Michael Falzon is all set to guest star as the Pharoah in Harvest Rain Theatre Company’s new production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dream Coat. Michael is one of Australia's most in-demand singer-songwriters and has also been successful internationally performing in theatre, concert, television and film. He’s performed as leading man Galileo in the Ben Elton/Queen hit show, We Will Rock You, and joins the cast of Joseph direct from his acclaimed performance in the national tour of Hedwig and the Angry Inch.
ourbrisbane.com caught up with Michael to find out about his amazing journey as a performer.
MF: I've been pretty fortunate to work with the people involved in the productions I've performed in, from Queen and Ben Elton, Jeff Wayne (composer of The War of the Worlds) through to the excellent Aussie creative forces Kelley Abbey and Craig Ilott on Hedwig. Beside the obvious highlights of performing before thousands of people – quite a buzz in itself – there is a great satisfaction in working with the best in the biz. Joseph will be fun as it is working with and supporting a home-grown Brisbane company and performing at QPAC where I got my start in professional theatre back in 1994.
OB: What attracted you to the role of the Pharaoh?
MF: I was approached by QPAC and Harvest Rain when performing as Hedwig back in November 2008. Having understudied the role of Joseph in the original Really Useful production ten years ago, I was excited that this would be an all-new production. The wonderful design of this version takes us through the 50s and 60s and is very slick.
OB: You’ve had a spectacular career already, are there any goals you haven’t achieved yet? Roles you’d still like to play?
MF: It’s funny how [you] sometimes buy into the “grass is greener...” cliché. Though I'm working across a few creative fields, performing a lot and producing through my company SMA Productions, I wonder at times about doing more film, etc. Having said that, if Jesus Christ, Superstar ever comes back to Australia, I'd be there with bells on!
OB: If you weren’t a performer, what do you think you’d be doing?
MF: I think producing more. SMA is ticking along well now in London and I'd probably be spending more time over there. Mind you, I get there twice a year as it is. Another interest of mine was (is?) psychology. I actually got into UQ to study it and deferred to do more singing and acting. That was in 1990.
OB: When did you know you wanted to perform? How did you go about following that dream?
MF: Always. I guess the passion was really ignited upon the Lyric stage at QPAC when as a pirate I got my first buzz of performing in front of 2000 people.
OB: Is there anything in life you feel you’ve missed out on because of your career choice? (Is it hard on relationships, family etc?)
MF: It’s hard on everything...family, relationships, ego...sanity in general. There is no real clear course, which [you] might find in a “real” job. So, you take it as it comes, looking for good projects to be involved with. It is, however, tremendously rewarding in many ways too. Travel, well-paid, and you meet fantastic, talented people you wouldn't ordinarily meet.
OB: If you could be someone else for a day, who would you be and why?
MF: God. So I can discover if there is one. In a mortal sense, Barack Obama, so I could go back to my own life knowing that there isn't really any great pressure in it.
OB: What do you think of the state of the Arts in Australia?
MF: I am in Sydney every other week and try to catch as much as I can in the way of theatre. The great thing I am seeing is a lot of new people coming together to produce their own shows, their own work. This in turn is keeping theatre affordable and bringing in the punters! As a whole, we need to just keep people coming in to see the shows.
OB: What do you love about performing in Queensland?
MF: I've a lot of family in Brisbane and love it when they come to see what I'm in. I can chill with my many nieces and nephews too, which is always very grounding.
OB: Any other random thoughts and comments you’d like to make?
MF: Yes. How about a shameless plug for my music? I would love to hear people’s thoughts on my songs if they feel like popping into myspace ... I always welcome opinions but people are sometimes too shy to come say hello after a show!
What are you waiting for? Here’s your invitation to go and say hello to Michael Falzon after you’ve seen Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. But if you haven’t booked yet you’d better be very quick. Tickets have almost sold out – there are only a few seats left for the Saturday matinees.
