This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily, on October 19, 2015.

WHILE she was growing up, singer Stephanie Van Driesen says that sultry Hollywood actress Marilyn Monroe was a looming presence — in the form of a seven-foot-tall framed poster her father put up in their home. Now the musical theatre artiste will be exploring and in some ways channelling the icon in her solo show, Marilyn & Me at the Theatre Lounge Café this weekend.

“I had always been a bit fascinated with her,” says Van Driesen, 31, who is from Petaling Jaya. “She is still very relevant today.”

Finding that it’s the right time to venture into her first solo gig, Van Driesen says when she thought about the overall theme, Marilyn Monroe’s journey appealed to her. “I wanted an easily recognisable persona, and the more I researched her, I was able to relate to a lot of what she went through in order to become successful.”

The songstress emphasises that it’s not a mere tribute concert. Instead the show comes from her own perspective, drawing parallels with her own stories, from her childhood and her journey as an artiste. “There are monologues before every song. So every song is like a marker…” she explains.

Working with musical director Loh Ui Li and a four-piece band, Van Driesen adds that the 16 songs she chose to perform are carefully laid out to relate to the themes of the show, “It’s actually like a jukebox musical, and some of the lyrics are changed to fit the story.”

Songs include popular musical theatre repertoires such as Don’t Rain on My Parade by Barbara Streisand in Funny Girl, and several songs that were once sung by Monroe, including Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend. Van Driesen hints that there will be some surprises in store as well with the song choices. “The challenge for me is to bring Marilyn’s point of view into the songs,” she says.

The wider focus of the show addresses questions such as being your own self in the performing arts industry; self-acceptance and the freedom to change — struggles that Monroe faced in her day.

“The whole show is asking questions like that, like can you change and will your audience still love you? There’s even a bit about our mothers, hers and mine,” she adds.

It’s also personal to her current career point, “I kind of want a different challenge and would like to be more of a creator, having a voice beyond the industry,” says the Singapore-trained performer. “Marilyn was known as that sexy, blonde girl, and she was that… but it was something she wanted to break out of at the end of her life.”

Having most recently starred as Sally Bowles in Pan Production’s sold-out performance of Cabaret, Van Driesen established herself swiftly in the local theatre scene with her strong vocals and a “triple threat” skill set that garnered her lead roles in musicals such as The Secret Life of Nora and Marrying Me: A New Musical.

But the songstress says she is ready to branch out. For one, she wants to do more with her passion for meditation and healing therapies. “I started getting involved in it in my last year in Singapore. At first it was just for helping my own background and hang ups, but I’ve since taken courses and training, and help other people.”

Among her range of skills is sound healing, where the voice or music and instruments are used to alter the frequency and vibrations in the body.

“The premise is that when you have lower thoughts or emotions, you’re vibrating at a lower space, with low energy. The simplest example is how a song affects how we feel,” she said, adding that the techniques alter the energy of a person, and are able to influence brainwaves and our emotions positively.

“Which brings me back to Marilyn & Me. It is a performing arts piece, but underlying the show, it is about freeing yourself and healing. It’s going to be a show, but what’s more exciting for me is that it’s not just about Marilyn Monroe, but it’s about these universal themes… That’s what I want the audience to relate to and experience,” she reiterates.

That doesn’t mean that she’s not going to have a crack at channelling some of Monroe’s famed seductive charms, “I’m going to try to look a bit like her and evoke her style,” says Van Driesen. But at the end of the day, she points out, “I guess it’s a combination of my love for telling stories, and singing really amazing songs.”

Marilyn & Me will be performed from Oct 23-25, 9pm, at the Theatre Lounge Café, B1-3A, Plaza Damas 3, 63 Jalan Sri Hartamas 1, Kuala Lumpur. The show on Oct 23 benefits the Home of Peace Girl’s Orphanage with admission at RM100 and RM150, while admission for Oct 24 and 25 are priced at RM65 and RM117. To book, call (012) 236 9100 or (012) 243 8962.