Natalie Bassingthwaighte and Rob Mills back in Adelaide for Chess the Musical
It’s a case of checkmate for TV favourite Natalie Bassingthwaighte as she heads to Adelaide for the hit musical Chess. She’ll be teaming up with Rob Mills and Paulini.
Entertainment
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It’s a full-circle moment for Natalie Bassingthwaighte to step into the tortured shoes of Florence Vassy in Chess.
She was a massive fan of the album and used to belt out the 80s pop classic I Know Him So Well with her best friend, the pair singing into their hairbrushes and busting the moves at her Wollongong home.
Nat confesses, however, she was a little hesitant when she was first asked to take on the role of love interest Vassy, caught between US and Soviet chess grandmasters Frederick and Anatoly (Mark Furze and Alexander Lewis in this version) as they wrestle for the world championship.
“I remembered it was a really big thing and I thought, ‘Oh, wow! Am I even able to do this?’,” she says down the line from her Byron Bay home. “I had a good look to make sure I could.”
Obviously, she said yes. The show opened to rave reviews in Melbourne last month. This week, the former Rogue Traders frontwoman, X Factor host and Neighbours actor will get to sing on Her Majesty’s stage, with the all-star cast in a new production of the Cold War-set pop-rock musical.
Nat gets to revisit her youth dueting the iconic I Know Him So Well with Paulini (who plays Anatoly’s ex-wife, Svetlana). She laughs when asked if it’s as much fun as in her teen dreams.
“It’s very different,” she says. “I don’t want to say it’s better because my best friend will kill me. It’s a pretty special moment and getting to sing with Paulini any time is such a blessing. She’s so phenomenal.
“It’s one of those iconic songs and just one of those pinch-yourself moments. The audience knows it so well, ha, and you get a little tingly yourself. Look, the entire show is so strong – I love all of it, but that is definitely a moment that feels pretty awesome.”
The role was originally made famous in London’s West End by Elaine Paige. Another of Nat’s heroes, Idina Menzel, also starred on Broadway, so her mind is a little bit blown to be following in their rather giant footsteps.
“It is next level,” she says. “I’m a huge fan of both those ladies, so it feels a little surreal sometimes. And I also feel really grateful.
“Idina – she played Maureen in the very first Rent. My first show was Rent and I understudied Maureen and went on many, many times. Now I’m playing Florence, I feel like there’s real connection as far as that goes. I’m taking it, whether anyone likes it or not.”
And along with her children Harper, 10, and Hendrix, 7, with husband Cameron McGlinchey, she’s a total fan of Menzel’s other iconic role – as Elsa in Disney’s Frozen.
“Don’t get me wrong – I might also sing a little bit of Let It Go in the house just every now and again,” Nat laughs.
“And Elaine Page, I mean, she is the queen of musicals, so it’s a pretty nice place to be.”
It’s also a pretty nice place to be for Rob Mills, who is another bright light (or should that be Knight?) in the star-studded cast. He invites me to join him as he bursts into a few stanzas of “Wasn’t it good? Oh so good” as he joins me on Zoom from his Melbourne base.
Politely declining, I assure him it most definitely wouldn’t be “oh so good” if I duet with him, despite the catchy song being on repeat in my head after researching the musical ahead of our chat.
Millsy laughs when asked if he too gets songs stuck in his brain.
“Yeah, I do,” he says. “I remember when I first did Wicked years ago, I would wake up at the same time – 2.32am – every single morning and a different song would be in my head from the show. Strangely it hasn’t been the case in this show. I don’t know why.”
Millsy is Walter de Courcey in Chess, an undercover CIA operative – basically the puppeteer; the one who engineers the chess game and works to ensure the US comes out on top. So, how would Millsy fare in the murky world of espionage?
“Well I stalked my girlfriend (ABC presenter Georgie Tunny),” he laughs. “And that worked out really well. I slid into her (Instagram) DMs. But I would say as a spy, I’ve got a pretty bad poker face, so probably not that good.
“However, (Walter) is very charming and a bit of a salesman. That I can relate to.”
The musical was spun from a concept album penned by ABBA’s Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus, and Sir Tim Rice retrofitted the show’s book.
Australian director Tyran Parke has been given permission to rework the show’s somewhat “checkered” history.
While the soundtrack – which also includes One Night in Bangkok and the stirring Anthem – has always captured hearts, audiences have at times been a little confused with the storyline.
“Chess has never been done like this,” Millsy explains. “If you put the original book on stage, it goes for about three-and-a-half hours and that’s just too long.
“So our wonderful director, Tyran, has done a great job getting the green light to produce something new. He’s worked tirelessly Zooming with Sir Tim Rice, getting his approval. And also with Benny and Björn to get some changes made.
“They’ve changed lyrics as well to try and make more sense of the through line for the characters.
