Issue 6

Page 1

KERRY ELLIS

PLUS: JIM CARUSO // THE THEATRE REVOLUTION // ROSS HUNTER & MORE

ISSUE 6:£5

MAY 2011 WWW.M-ISFOR.CO.UK

M (Print) ISSN 2046-8792 (Online) ISSN 2046-8806

IN THIS ISSUE

REVOLUTION rev·o·lu·tion    [rev-uh-loo-shuhn]

–noun 1. An overthrow or repudiation and the thorough replacement of an established government or political system by the people governed. 2. Sociology . a radical and pervasive change in society and the social structure, especially one made suddenly and often accompanied by violence. Compare social evolution. 3. A sudden, complete or marked change in something: the present revolution in church architecture. Origin: 1350–1400; Middle English revolucion < Late Latin revolūtiōn- (stem of revolūtiō ), equivalent to revolūt + -iōn- -ion —Related forms an·ti·rev·o·lu·tion, adjective non·rev·o·lu·tion, noun post·rev·o·lu·tion, adjective pro·rev·o·lu·tion, adjective sem·i·rev·o·lu·tion, noun —Can be confused:   rebellion, revolt, revolution.

Quotes A revolution can be neither made nor stopped. The only thing that can be done is for one of several of its children to give it a direction by dint of victories. Napoleon Bonaparte You cannot make a revolution with silk gloves. Joseph Stalin One does not establish a dictatorship in order to safeguard a revolution; one makes a revolution in order to establish a dictatorship. George Orwell When dictatorship is a fact, revolution becomes a right. Victor Hugo In a revolution, as in a novel, the most difficult part to invent is the end. Alexis de Tocqueville The revolution is not an apple that falls when it is ripe. You have to make it fall. Che Guevara A revolution is an idea which has found its bayonets. Napoleon Bonaparte

CLEGG’S WORD! What’s this?! M. in your HANDS? And isn’t it glossy, and shiny, and pretty?! Not that we are into bragging, but we LOVE our little mag, and even more so now it’s on gorgeous paper. It’s not taken us long to get here, five issues online and now in print – with definitely our best ever issue that features the cream of the crop talent-wise. Our REVOLUTION shoot is a personal favourite this month as it was a chance for us to give some exposure to the people working hard in this business to make theatre different, fresh and exciting! All of the folks in that feature are at different levels of their career, some you will know and some you won’t - but all of them do their jobs BLOODY well and that’s why we thought you should be told all about them. As for me, I’ve had a crazy month with M, my productions, and singing a duet (kind of!) with Jennifer Hudson!!! An actual high point of my life I think! As always, keep tweeting us - we love to hear from you… and tell your friends about M. I have rent to pay, and shoes to buy!

Chris :)

WHAT’S INSIDE?! PAGE 6

LOVE / HATE PAGE 10 JIM CARUSO PAGE 16 YOUTUBE PAGE 18 REVOLUTION PAGE 38 ROSS HUNTER PAGE 48 AGENT PROVOCATEUR PAGE 50 KERRY ELLIS PAGE 64 CD’S AND STUFF PAGE 67 TALENT EDITOR / CREATOR chris@m-isfor.co.uk @chrisdclegg James Nowell DEPUTY EDITOR james@m-isfor.co.uk @jcnowell Rebecca Wynter STAFF WRITER rebecca@m-isfor.co.uk Chris Clegg

Publicity: Kevin Wilson at KWPR

kevinwilsonpublicrelations.co.uk

That this copy of M is in your hands! The Priscilla Broadway Cast Recording- but only half of it The rave reviews of Ghost from Manchester Meow Meow. Seriously. Kettners in Soho – it’s our new office

The closing of Umbrella’s of Cherbourg The other half of the Priscilla Broadway Cast Recording Critic’s without Imagination That HAIR is going back to Broadway this summer and not here! Moby Dick’s cancellation at the Landor Theatre

to order your copy and for more information on future tours visit

www. guessonstage .com

Suitable for children 2+. Produced by Sally Humphreys Productions & Jason Haigh-Ellery

aLso avaiLabLe at

and

Guess How Much I Love You is a registered trademark of Walker Books Ltd, London.

the aCCLaimed UK staGe PRodUCtion is noW avaiLabLe on dvd

masterOF

CEREMONIES A LOOK AT THE KING OF NYC CABARET by CHRIS CLEGG

PHOTOGRAPHY BY BILL WESTMORELAND.

Jim is somewhat of a missing phenomenon in the UK. An M.C. A real cabaret M.C. Weekly Jim knocks out his regular shows, with passion, flair and energy. His home is Birdland, a true Jazz / Cabaret venue, with tables, a grand piano, a bar, waiters, and a whole lot of style...

