As a member of the pop group Bucks Fizz, Cheryl Baker won the Eurovision Song Contest in 1981 and has subsequently had more than 20 hit records including three number ones. She made her theatrical debut in Footloose’s UK Tour which transferred into the West End. Chery recently took part in Celebrity Masterchef and finished as the runner-up on Pop Star To Opera Star in 2011.
I recently spoke to Cheryl backstage in her dressing room as she prepared for a performance of Happy Days about why she immediately agreed to star in the musical, why she finds touring life tough, how she deals with nerves and what it’s like to receive such incredible support from fans…
Have you enjoyed creating the role of Mrs Cunningham for the new musical adaptation of Happy Days?
Well the funny thing is although we’ve created this new show, we’ve also had to emulate – well copy – the actual series which was on in the 70s and 80s! The show has been written by Garry Marshall who also wrote the series and it was very important to our producer, Amy [Anzel], that the characters were as close to the TV series as possible, so we’ve all had to do our research and watched Happy Days on repeat on our iPads, or whatever, to see how our characters speak and what their mannerisms are. Back in the 70s we loved everything about the show in the UK, there was nothing like it! We loved The Fonz with his leather jacket and motorbike, the American style of clothes that they wore – our costumes in the show are just fantastic.
You are perfectly cast as Mrs Cunningham, she must be such a fun role to play?
She’s the mother role, not just to her children but to everybody. She’s kind of like the heart of the show. It’s a joyous and really lovely role to play. I have lots of fun and do a little bit of singing, and I’m working with a great cast.
What’s the vibe like amongst the cast backstage? I imagine you have a great time!
It’s so fantastic, so fantastic! It’s funny because when you start something like this – a six month tour – the first day you meet everyone you just think ‘please don’t let there be any bad apples, please don’t let there be any bad apples, please let it be a happy ship’, because they are like your new family and you’ve got to practically live with them for six days a week for six weeks. You don’t want anyone to upset the ship – and so far so good! There’s only three old people in the cast, me being one of them [laughs]. There’s also Mr Cunningham, Howard, played by James Paterson and then there’s Ray (Gardner) who plays Arnold.
What were your initial thoughts when you were asked to audition? Were you at all sceptical?
No, on the contrary I said yes without knowing anything! I didn’t know where the tour was going, how long it was for or how much they were offering. I just said yes straight away and my agent said “You don’t know enough about it yet” but I just knew it was perfect for me and that I would love playing Mrs Cunningham because I knew the show so well. I heard about the audition on the Wednesday and they were closing auditions on the Friday. I couldn’t go on Thursday because I was working, so on the Friday I drove up to London and walked in to lots of beaming smiles. I had to read a bit and we had a little chat, the director was in the Bucks Fizz fan club when he was a child so we had a laugh about that. Then I had to sing! On The Sound Of Musicals I heard their reaction to my singing, because when you audition you never usually know what they say about you when you’re out of earshot! They said “she’s perfect” which was so nice for me to hear. I came out of the audition and phoned my agent. He asked how it went and I said “Well… they were very smiley!” Fortunately they said they would let me know by the following Wednesday, but they actually offered me the part two hours later. Then my agent said “Now we’ve got to do the business! We’ve got to sort out your fee and everything else” – whatever everything else is [laughs] and here I am!
How do you find touring life?
It’s hard. I’ve turned a lot of jobs down because I love being at home. I used to do panto every year but I stopped doing it because I love Christmas too much. I only ever did one panto away from home, but I had to drive home for Christmas Day. My kids are now 19 so they’re not kids any more, they’re young women and they can drive, but that was another reason why I used to turn most of what I was offered down. I took Footloose because I loved the storyline and music and it was just a three month tour. This is hard, because I can’t always get home on the Sunday which I find really difficult. I commute as much as I can, anywhere within a couple of hours.
The cast of Happy Days
How do you find performing as yourself compared to performing a role in a show? Do you get more nervous for one?
I get so nervous when I’m playing a role, so nervous like you wouldn’t believe! In this show, before I go onstage I’m standing in the wings saying to myself “Why do you do this? Why don’t you just get a job in Tesco’s?” I do! I ring my husband, I ring my kids, I ring my friends and say “Why am I doing this? Why am I putting myself through this?” I put myself through hell! I go over my lines again and again! At the beginning of the tour onstage I sing a little solo and my mind just went blank. I couldn’t think of the first word and if you can’t think of the first word you’re in trouble, but then at the last minute it just came to me! I wrote the first word on the palm of my hand the night after, just in case.
Do you feel more relaxed now that you’ve had press night and the show is up and running?
I really do! There have been some fantastic reviews. Really, you should ignore the Nationals because half of them don’t even bother turning up! They are called critics for a reason, they’ve seen it all. If you get a critic who comes along and only loves Shakespeare, he’s not going to give us a good review. They should send somebody to review the show who appreciates the type of theatre it is! I think the general public should be the reviewers.
Well apparently 1/5 people Tweet after seeing a show so more and more people are becoming ‘critics’!
Exactly, and I’m glad about that. So many shows close because of bad reviews, it’s terrible.
Are there any other particular theatre roles you would like to play? Or do you just wait and see what comes your way?
Not really, I still sing with Mike (Nolan) and Jay (Aston) from Bucks Fizz and I love that. That’s my hobby, whereas this is my job! It’s something I absolutely love and I can do it without thinking about it. Kenny Wax (General Manager of Happy Days & Producer of Top Hat) has said to me there’s a role he would like me to play in Top Hat when it goes out on tour. But I don’t know, once I’ve finished Happy Days I might give theatre a rest. I’m not a theatre lovey who just wants to play different roles all the time, I don’t mind this – it’s six months and in my brain I’m already planning what I’m going to be doing at the end of July and in August and September. Although, having said that, Happy Days will hopefully transfer into the West End and I will follow it in – it’s nice to be in the West End.
I think it’s excellent that the show is touring first instead of opening in the West End before it’s ready!
It’s so new – with a brand new show you need to find your feet. Amy is phenomenal, she’s a powerhouse! She has so much energy, so much vitality and so much drive to make this succeed. She’s made Happy Days the Musical what it is now, she hasn’t scrimped and scraped. Amy’s put her whole life on the line to fund this. Our set is fantastic! People said to her “If you didn’t have that it would cut your costs down” but she didn’t want to short-change the show, she wanted it to be as spectacular as possible and it really is, it’s superb. Amy, Andrew Wright (Director/Choreographer) and Joanna Goodwin (Associate Choreographer) have been predominant in this production, making everything happen. I have never witnessed stress or felt any pressure which is a real gift. They have made everyone feel special and are so encouraging. They’ve done such a brilliant job!
You have so much support from fans, many of whom are travelling up and down the country to see you in Happy Days. It must be amazing to have so much dedicated support behind you?
You get to know the people that come to everything and spend a small fortune. I spend a lot of time with them after the show and I trust them now, they post lovely things on Twitter and Facebook and keep everybody else up to date with what’s going on. The nice thing about touring is that fans all over the country can come. It’s very humbling because they’ve been fans since they were children and now they’re all married or with partners and have children of their own. It’s a very special relationship we have now as whereas they used to just be fans, I think they’re aware that we now regard them as friends.
Interviewed by Andrew Tomlins (Editor)
Happy Days continues to tour the UK until July 2014 (including a run at the Milton Keynes Theatre between 16th and 21st June). Please visit www.happydaysthemusical.com for the full tour schedule, further information and tickets.
Photo Credit 1&2: Paul Coltas
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