NINE the Musical in Concert: Behind the Scenes

Once upon a time, there was a room full of 30 women and one man. Many of those women were in love with the man; the rest were just trying to sing as high as they could.

Guessed the show? (Hint: It’s between 8 and 10)…

If you had trouble working that out, it’s probably because Australia hasn’t seen NINE the Musical for twenty- NINE years! But good news: it’s back in concert for One Night Only (cue Dreamgirls karaoke) on the 31^st October!

With all proceeds donated to the Think Pink Foundation, the dream cast of Michael Cormick, Fem Belling, Alinta Chidzey, Chelsea Gibb, Lucy Maunder, Maria Mercedes and twenty girls are already hard at work bringing this incredible score to life.

For those who don’t know the story of NINE, here’s the basic premise: In 1960’s Venice, Guido Contini (an Italian film director based on real-life auter Frederico Fellini) is having a mid- life crisis on the cusp of turning 40. Add a bunch of women and a 30 piece orchestra, and you’ve got yourself one exciting concert!

The only thing more fun than belting out high As with my fellow altos is watching the detail and passion each of the incredible actors has brought to their character (not to mention all of them nailing the Italian accent in a first read!) It’s too difficult to decide on just one highlight from rehearsals so far, so here are a few of my favourite moments:

• Singing the ‘Overture Dell Donne’ with the full cast- it gave me enough goose- bumps to last a lifetime.
• Everyone committing to having a red- hot go: As the rehearsal process is so short, we spend more time cleaning than learning the notes, and it’s brilliant! It’s hard to beat the satisfaction of music coming together so quickly.
• Hearing Maria Mercedes sing ‘My Husband Makes Movies’. She was faced away from us, but you could hear every piece of storytelling through her voice.
• Singing with Michael Cormick in his soliliquys- nothing like a chorus of ladies singing legit to beef up an ending!
• Lucy Maunder playing Claudia Nardi. Enough said.

I could shamelessly fangirl over every actor in the cast, but you would be reading this all day. Instead, head over here and grab a ticket to support the Think Pink Foundation and your inner theatre nerd.