In the 60-odd years Birdland has been thriving it’s stage has been graced by Jazz legends from around the world Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Bud Powell, Lester Young, and many others. It’s audience has literally been like a trip though Madame Tussauds with legends such as Gary Cooper, Marilyn Monroe, Frank Sinatra, Marlene Dietrich, and Sammy Davis, Jr. enjoying the music of the time. The club, which is “close to perfection for serious fans and musicians,” according to the The New York Times, is now home to Jim Caruso and his infamous ‘Cast Party’ and ‘Broadway at Birdland’ shows. Each week visitors are treated to the best of Broadway, followed by the chance themselves to perform in Cast Party… but its not your typical open-mic set up… the performers here are (mostly!) incredible and put to shame some of the “stars” that grace the West End today! One minute you could have a nervous teen singing a Jason Robert Brown, followed by a Broadway star belting out some Jerry Herman- you literally never know who you are going to get! The night is so loved within the NYC community and has also been honoured with a Nightlife Award.

Jim takes the audience on a great journey, and even after nearly 8 years of these nights, he never seems bored or appears to be ‘going through the motions’, and he has energy-a-plenty that seems to infect the audience (plus the cocktails help too!). The show seems to go from strength to strength now, with Cast Parties (headed by Jim, of course) around the US, and recent performances from Chita Rivera and Liza Minnelli surely don’t hurt the excellent reputation too much! Oh, and Miranda Sings likes to pop up occasionally too! Jim, as well as acting as compere for each event, is no stranger to getting up there and doing it himself! He recently made his Broadway debut alongside Liza Minnelli in the smash hit Liza’s At The Palace!, singing, dancing and celebrating the music and arrangements of the late, great Kay Thompson and the Williams Brothers. Caruso was also the founding member of the nationally acclaimed, award-winning jazz vocal and comedy trio, Wiseguys. After performing in an all-star Inaugural extravaganza, they were invited to sing at President Clinton’s First State Dinner at the White House in an evening hosted by Lauren Bacall… pretty impressive!

Jim’s newest CD has just been released and “The Swing Set,” is a collection of wryly re-imagined standards and eye-popping new tunes, featuring a whole host of hot American talent; Michael Feinstein, Bucky Pizzarelli, Hilary Kole, Stephanie J. Block, and Aaron Weinstein all turn up on the album. It’s a classy album, a lot of time and love has obviously gone into it, with each song really showing off the performers talents.

Jim is at Birdland every Monday with Broadway at Birland and Cast Party, and his album is available via his website. For more info check out www.jim-caruso.com

The Birmingham Stage Company is pleased to announce casting for our next two productions. For details of casting, news and reviews visit

www.birminghamstage.com “A flawlessly acted production� The New York Times

Photography by Matt

Crockett // Words by Rebecca Wynter // Clothing from Rokit and Beyond the Valley //

lley // Makeup by Amii-Rose Steward and Claire Macdonnell using Illamasqua and Dermalogica

A LOOK AT THE CREATIVE TALENT COMING UP THROUGH THE RANKS...

Creating M. was somewhat of a challenge to prove that Musical Theatre CAN be sexy, fun and interesting! In this shoot we’re showing you some of the people we believe are leading the fight into the 21st century and beyond...

Sometimes being young in this industry is a struggle and there is extra pressure to perform. I’m really proud of what i’ve achieved in my Production Managing and my work for the magazine but i’m learning everyday. M has been a privilege to be a part of and i’m loving the response we have got so far, bring on many more.

If we listened to everything everyone ever told us then I’d still be living in Preston working in a call centre! As Maralyn Monroe said “Ever notice how ‘What the hell’ is always the right answer?”, you just have to go for what you want!

We first met when James was managing YouTube sensation Miranda Sings in the UK and I wanted to produce her first ever West End show! The result was amazing - a sold out gig at The Ambassadors Theatre where she was joined by stars and company members from over six West End show. It was amazing - the atmosphere and the cheering made it feel lke we were at the O2!

Lets meet our creative army...

I’m trying to bring a musical and a play, both revivals, to the London fringe by the end of the year. I’m also going to be working on a documentary about young theatre producers. We are just pitching it to different channels at the moment. We are doing it for two reasons. One, because there’s a whole heap of young producers that are doing great new work. Two, a lot of people don’t know what producers do so it’s an insight into that. And also, when people DO know what producers do, they think you have to be 50 and be a millionaire. It gives you an insight into the lives of being in theatre-land.

