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Courtesy of Caroline O'Connor & Barrie Shaw
When I first interviewed
Australian musical theatre star CAROLINE O'CONNORin 2007, she was set to appear as Hildy in
the London production of ON THE TOWN. In January 2010, she'll be
presenting her latest cabaret act, THE GIRL FROM OZ, at NYC's Birdland
Jazz Club.
Special thanks to Barrie Shaw for his assistance in arranging this interview.
From the press release, the Birdland
concert sound pretty amazing. Could you tell us more about it?
Yeah , amazing, for me! I'm just a musical theatre girl from
the land of OZ! I did have the great pleasure of playing Velma Kelly here on
Broadway and now, to get the opportunity to perform at the world renowned
Birdland Club in New York, is truly a dream come true! So...for those people
who are not familiar with my stage and screen appearances, it is a retrospective
of the work I've done, including shows in London, New York and around Australia.
I'll be doing Garland, Merman and Piaf excerpts, a couple of songs from films
I've appeared in, (MOULIN ROUGE & DE-LOVELY) and other theatre experiences
including the music of Kander & Ebb, Jerry Herman and Stephen Sondheim (among
others) and a little comedy thrown in for good measure. My goal is just to have
a lot of fun!
What inspires you about the songwriters
and entertainers you feature in the show?
I'm inspired by how great composers and performers move
people. Music and lyrics are so powerful. They relate to wonderful moments and
memories in our lives. They can control the way we feel emotionally. The
'Greats' have left a tremendous legacy of material behind for us all to enjoy
for a lifetime.
Any plans to take this show to other
cities in the U.S. or internationally?
Well yes! I'm thrilled to say that when we announced the show
at Birdland, the tickets sold out immediately, so...we were asked to add a
second show, due to public demand. Since then we've had several enquiries in the
US and London. We are presenting it in Australia later this year.
You have some Australian film projects
currently in the works, including a musical. What are they?
Before arriving in New York last week, I had just finished a
feature film in Melbourne called SURVIVING GEORGIA, and interestingly enough
this one is not a musical. Georgia is a dramatic role, which is something I've
wanted to do for some time. However, next year there is a musical film in the
works, once again in Australia. We've had two workshops so far. I'm very
excited!
You've done quite a few period stage &
screen projects. If you could go back in time, what period of history would you
like to live in?
Oh definitely the 40's and 50's ! It was 'The' Hollywood Era.
Great musical, dramatic and comedy films. Beautiful, interesting character
actors. Extraordinary talent. Glamorous style and fashion.... Big Sigh.
Note: As Caroline mentioned above, the Jan. 17th Birdland
show is sold out. Click on the graphic below for ticket info on the second show
(Jan. 25th, 2010 at 7PM).
