Peter Kopperman and Karin Shuey of The Washington Estonian Society hosted an enlightening and entertaining virtual presentation on the “Making of Singing Revolution: The Musical” on Sunday evening April 25, 2021.

Creator Tony Spinosa, a veteran Broadway director and choreographer, shares how he spent five years researching the actual events that occurred in Estonia from 1987-1991, and then developed it into an American Musical for the stage.

All the events in the musical are historically accurate, but fictional characters were created to drive the story line.

The audience was treated to a video of the musical’s opening number, “Lift it Up,” performed by Broadway veteran Neil Haskell.  

Also appearing in the program was award-winning Estonian-born actress, singer and producer Kristi Roosma. 

Kristi shared the meaning of this musical from an Estonian’s perspective.

The audience was able to see the music video of Kristi singing a song called “Never Forget Who You Are,” filmed on Tallinn’s Song Festival grounds in August 2020, as well as behind-the-scenes footage illustrating how the professional video was developed.   

Through the power of virtual technology, this program reached over 170 Estonians and friends of Estonians from around the globe, including places as far flung as Australia and New Zealand, as well as the Netherlands, Canada, Mexico and of course, the United States and Estonia. 

If you would like to learn how an Italian American came to create a musical celebrating Estonia and experience some of the musical numbers, Sunday evening’s program was recorded and is available for viewing on the Washington Estonian Society website, www.washingtonestoniansociety.com .   

Many thanks to the Estonian American National Council for their continued support, by making their ZOOM account available to reach this broad audience.   

Peter Kopperman &
Sue Kopperman