Julie Goodwin: Shining in Annie’s Galaxy of Stars

The current revival of Annie has more stars that you can poke a telescope at. But Julie Goodwin, who plays Grace Farrell – the secretary to Daddy Warbucks (Anthony Warlow), more than holds her own. She’s only appeared in three musicals and one opera to date, but already she’s a rising star. Neil Litchfield reports.

Julie Goodwin was plucked from her studies at the Conservatorium of Music, after being spotted in a telecast of the Schools Spectacular, and invited to audition for Christine in The Phantom of the Opera. Since that debut she has played Maria in the Australian tour of West Side Story, and appeared in her first opera, The Cunning Little Vixen.

As we sat in the stalls of Sydney’s Lyric Theatre just prior to the opening of Annie, I asked how she came to be hooked on performing?

“I loved ballet and singing when I was a child. I adored Julie Andrews and watched a lot of the Rodgers and Hammerstein movies. I didn’t go to a lot of live theatre, but I did see a lot of the old movie musicals. I always knew I wanted to be on the stage in some form, so it’s pretty amazing to be up there performing in this show.”

What were your early performing experiences?

“I did a lot of Eisteddfods and a lot of technical work, and that was enough for me – taking the exams and getting an achievement at each level.”

I notice you were also a graduate of the Talent Development project in NSW.

“Yes, and I also did Schools Spectacular.”

How important to you was the TDP?

“At the time I don’t think you realize what you’re being given, until later when you look back on it. Just to be able to perform regularly and have professionals from the industry give you advice is not something the average person gets given, especially looking back on it now. I think they’ve grown since I was there – they have a music theatre ensemble now. And of course the Schools Spectacular is probably still the biggest audience I’ve ever performed to. It’s an amazing opportunity for young people. So, both programs are something I’ll hold dear.”

Is there a particular piece of advice from your time in the TDP that sticks in your mind?

“The biggest thing wasn’t about what someone said, but it was about strength and believing in yourself. Sometimes people come in and don’t like you as an artist, but just being true to who you are, and what you believe in, and keeping going with it.”

You’ve only had a brief musical theatre career, but it’s already proving quite diverse.

“I feel like I’ve done quite a bit in the few years I’ve been involved.

“My first show was Phantom of the Opera. I finished school and went to the Conservatorium for my first year of university, and got tracked down. I later found out that the conductor of the show saw me in the Schools Spectacular on the ABC. They tracked me down, I auditioned and got the alternate lead, which was an amazing start.

“Christine in The Phantom was a dream role. I think it is for every young soprano, as was Maria in West Side Story. Christine sings, she dances, and she acts. The range is huge, from top C right down to low A, and dramatically there is so much happening. Then of course I had to go back en pointe at the beginning of the show, and there was so much dancing. It’s just a beautiful role, and the costumes, and everything, and of course it was with Anthony Warlow, so it was just incredible.

“West Side was a completely different production in terms of the size of it and everything, but a beautiful sing, and beautiful music. That was wonderful. For me, the accent was a new challenge. I’d never had to do an accent of any kind before, so to learn the Puerto Rican accent was quite good fun, and we got right into it.  The cast really bonded, which was also lovely.”

I read that you recently made your operatic debut in The Cunning Little Vixen with the Sydney Chamber Opera.

“That was wonderful but it stretched me out a little. That was a Janáčekopera, and quite demanding. It took a lot to really learn, with all the music.”

And now you’re playing Grace Farrell, again a very different role.

“She’s a little more mature than the others I’ve played. She’s delightful. She runs the household, so she has that assertiveness, but she’s very loving as well. She has a couple of flighty moments as well, which are quite fun.”

What do you enjoy most about the part?

“In many ways she’s an idyllic woman. She’s a business woman, she’s got a lot of strengths to her to deal with Hannigan and all those things, but then she’s this loving, almost mother figure with Annie. She’s lovely.”

And, of course, you’re working with Anthony Warlow again.

“The thing about Anthony is he is such a hoot backstage – he’s a kind of character, which is a lot of fun, but then he’s so dedicated to his art, and such a fine actor, that I just try to learn what I can from him really. “

What have you learned from him?

“Quite a lot of things. Stylistically, in the way that he delivers things, and that it’s real for him when he delivers it, even though it’s in a 2,000 seat auditorium. Also the amount of research he does into his characters. And he has so much fun every day, which is what it’s all about.”

I know it’s early in your career to be asking this, but do you have a highlight to date?

“It’s one of those things, where every show you do is the new highlight.

“It’s the next thing you’re doing with a new group of people. Of course Phantom was a highlight because it was my first show, and it’s one of my favourites, and it was with Anthony Warlow, but then again, this cast is an extraordinary, diverse and talented group of people who have come together for this show.

“The thing for me with Phantom and West Side, and The Cunning Little Vixen to a certain extent, was that they do have darker elements to them, while this one is just so much fun. It is based on a cartoon, and I found with rehearsals that every day you came in and you would be smiling. That’s good for the soul, and a great way to spend every day.”

From my past experiences of Annie on stage and screen, there has been a hint of romance between Grace and Warbucks. Will audiences see that?

“There’s a little bit of a tease that the audience might get, but nothing’s for certain. I like to think with my character that it starts off quite businesslike, and Anthony’s character is very business-minded. He says that’s all I’ve ever given a damn about. I like to think of Grace as this bridge between him and Annie. Warbucks softens and Annie finds a home, and then because he’s softening and she’s seeing this other side of him, that Grace falls in love with him. That’s what I think is the back story, but it doesn’t really come out being crystal clear in the production.”

Interview originally published in the March / April print edition of Stage Whispers.

Following successful Sydney and Brisbane seasons, Annie plays at Melbourne’s Regent Theatre for 12 weeks from May 24, 2012, with a Perth season to follow.

Images (from top): Grace (Julie Goodwin), Annie (Lucille Le Meledo) and Daddy Warbucks (Anthony Warlow) & Julie Goodwin as Grace during the Sydney season of Annie (Photographer: Jeff Busby). Josh Piterman and Julie Goodwin in West Side Story (Photographer: Branco Gaica) & Julie Goodwin in Sydney Chamber Opera's The Cunning Little Vixen.

Links to More Annie Coverage

Annie Cast Announced

Reviews - Sydney / Brisbane

Melbourne's Orphans