ID :
34022
Fri, 12/05/2008 - 09:42
Auther :
Shortlink :
http://m.oananews.org//node/34022
The shortlink copeid
'Warne the Musical' hits Melbourne theatre this week
London, Dec 4 (PTI) More than a year after his retirement from international cricket, Shane Warne continues to fascinate and the flamboyant Australian now has become the subject of a musical to be staged in Melbourne this week.
'Shane Warne: The Musical' took three years in making and
according to the promoters -- "sets out both to celebrate and
understand the life of cricket's most adored and maligned hero
as he battles fame, failure, fidelity and the ferocious
Australian media."
The show will open at the Athenaeum Theatre in Melbourne
and is the brainchild of Eddie Perfect, an award-winning
Australian singer, comedian and cabaret artist.
What started as a joke turned into a serious venture
after Perfect mentioned the idea of bringing Warne's
tumultuous life to the stage to his manager Michael Lynch.
"Shane Warne is an amazing subject, because he has all
the epic story-telling elements running through his life,"
Perfect told 'The Independent'.
"There's success and failure, shame and redemption, love
and loss, beautiful women and exotic locations, hair loss and
giant dancing cigarettes.
"There's a Truman Show quality to his life, as if he's
been thrown on to the set of his own story and doesn't really
know his lines."
The musical which Perfect wrote and stars in, features 24
songs inspired by jazz and funk, soul, gospel, opera and heavy
metal.
"What an SMS I'm In" recalls the steamy text messages
Warne sent to various women.
"Take the Pill" refers to a banned drug that Warne
claimed his mother gave him for weight reduction which
eventually earned him a one-year ban.
Perfect considers the leg-spinner's story as a tale of
"Wagnerian" highs and lows and believes this is the reason
behind Australians' fascination with Warne.
"He is a person that every Australian has an opinion
about, whether they love him or hate him.
"He divides people. Here is this incredibly gifted guy
who bowls with such grace and beauty, like it's never been
done before, but off the field his life is a shambolic
disaster," said Perfect.
"I find him incredibly impressive, and I admire the fact
that he's had to answer his critics on the cricket pitch.
Every time people wanted to write him off, he went out there
and literally played for his life. Under that kind of
pressure, most people would crumble; Shane Warne not only
delivered the goods, but he revelled in it.
"At the same time, I think his is a very human story and
everyone can identify with it. I think the relationship
between Shane and Simone is absolutely beautiful, and no
different from how most couples meet and fall in love and get
married."
The leg-spinner, who has been the subject of 13
unauthorised biographies, is not at all impressed with the
musical.
Warne said friends who had seen previews, warned him to
expect "good parts and bad parts".
"I'm a pretty easy target for a few cheap jokes, but I
brought some of that on myself," he said. PTI RSM
DEP
NNNN
'Shane Warne: The Musical' took three years in making and
according to the promoters -- "sets out both to celebrate and
understand the life of cricket's most adored and maligned hero
as he battles fame, failure, fidelity and the ferocious
Australian media."
The show will open at the Athenaeum Theatre in Melbourne
and is the brainchild of Eddie Perfect, an award-winning
Australian singer, comedian and cabaret artist.
What started as a joke turned into a serious venture
after Perfect mentioned the idea of bringing Warne's
tumultuous life to the stage to his manager Michael Lynch.
"Shane Warne is an amazing subject, because he has all
the epic story-telling elements running through his life,"
Perfect told 'The Independent'.
"There's success and failure, shame and redemption, love
and loss, beautiful women and exotic locations, hair loss and
giant dancing cigarettes.
"There's a Truman Show quality to his life, as if he's
been thrown on to the set of his own story and doesn't really
know his lines."
The musical which Perfect wrote and stars in, features 24
songs inspired by jazz and funk, soul, gospel, opera and heavy
metal.
"What an SMS I'm In" recalls the steamy text messages
Warne sent to various women.
"Take the Pill" refers to a banned drug that Warne
claimed his mother gave him for weight reduction which
eventually earned him a one-year ban.
Perfect considers the leg-spinner's story as a tale of
"Wagnerian" highs and lows and believes this is the reason
behind Australians' fascination with Warne.
"He is a person that every Australian has an opinion
about, whether they love him or hate him.
"He divides people. Here is this incredibly gifted guy
who bowls with such grace and beauty, like it's never been
done before, but off the field his life is a shambolic
disaster," said Perfect.
"I find him incredibly impressive, and I admire the fact
that he's had to answer his critics on the cricket pitch.
Every time people wanted to write him off, he went out there
and literally played for his life. Under that kind of
pressure, most people would crumble; Shane Warne not only
delivered the goods, but he revelled in it.
"At the same time, I think his is a very human story and
everyone can identify with it. I think the relationship
between Shane and Simone is absolutely beautiful, and no
different from how most couples meet and fall in love and get
married."
The leg-spinner, who has been the subject of 13
unauthorised biographies, is not at all impressed with the
musical.
Warne said friends who had seen previews, warned him to
expect "good parts and bad parts".
"I'm a pretty easy target for a few cheap jokes, but I
brought some of that on myself," he said. PTI RSM
DEP
NNNN
