“I was still a toddler when I played a ‘snowflake’ in my school’s Christmas play. I started somewhere in the back, but before I knew it, I was dancing right up front—I loved it! When I saw the hit musical ‘The Phantom of the Opera’ at the Circustheater two years later, I knew: this is what I wanted to do, too!” And that little girl’s dream came true. She performed for three seasons in the musical theater show “Jeans,” where she was able to fully combine her love for theater, performance, music, and dance. Together with the Royal Netherlands Air Force Orchestra, she toured throughout the country.
Special memories of Soldier of Orange, the musical.
Roos starred for two consecutive years in the record-breaking musical “Soldaat van Oranje, the Musical.” “I really enjoy variety; I get bored pretty quickly when I have to focus on just one thing. Of course, I have special memories of my time with ‘Soldaat van Oranje, the musical.’ It was a huge challenge for me as an actress. Plus, that’s where I met my boyfriend (actor Ayal Oost). And performing with him is the absolute best, whether it’s drama or comedy.”
Fairy tales were instilled in Roos from a very young age. Even as a child, she was a huge Disney fan. “Fairy tales have always been my favorite; I literally devoured everything Disney. At the campground, I’d perform entire ensemble numbers all by myself. Sometimes I’d convince my older sister to join in. It was such a blast! My mom told me recently that when I’d cry in my playpen, she’d quiet me down by putting on the Dumbo video—even though Dumbo is, of course, a real tearjerker, hahaha.” In addition to the well-known Disney classics, Roos also knows all the Efteling fairy tales by heart. “I’ve been performing at Efteling for over 13 years. It’s such a fun and special place to work. I’ve played many a princess, and for quite some time now I’ve been taking on various roles at the ‘Fairy Tale Tree,’ where the witch is definitely my favorite. It’s so much fun to be so delightfully wicked!”
"The witch is my favorite anyway, wonderful to be so deliciously evil!"
Partly because of this, playing for children and families is right up her alley. "Children are tremendously honest in their reactions. You notice immediately if they don't like it or if they love it. That is sometimes quite confronting for an actor, but also incredibly challenging. The nicest thing is when children's performances are played in such a way that the parents can also laugh very hard at them. Once that happens, I have achieved my goal as an actor." In the "Fairy Tales of the Hair," the actors play different roles. "The more role changes, the more fun, there is a huge challenge in that for me as an actress. In 'Sprookjesboom' we also switch from one role to another enormously quickly. Switching quickly, blissful!" The show also incorporates well-known sing-along songs by K3, Andre Hazes or Kinderen voor Kinderen. "Personally, I like many kinds of music. From soul and funk to Top 40, and from Hazes, jazz to big Broadway musical hits. And a guilty pleasure are the sing-alongs of Tino Martin, a top hit." Despite having to work during the holidays, Rose looks forward to Christmas. "I can't remember other than having to work during the holidays, and I like that too. There is a special atmosphere then, which makes it extra special. We always do our best to make time one of the holidays to have a nice family dinner, long live gourmet!" On the way home, she then plays her favorite Christmas songs. "Then we turn the volume knob up to a nice 10 and sing along super loud with 'Santa Claus is coming to town' by Mariah Carey."
Adventure, humor and familiar sing-along songs
'De Sprookjes van de Haar' with Roos van Breukelen, Ayal Oost, Sara van der Wal and Sander Volders is a comical storytelling show full of adventure, humor and familiar sing-along songs. To be seen from December 25 (Christmas Day) through Sunday, January 6 and tickets are available at:
www.kasteeldehaar.nl.
