Joanna Dong
Tell us about your character.
Sakura Teng was a big star of our region in the ’60s to ’80s. Nicknamed the ‘A Go-Go Queen’, she was known for her signature yodelling style, and being able to sing in many languages such as English, Mandarin, Malay, Japanese and Tagalog. Sakura has an impressive 50 albums under her belt, but it is really her energetic live performances and effervescent personality that make her stand out.
What is the most interesting thing about your character?
I was always under the impression that Sakura is Singaporean, but she actually hails from Malaysia. Apparently she was immediately offered a job when the manager heard her perform Chubby Checker’s ‘Let’s Twist Again’ at New Life Review music and dance hall, after being urged on stage by her friends.
How similar are you to your characters?
What’s interesting is that Sakura was known for singing Mandarin covers of popular English music, and I’ve been doing something similar in my career.
If your life were a cabaret, what would be in it?
It would begin with a re-enactment of my Singapore Idol me I looked really ‘auntie’. That would be followed by a sequence of vignettes of my childhood and of me in my 20s in stylish evening gowns singing jazz. The first act would end with the present day me, in my early 30s doing a song-and- dance number entitled ‘You Can Call Me Auntie’.