JUWITA SUWITO (Mary)Juwita started in the professional music scene in her teens as a backing vocalist for prominent Malaysian artistes. She has since released two albums, one EP and two singles. Brand New World (2004), For Real (2006), Take Five with Juwita Suwito at Avanti (live recording, 2008) and Sejak Hadirmu (single, 2009) have all received AIM (Malaysian Music Industry) award nominations, with Brand New World clinching the Best Local English Album award in 2005.
The former Malaysian Idol vocal coach is also a seasoned performer who has toured to Singapore, Perth, Adelaide, Melbourne and Canberra, while her music has been released in Taiwan, Indonesia and Hong Kong. She has also guest-coached on reality shows One in a Million and Mentor. Juwita is a founder director of Four Forty Records. Follow The Light marks her maiden voyage into the world of musical theatre.
TIM HOWE (Gabe)Tim's performance credits are an eclectic mix of direction, television production, stage acting, voice-overs, and a cappella and solo vocal performance. Tim enjoyed his years as a member of an age-old musical theatre troupe, the Princeton University Triangle Club. Stage credits include principal roles in The Mousetrap, Once on this Island, Oh Dad, Poor Dad…, Jeffrey, I Hate Hamlet, and, most recently, The Poet and the Rent at KLPac. Tim calls New Jersey, USA home and is currently serving as the performing arts coordinator and theatre director at the International School of Kuala Lumpur.
AARON KHALED (Joe)Aaron is adept in violin and piano as well as voice. He was awarded a full music scholarship to study at Sekolah Sri Cempaka in 2001, and in 2005, he was accepted into the Moscow Conservatory of Music to train in the field of classical piano, after which he received a full scholarship to pursue a Bachelor of Music in performance majoring in voice from the Australian International Conservatorium of Music.
Since his graduation in May 2010, Aaron has been performing in various shows and events around Kuala Lumpur. His musical repertoires include regular performances at No Black Tie, Torch Song and Rainbow Massacre at the Annexe Gallery, Celebrities Club in Solaris, and various other venues.
ZALINA LEE (Bathsheba)Zalina has performed in various venues in and around Kuala Lumpur, including at Bangkok Jazz @ Chulan Square, No Black Tie, and UrbanAttic KL. Zalina's experience in vocal performance ranges from singing in music bars to musical theatre (The Edge, KLPac, 2008). She has conducted for and sung in the Philharmonic Society of Selangor, and has co-music directed BOH Cameronian Award-nominated a cappella group The Wicked Pitches, in addition to vocal coaching for local theatre productions such as P Ramlee The Musical, Puteri Gunung Ledang The Musical, and A Christmas Carol.
RYDEE ANNA ABDUL (Zemira)Sabah-born Rydee grew up in the USA, and played percussion in her primary school band. She was active in varsity choir as well as in theatre during her high school years. In Sabah, she was the vocalist for the Headhunters, a live band. Rydee was a Top 10 finalist in reality TV shows Pop Star on NTV7 in 2003, and Malaysian Idol during its first season in 2004. She currently works full time with Radio Bayu, a Sabahan radio station operated by Astro in Kuala Lumpur.
ADRIEN ZAFFRI (Marvin)Adrien is an interior designer and an aspiring harpist who loves the colour grey. Follow The Light is his first musical.
LIANG (Bart)Liang is an R&B recording artist whose album After 8, released by Four Forty Records, won him two AIM awards in 2008. His debut album 8oz of Soul was released in 2004, and his first single from that album Silver Linings hit No 1 on X-Fresh FM’s Carta 20. This year, Liang released his latest album RIGGA.DANG.DIGGA.DIGGA, which has been featured on chart-topping R&B compilations in Japan. Visit his website at www.mynameisliang.com.
XAVIER FONG (Mel) Xavier graduated from Akademi Seni Budaya dan Warisan Kebangsaan (Aswara) as the Best Graduate in the Theatre Faculty of 2008, and has since been in local television series and movies such as Lembing dan Layang (Astro Citra), Gadoh (DVD movie) and the 2010 film Belukar . He can be seen in Crossings, a 13-episode English drama series, which premiered in August on NTV7. Xavier’s theatre credits include local performances of Grease, Cats, West Side Story and Sweeney Todd, among others. In FTL, he also plays one of the Innkeepers.
TONY LEO SELVARAJ (Gasper) Tony began acting at the age of eight in Sunday School productions, playing the roles of either Jesus or Satan. He has been involved in theatre productions such as Broken Bridges – The Musical, Tunku The Musical, Rose, Rose I Love You, Ismail – The Last Days, Kaki Blue and Frankenstein in Love. He is glad that he is playing one of the Wise Men in Follow The Light because Jesus is still a baby in this one.
SUZAN MANEN (ANGEL)Since joining the chorus of The Philharmonic Society of Selangor's production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat in 1984, Suzan has performed in many of its musicals and choral productions, including The Sound of Music, Guys and Dolls, Regards to Broadway and Carl Orff’s Carmina Burana with the National Symphony Orchestra. Musical theatre credits include the Kuala Lumpur season of Chang & Eng – The Musical, Nunsense, Sunetra Swish Sings Sondheim, and Pygmalion. Suzan was also in the chorus of Lyric Opera Malaysia and Singapore Lyric Opera's productions of Puccini's Tosca, and played the role of Praskowia in Lyric Opera Malaysia's production of Franz Lehar's operetta The Merry Widow.
ANRIE TOO (Angel)Anrie’s theatre credits include Rose Rose I Love You, Girls Just Wanna Have Fun, The Girl from Ipoh and Memories For Sale. Her part in Dama Orchestra’s I Have A Date With Spring (2009) allowed her to perform on the stage of His Majesty Theatre in Perth, Western Australia. Anrie has also performed in The Good Body by Eve Ensler, alongside a reputable cast under the direction of Susan Lankaster in 2009. Most recently, she played Bianca in the Bollywood cabaret version of Taming of the Shrew in June 2010.
SONG-FAN SEAH (Angel)Song-fan's commercial voiceover credits include L’Oreal, Hotlink, Garnier, DiGi, Honda, Lancome, Old Town White Coffee, KFC, Toyota, and McDonald’s, among others. He made his theatre stage debut in 2004 in the musical Above Full Moon. His other theatre credits include Taming of the Shrew, Butterfly Lovers – The Musical, Jewel of Tibet, and I Have A Date with Spring. Song-Fan has also expanded his acting repertoire to include television dramas.
NICOLE-ANN THOMAS (Angel/Innkeeper)
Nicole has been performing professionally since 1993. She started off with the Selangor Philharmonic Choir and performed in musical revues and operas like Carmina Burana, Messiah, Turandot and The Merry Widow. Trained in contemporary dance, her dance credits include Seven Deadly Sins and When They Dance 3. Her theatre foray began in 2001 in Mountain Language/One For The Road. Musical credits include M! The Opera, Ismail The Last Days, DanSing Thru Broadway, Pygmalion and the lead role in Bernarda Alba.
