Lucy Durack: Legally Blonde.
The stage musical version of Legally Blonde opened at Sydney’s Lyric Theatre in October, with Lucy Durack playing the lead role of Elle. It’s even more demanding than Glinda in Wicked, but she told Neil Litchfield that having a lot in common with the character is a big help.
STOP PRESS: Lucy won the award for Best Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical at the 2012 Sydney Theatre Awards.
Speaking to Lucy Durack, I began by asking what she loves about the role of Elle?
“Elle is a terrific character. It’s literally the most fun job I’ve had in my whole life. She also has a very good, kind, unprejudiced core; she’s someone who has a strong sense of social justice, but she also has a lot of fun.
“It isn’t a massive character stretch for me. I do love pink, I have started a law degree, and I do love dogs, so that makes it quite easy to start with.
“There’s something really special about this show; it’s a bit magical, and the most feel-good musical I’ve seen in my life. I came to this musical as a massive fan before it was ever announced for Australia. I saw it on Broadway with Amanda Harrison when we were flown there for Wicked, and for my final audition for the Australian production of Legally Blonde, they flew me to London, so I got to see it in the West End as well. It was so funny, smart, savvy and sexy. It’s really well written and the music is great. That makes it such a joy.”
When we spoke early in rehearsals for Legally Blonde, I asked Lucy what she had been particularly enjoying early on?
“We’ve been blocking a big number quite early in the musical called ‘What You Want’, where Elle applies for Harvard University. In the film it’s done by video, but in the musical she has this massive number that involves the entire cheer team from UCLA. That is crazy fun.
“And I’ve been watching the girls doing ‘Omigod You Guys,’ which has lots of window choreography and looks amazing. I enjoy watching the little bits that I’m not in, as I’m on stage for about 90% of the show.”
Being on stage for so long sounds like quite an endurance test.
“Yes it is. There’s a big jump-rope number in the prison that opens Act 2, ‘Whipped into Shape’, with Brooke Wyndham, played by Erica Heynatz, where everyone is wearing their bright orange prison outfits. So to prepare everyone for their own stamina, and even though I am doing something else on stage, we’re all learning the choreography and doing these jump-rope warm-ups. That’s pretty exhausting.”
Catching up again as the show had settled in to its run at Sydney’s Lyric Theatre, Lucy talked about the transition from the rehearsal room to the theatre, then to performing the show.
“Rehearsal was a great time. We spent a few weeks at the ABC Studios. They’re really nice studios to work in, and it’s fun to be in that part of town – lot’s of good food – but it was really intense – really long hours and getting to know each other.
“Fast Forward to now, and having been in the theatre for many weeks, we feel like we’ve all become part of the furniture. We’re all such a great family of friends. We’re having such a nice time, it’s such a positive show to be a part of and we’re all really enjoying it.”
And what moments and aspects of the show does Lucy love now that she has settled into the run?
“I really like the routine of getting into the run. It really depends on what sort of a day I’ve had as to what parts of the show I love most. I always enjoy being part of ‘What You Want’; the cheerleading, marching band sequence of that is a lot of fun. I love having a dance with the girls during ‘Positive’ and I really enjoy ‘So Much Better’. That’s got such a nice journey and it’s a really nice song to sing. But then some nights I just love having the best seat in the house watching Helen Dallimore. I love watching what she does. I’ve been a really big fan of hers for a long time, so it’s a real treat to get to sit up on stage and kind of get sung to by her, and see her tell her story beautifully, with such clear, clever choices. She’s hilarious. The only break I really get in the show, when I’m not busy doing a costume change, is during ‘Whipped Into Shape’, so I get to stand on the side and watch everyone do their skipping number, which is very exciting too.”
I reminded Lucy that she had mentioned learning this routine during rehearsals in our earlier conversation.
“We still use that as a warm-up and there isn’t a show that goes by when I don’t think, I’m glad they got that, not me. It looks so impressive, but it’s exhausting.”
Speaking of exhausting, what sort of regime does Lucy follow when playing a role as demanding as this?
“I live a fairly disciplined life; doing a role like this you have to. It’s not so much going out late, as going somewhere where you have to talk out over loud music or something. So I try not to go out after the show and just come home and be quiet. During my days I try to be as quiet as I possibly can, then I come in an hour and a half before the show and get warmed up. We do a group warm-up where we do the skipping and a physical warm-up and a vocal warm-up, which is a really nice time that we’re all together, reconnecting before launching into the show. I seem to get into the show and all of a sudden it’s interval. That first act absolutely flies by, and I don’t have a minute to stop. I literally get to the change before ‘So Much Better’ and I think, how did we get here so quickly.”
That’s on top of the preparations Lucy had taken on board even prior to rehearsals, as she told me at the time.
“All year I’ve been doing quite a lot of Pilates to build strength and make sure I’m in good condition. I’m going to try and do a couple of sessions a week. I have a very solid vocal warm up and cool down too, because vocally it’s a big sing. I’ve got some really good singing teachers who have been helping me and I’ll continue to have a singing lesson a week to keep on top of everything – making sure I sing things safely, and not getting too carried a way in the moment. I pretty much learned all my words and songs before rehearsals, because I knew there was going to be so much extra stuff we had to learn on top of the basic lyrics.”
