FOR a showbiz legend who has performed on London’s West End and been a star on Australian stages and screens, Rhonda Burchmore seems remarkably unaffected and delightfully down to earth.
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That was immediately apparent when the Lakes Mail tentatively broached the subject of Burchmore’s regular appearances on Hey Hey It’s Saturday.
For newcomers, Hey Hey was a variety show hosted by Daryl Somers which ran on Channel Nine from 1971 to 1999. It was dangerously loose, and proudly unscripted.
Never mind that Burchmore has acted alongside Mickey Rooney and Geoffrey Rush, starred on Australian stages for 35 years, recorded albums and performed for Bill Clinton – one mention of Hey Hey prompts a rush of fond memories from her.
“Hey Hey was pretty daggy, but it sure got your face out there and it was a lot of fun,” she said.
And great training, too, it turns out, for entertainers facing live audiences.
“We never rehearsed, it was all impromptu, and it was really good times for variety entertainment. And I lament that we don’t have anything like that now.”
Guests on Hey Hey had to have their wits about them.
“It was a bit of a minefield because you had John Blackman up there, and Dicky Knee and Red [Symonds], and it was all live, so you had to roll with the punches which was a great learning experience for getting out there and dealing with live audiences.
“I really thank Hey Hey for that.”
We never rehearsed, it was all impromptu, and it was really good times for variety entertainment.
- - Rhonda Burchmore
Burchmore will put her Hey Hey experience to use again with her new show, Up Close and Personal, which she’ll take to The Art House, at Wyong, on Tuesday, February 19, at 11am.
The audience will be treated to hand-picked songs from her 35 years in the industry, as well as stories about her career in musical theatre, cabaret and television.
Did you know, for instance, that she met and performed for Diana, the Princess of Wales, on four occasions?
In her new show, Burchmore performs her favourite songs from musicals including Mamma Mia, Hot Shoe Shuffle, Into the Woods, Guys and Dolls as well as songs that have a special meaning for her.
She said it would be an intimate one-woman show with a Q&A session – if time permitted – where nothing would be off limits.
“I’m open and very honest, and I’m not shy,” she said.
So when fans ask about her favourite leading man, and what Mickey Rooney was really like, she’s happy to answer fully.
Burchmore said the show also provided the opportunity for her to revisit some of the saddest moments in her personal life.
“And that’s when people like to ask me about the healing power of music,” she said.
“This show is really just a relaxed look at me, with some stories and anecdotes.”
There’s no big band. No dancers. And none of the “razzamatazz’ audiences would expect in a major stage production, she said.
Her stories about brushes with fame aren’t delivered in a boastful way, but instead aim to reveal something interesting, amusing or unexpected about the subject, or herself.
“Hopefully audiences can walk away having found out some things about me that they didn’t know.”
- Tickets cost $25.