The fact that bemuses everyone is that my greatest love in this world is football. I’ve got a season ticket at Spurs. People can’t believe that one night I’m shouting and swearing at a match, and the next night I’m in the theatre watching a musical. It’s sort of the most heterosexual thing and the most homosexual thing – and I love them both. Quite a weird combination I think. There’s been a couple of acheivements im immensley proud of, for several different reasons. I did a show called ‘Well’ at Trafalgar Studios and then we moved onto the Apollo and I was part of the production team for that. That was only six months out of drama school, aged 22, and being in the West End that was quite cool to name drop in the pub. Also ‘The Drowsy Chaperone’ which I recently co-produced at the Gatehouse – we got nominated for a What’s On Stage award. We had great reviews, great audiences, nomination – it was a fantastic show.

Coming from a performing background, whenever I’ve been in an ensemble or played a part, I always stood wanting to create something different from what the people around me were saying. I just want to develop a style where you’re choreographing within a musical and you’re still telling the story - not like kick-and-turn choreography. A lot of the time I go and see shows, I feel like the story is never moving on with the dance. The song starts, we do a bit of choreography and we finish – there’s no reason for it. You feel that West End is at a point where it’s very rigid in its choices. I’m very vocal about how I feel about things and I have big visions. So I have to practice what I preach. I moan about other people so I have to, for my own sanity, make sure that is the best it can be.

I lived in Germany when I was younger and all the girls went to dance class – so my mum took me along. Ballet, tap, jazz. I just loved it. I’m dyslexic which, I think, helps with my creativity. I’ve always been in a little dream world. I always invent scenarios and always see choreography within normal life. My family took the mickey out of me, because they’d take me to a restaurant and I’d be playing with salt and pepper pots and I’d be happy for hours. Very strange, very strange child.

Knowing your field is very important. Knowing, not just the big actors and the big shows that are coming along, but knowing the movements and players behind it. Knowing about what influences certain producers have on a project and PRs and PR companies. But also be prepared to just go with the flow and have a chat. Far more often people will take you on a journey that is unexpected.

I’d like to interview Andrew Lloyd Webber – I think he is fascinating. And all the sort of big old school people like Rowan Atkinson. And of course all those people who are dead; like Iain Richardson. He was an amazing actor on TV but really underrated as a stage actor.

I’m currently producing ‘Things Ain’t What They Used To Be’ at The Union and Hannah Jane Fox and Neil McCaul are playing our leads. I just love working with actors. That’s what I first wanted to do. Being a casting director, it’s not about judging them it’s about trying to find their potential. I love getting the best out of people. Starting stuff from scratch and seeing it all the way through – which is why I have now started producing rather than just casting – because it’s just great to see a show grow.

So far – touch wood – I haven’t been criticised for bad casting. And I’m sure at some point it will happen. Casting is all about piecing together a jigsaw puzzle; you need to find a really good ensemble. They have to work as a team, not just as individuals.

Theatre can only last as long as its audience go to it – otherwise it just goes to television or film. So we have a responsibility, as young creators, to keep it fresh and relevant to young people. So I want to introduce a new era of theatre goers to classics but package it in a way that they still feel the relevance of it.

I’m always looking for new opportunities to do my own work. I have a passion for doing big productions, big musicals, also. I would love to be choreographing new creative stuff around London. I’m currently in meetings with a theatre – I can’t say which one yet – about a possible artistic residency at the theatre. We’re looking at collaborating with local club nights and things like this to make dance more interactive

I love being creative. When I was a little boy I would never sleep and every night I used to ask my mum to give me something to design in my head – I’m not a designer – but it feed this need for creativity with being a choreographer and a dance director. I get so satisfied with that because I’ve always got something to work on or create.

Everyone that I choreograph with – they laugh at me, because I’m known for having my notebooks, they have to be exactly the right size and have to be squared paper. I scribble down all the time. I have one next to my bed. That’s another interesting fact about me; I have a fetish for stationary.

When I was younger I said I wanted to be in theatre so my mum sent me straight to voice lessons, I was about 10, so I got into it all really young, I used to over pronounce my Gs – “siNGiNG and dancinG”. When I was a little boy I used to dance all the time – it was my way of getting out of tidying up at nursery – that’s how young I was. The teachers thought I was misbehaving and asked my parents how long I’d been dancing; and I hadn’t. So they started me off at ballet, but I hated it because it was all fairies and my legs hurt. So I didn’t do it again. But then I started doing free-styling disco classes which I loved because even though they’d teach me routines I could just do my own thing. I was probably just the crazy little nutter that was rolling around the floor. I used to put on my own productions at school – in the way of all the other boys trying to play football – so I was never very popular. I used to go and see West End shows and bug my parents to take me to more.

We are quite unique in what we do online. It’s not like other radio shows. The great thing about being live is that we can have that direct interaction with the listeners. People on twitter follow us – it’s going up every week. I feel that’s our uniqueness; the fact that we are young people in theatre, talking about theatre, to young people.

It’s the only kind of live theatre online radio show programme of its kind. We are a cheeky look at theatre and all different types of comedy, dance, and musical. It’s great.

