As the originator of one of Australia’s most beloved characters, Toni Collette has left big shoes to fill – but judging by a first look at Muriel’s Wedding the Musical on Wednesday morning, the 20-year-old newcomer Maggie McKenna has much to bring to the title role.
Australia’s most eagerly awaited musical theatre event of the year, the modern-day adaptation of the hit 90s film will premiere in Sydney in October before heading to the US in 2018, helmed by Simon Phillips – the acclaimed director behind Ladies in Black, Dream Lover and the stage adaptation of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert.
The stage version will follow Muriel from Porpoise Spit to Sydney, where she “ends up with everything she ever wanted – a man, a fortune and a million Twitter followers. That’s when things start to go really wrong.”
The original score is written by Kate Miller-Heidke and Kier Nuttall, with the book adapted by the film’s writer and director PJ Hogan. Phillips had approached Hogan about the adaptation 15 years ago, he said, but Hogan had played “hard to get”.
On Wednesday, Hogan explained that while it hadn’t felt right back then, Muriel “would be right at home” now. “It’s a story essentially of a young woman who wants to be famous to prove her detractors wrong but she has no discernible talent for anything.
“Muriel would be a YouTube star now. She’d take to Twitter. Muriel 25 years ago would thrive now … had reality TV been there 25 years ago, Muriel would have signed up in a minute.”
Speaking to a packed room of media at Sydney Theatre Company, Phillips said it had taken 11 months for the team to find their Muriel: “Suddenly a tape arrived from LA where this young woman was pretentiously studying, and we thought, ‘By George, we’ve got her.’”
McKenna, the Melbourne-raised daughter of the Kath & Kim star Gina Riley, trained at the prestigious American Musical and Dramatic Academy. She had certainly perfected Muriel’s tongue-poke when the cast performed a highlight from the soundtrack: a rousing ode to Sydney.
Muriel's Wedding: The Musical sneak peak! pic.twitter.com/DUCEJPIJ4R
— steph harmon (@stephharmon) June 14, 2017
“I think everyone can really relate to Muriel because everyone at some time in their life feels like a bit of an outsider, and Muriel is definitely that,” she said of the role, which will be her professional stage debut.
“But also she’s a bit of a dork and she likes to have a bit of a laugh … she’s not the typical leading lady and I think audiences will really like that.”
Twelve of the cast were announced on Wednesday, with the pivotal role of Muriel’s mother, Betty, to be played by the actor, singer and Play School host Justine Clarke. “Part of the emotional epicentre of Muriel’s Wedding lies in the character of Muriel’s mother,” Phillips said, “and no one can bring warmth and heart to a character like [Clarke]. Who else can we entrust with our children?”
Other members of the Heslop clan will be played by Briallen Clarke (Joanie), Michael Whalley (Perry) and Connor Sweeney (Malcolm). While the role of Rhonda has not yet been announced, Helen Dallimore has been cast as Deidre Chambers, who is married to Chook (Aaron Tsindos). Tania Degano will be played by Christie Whelan Browne, with bridesmaids including Manon Gunderson-Briggs and Laura Murphy.
Brice Nobes will be played by Ben Bennett, with Muriel’s other love interest, the Olympic swimming hopeful Alexander Shkuratov, played by Stephen Madsen – coached by Josh Quong Tart’s Ken. The 28-strong cast also includes Sheridan Harbridge, Mark Hill, Annie Aitken, Kaeng Chan, Tony Cogin, Adrian Li Donni and Kenneth Moraleda.
Miller-Heidke, the pop singer behind the acclaimed 2015 production The Rabbits, said being asked to write the music for Muriel’s Wedding was “everything I could have dreamed and more”.
“It’s always been a dream of mine to write a full-length musical. When I heard about this project I think my initial response was ‘fuck yes’,” she said. “There’s a reason it’s such a classic, iconic movie. It’s hilarious, the characters are larger than life, it’s full of pathos, humanity and fun – it’s been a joy.”
Abba have allowed the production use of the songs that were in the movie, Phillips said. “Abba had to be Muriel’s music. But Kate and Keir have held their own … It’s a daunting thing to go up against two of the greatest songwriters of modern pop.”
The musical, which opens on 6 November at the Roslyn Packer Theatre, has already twice extended its first run until 27 January 2018. In April 2018 it will premiere in North America, at the Ed Mirvish Theatre in Toronto.
Designed by Gabriela Tylesova, the musical is a co-production between the Sydney Theatre Company and the production company Global Creatures, which was behind Walking with Dinosaurs, King Kong the Musical and Strictly Ballroom the Musical.