“Tyran said he’s watched more than 50 different productions of Chess over the years and he could never really work out what was happening at times.
“So he’s got all the best bits and – with Sir Tim’s approval – has made it more succinct and it makes more sense. I’ve had some people come up to me and say ‘I never realised how important your character was, but now it makes sense’ which is wonderful to hear.”
Millsy adds with a cheeky smile: “I wouldn’t say it was just my performance – although, to be fair, it is very good.”
Both Nat and Millsy were keen to get back to treading the boards after COVID-19 turned the lights off in theatres across the globe.
While Millsy managed some virtual gigs, Nat took the time to just be with her family in their new home of Byron Bay – an inspired move, as it turns out, the family packing up their Melbourne home and heading north in January last year, missing the severe Victorian lockdowns.
While Nat loved much of the downtime of COVID-19, it was little disheartening to learn she did not make the grade as a teacher.
“I always actually thought I would be a great teacher,” she laughs. “I think there was even a time where I thought I would be a primary school teacher. Ah, but no, I’m not (any good). I am very grateful for our teachers and the job they do.
“I won’t be putting my hand up to be doing that anytime soon.
“I know we were pretty fortunate up here, but it was still bloody hard.”
It’s little wonder then just how excited she is to be back doing what she does so well – performing in front of an audience.
Opening night in a Melbourne was a huge high. “Oh, far out, yes,” Nat exclaims.
“There was just a real fizz of electricity in the air. We knew it was a sold-out season. The audience was like ‘wow, we haven’t been to theatre for so long’ and you could feel their excitement. Hopefully, they could feel it from us. We were all buzzed to be up there, for sure.”
There wasn’t a trace of nerves for the triple threat.
“Everyone was like, ‘Oh, my God, you are so relaxed,” Nat says.
“I didn’t know why. I was just running around backstage going ‘let’s do this – what do we have to lose?’. I was just in the best mood.
“I guess I was preparing for the role quite early in the piece so I think I felt like I was prepared.
“Also, it’s not like we are surgeons saving lives – we are entertainers and we should be out there having a good time.”
Millsy, however, confesses he felt all the nerves; even Georgie was “freaking out” for him as she sat in front and centre watching her man on opening night.
“I’m so comfortable talking to camera or on the microphone while hosting,” he says.
“But when you are part of something so big like a musical, you’re just a small cog in the grand scheme of the big machine. And you can’t miss your bit because it stuffs everything up for everyone else.
“You want to make sure you present well, you want to make sure your voice is in the right spot. You don’t want to stuff up your lines.
“It’s different on Neighbours. You stuff up your lines and you go ‘sorry, can we do that again?’. You don’t have that luxury in a musical – so there is so much more pressure.”
We first fell in love with Millsy when he made the top five of the inaugural season of Australian Idol.
Seven recently announced it was dusting off the mega-franchise, which also introduced us to the likes of Adelaide’s own Guy Sebastian, Shannon Noll, Jessica Mauboy, Casey Donovan and Anthony Callea. Millsy would love to host the rebooted version.
“100 per cent yes,” he says. “I know it’s coming back (to film) later in the year, due to air early next year. That show gave me a career outside of the pubs. I love the idea of unearthing an unknown and nurturing their talent. I love passing on wisdom. So we shall see. I have a great synergy and affinity for the show. I keep putting it out there into the ether.”
While Millsy’s great at passing on his moves to the generation, he admits his chess moves are somewhat lacking.
“Look, I know how the game works,” Millsy says.
“I know that pawns go forward, the knight moves in an L shape, the castle moves straight up and down. I know logistically how it works, but I don’t know how to do strategic moves.
“And I certainly don’t know how to move chess pieces on a ceiling (as Anya Taylor-Joy does in the Netflix blockbuster series The Queen’s Gambit).”
Nat’s similarly modest about her chess abilities. She does have a slight advantage over Millsy – in her backyard is a giant outdoor chess set concreted into the ground. Father Christmas brought it for the kids. She laughs as she shares that her seven-year-old son beats her, but she still enjoys a game or two.
What audiences will enjoy about this new production, quite apart from the talent, is its grandeur. There is a 24-piece orchestra and choir on stage.
“There is something very awe-inspiring about seeing live instruments on stage – it’s really something for the soul,” Millsy says.
“At the end of the show, I’m standing right at the back of the stage, up high, basically on top of the orchestra. I look out over the strings section and watch the men and women play those beautiful instruments and having the sound come straight up to me – it’s breath taking.
“I am overwhelmed with how brilliant it is. Benny and Björn are absolute geniuses.
“Come for the hits and immerse and treat your soul to some really beautiful music as well.
“This is an orchestra, with a choir and some of the best performers in the nation gracing Her Maj’s stage. I’m getting goosebumps just thinking about it.”
Chess the Musical, May 27-29, Her Majesty’s Theatre. Tickets through bass.net.au
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