After the year that has been 2020, I think we all can’t wait for Christmas to come so we can see out the year in style. Well Ring Them Bells! Trevor Ashley is gearing up to bring his new show Ring Them Bells! A Very Liza Xmas to Adelaide. On Friday 20 November, for one night only, Trevor will once again don the famous red-sequined pantsuit and trademark Liza haircut and dazzle us in a way only Liza Minnelli (and Trevor Ashley) can.
When it comes to theatre and cabaret, Trevor has done it all. He played Thenardier in Les Miserables (for which he received a Helpmann Award nomination), Edna Turnblad in David Atkins’ Hairspray, he was an original member of the cast of Priscilla Queen of the Desert – The Musical, and has done countless original cabaret shows. When catching up with Trevor recently, I was curious to find out if he ever steps back and reflects on all he has achieved.
“I tend to forget to step back sometimes. This year has been a weird one. When I wasn’t working for 6 months, it was really odd to actually have time to reflect. It really was the first time I’ve had the time to look back. It’s a little terrifying when you list everything out.”
Recently, Trevor has received a grant to begin work on a new Australian musical that is to be based on the life of cabaret goddess, Carlotta. I was curious to hear what drew Trevor to Carlotta’s amazing life, as well as how important it is for new Australian works to be developed and staged.
“I think it’s so important we support and create more Australian written works. I’ve been lucky – I was part of the musical ‘Priscilla Queen of the Desert’ 14 years ago, but I feel that there needs to be more of those sorts of musicals happening and worked on. They also need to get to a point where they are commercially viable. I think the problem is a lot of the time they don’t get to the commercial point. It sometimes happens with the Sydney Theatre Company, but they often don’t go beyond there and tour around Australia. With something like Carlotta’s story where it speaks volumes about the way we have treated particular people, what is so interesting about her life is it tells of a time as well as the person who is Carlotta. She has done so many ground-breaking things, but we need to look at what she went through politically at the time.”
Ring Them Bells! A Very Liza Xmas will be the third cabaret Trevor has done as Liza. Why the legendary Liza Minnelli? Did he just wake up one day going “I’m going to do a show as Liza”?
“It was a fluke. A few years ago, I was doing a show on Atlantis Cruises, and I decided that in my set I would do some Liza. So, I did. I started by doing a couple of numbers and it brought the house down. It was getting a bigger reaction than I thought. She was about to tour Australia and I thought ‘I know, I can do a full-blown Liza show while she’s touring Australia.’ My friend Steven Brinberg, who does the show ‘Simply Barbara’, did the same when Barbara Streisand toured to Sydney and Melbourne; he went and did Sydney and Melbourne straight after her. So, I did my first Liza tour straight after her and that was it – it went bananas from then on. This new show I’m doing in Adelaide will be the third cabaret as Liza and I’ve been able to do it all over the world. It’s just great fun.”
For anyone who has seen Trevor transform himself into Liza will be sure to agree how uncanny the likeness is. After seeing Trevor become Liza, the question I’m sure we all want to ask him is….does Liza know about Liza?
“Yes, yes she does. Her personal assistant came to my show in New York and was basically there to check up on me and make sure I wasn’t horrendous and doing something to her that was horrible. He loved it so much, and then her best friends came. It felt like there was this whole contingent there to hate me, but at the end of the show he said to me, ‘Have you ever met her?’, which I haven’t, and he then said ‘You’re like her at a pass’. He was astounded that I was so much like her yet never had seen her in a social context.”
On Friday 20 November, backed by a 7-piece band, Trevor’s new show Ring Them Bells! A Very Liza Xmas will premiere here in Adelaide at the Regal Theatre, and will certainly be a Christmas celebration like no other.
“It’s going to be Christmas as you’ve never seen it before. There is everything in this show. It’s fun because there is a bit of Christmas, and then lots of updated things, lots of songs she’s never sung before, songs she has sung before. It’s a real treat. There’s lots of funny stories. I’m really excited to do it.
“I’m going to be joined also by Adelaide’s own Mark Stefanoff. He’s coming on to be my Twink – I always try to have a Twink in my Liza shows, so he will be coming on to do a duet with me and a number on his own. It will be wonderful fun.”
Trevor Ashley’s Ring Them Bells! A Very Liza Xmas will be playing at The Regal Theatre for one show only: Friday 20th November at 8pm. Don’t be the only one sitting under the Christmas tree without tickets to see Liza this Christmas as they are selling fast. Bookings at: https://www.trybooking.com/BLZXX
Interview by Ben Stefanoff
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