During her speech after her final performance as Elphaba in Wicked on Saturday 16th November 2013, Louise Dearman described herself as “the luckiest girl in musical theatre”. While this is very true, Louise is certainly one of the most talented and busiest girls in musical theatre too.
Louise is the first and only actress in the world to have played both Glinda and Elphaba in the global phenomenon Wicked, two roles every aspiring musical theatre actress dreams of playing. But the West End star in no stranger to playing iconic roles, having previously played: Eva Peron in Evita (national tour), Grizabella in Cats (Cyprus), Sarah Brown in Guys and Dolls (national tour), Lucy Harris in Jekyll and Hyde (national tour), The Narrator in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat (national tour) and Jan in Grease (national tour and Victoria Palace).
After leaving Wicked earlier this month (for the second time), Louise is busier than ever. She is currently rehearsing for A Christmas Evening of Movies and Musicals which will see her return to the Apollo Victoria Theatre (current West End home of Wicked) for one night only to perform alongside John Owen-Jones, Gareth Gates and Sarah Lark. Louise is also currently preparing for the release of her third studio album, ‘It’s Time’, which last week peaked at number two on the iTunes Vocal Chart. She will perform two sold out concerts at the St James Theatre next month ahead of her first UK tour early next year.
As if that wasn’t enough Louise is also writing a book with fellow West End star and former Wicked colleague Mark Evans (who is currently starring as Elder Price in The Book of Mormon’s US tour). It has also recently been announced that Louise will return to musical theatre next year to create the role of Mrs D in the world premiere of a new adaptation of The Water Babies at the Leicester Curve Theatre.
I recently caught up with Louise during a break from A Christmas Evening of Movies and Musicals rehearsals to discuss what people can expect from the show as well as why she’s so excited about creating her first ever stage role next year, how it felt to discover her album was storming the charts and what it was like to leave Wicked with a bang…
It has just been announced that next year you will star in the world premiere of a musical adaptation of The Water Babies at the Leicester Curve Theatre. Actors always tell me that their dream is to create a role and that’s what you’re about to do!
That’s exactly it! Creating a role is something I’ve never had the opportunity to do. To have a blank canvas and be able to completely create a role from scratch is amazing! There have been productions of The Water Babies previously but this is a completely new adaptation. I have never seen another production or seen the film, I am aware of the book but for me it’s very exciting. I’ve been listening to lots of the music, it’s fantastic and I recorded some of it last week. I can’t wait for people to hear it!
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| Water Babies promotional image |
It really does sound incredible; producers have said the show will "use some of the most sophisticated special effects ever seen on stage!"
I know! It’s nice to do something like that because it’s a huge challenge – it’s not like going into an established show and filling somebody else’s shoes. Sometimes that can feel as if people are expecting you to be like the person who played the role before you. With Mrs D I am starting from scratch, I can’t wait to get started!
What can people expect from Movies and Musicals this Sunday?
It will definitely be a spectacle! We’ve got a fifty piece orchestra and singing with an orchestra is always divine, it’s like the ultimate experience. As a vocalist when you have that sound behind you it is extraordinary. As the title says – Movies and Musicals – you can expect songs from the movies and songs from musicals – but big songs. There are also some Christmas numbers thrown in as well. Myself, John Owen-Jones, Sarah Lark and Gareth Gates will all be belting out some big songs, we’ve chosen some of our all time favourites.
Can you give me any clues?!
I can give you some clues! But I won’t tell you all of them! I’m going to be singing ‘Home’ from The Wiz which is also on my new album ‘It’s Time’. I’m also going to be singing ‘I Dreamed A Dream’ which is obviously an iconic musical theatre song. It’s also on my album, but it’s a song I’ve never sung out loud in a performance scenario before! So singing it with an orchestra at the Apollo Victoria, going back to my home, is going to be very special!
Will it feel strange going back?
It will be brilliant! I love it there! It’s not like when you sometimes leave a show and are nervous about going back to the theatre. It’s like my family there; I get on well with everybody so I’m really looking forward to it. Although it will be strange singing different songs on that stage! But it will be comforting because I know the space so well.
Let’s discuss your new album! I’ve been listening to it and it goes in a very different direction from your last album ‘Here Comes The Sun’.
That is the idea with all my albums. The idea for me is to explore every genre of music that I love. So for ‘Here Comes The Sun’ it was all contemporary music from artists I had grown up listening to and admired over the years. We took all that music and gave it a contemporary theatrical sound. With this album, rather than shying away from all the classics, I thought “let’s just completely embrace it.” Off the back of Wicked it felt like the perfect thing to do so I went all out to choose the songs that I usually wouldn’t touch and I’m absolutely thrilled with it. It took a while to pick all the songs as there were so many to choose from!
Louise as Glinda in Wicked
How did you narrow them down?