We’ve got quite a lot of new things happening in the next series which is exciting. We’re going to look at comedy a bit more. Look at dance. The idea is that we want to open it up to arts and culture as a whole – kind of likening it to a radio version of the South Bank Show almost. We want to mix it up and talk to different people. Not necessarily performers, but people from outside, maybe people from stage management point of view, or lighting – to bring in all the creative aspects.

I recently choreographed ‘Iolanthe’ which is running at the Wilton’s Music Hall until the 7th May. We’ve received fantastic reviews so far – four stars – and I’ve just found out that I’m nominated for ‘Best Choreographer’ for the Off West End Theatre Awards. I’m also one of the five choreographers for ‘Shoes’ which was recently on at the Peacock Theatre.

I first started dancing when I was four. When I first wore a hearing aid – in fact it was a box thing on my chest back then – I discovered sound! It really opened a new world to me. At the same time my sister was at dance school and I would be dragged along. I would watch them all moving in time with the piano and I could feel the vibration. I was so fascinated by it that I would try to copy them behind and try to join in the class. My mum recognised it and was very supportive. With my deafness she didn’t want me to be isolated. In that day people presumed that deaf people can’t dance, because they can’t hear music, but there are other ways we can do that.

I like to use all styles of dance like ballet, contemporary, jazz. With my own personal style of choreography I like to incorporate sign language into it – as a connection with my own deafness. That puts my identity into it. It’s a style that people recognise. For example I will take a sign language word, then make the movement from it much bigger and use the whole body to express it. It forms a new language. This is the perfect combination as dance is language. It’s all about communication.

I’ve got my own all male company called Deaf Men Dancing. The dancers are from all over the UK and we only recently formed last year. In August we did a two week workshop. I’m always being asked ‘are you the only deaf dancer?’ And I say ‘no’. I know of Denny Haywood, I know of Joseph Fletcher, and I thought ‘what if I bring them all together in one studio?’ They work in the dance world – which is a very hear-y world – and work with other hear-y dancers. So it was interesting to bring them all together into the deaf world. They just clicked. They knew how we work. So we developed my style of choreography even further, incorporating it into hip-hop, commercial, contemporary – a bit of everything. So far we’ve performed at The Place and Dance East Anniversary Gala; that was only in September one month after forming. We’re performing in festivals in Brighton and Manchester soon. It’s very exciting.

I’m currently resident director on the ‘Wizard of Oz’. As resident, I was also on ‘Sweet Charity’ at the Haymarket. I’ve done two plays; ‘Educating Rita’ and ‘Shirley Valentine’ which was the first big revival of Willy Russell’s plays. I also direct my own stuff alongside that, I did a show with Chris actually, called Betwixt! in 2008.

I was born on April Fool’s Day – I used to have the piss taken out of me when I was little. My parents would wrap up empty boxes. On my 10th birthday I flew back from America, I was so jetlagged because it was the first time I’d done an Atlantic flight. My mum put me to bed and when I woke up she told me that I’d slept all the way through my birthday and that it was now April 2nd and I couldn’t have any presents.

In five years time I’m going to be running the world. Naaah, what I’d really like is to be established enough to pick the work that I want to do. Musical theatre all the way! But in the broadest sense. I love new work, all stuff that has been undiscovered before, or hasn’t been revived for a long time – things that can be presented in a different way. I do really love doing huge shows on a tiny scale. Shows that are shamelessly too big and then put them on in a small space for an audience of 100, because there is nothing like being that close. I like to trick the mind of the audience into imagining the bigger picture.

I think theatre for the younger generation definitely can be done in a dynamic way - but it relies on two things. It relies on us, as theatre makers, bringing the work and it also relies on the young people coming to see it. We have to be responsible for bringing work that is relevant to them, stuff that they want to see, maybe with people in it that they want to see. For example, Jessy J should write a musical – she just should! And we should make her! Another example, Lilly Allen writing the music for the Bridget Jones Musical, I think, love her or hate her it’s a really interesting idea.

Eventually I hope to own a venue! I think theatres are perfect venues for a clubbing experience because of the way they are set out with all the different areas.

We started a night in June 2009 called ‘Kinky Cabaret’. It was initially was just going to be for four weeks but when it finished people were like ‘where’s Kinky Cabaret?’ So we had to come back. It’s now a weekly night on Mondays. We have a range of things from West End shows. Jersey Boys did our opening night. Sometimes shows will promote themselves or sometimes you get people coming down and doing completely different things. So if they’re in ‘WWRU’, they may come down and sing a more traditional musical theatre piece. Or you get people from ‘Les Miserables’ coming down and singing rock songs. We also get quite a lot of new up-andcoming writers. Lance Horne has been with us for a long time. Anytime he’s in town he says the favourite place for him is ‘Kinky Cabaret’. He’s coming back in a couple of weeks actually.

