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Grease.
 Towards
the end of our interview Natalie Bassingthwaighte stops to ask
someone whether or not her next scene is up. Bassingthwaighte
is on the set of 'Neighbours' awaiting her cue to once again
take her place as resident super-bitch Izzy Hoyland. "I'm nearly
on, but not yet," she assures me.
Despite not being familiar with her character I try the opportunist tack by trying to gain a spoiler; however confidentiality forbids her to reveal anything. "Nothing bad is going to happen," she allows, "Izzy is just being a bit naughty - again." Contrary to her Ramsay Street persona, Bassingthwaighte is blithe, chirpy and a whole lot of fun to talk to, often beginning and ending many of her responses with a loud, genuinely girlish laugh. Which brings us to her upcoming role as the sweet virginal Sandy in the latest stage production of 'Grease - The Arena Spectacular'.
"Do you mean, that people might think of me as Izzy?" she anticipates one question. "Do you know what? I think as soon as I open my mouth as Sandy, I don't think you could even go there for a second. Hopefully people will realise that we're actors and we're not always the one character. Although television is a massive medium and everyone believes whatever they see, but if people are believing the roles actors play then that might mean that hopefully we're doing an alright job," she teases me.
"People forget that when I grew up I sang, danced and acted, but at the moment what people see me of me the most is Izzy. So if that is how I'm seen that's going to be my mission, to get people to really see me as Sandy or at least they might see me as someone who can play different roles." Joining Bassingthwaighte at Rydell High for this version of 'Grease' is John Farnham (Teen Angel), Magda Szubanski (Miss Lynch), Tamsin Carroll (Rizzo) and Richard Wilkins as who else but that sleazy 'Bandstand' guy? You also get Human Nature's Toby Allen and Australian Idol's Rob Mills and Courtney Murphy; and slicking back his hair as Danny is former 'Erinsborough' heartthrob Craig McLachlan.
Hmmm... Natalie and Craig playing the roles made famous by Olivia Newton-John and John Travolta, playing the high school sweethearts? It's been sixteen years since Logie winner McLachlan (aka Henry Ramsay) left 24 Ramsay Street (to marry Bronwyn and live in New Zealand in the fiction).
"Good question," twenty-nine year old Bassingthwaighte concurs with a laugh. "I don't know. Who knows? I don't think he's that much older than me, maybe ten years or maybe not even that much. Both Craig and I have played the roles before in different productions so we've got the experience, but do you know what? In front of fifteen thousand people no one's going to guess how old we are and that's why it's so great. Like, the men have to be able to sing incredibly well, dance amazingly and be really blokey and not too girly. What I've been told is they're two of the hardest parts to cast anywhere in the world, so I guess at the time it was good to have such iconic people in the roles," she says, lauding her 1978 big screen contemporaries. "I mean, even now they're still loved and everyone knows them.
"But Craig is an amazing performer," she guarantees, "and his skills probably outweigh everyone's imaginations, so when they see him they're going to be completely blown away. Vocally he's got such a high voice that he can do all of those notes and he's a fine actor and he scrubs up alright with his dancing shoes on, so I think people will be surprised. I mean, you could probably sit there and recite all the lines and sing and dance along because you know how it goes. Every time one of those iconic lines comes out of someone's mouth the audiences all go 'Yeeeaah!', you know? It brings back all those memories, and everyone remembers the lines from the movie." Tell me more, tell me more...
Steve Jones
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'Grease' opens at the Entertainment Centre on Wed 1 June for a limited season.
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