Aussies Conquering Musical Mountains

Young Australians are scoring lead roles in major Broadway and West End musicals. David Spicer and Sally Alrich-Smythe spoke to stars of An American in Paris and Jersey Boys on both sides of the Atlantic.

Sydney born dancer Dimitri Kleioris has quite a tale to tell his grandchildren. “The first time I ever spoke or sang in public was as a lead on Broadway with a full orchestra.”

You might ask, how could anyone be allowed to make a debut on Broadway without having sung on stage before, even at schoo? It was made possible due to the nature of the musical An American in Paris, a multiple Tony Award winning adaptation of the post WW II movie.

To play the lead (Jerry Mulligan) you first need to be a ballet dancer of the highest order. The singing and acting training follows. To have an Australian playing a quintessentially American character (originated by Gene Kelly) is also extraordinary.

Dimitri’s performing journey began as a jazz and tap student at Sydney’s McDonald College at the age of 14. Two years later a teacher asked him to concentrate on ballet for a year and stop all other forms of dance.

“I initially said no way,” but soon “fell in love with it.”

He was planning on studying overseas after school, but decided to follow a friend to the audition for the Australian Ballet School.

“I thought it would be good practise at auditioning, as I had no expectation or desire to attend the school.I was accepted and within two months, at the age of 17, I was moving to Melbourne.”

Three years later he auditioned for the Royal New Zealand Ballet and was “hired on the spot”. He toured the country as a principal and ensemble member, enjoying what now seems a leisurely pace - six weeks on and six weeks off.

But how did he leap from New Zealand to New York?

“I moved to New York and got a job on a TV show (Flesh and Bone - a dance drama). Whilst in New York I thought I may as well try to hold a tune. I was pretty sure I was terrible. But I found a lovely teacher who gave me confidence.

“I had my first audition for An American in Paris in September of last year. It is a challenge to find someone who can portray the part in all areas. Initially they sought classically trained ballet dancers from London.”

Dimitri was offered a job and had to get a visa approved by Actors Equity. He started off as an alternate for the lead role, playing two performances a week, and graduated to a full time position from the middle of the year until the show closed in October.

The originating lead Robert Fairchild used to take an ice bath after each performance to recover from its grueling demands. Dimitri warms up with a half an hour stretch and half an hour voice warm up. He also does Pilates once a week.

“It is sort of like doing a full ballet every night on top of a driving a show in terms of acting scenes. You don’t really get a break.”

From January 27 2016, until the show closed, apart from the regulation break on a Monday, he had only had two days off.

“You have to give everything you have, but realise you have to do it six times a week. I have learnt to be very efficient.”

US fans are surprised to learn he is an Australian with a Greek and Maltese background.

“When I sign autographs people are surprised by my accent.” 

There are only a few words he has struggled with. The Australian way of saying love is “luv” - in America they say “lurv”.

An American in Paris is now setting off for a tour of the US and word around town is that a season in Australia is a distinct possibility. Guess who would be in the box seat to lead it here.

Dimitri is keeping his fingers crossed.

Images of Dimitri in An American in Paris by Matthew Murphy.

Sally Alrich-Smythe spoke to two Aussies playing lead roles in the West End.

There’s a lot to say for dreaming big, and our very own Declan Egan and Matt Hunt are a walking, talking, singing and dancing cases in point. The two boys are currently playing lead roles in the West End production of Jersey Boys, both having previously been in the Australian production.

Matt Hunt is playing Norm and covering two of the Four Seasons, Tommy and Nick. He grew up in rural Orange, where his passion for performing was well nurtured.

“Where I grew up, it was either sport or music. I did both, but the music and theatre community resonated with me. In a small town everyone knows each other. I learnt a lot from other actors and musicians who were family friends. Even my dentist was a part of the amateur scene. You associate with people who have the same passions and that's very motivating as a young kid.”

Declan Egan is revisiting the dream lead role of Bob Gaudio in the West End, two and half years after having scored the same part in Australia as a 21 year old.

Declan’s passion for the Performing Arts began in his hometown of Newcastle. I asked the proud Novocastrian how his origins helped him play this part.

“Newcastle has a very strong working class attitude and people are very proud to come from the area. These characters show the same loyalty and pride towards where they are from. Coming from a smallish town also creates a very driven and ambitious mentality to reach for the stars.

“In that way, I think I have easily connected with Bob as he was always looking ahead and planning the next move.”

The opportunity to break into the scene in London’s West End doesn’t come around every day, a fact both Declan and Matt fully appreciate. Despite having been in the show already, both went through the same audition process as everyone else, making the reward so much sweeter.

Declan remarks that Jersey Boys has a well-established network of casts around the world, past and present, which helped both the boys keep in touch with what opportunities were around the corner. Even so, Matt doesn’t think that being in the previous cast helped pave the way to his success today in London. Still, he acknowledges that he “had timing and a lot of luck” on his side. He adds that, “having duel citizenship helped a lot.”

It’s clear to both that connections and experience aside, it all came down to them alone once they stepped into the audition space. Matt modestly stresses that he had to “work his butt off” to get to this position: his first lead role in a professional production. Declan remarks that the knowledge he got the role, having auditioned alongside the entire West End community, leaves him feeling nothing short of “ecstatic”.

When asked to pinpoint the crucial moment that got them to where they are now, Matt simply answered it all comes down to the audition.

Declan reflected on the snowball effect that the last few years have had for him.

“I moved to London shortly after I finished Jersey Boys in Australia and then signed with an agent and started auditioning. I was then cast as standby Elder Price in The Book of Mormon on the US national tour. I think all these things contributed to playing Bob Gaudio in the West End - a snowball effect. It has been a series of stepping stones. Getting into the musical theatre course at NIDA straight from high school was a major foot in the door and gave me all the tools I needed to get my first break!”

The great difference between a West End show and an Australian production is the season length. Even when acting under a contract, you might be playing the role for an amount of time substantially longer than a show-run in all of Australia’s touring stages combined. The shows in the West End can be open ended, and generally out-live their performers too. Both Matt and Declan continue to discover and grow throughout this experience.

Declan says, “I've definitely grown into Bob. His grounded business-like side, that you see more of in the second act, definitely comes more naturally now. I got this role when I was 19. I'm now 25, so naturally with age, experience and growing confidence I understand the role, and myself as a performer, in a much more in-depth way”.

This is Matt’s first time in a lead role, having previously played four different parts and understudies. He adds to this sentiment simply.

“You can't help but grow into the role. Playing the part eight shows a week and over a long time, you have to keep true to the character.”

What could Australia learn from the West End?

Encouraged by the shifts in our industry that have occurred over the past five years, Declan is “confident” that Australia will soon catch up to the West End.

“London is such an amazing place with such a history in the arts. Australia is so young in comparison. It would be great if more shows came down under.”

Declan says, “I think it would be fantastic for Australia to embrace our accent, story and identity so Australian music theatre becomes unique, sought after and establishes longevity and maybe even starts being a big Aussie export.”

Images: (top) L to R Declan Egan, Matt Corner, Simon Bailey and Matt Hunt, (middle) L to R Declan Egan, Simon Bailey, Matt Corner and Matt Hunt, and (lower) L to R Matt Hunt, Matt Corner, Declan Egan and Simon Bailey, in JERSEY BOYS. Photo credit Brinkhoff & Mögenburg.