In the last couple of months there’s been a lot of drama students coming down to the new up-and-coming musical theatre stuff. I remember when I was at drama school, we all loved the new stuff that was coming out and we felt that it was our generation type of thing. So I always try to get a mix of established West End performers and then throw in a newbie, so to speak, so it gives them the experience.

Keep an eye out for this talented buch over the next few years - you heard it here first - they are the children of the Revolution. M.

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CHAT

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CURRENTLY APPEARING IN WE DOMINION, ROSS HAS A CHAT WIT PHOTOS: MATT CROCKETT

CHEEKY

CHAP

H U N T E R

IN WE WILL ROCK YOU AT THE AT WITH DEPUTY EDITOR JAMES... WORDS: JAMES NOWELL

Firstly, tell our readers what are you up to at the moment? Currently covering the role of Galileo in we will rock you at the dominion theatre. And recording with a few musical theatre writers including Richard Beadle, Tim Prottey Jones, Michael Bruce and the team at Spekulation entertainment.

You seem to suit, and enjoy, the rock side of theatre – do you have any inspirations from within theatre or other musicians? My inspirations in theatre are the likes of Adam Pascal, Drew Sarich, and Consantine Maroulis. Other influences come from rock bands such as Bon Jovi, Jason Mraz and Stevie Wonder.

What do you enjoy about being part of We Will Rock You? You get the chance to rock out to Queen songs seven or eight times a week! Great fun, great company and the live rock band make it that much better.

Where do you see yourself in five years? Still in theatre. I’m still young and enjoying covering but hopefully in five years time (hopefully sooner) I will be up there playing lead roles.

Is there anything you find difficult about this industry? The talent coming out of stage school is always getting better and better, so it’s important you keep on top of your game, keep going to those dance and singing classes!

Although still young, is there something from your career so far that holds specific significance A memory or achievement? It’s got to be having the chance to share the stage with Brian May and Roger Taylor from Queen. They played our anniversary and cast change shows and its one of the most incredible experiences I’ve had!

As well as WWRY you’ve recently taken on a track on Michael Bruce’s album as well as being in the new Jest End at the Leicester Square theatre, do you ever find time to relax? It’s all going a bit mad at the moment but I like to keep busy! I love to unwind with a chill out with my friends, with football, drinks and music!

And finally, what’s next for you? Who knows? I’ve had a fantastic time at We Will Rock You over the past two years but I’m just looking forward to the future whatever may come along. Another rock show would be fab but something different would give me a new challenge! Whatever happens staying positive always and enjoying every second I get in this industry is important to me!

You can follow Ross on twitter @RossHunter1 The Olivier Award winning WE WILL ROCK YOU is now in it’s nineth year at the Dominion Theatre. For more info see www.wewillrockyou.co.uk

Tues 18th Jan A new graduate came in today for an interview. It didn’t start well as he rocked up a full 15 minutes late. My assistant, who is in charge of the office diary, spent 12 of those minutes stomping round the office growling, ‘when I say 11am, I mean 11am, not sometime in the region of 11am, or anytime before lunch, or whenever the mood takes you.’ He had apparently got stuck on the tube, lost the piece of paper with our address on and had his phone stolen the night before. What a jolly unfortunate series of events; I can only begin to imagine the inventive array of excuses you would come up with if we were to offer you representation and you were regularly late for auditions, which no doubt you would be. He was going to have to have the most cracking charismatic personality to make up for the poor start. He didn’t. Part of the conversation went like this: ‘Which actor’s career do you realistically aspire to emulate?’ Having broken my question down into words of no more than one syllable, I get this answer: ‘Probably like Channing Tatum or maybe Natalie Portman.’ Riiiight. I try to keep a neutral-yet-mildly-baffled expression on my face. You’ve just chasséd in here wearing a cravat and clutching a CV that boasts a degree from a D-list dance school and you give me Channing Tatum?! I’m not even going to go there with the whole Natalie Portman thing. I send him on his way, lamenting the 15 minutes of my life I’ve just squandered. Thurs 27th Jan I’ve been trying to persuade my boss for months now to let me dump some of our actors. Today he relents. It’s not something we do willy-nilly but if an actor hasn’t worked for 3 years and hasn’t been called in for an audition for the last 6 months, really, what is the point? We’re not a charity. And these people take up precious minutes of the day by emailing me left right and centre, flabbergasted at why David Grindrod/ Pippa Ailion/Debbie O’Brien is not seeing them for Mamma Mia/Wicked/Grease. Well David saw you for 3 shows last year and you didn’t get past the first round of any of them…This argument is apparently one which strikes actors as being entirely preposterous. ‘But I’m really improving!’ they protest. The complete drought of recalls or fresh credits on your CV would suggest otherwise; that charity cabaret you did at the Landor in 2007 is probably not screaming ‘show me your best 16!’ to Trevor Jackson. ‘But that last dance call I went to went really well’. You were cut. ‘But I danced great’. Nonononono. Gaaaah. I consider at this point banging my head repeatedly on the table in the vain hope it will, by proxy, knock some sense into the actor’s head. If you get cut, IT DID NOT GO WELL. The casting director is unlikely to have thought, ‘they are fantastic, let’s not keep them to sing, their outstanding talent might be too much for the show to cope with’, are they?

