One of the greatest voices of musical theatre and opera, Anthony Warlow, returns to Adelaide in the smash hit musical, Chicago – The Musical, now playing for a limited season at the Festival Theatre. Set amidst the decadence of the 1920s, Chicago – The Musical is the story of Roxie Hart, a housewife and nightclub dancer who murders her on-the-side lover after he threatens to walk out on her. Desperate to avoid conviction, she dupes the public, the media and her rival cellmate, Velma Kelly, by hiring Chicago’s slickest criminal lawyer Billy Flynn to transform her malicious crime into a barrage of sensational headlines, the likes of which might just as easily be ripped from today’s tabloids.
Anthony Warlow first made his debut with the Australian Opera in 1980 and has since left a lasting impression on the industry both here in Australia and abroad. Anthony made his Broadway debut in 2013 as Oliver ‘Daddy’ Warbucks in Annie, which earned him several Broadway nominations. Stage credits include Guys & Dolls, Les Miserables, Phantom of the Opera, Jekyll & Hyde and Dr Zhivago: The Musical.
Anthony spoke to Glam Adelaide in the lead up to the Adelaide season of Chicago – The Musical about the show and if performing was always something he wanted to do.
“It’s interesting to go back that far. Even when I was four or five years of age I sort of had a penchant for performance. But I guess what I think the clincher for me was histrionics. I loved human possibilities – the way a person would use their hands where they stood, whether they were an old man with a stoop or a particular thing like that. I would constantly observe people. And as I got older, I started to think about putting those things into my own toolbox. I started vocal lessons when I was eleven and took a break for a year as my voice changed. I continued my vocal studies and when I was eighteen or nineteen I started auditioning for acting roles with the Australian Opera and ended up staying there for many years, which was absolutely incredible. I was very fortunate, too, as that time was what I call the golden age of the Australian Opera. There were so many great performers working there at the time. I learned an amazing amount just by being in their presence and watching them on stage and then having the opportunity to work on stage with these mammoth performers.”
In the early 1990s Anthony worked alongside broadway composer, Frank Wildhorn, to re-work the smash-hit musical Jekyll & Hyde. Anthony shared with Glam how this incredible opportunity came about.
“Strangely enough, I was in Melbourne doing My Fair Lady with Victoria State Opera Company and Leslie Bricusse (who wrote the book adaptation of Jekyll & Hyde for the musical) was in Melbourne at the same time overseeing Frank Wildhorn’s production of Scrooge at the Princess Theatre. I received a message from Mr Bricusse asking me to have lunch with him and he obviously had a brief to deliver me from Frank. We had lunch together and he discussed this possibility of me doing this concept recording of Jekyll & Hyde. I got along with Leslie very well and decided I’d take on the project. Within a month or two I was on a plane to Los Angeles where I stayed with Frank in his house. We would work on the material and discuss how to make changes to the score. So we were literally locked in the house for about three months working on the album.
“We didn’t work on it in chronological order, which was interesting for me. I sort of had a journal with me mapping two characters and their arcs. Sometimes it was easy to navigate, others I thought, ‘How am I going to get to this point when I haven’t done that yet?’ So that’s kind of how it worked. Then one glorious day we went into the Mad Hatter Studios in Los Angeles and put down all the vocal work. It was all done with just a keyboard – I didn’t hear the orchestrations until much later.”
Anthony is currently starring in Chicago – The Musical as Chicago’s slickest criminal lawyer Billy Flynn.
“Billy is the biggest ratbag. But, of course he schmoozes through the show with charm and you sort of forgive him for being such a ratbag. When you work on Broadway you have this lovely month or so in preview shows before anything is looked at by the press. In that period of time, you really do find your role, your character. You get your show strength in and vocal strength. In Australia it’s only a few shows, so you really need to hone in on what makes the character tick and lock in quickly. It does make the job easier when you get to work with such a stellar cast.”
We asked Anthony what it is about Chicago – The Musical that he loves.
“The words ‘bucket list show’ have been bantered about a lot with the PR side of things, but it is really a bucket list role. The show has tempted me a number of times and I haven’t been able to do it because of other work commitments. Then this production came along at just the right time. When I actually got into it, I realised how difficult it is and how precise it has to be for the show to work.”
Chicago – The Musical is currently playing at the Festival Theatre.
“Adelaide is where I made my big musical theatre debut with Guys & Dolls in 1986. I love coming back to Adelaide and the audiences are always so appreciative and very supportive of the arts.”
Chicago – The Musical
Now playing at the Festival Theatre, Adelaide Festival Centre until August 31.
chicagomusical.com.au
Photo credit: Jeff Busby
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