Eddie’s not so perfect lead up to Tony Award surprise
On the morning the prestigious Tony Award nominations were announced in New York in April, Eddie Perfect dropped his kids off at school, threw his phone into his bag and started out on a walk through Central Park...then the phone started ringing.
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On the morning the prestigious Tony Award nominations were announced in New York City in April, Eddie Perfect dropped his kids off at school, threw his phone into his bag and started out on a solitary walk through Central Park.
For the Australian, best known for playing Mick Holland on Channel 10’s Offspring and for writing and starring in the surprise hit Shane Warne: The Musical, the last thing on his mind was what was happening several blocks down the road.
Perfect had moved to New York months earlier after getting his break on Broadway when he was asked to write the music and lyrics for Beetlejuice, a musical adaptation of the 1988 Tim Burton movie starring Michael Keaton, Geena Davis and Alec Baldwin.
Despite big crowds at preview performances and a lot of buzz, some reviews hadn’t been so kind and the show had been largely ignored at other award ceremonies.
“It’s awards season here in New York so there are lots of other awards happening and there didn’t seem to be a huge amount of love going on for the writing of Beetlejuice,” he tells Insider.
But a funny thing happened during that walk in the park.
“My bag started buzzing furiously,” Perfect recalls. “I pulled it out and it was my New York agent going crazy about the nominations — that was a massive surprise.”
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And the production hadn’t just scored one or two nominations. The dark comedy picked up eight, including Best New Musical, Outstanding Actor In A Leading Role and one for Perfect himself for Best New Score.
His meteoric rise in the world’s musical theatre capital is all the more special as it almost didn’t happen.
When Perfect first headed to New York to try his luck, at the urging of his wife Lucy, it was slow going. He called on mate Tim Minchin for advice and Minchin introduced him to his agent John Buzzetti who took him on board.
“I literally gave him a CD of Shane Warne: The Musical, which I mean, Jesus, how the hell he knew what was going on with that I have no idea,” he laughs. But signing on with an agent guarantees you nothing on Broadway.
He would return regularly to try and get the lay of the land, see as many shows as he could and speak to those in the know, but with each trip the dream seemed to be getting further away from him.
“I sent many texts to Lucy where I was like ‘this is pointless, why am I coming here, nothing’s changing. I don’t think they’re ever going to let me in the room — I don’t even know how to get in the room’,” he says.
While back in Melbourne he heard Beetlejuice was in development and looking for
a composer-lyricist. When his agent asked if Perfect could throw his hat in the ring they turned him down saying his work was too Australian and they were talking to more high-profile Broadway types.
Undeterred, Perfect offered to write to songs for free.
“So I set about writing these songs and then miraculously got the gig without them having met me or really knowing anything about me,” he laughs. “That was a very huge risk on their behalf. I thought it was very crazy in the beginning, how do they know it’s me writing these songs.”
That kickstarted a four-year process of getting Beetlejuice on stage and could end with eight Tonys.
* The 73rd Annual Tony Awards live on Foxtel Arts Channel, Monday, June 10 from 10am
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