So occasional dumping has to take place. It’s one of the worst parts of the job, because, like Pokemon, you tend to grow quite fond of clients. Today’s conversation is particularly unpleasant, involving wailing, and protestations ranging from ‘but I’m too talented not to have an agent’ to ‘maybe I just need new headshots?’ Look, I reason, it’s a business decision, nothing personal - if Sainsbury’s was giving away tasters of a new muffin they were selling and nobody actually shelled out and bought one, they’d stop selling them. The baked goods analogy does not go down well. And I start feeling peckish. Wed 2nd Feb One of our actresses was confirmed today on a commercial, the buyout for which rivalled the GDP of a small African nation. She has only been on the books for a few weeks and she almost cried when I broke the good news to her. As happy as I am for her (she’s a lovely girl , blah blah), I can’t help feeling a stab of resentment at the fact she is earning twice my yearly salary in one day. Damn my plain, uncommercial face, stout frame and distinct lack of talent. Tues 8th Feb Happy day today, as one of my favourite clients got offered their first West End role. The sleepless nights causes by the trauma of scheduling 7 recalls with the actor away on a UK Tour are now all worth it. By the way, if an agent ever tells you they don’t have favourite clients, they are lying. We have favourites, we have crushes, I’d go so far as to say we have obsessions. I’m only mildly ashamed to say there are a couple of actors on our books I would happily prostrate myself on the casting couch for. Not that I ever would if that highly unlikely opportunity arose. I think. I’ve certainly heard rumours though. But when pillow talk revolves round questions such as, ‘so can you get me seen for Les Mis?’, the whole things begins to sounds distinctly less appealing. Mon 21st Feb My bum had hardly hit my chair this morning (Monday, MONDAY morning) and my cup of coffee was lounging far, far away from my hand on the kitchen counter across the office, when one of our actors called, wanting ‘to chat about what she had been submitted for and where their career was going etc’. We have a ‘don’t be rude to the clients’ policy in our office, so I gritted my teeth and gave her the ‘we’ve been pushing you really hard, I’m sure something will come up soon’ spiel. My lack of caffeine fuelled infuriation threatenened to boil over when she uttered my least favourite of all actor utterances: ‘I just really need you to get me a job!’ Errrrm, we don’t generally get actors jobs, we get them auditions. Big. Difference. I stomp off and bury my face in my now luke-warm latte.

Fri 25th Feb I was asked today if The Cherry Orchard was by Shakespeare. Nuff said. Thurs 3rd March My colleague and I went to a showcase today. Not one of the biggest drama schools but you never know where you’re going to unearth a gem. We would have been lucky to unearth a piece of scrap metal. It was so unrelentingly pitchily awful that we got the giggles. We were just about holding it together when the whole year came on doing a song and dance number in, wait for it, bikinis and Speedos. We proceed to dissolve into not just a discreet chuckle but full-on, horribly unprofessional, tears-streamingdown-our-face-hysteria. Clearly we are terrible people and no doubt will come back in future lives as dung beetles, but really, Speedos?! Tuesday 8th March Full-scale, toe-curling, gut-wrenching embarrassment today as my colleague erroneously sends an email intended for me to an actor. About the actor. The words ‘moron’ and ‘useless’ were involved. I have tried to wipe the memory of the ensuing conversation from my mind but I’m still getting the occasional flashback as waves of horror come crashing over me. Mon 21st March I have to go to the theatre more times a week than most people wash, but it’s been half a lifetime since I’ve fallen asleep watching a musical, so congratulations to Andrew Lloyd Webber for achieving what even Too Close To The Sun failed to. As Dorothy chirpily broke into We’re Off To See The Wizard for what felt like the 15th time, I felt my eyelids droop, before being jolted awake by the people behind me who, for some reason unbeknown to sensible, considerate, theatre-going folk, deemed it necessary to keep up a bellowing running commentary of the entire performance. This is not the show for people who like their musicals to contain more than 3 different songs, who like a talented ensemble to have more than 2 minutes stage-time, or who find it mildly offensive for the baddies to have Russian accents (didn’t that go out of fashion in 1989?). I’ll try and remember my pillow next time, though I could probably just nip backstage and borrow one off one of the supporting cast.

