Kristian has only been in Manila three months and she has already made up her mind to stay and try her luck at performing and producing here.

"Producing?" I query during a rehearsal break just the other day.

She explained that back in Hawaii, she produces shows for a company called Honolulu Broadway Babies. She flies international stars into Honolulu to perform Broadway revues for the benefit of foundations that help the disabled, particularly those with cerebral palsy.

Kristian Lei was born of a Filipina mother and an Irish-Japanese Hawaiian father. She was born in Cebu but the family moved to Hawaii when she was three, so she has no previous memory of the Philippines. She’s the second of four siblings and the only girl. Her brother, who is five years her junior, suffers from cerebral palsy which explains her passion for helping those afflicted with the disease. She grew up taking care of her younger brother, cooking and feeding him even as young as when she was seven years old.

Her father, all 6’6" of him, was a stern man, and they all kept quiet around him. But when he left for work Krish would burst into song. The first song she learned as a child was Gaano Kita Kamahal. One day she was singing in full voice when her father unexpectedly stepped into the house. Seeing him, she cowered. But he told her, smiling, to continue singing– and she hasn’t stopped since.

In college, she was determined to take a course that would help the disabled, but as an elective took up drama. Her voice stood out and at the urging of friends, auditioned for Miss Saigon, landing the lead at first try. She played Kim for the German production at Stuttgart for a year and a half until it closed.

Upon her return to Hawaii, she did lounge acts and began to teach singing. But her need to help raise funding for and awareness of cerebral palsy gave her the impetus to organize Honolulu Broadway Babies. Her stint with Miss Saigon had introduced her to international stars of the stage, and she enterprisingly saw these contacts as an asset which she used to mount her first major show in Honolulu. It turned out to be an unqualified success.

She was spotted by the Filipino partners of the producers of the Ms. Hawaiian Tropic Contest held here some months back. They flew her in as a featured guest in the contest. It was a performance that generated some buzz and got the attention of manager Arnold Vegafria, who signed her up and then called me.

"Performing here feels like being with family," she says. "I mean, in Stuttgart, I was with Filipinos all the time and that was good, but this really feels complete."

You’d think her challenge now, playing Ti Moune, is having to be childlike again given the extensive background she’s had so far. But she explains that she grew up in a town called Waianae, not exactly a cosmopolitan city. "I used to play in the trees and in the fields. My first toys were palm leaves formed into swords, stones, sticks."

I asked her how far she wanted to take her showbiz career and without hesitation she answered that she wished to one day be able to use her career to set up institutions for the continued education of the disabled.

During a break in the rigorous rehearsals, I caught her chatting with some of the other cast members. Her bright eyes were intent as she tripped over a few Tagalog phrases in a valiant attempt to gain fluency. She is now often the butt of good-natured ribbing from the cast.

For someone who performs and produces in both Hawaii and Los Angeles, the determination to supplant herself and practice her craft here is surprising, to say the least. She confessed that she was going to have to have a co-producer handle the upcoming show in L.A. It seemed a rather steep trade-off for a career in these islands.

But it doesn’t even register as anything of a sacrifice to her. She is so optimistic and so in love with the country and the talent here it’s humbled me into re-thinking my own cynicism. Sometimes all it takes is a girl from faraway islands to make you see these ones with fresh eyes.

Once On This Island will have performances on May 13, 14,20, 21, 27 and 28 at 8 pm, and May 15 and 29 at 3pm at the RCBC Plaza Carlos P. Romulo Theater. Tickets at TicketWorld tel 891-9999.