Home and Away star combines two great loves as she returns to theatre roots
How Home And Away star will join the cast of Broadway musical classic Guys and Dolls to show off her singing chops os she treads the boards in Sydney … alongside a special castmate.
Entertainment
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A soap star will return to two of her great loves when she takes to the stage in Broadway classic Guys and Dolls – musical theatre, and working with her partner.
In recent years, Angelina Thomson has been on the small screen as Kirby Aramoana on hit Australian soap Home and Away.
Insider can reveal Thomson is returning to her musical theatre roots with her upcoming turn as Miss Adelaide in Opera Australia’s new production of Guys and Dolls on Sydney Harbour.
She will appear in the production alongside her partner Lachlan Dearing, who will perform in the musical ensemble on the back of touring with Hamilton.
“I’m absolutely thrilled to play this character, it’s really fun that this is my first show back after three years on Home and Away and it’s going to be fun to jump back into theatre this way,” Thomson said.
“Miss Adelaide is such a funny, funny character – she’s big, she’s unapologetic, she is proud of how much space she takes up, and I’m really excited to be able to play this role.”
The musical, set in 1950s Manhattan, tells a tale of gambling rogues, dazzling showgirls, and unlikely love stories – this time, against the extraordinary backdrop of Sydney Harbour with Handa Opera.
Miss Adelaide is a put-upon New York showgirl with a persistent head cold who has been waiting 14 years for her fiance – the male lead and chronic gambler Nathan – to marry her.
The role was first made famous on both stage and screen by Hollywood legend Vivian Blaine.
“Miss Adelaide offers so much comedic relief in the storyline, so being able to tell her story in that way is going to be something I’ve not done before,” Thomson said.
“I’m really excited to step into her shoes.”
Thomson has also previously performed in A Chorus Line, West Side Story, Rent, Carole King musical Beautiful, Thoroughly Modern Millie and Ragtime after studying musical theatre at Griffith University’s Queensland Conservatorium.
It was on the set of A Chorus Line that Thomson met her now partner.
Dearing has most recently played the first American Episcopalian bishop Samuel Seabury – the rival to Alexander Hamilton – in the 2024 Australian cast of Hamilton, and was previously in the cast of Hi 5.
“We did A Chorus Line together, we just started off hanging out and chatting, we fell in love with the ocean so we went to the beach and hung out – Angelina is very talented, jot that down,” Dearing laughed.
“It was so nice, we went from friends into partners – it’s so cool, and literally for the last three years, we’ve been saying we’re so excited to do a show together, and we’re back again way sooner than we both really thought we would be.”
It is a welcome departure from stints of long distance and opposing schedules while the couple individually pursued their creative dreams.
“Angelina is waking up at 5 or 6am for TV, I’m getting home at 11pm for theatre, so we’re very excited to car pool to set instead of trying to fly to each other’s states, the car pooling is something we’re very excited about,” Dearing said.
“It’s just so cool to watch your best friend do their thing and I get to watch it live, which is going to be very cool – side stage, best seat in the house.”
“Being together again in a show is the dream,” Thomson added.
The pair have enjoyed every part of the shared process, from preparing together for auditions to rehearsing for the show.
The pair went away for a weekend before their auditions to prepare together, with Dearing quipping he was coming for the role of Nathan – Thomson’s character’s romantic interest.
“It’s special because we’re best friends – we go surfing together, then we come home and we learn lines, then we play show tunes, then we’ll go for a walk on the beach,” Thomson said.
“It’s thrilling to be able to do a show together again, that’s for sure.”
Dearing added: “It’s also nice that we’ve been able to reflect on each other’s lives and careers for the last three years, and being impressed by what we each do, but it’s going to be very special to do the same thing.”
Thomson and Dearing will be joined in a star-studded cast by recording artist and Commonwealth Games medal-winning swimmer Cody Simpson as Sky Masterson, Annie Aitken as Sarah Brown, Bobby Fox as Nathan Detroit, and Hamilton star Jason Arrow as Nicely Nicely Johnson.
Now one of Broadway’s defining musicals, Guys and Dolls debuted in New York City in 1950, before continuing on for 1200 performances and winning the Tony Award for Best Musical.
The last time a major production of the musical visited Sydney was 2009.
“Being in the theatre feels like more of a sacred space, it’s really ritualistic,” Thomson said.
“I’m really excited to be able to do a show that’s based in New York City – we went to New York when Lachlan was rehearsing Hamilton over there, and just walking the streets of New York as two little theatre nerds was amazing, and to be a part of this show is going to be awesome.”
Thomson said taking to the theatre stage again for Guys and Dolls would mark a change of pace from the small screen for Home and Away, which was another lifelong dream.
“Home and Away was a massive dream for me, I grew up watching the show and it’s a dream for a lot of actors in Australia, so it was so exciting,” Thomson said.
“Being able to share experiences with a live audience, the adrenaline rush, is really different, but TV and film was also always a massive goal, and being on Home and Away for this long has been a dream come true.”
To be part of one of musical theatre’s most classic productions is also a significant draw for the couple of self-professed theatre nerds.
“I think what we realise now is everything is really achievable, it’s all closer than I think you realise,” Thomson said.
“When we went to New York, we’ve got lots of friends over there now that are on Broadway – you think of it as a fictional land, but seeing a lot of our friends from Australia killing overseas on Broadway and the West End, touring everywhere, makes it all feel more achievable and I think we have this hunch we want to go over there and do that at some point.”
Guys & Dolls on Sydney Harbour will be playing at Mrs Macquaries Point from 21 March to 20 April.
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