114 LIMELIGHT MAY 2017 http://www.limelightmagazine.com.au
OCODAMy Music
I
spent a lot of time with my grandmother
asalittlegirl,becausemydadwasawayat
thewar.Shelivedinalovelyoldflatacross
theroadfromManlybeach,andinherdining
room area she had one of those wonderful,
big, old wooden radios, about three feet high.
From as soon as I was old enough to reach the
knobs,Iwouldturntheradioon.
AsIgrewupandstartedtodance,Iwould
go back and forth to find any music I could
move to on the various stations. There was
awonderfulpiececalledHoliday for Strings.
Ihavenoideawhowroteit,butithadalot
ofviolinsanditmadeyouwanttopirouette,
whichIwoulddoallovermygrandmother’s
carpet.Astheyearswentby,she’dsaytome
“darling,ifyou’regoingtodothisforaliving,
Idohopeyou’llmakeasuccessofitbecause
youhaveto replace this carpet”.
Shewouldalsotakemetothetheatre.Iwas
introduced to musicals through Evie Hayes in
Annie Get your GunwhenIwasaboutfive.In
thosedays,musicaltheatrewasmoremusical
comedy, but from my early teens it became
apassion.MymotherwasawidowbythetimeIleftschool,andalthoughIalwayssaid
Iwantedtogoonthestage,shehadmegoto
secretarial school – “so as to have something
tofallbackon”–astheyusedtosay.
Thatwasabargain,anditallowedme
tobuymyfirstportableradiogram,which
weighedaton.Itwasmyprideandjoy–I
rememberitwaspinkandgrey.IboughtNat
King Cole’sLove Is the Thing–Istillhave
theoriginalcopyanditbringsbackspecial
memories. I also joined the World Wide
RecordClub.TheysentmethingslikeWest
Side StoryandBye Bye Birdie,soIwasstarting
to collect the more modern musicals.NANCYE HAYES
Nowmusicaltheatreroyalty,asalittlegirlNancyeHayesliterallyworeholesinhergrandmother’scarpet
with her dancing. The actress reminisces about her first radiogram and why she’d never make a ballerinaMost of the music I played
backthenwouldbeshows.That
was until I met my husband Bob
BertleswhenIwasinChicago.
He introduced me to the world
ofjazzandIstartedtolistento
saxophonists like John Coltrane
andCharlieParker.Inturn,I
showed him how many jazz
standards had come from musical
theatre. It was a great bond.
Nowadays,Itrytobe
supportive of young musical
theatre writers because it’s
always been my passion and
they’reourfuture.Ilovethe
ballet as well and I’ve started
to go to much more opera,
which I’m enjoying. I went toLa
Traviatalast night with Emma
Matthews; absolutely amazing.
Inclassicalmusic,it’smainly
theballetscoresIlove–things
like Khachaturian and anything that’s
energetic. I’ve never been very ethereal as a
dancersoIwasnevergoingtobeaballerina,
but when I listen to music, my mind always
goes straight to what the movement would be.
My next musical isBrigadoon,agreat
melody piece, for The Production Company in
October.It’snotdoneveryoften.Ididityears
agoatMenzies’TheatreRestaurant,directed
by Hayes Gordon. I played Meg, which is kind
of the comedian role. That’s always been theway. I’ve never been the romantic lead. This
isanewversioninwhichIplayMrsForsythe,
schoolmistressandmatriarchofthetown.
TherolewasonceknownasMrMurdoch,the
characterwhotellstheoutsidersthestoryof
the miracle of Brigadoon. But first, I’m playing
a90-yearoldresidentofaretirementvillage
in Lally Katz’s new playMinnie & Liraz.Melbourne Theatre Company’sMinnie&Liraz
is at Arts Centre Melbourne, May 12 - June 24Although I always
saidIwantedtogoon
thestage,shehadmego
to secretarial schoolTHE MUSIC I COULDN’T LIVE WITHOUT...
love is the thing
NatKingCole CapitolRecords LCT6129
NatKingColewasalwaysmyfavourite,butI’venowlearnttoappreciate
his musicianship. I love the orchestrations of that era, with Gordon Jenkins
conductingthesebig,lushrecordings.AttheageIamnow,Idon’tfinda
greatdealofjoyinmusicoftheyoungergeneration.Idon’tfinditparticularly
melodic,andIdon’tfindthelyricsparticularlyclever.Icanunderstanditas
movement, but it doesn’t tug at your heart strings or put a skip in your step.QUIZ ANSWERS:- Edward Elgar 2. Gioacchino Rossini 3. Giuseppe Verdi 4. The telephone 5. Claude Debussy
6. A braid of his dead wife’s hair 7. Noël Coward 8. Paderewski 9. Gabriel Fauré 10. Sigismond Thalberg