Eddie’s Ladies….or is that Shane’s?

When the revamped concert version of Eddie Perfect’s Shane Warne – The Musical opens tonight at The Adelaide Cabaret Festival, the charismatic Eddie will be joined on-stage by two of Australia’s best known and most talented leading ladies.

Lisa McCune may be known to most Australians for her television roles, especially that of the iconic “Maggie Doyle” in Blue Heelers (I created the story and wrote the script that actually killed her) which won her a swag of TV Logie Awards, including four Gold Logies, but in recent years she has owned the Music Theatre stage, most recently as Nellie  Forbush in South Pacific, a role she will reprise in the encore season at the Sydney Opera House later this year. In the meantime she will play Simone Callahan, Warne’s long suffering wife.

Christie Whelan-Browne has had a meteoric rise to Super-Nova status, with nothing less than rave reviews for every stage role, most recently as Philia in A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum with Geoffrey Rush. Astonishingly attractive, tall and leggy, she will play the newly written role of Liz Hurley, Shane’s current fiancée, against Lisa’s diminutive Simone. It’s a feast for lovers of music theatre…both actors have great voices, great stage presences and charisma which matches that of their leading man.

But what is it like to play a “living person” on stage rather than a fictional character? What particular problems does that present and is it harder than simply slipping into a role? Both Lisa and Christie agree that it’s harder.

“You don’t want to be disrespectful. Not with any sense of malice,” Lisa says. “Eddie hasn’t written Simone that way, even though there is a little bit of the “blonde” element in there. But the jibes are gentle and done with real affection. She’s a real, warm, person, not a caricature.”

Christie echoes Lisa’s feelings: “I haven’t played a real person before….you know what I mean. It is difficult, especially as there is a certain…I guess, brittleness…to Liz, and of course the confrontations with the paparazzi. I’m lucky I’m wearing a dark wig so I do have something to mask me, but there’s a sense of extra responsibility. It’s a fine line to tread between what is truthful and entertaining, and what’s insensitive and overblown.”

That fine line has to take into account that the show is satirical and does send up its leads characters, albeit in an affectionate way.

Eddie Perfect has fantastic sensibilities along with his amazing talent. “I love him to pieces” Lisa says, “Genius is an overworked word but honestly, I would work with Eddie anywhere, anytime. I actually asked him for the Simone role.” It’s Christie’s first time working with Eddie, but she had seen the show. “I wasn’t especially looking forward to it when I went to see it back in 2008 with Rohan (Husband Rohan Browne). I honestly couldn’t give a crap about cricket. But you don’t have to know or care about the sport to love the show. It’s just about this guy who is charismatic, and a character, and who sometimes gets himself in trouble, especially with his love life. I love Shane Warne now….and that’s because Eddie’s show has made me understand him. Lisa is right. Eddie is a true genius.” And who could deny that Liz Hurley has provided so much extra colour to Warnie’s life? There’s even a song about Liz’s infamous “F%$k you” outburst. “I am really looking forward to that big number,” Christie laughs.

Though both actors will go on to other shows before the end of the year, both also have new TV series coming to our screens shortly….Lisa’s Reef Doctors debuts on June 9^th and Christie will be seen later this year in Wonderland.

Both love the diversity of the work, but which do they really prefer?

“I love theatre, even though it’s gruelling” Lisa says, “But it’s also quite awesome to know you are actually creating a character for the first time and being seen in people’s living rooms every week. So I love both, and I want to keep doing both. I just hope I don’t have to make a choice.” 

Christie agrees. “What she said!”.

Two very classy ladies. Lucky Eddie… they’re the Perfect choices.

Coral Drouyn

Dates

Her Majesty’s Theatre, Adelaide – June 5 -9, 2013. More details

Arts Centre Melbourne – June 20 & 21, 2013 - More details

Images: Eddie Perfect and Christie Whelan-Browne; Lisa McCune.& Christie Whelan-Browne.

Musicals in 2013 and Beyond