Bitten by Theatre

Dogfight finally reaches Melbourne on May 5^th at Chapel off Chapel and the musical's director Darilyn Ramondo chats to Coral Drouyn.

There’s an old saying “For Love or Money” – and theatre is not exempt from it. After all, we all have to eat, don’t we? And artists will argue that theatre companies make their moolah regardless of whether they pay the artists what they deserve, don’t they?

Well, actually no, not always - in fact seldom in the crazy world of independent theatre.

There’s no denying there is a market for boutique musicals that main stage companies will not produce. They are the life blood of Independent companies – but musicals, even small ones, cost money - so for any producer/director it’s a ‘Labour of Love”, first and foremost, not a money-making exercise. Such is the case with Darilyn Ramondo, creative director of Doorstep Arts. Her company burst onto the scene in 2014 with a stunning production of Next To Normal in Geelong. The marvellous professional cast included Natalie O’Donnell (Mamma Mia, Crazy for You) and Mark Dickinson (a favourite leading man with a host of credits, including in London’s West End). Darilyn directed and the show received so much praise that it transferred to the Hayes Theatre in Sydney, where it was similarly acclaimed. “It is an astonishing musical,” Darilyn says, “and I was blessed to have that cast. But it didn’t pay the bills – not that it mattered.”

It was certainly far superior to the Main Stage production for the MTC a couple of years before and it gave Darilyn the impetus to push forward after seeing Dogfight at the Hayes in Sydney and decide to mount a production in Melbourne.

“I had been trying to get the rights for ages. It’s a stunning show,” she tells me, “and it seemed logical to bring Neil Gooding’s production to Melbourne, so I had my Producer hat on at the time.”

Things didn’t work out as planned, and Darilyn was itching to direct it, so the decision was made to create a new production.

Based on the 1991 cult movie starring River Phoenix, Dogfight is set in 1963 and concerns a group of servicemen on the eve of being deployed who make a bet involving the plainest girl they can find. It won great critical acclaim when it opened in New York in 2012, for both its book and its beautiful score.

“I’ve been asked if it is too close to Violet (which recently had a great season in Melbourne),” Darilyn tells me. “And yes, there’s a plain girl, and servicemen and it’s set in the sixties. But the story is focussed on the young serviceman. It’s his journey, and the music is totally different, so it would be a mistake to think they are two sides of the same coin. Dogfight is quite wonderful in its own right, and makes its own social comments. So neither show owes anything to the other.”

Once again Darilyn has assembled a fabulous cast, including Alex Woodward, Olivia Charalambous, Zoy Frangos, the incomparable Sally Bourne and the amazing Jaclyn DeVincentis. Trevor Jones will musically direct.

“I’m absolutely astounded by the artists who want to do these more obscure shows,” Darilyn explains. “Most of our budget goes on casting, and theatre hire, but, believe me, it’s never enough and nowhere near what they deserve. There just isn’t the money, and the only compensation is that they get to play roles that otherwise they might never have a chance to.”

I ask if she has ever had someone turn down an offer because they couldn’t be paid in full.

“No, never,” she says. “But that’s the balancing act. The good side is that we get to work in collaboration on a special piece of theatre. The bad side is that there isn’t enough money to go round. I hate the idea of anyone thinking they have been ripped off. I would never do that. I’ve been on both sides of the stage and I hope my cast knows how much they are valued. There is so much joy during the rehearsal process. I’m a collaborative director and I want the whole cast to feel that it isn’t MY production – it’s part of all of us.”

It’s that intimacy between the cast, and the proximity of the audience in Chapel off Chapel, that will make Dogfight a very special offering to Music Theatre lovers. Book now, as there are only a few seats left for each performance. It promises to be very special.

Dogfight opens on May 5^th, 2016 at Chapel off Chapel for a limited run until May 15^th.

Read More about Dogfight