More secret blogs next time!

RW: So the big tour going on at the moment; Anthems. Tell us a bit more about it. KE: I’m really excited. We start at the Albert Hall on the 1st May. That show’s a little bit different to the tour because we’ve got a 50 piece orchestra and a big choir and dancers with us. And, of course, our band; Ryan and Jamie Humphries - who’s on guitar – and we’ve got Rufus Taylor, who is Roger Taylor’s son, playing drums. They are all on the Album too. With the the tour, we lose the orchestra and it’s a bit more raw and because it’s literally just us and the band. So it’s quite nice really we get to do the big huge show and then we get to take the essence of it on tour.

RW: It sounds like a good bunch of people and I guess you develop a good relationship with them? It must be great to still be working with Brian May. KE: Yeah, I mean I’ve had a long working relationship with Brian. So it’s really nice for us to actually go out and show what we’ve been doing. We’ve done a lot of sporadic one-off concerts like Hyde Park and Festival of Remembrance. We’ve done a lot of TV one-offs together. So for us to actually have a tour and be working for a longer amount of shows is great.

RW: Are you looking forward to being ‘Kerry’ for a change, rather than a character? KE: That’s what’s nice about this tour. I actually finally get to interact with the audience a bit more. Normally, in a show, they’re the fourth wall and now I can just be myself.

RW: And the tour is to coincide with the Album; how does that feel to finally have it completed? KE: Yaaayy! Well, it was a long process because we didn’t have enough time to work together. The first time we went in a studio together was during the first WWRY cast album; then Brian said ‘I’d really like to work with you and do an album,’ and I was like, ‘yeah, yeah, yeah brilliant!’

RW: Do you think there’s a lot of reflection from WWRY’s style on your album; the sounds, the taste, the vibes of the covers can be linked back to that? KE: Yeah, hugely. Obviously because it’s Queen, it’s really nice to be doing those songs with Brian. I’ve done them in other concerts before, but to be actually playing them in a show with Brian is brilliant. We kind of came together after I did ‘Wicked’ and put the album finally together. We recorded a huge orchestra at Abbey Road and got it out in September 2010.

RW: Is it leaning towards more of a rock side of your personality rather than the classics of musical theatre? KE: I think it’s a real combination and that’s what’s different about it. Plus with the whole ‘Glee’ thing coming out, it’s kind of fusing together different styles; the musical theatre, rock, there’s a bit of pop on there too. It’s almost filmic.

RW: So if you could sum it up in one word, what would that be? KE: Epic [laughs]. Or ‘anthem-ic’ maybe? Either or, that’s two words!

RW: How did you meet Brian May? KE: He actually saw me when I was doing My Fair Lady, covering for Martine McCutcheon. I just happened to be on one evening when he was in. He basically saw something and said ‘we’d love you to audition’ for WWRY.

RW: What did that feel like when you got that call? KE: It was kind of weird. It was crazy. I was straight out of college and it was all just amazing, I was just going to go along for the ride. This was 10 years ago now. It’s not until I actually look back at it and go, ‘that was actually incredible.’

RW: Obviously there’s lots of ups and downs in this industry, what was your most euphoric moment? KE: Well the first one was probably ‘My Fair Lady’. I remember I was on for Eliza Doolittle, and I was walking down in the white dress, coming through the top of the set. It’s a proper iconic moment.

RW: Did you have to pinch yourself ? KE: Yeah! And like – Jonathan Pryce is stood at the front of the stage! Oh my god, it was so strange.

RW: Are there any moments that stand out in your memory on the opposite end of the scale? KE: I think the hardest thing is just the stamina of doing it eight times a week. I think people underestimate it. It’s not until you come away from it that you realise how difficult it is. I mean, I’ve been going from show to show for nearly 10 years and I didn’t realise how hard it was because you just get on and do it.

“I’m adren jun I still ki mass

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RW: Are there any particular anecdotes? KE: I’ve fallen over a ton of times. My mic’s been on when it shouldn’t have been...

RW: Said anything really embarrassing? KE: Yesss. There’s actually a youtube clip about it. But they think I said something that I wouldn’t say; which is quite amusing. I ran off and was kind of cursing about something – I think I was moaning about the sound and they think I was moaning about the front row. So on youtube they’ve made up a spoof ‘no win, no claim’ advert about me!

RW: Do you secretly find it quite funny? KE: [laughs] I was mortified to start with, you know, I wouldn’t say something like that. But then afterwards I’ve found it quite funny and I think the girls that made it were laughing – so there’s no harm done.

RW: Who are your idols? People you take influence from, you’d like to work with, or just simply admire? KE: Loads! It’s quite a big scope. I’ve worked with Taylor Hawkins from the Foo Fighters – who drums on my album – who’s just incredible. It got me into their music so much more. I mean, I was aware of them, obviously, but it made me really appreciate what they were about.