But that “extra stuff” wasn’t all hard work, as Lucy explained back in the first week of rehearsals.
“Renee Burleigh, who plays Margot, and I, are the girls who deal most with the little dogs, so we have to spend time with them so that they get used to us, and don’t want to run off the stage.
“As well as having the Chihuahuas in the show, we also have British Bulldogs. They brought them in for the first time yesterday, and they are so cute as well. You have to learn different techniques, like the Chihuahuas and the bulldogs requiring different kinds of treats. The Bulldogs really do well with affection and lots of cuddles, whereas with the Chihuahuas – as the trainer Peta, who is amazing, said, ‘less affection, throw me the cheese’. They’re really responding well and they’re really cute. The Chihuahuas are only eight months old.”
Speaking well into the run, Lucy still loves playing with the dogs.
“I was here early today because I had some other publicity to do, and I had a little break. Just down the corridor from company management is the dogs’ room, so I went down and had a play with them.
“Quincy came in and jumped on top of me, so I played with Quincy and Sparrow (the Chihuahuas) and Luca and had a big cuddle with them (Luca and Annie are the bulldogs). That’s one of the most rewarding parts of this job – they’re just so divine. I love going to work and playing with the little dogs.”
And have they done well during the show? Have there been any little indiscretions?
“There’s a moment when Bruiser jumps up onto the bed and gets into the bag. I’ve just been holding a feather boa and one show Sparrow, who’s the littlest Chihuahua, found one of the feathers, that was literally as long as he is, and tried to eat that rather than jumping onto the bed. But most of the time they’re right on the money. They very rarely make any kind of mistake, but he just became enamoured with this bright pink feather, and that was pretty cute.”
Lucy’s audition process for the role of Elle stretched over eight months and took her half way around the world.
“I started during the Adelaide season of Wicked, where I was playing Glinda. I was flying back and forth to Sydney and Melbourne. Every night I’d fly back to do Wicked in Adelaide. I was also filming a small part in a film in Sydney on my days off, so it was a really exhausting time. About a month after the Perth season of Wicked they flew me to London, where I did a couple of days work with two of the creatives from London, and then, on the final day I was there, Jerry (Mitchell the original Director) came in. It was very nerve-wracking; I don’t think I’ve ever felt under more pressure in my life. But Jerry was so nice to me. At the end of it he said, ‘Well I’m happy,’ and everyone was saying ‘OK, Great!’ And he said, ‘Well I hear it was your birthday yesterday. Happy Birthday.’ Then I wasn’t allowed to say anything until they announced it at the start of this year.”
Is there anything about Elle with which Lucy particularly identifies?
“I try very hard not to judge people, and I think she does that so well. Elle doesn’t judge people at all, but people judge her. That’s kind of the moral to the story I guess - stay true to yourself and don’t judge people.”
I finished by asking Lucy how she started performing.
“I come from Perth, and from a family where no-one is an entertainer or a performer.
“I always loved to perform, and sing and act, and I always did any drama and music class I could find, and sang in any choir and every school musical (at John XXIII College, Mt Claremont).
“Being in school shows was really important to me. I auditioned in Year 8 and didn’t get in, then the following year when we did Sweet Charity I got in. I was First Young Woman, I had 11 lines, I was in the chorus, and that was the most exiting experience of my whole life up until that point. We were so lucky – the heads of Drama and Music were just so passionate and did these amazing annual musicals. The next year they did Funny Girl and I got to play Fanny Brice, the leading role. That was when I decided that this was just the most amazing thing. Every year when the musical was over I’d just cry and cry; I was so devastated for about a week, until the next one was announced.”
Did those musicals set her up well for her career?
“Definitely. There’s a kind of discipline which it requires. Strict isn’t the word for it, but they asked a lot of us, which has given me a good work ethic as a base. My high school Drama teacher told me about WAAPA while I was in my last year of school, so I auditioned and was lucky enough to get into WAAPA, where I did my training. I was fortunate enough to get cast in Mamma Mia! while I was in the third and final year of my Bachelor of Arts Musical Theatre, which I went straight into. After I finished Mamma Mia! I actually went and started a Law degree, because I thought it was time to get a real job, but I missed performing too much. I think I’m still currently deferred from a Law degree.”
It doesn’t look like Lucy Durack will need to be picking up those law books anytime soon.
Legally Blonde The Musical plays at Sydney's Lyric Theatre until January 27. The Brisbane season at QPAC's Lyric Theatre commences on March 14. The Melbourne season opens at the Princess Theatre on May 9.
Earlier coverage
Elle's Legally Blonde Sorority Sisters
Images: Top image by Brian Geach. Production images: Rob Mills as Warner and Lucy Durack as Elle; David Harris as Emmett and Lucy Durack as Elle and Helen Dallimore as Paulette and Mike Snell as Kyle in Legally Blonde. Photographer: Jeff Busby.
An erlier version of this interview was published in the September / October 2102 edition of Stage Whispers.
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