Silver Screen, my record label, had this incredible back catalogue of huge orchestrated musical theatre songs. There were a lot! It was literally a case of going through them. Normally I’d think “oh that’s been done a lot, let’s steer clear of that” but instead I was like “right, ok – ‘I Dreamed A Dream’, ‘What I Did For Love’, ‘Send In The Clowns’ – let’s just go for it” although I have tried to make them my own. I also added a few extras in there, like ‘Home’ from The Wiz, ‘Astonishing’ from Little Women and ‘A New Life’ from Jekyll & Hyde, all of which I have performed in the past, but never with that big orchestral sound. It’s a really nice balance but it is all completely musical theatre. It feels very grown up and proper… it just feels right.
How do you feel about people hearing it?
Excited! But of course nervous, as always. To have achieved this album while also playing Elphaba took a long time but I’m delighted about how it has turned out. Off the back of it I have my tour next year so I’m excited for people to hear it!
And the album peaked at number two on the iTunes Vocal Chart last week, before it had even been released! You must have been over the moon?!
Yes!! I know! It was amazing! It’s the kind of thing I don’t look at, but Rebecca (Sichel-Coates) my manager text me saying “take a look at the iTunes Vocal Chart” and when I did I could not believe my eyes! We went on a Twitter frenzy and the support was incredible. When you look at the other artists at number 1, 3, 4 and 5 (Gareth Malone, The Overtones, Alfie Boe etc…) I was absolutely chuffed to pieces! It was really, really cool!
Your two concerts at the St James Theatre are coming around quickly. You’ve aptly named the show ‘The Perfect Year’ and must be very excited?
I am! Finishing in Wicked is a big deal and I wanted to do something a month after I finished to celebrate the amazing year I’ve had, although it’s a bit of a cheat because the songs I’m performing are really from the last year and a half… well, two years… but I just wanted to wrap everything up in a big Christmassy package and thank all my fans. For me it’s really important to get back into singing things outside of being in a musical. I will perform songs from my theatrical past, stuff from my old albums and bits and piece from my new album as well as loads of Christmas songs and also some little snippets of what’s to come next year! It’s really exciting and the St James Studio is such a fantastic space, it’s very intimate so will be great. The shows will be relaxed and lots of fun – I will ‘banter away’ with everybody in the crowd.
How do you find performing as yourself compared to performing as a character? Which do you find more nerve wracking?
I’m not sure actually! I think probably I’m less nervous as myself, but I always get nervous no matter what. I think the great thing about doing stuff as myself is that I can be myself, my banter is never scripted and I love chatting away to the audience which I think makes me feel more relaxed. Also, when you come out of a show like Wicked the pressure is on for what’s next. So I am feeling the pressure, but I think people know me well enough now, especially my fans, to know that it will be good fun, and that is the most important thing!
I was at Rachel Tucker’s concert at the St James Theatre a few weeks ago and the entire audience were completely shocked when you jumped out of your seat during the second half to duet with Rachel – how hard was it to keep that a secret?
It was really hard but that was the whole point! Leading up to it everybody was expecting us to announce that we would be performing together because we’re very good friends. Rachel and I decided to not tell anybody and keep it a complete surprise. Because it was something really fun from Chicago we had to rehearse the dance routine together, one time we were rehearsing in the bar at the Apollo Victoria and someone asked “what are you two doing?” and we just had to say “oh something that we’re not performing for a long time.” On the night it was so hard to sit there, even when she started the song I had to remain sat there, completely still like an audience member. Throughout the gig I could feel lots of eyes watching me, as if they were expecting me to get up on stage and join Rachel! To jump up at the last minute, grab my cane and microphone and perform with Tucker again was just brilliant!
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| Louise as Elphaba in Wicked |
I was also at Wicked last Saturday evening for your final Elphaba performance. I’ve never been to anything like it – Louise Dearman/Wicked fans are crazily dedicated, the girl in front of me even had the Wicked logo shaved into her hair! What was the evening like for you?
I couldn’t have wished for more from my last night. I just wanted to enjoy every single second and for the first time ever I just let all the pressure off my shoulders and enjoyed it. To run out and have that wonderful response was really, really special. It is definitely a night I will never, ever forget. Wicked fans are the most loyal fans I have ever known. They have tattoos, green hair – they are brilliant and have really taken Wicked under their wing and support it with every bone in their body. It’s quite something! Even though they are sadder, I much prefer last nights to first nights! Opening nights are always full of nerves and I just like to get them over and done with so I can get on with the run and settle. Last nights are always wonderful because even though they are so sad, I like to go out with a bang and all the fans are always there!
If you would like to know how defying gravity compares to flying by bubble, and what three musical theatre songs Louise would play if the world was about to end, check out my interview with Louise from July 2013.
Interviewed by Andrew Tomlins (Editor)
A Christmas Evening of Movies and Musicals takes place at the Apollo Victoria Theatre this Sunday (1st December 2013). Click here to book tickets. The Water Babies opens at the Leicester Curve Theatre on 30th April (previews from 24th April) and runs until 17th May 2014. Visit www.curveonline.co.uk for further information and tickets. You can pre-order Louise's new album 'It's Time' on iTunes. Visit her website www.louisedearman.com to buy a signed copy and to keep up to date with everything else she's up to at the moment.
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