Baz revives ballroom magic
WHEN Baz Luhrmann’s movie Strictly Ballroom was released in 1992, it became a stunning hit in Australia, taking more than $80 million at the box office, and winning awards and fans overseas.
Luhrmann, who directed and wrote the film, is hoping the big-budget musical version, Strictly Ballroom The Musical, which premieres at Sydney’s Lyric Theatre on April 12, enjoys similar success.
The creative minds behind the film have teamed up for the musical – Luhrmann is director and co-writer, his wife Catherine Martin, a four-time Oscar winner, is set and costume designer, the choreographer is John O’Connell (who has worked with Luhrmann on most of his movies including Moulin Rouge!, Romeo + Juliet and The Great Gatsby) and Craig Pearce, who was a fellow student at the National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA) with Luhrmann, is co-writer.
Strictly Ballroom, the inspiring story of a championship ballroom dancer who defied all the rules to follow his heart, has been on the stage before.
When Luhrmann was studying acting at NIDA in 1984, as part of the curriculum he created a stage play titled Strictly Ballroom and the highly choreographed production wowed fellow students and lecturers.
The new musical is backed by Global Creatures, the production company behind King Kong, Walking With Dinosaurs and War Horse, and has two rising stars of music theatre and dance, Thomas Lacey and Phoebe Panaretos in the lead roles.
The pulse of the show is the dazzling dancing, ranging from classic ballroom dances including the Viennese waltz to the energetic tango and paso doble.
The hits from the original film are back, such as Love is in the Air, Time After Time and Tequila as well as new compositions from the team of songwriters including Sia, Eddie Perfect, Diane Warren and David Foster.
The cast includes Drew Forsythe, Robert Grubb, Heather Mitchell, Mark Owen-Taylor and Jewish performer Natalie Gamsu in the role of a Spanish grandmother, Abuela.
Gamsu, who was born in Namibia and worked in South Africa and the United States for many years before settling in Sydney in 2003, is thrilled to be working with Luhrmann.
“It is amazing to work with Baz – he is an extraordinary man and despite his fame, fortune and crazy ideas, is a real mensch,” she says.
“I saw the movie in South Africa where I was living at the time and absolutely loved it. It was very different to most other films with an inspiring story.”
Gamsu says that when auditions were announced in 2012 she was not sure if there would be a role for her.
“I am not a dancer, but then I remembered there was a Spanish grandmother and thought that role was for me,” she recalls.
“I prepared in Spanish and it was one of those golden audition experiences. I was so thrilled when I got the role. Baz has the gift of making every person feel valued.”
Gamsu says the role of Abuela – which means grandmother in Spanish – is a small one, but “beautiful with lots of heart”.
She says there was a lot of excitement during Strictly Ballroom rehearsals when news came through that Martin had won an Oscar for costume design for The Great Gatsby.
“When you go for a costume fitting with her, it’s wonderful. Her eye for detail and her sense of colour is amazing. Her costumes are absolutely beautiful. The Oscar win was wonderful for her and for Australia.”
Gamsu is enjoying being part of a large-scale musical – she has performed in big-budget musicals including Mary Poppins and Dr Zhivago – as well as starring in numerous cabaret shows.
“I love the intimacy and freedom of cabaret, where I get to choose what I will sing – and I have done cabaret around the world during the past 30 years – but in a large-scale musical you form incredible friendships and relationships among members of the big company,” she says.
“There’s an incredible rigour when you do eight shows a week with people all around you. The audience is laughing and it’s so joyous; it’s a privilege.”
Gamsu studied drama at the University of Cape Town in South Africa. On graduating, she established a cult following on the South African cabaret circuit.
“When I was living in Johannesburg I teamed up with singer Joanna Weinberg and we formed a cabaret duo called Strictempo and performed all over South Africa. We honed our skills doing these shows.”
Weinberg is now living in Sydney and has starred in her own shows including The Piano Diaries, Goddess and Sink Songs.
From 1992, Gamsu moved to New York to focus on her cabaret career and worked there for 11 years before settling in Sydney.
Gamsu has worked with the Jewish community over the years ranging from community functions to weddings. In the future would like to do a show with klezmer and Yiddish.
In 2001, Gamsu released her first CD, Weave, and a decade later – in 2011 – released her second album, Misfit, based on the show of the same name featuring sorrowful songs made famous by singers including Annie Lennox, Bryan Adams and Scott Walker.
Is she ready to record another CD? “Always,” she says. “My dream is to record with an orchestra, but I will have to save my shekels first and hopefully one day that will be a reality. In the meantime I will keep singing and let the ideas keep coming.”
Strictly Ballroom The Musical premieres at the Lyric Theatre, Sydney on April 12. Bookings: www.ticketmaster.com.au.
REPORT by Danny Gocs
PHOTO of Thomas Lacey as Scott and Phoebe Panaretos in Strictly Ballroom The Musical. Photo: Douglas Kirkwood
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