RW: What is it about their sound that you like? KE: Just the heaviness of the rock. But also there are such good melodies in it. And how Dave Grohl doesn’t lose his voice, I really don’t know… but then, I’d love to work with Liza Minnelli.

“I actually finally get to interact with the audience a bit more.... now I can just be myself.”

“I’d chew my arm off to work with Liza Minnelli!”

RW: What do you think of her Sex in the City 2 wedding performance? KE: Oh I love her. She can do no wrong in my eyes! We met a lot of people on WWRY through Queen and Ben Elton contacts. We would meet so many different people and we would be on our best behaviour. Then, one day, Liza came round and said ‘hi, I’m Liza’, and I was absolutely gobsmacked. I didn’t know what to say. I was properly starstruck. It doesn’t usually happen to me. But yeah, I’d chew my arm off to work with her.

RW: So with the tour, the album and the infinite musicals before that – what is the single biggest thing you love about the job? KE: The adrenaline. I’m an adrenaline junky. I still get the kick massively.

RW: What gives you that buzz? KE: The unknown, I think. Especially when you do a new show – you don’t know what the reaction is going to be. You’ve done loads of rehearsals, etcetera, but the audience has never been there. So it’s kind of waiting to see what will happen. I think that is why we all do it. We love that adrenaline.

RW: Lots of actors make the transition from actor to creator - have you ever thought about stepping off the stage and going into producing/ directing? KE: I’d be awful at it! I’d love to, but I’d be so bad at it. It’s funny, I’m asked a lot to go to colleges and do speeches and workshops and that sort of stuff, and I have to say no.

RW: Do you prefer to be moulded than mould other people? KE: Well I’d just be really bad at it. I don’t think I’d be able to give good constructive criticism, or help. I don’t think I’d be very useful to people. I’m used to great directors getting things out of me, as opposed to me trying to get it out of other people. I think I’d really struggle.

RW: So what’s next for you? KE: We’ve obviously got the tour and we’ve kind of had a few little bites about going European with it. I’d also like to do another album.

RW: Do you want to keep the same sound? KE: No. I want to try other areas. This album, we did it in that style for a reason. I wanted to celebrate what I’d been doing – it’s almost like a biography of my high points of my career. So with the next one I’d quite like to try something different; go a bit more relaxed. This album is just so full on.

RW: So will each Album be a different chapter of your life? KE: I’ll have to do another 10 years! [laughs] I don’t know if I’ll be doing it then?! No, I will... And again, theatre is a huge part. I’d like to do some more shows. Maybe another one-woman show at the end of the year might be nice? I’d quite like to do a modern version of ‘Tell Me On A Sunday’.

Kerry’s album ANTHEMS is out now and available at DRESS CIRCLE. The ANTHEMS tour goes throughout May. For more info visit www.kerryellis.co.uk

Our little ears have had a feast this month, so listen, enjoy, and pop down to Dress Circle to pick up a treat for yourselves!

Priscilla Queen of the Desert

Original BROADWA Y Cast

A big lover of the camp bus I was pl eased that we now have anot few changes for th her version of Pris cilla. With a e U.S. market, Pris cilla Broadway offe what you know an rs you some of d some that you do n’t, the new still be shaped styling of ing in the Diva course. Downtown has been washed ningly sung It’s Ra away by the stunining Men which is the new opening. Other changes incl ude True Colors (n otice the lack of a misuse of our lang U, how I loath thei uage) instead of Jo r ni hit Both Sides N but not quite as w ow, which delivers ell. It was rumoure d that Broadway Fe was a very late ca licia, Nick Adams, sting after a numbe r of people pulled if this is the case ou t, unfortunately – you can tell. Alth ough buff, being an his voice fails to ex understatement, cite me like his Lo ndon equivalent, th quires more than is role clearly remuscles. Tony Shel don yet again surp role that will ever as ses himself in a remain his. My absolute favour ite thing about this entire album is th Little Prayer. Finally e end of I Say a the fabulous Diva riffs that are missi on the Australian ng from this song recording, can blas t out of my speake show buy it, but m rs . If you LOVE the aybe just for the ne w songs.

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Ronnie Wood

L i v e at t h e a m b a s s a d o R s t h e at R e n o w ava i l a bl e a s a L i m i t e d e d i t i on v i n y l b o x s e t

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W W W. i f e e L L i K e P L aY i n G . C o m Produced by Sally Humphreys Productions Limited.

Age: 23 Height: 5’9 Waist: 30 Agency: Olivia Bell Twitter: @aaronrenfree www.facebook.com/22ronrenfreeofficial

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Š Christopher D. Clegg, April 2011. All rights reserved

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