Forget those modern-day pop princesses, Dusty is back under the spotlight!
The ‘tribute act’ is one that many love or hate. There are those such as Bjorn Again and Kisstroyer that suffice for the fans of acts simply no longer around. Then there are the endless Elvis and Beatles shows that constantly tour the globe. But these are not to be confused with the more serious and scripted productions that become more drama than tribute.
While David Campbell recently played Bobby Darin in Dream Lover and Tim Draxl toured with Freeway: The Chet Baker Journey, this month Amy Lehpamer dons the shimmering gown, bouffant hair and ‘panda eye’ mascara to take the lead in The Production Company’s Dusty.
Previously titled Dusty – The Original Pop Diva, the show was written by Australians John-Michael Howson, David Mitchell and Melvyn Morrow, who had already penned the Johnny O’Keefe musical SHOUT! It premiered in 2006 at the Victorian State Theatre, with Tamsin Carroll in the lead role and earned high praise, including four Helpmann awards.
Musical theatre audiences will be familiar with the new ‘Dusty’. Lehpamer’s work has included Sherrie in Rock of Ages, Reza in Once and Janet in The Rocky Horror Show. However, many will be interested to see her transform from her recent stint as the virtuous Maria Von Trapp into the fervent Springfield.
Springfield was grouped amidst many other contempary singers of her era such as Cilla Black, Lulu and Petula Clark. But what exactly sets Dusty apart from the rest? After all, it was Elton John who called her ‘the greatest white singer there ever has been.’
“Elton John has mentioned the vulnerability in her voice,” says Lehpamer. “It’s a powerful sound, but the emotional life in her songs is so nuanced. She was about telling a story and she was very particular about how her songs were produced. Add her incredible musicality and that immediate, yearning tone she has, and you’ve got an extraordinary, once in a lifetime package.”
For many, Dusty Springfield is an iconic figure of the London Sixties music scene, with her trademark soulful and breathy voice, she had numerous hits such as I Only Want To Be With You and You Don’t Have To Say You Love Me. Springfield helped coin the phrase ‘blue-eyed soul’, harvesting the essence of the black American Motown singers. Her successes included sixteen top 20 chart hits. One of those included her 1987 collaboration with The Pet Shop Boys on What Have I Done To Deserve This. She experienced yet another revival in the Nineties thanks to Quentin Tarantino including Son of a Preacher Man on the Pulp Fiction soundtrack.
But Springfield’s life also included personal dramas, from her sexuality to domestic violence, alcoholism and the cancer that eventually took her life. It is a story perfectly suited for the stage.
“Dusty and I are very different,” says Lehpamer. “I have an incredible amount of empathy for her, for the experiences she had and difficulties she faced. I do relate to her in being a woman with a strong sense of what she wanted, and there is almost always common ground in one performer’s life experience to another.”
“Still, Dusty faced battles with her sexuality, her mental health and her sense of self image and worth, to a more extreme end to what I have experienced. I have an immense amount of respect for her and my work as an actor is to understand her life and create a character in her image.”
Creating the character is indeed a focal point to the success in such a stage tribute. In 2005 the American play A Girl called Dusty featured Stacia Fernandez, an earlier 1995 Australian production I Only Wanna Be With You starred Wendy Stapleton and the recent Georgy Girl: The Seekers Musical saw Michelle Smitheram as Dusty.
Now, theatregoers are anxiously awaiting a new interpretation of the beloved singer and pop culture icon. Given her successes so far, it would be hard for Lehpamer to go wrong.
“I’ve been listening to her music non-stop, reading various biographies and chasing down clips of her interviews,” she says. “It’s about making all I’ve learned translate to the stage – including learning how to do her outrageous makeup!”
For more visit: www.theproductioncompany.com.au/dusty/