A Way Back to Then

Remember a time

Before you’d ever even been to Broadway

New York was just a place

Across the ocean

Far away

It may as well have been the moon

And musicals were accessed via cast recordings

Played on CD (and cassette!)

Repeated so often you knew

Every inflection

Pause and intonation

And then you’re sitting in the

Lyric Theatre, London

And Trevor Ashley

Australian performer

Who taught musical theatre at State Music Camp

And performed at Schools Spec

Is performing his Liza show

He is brilliant

The camp and the sass and the deadpan humour

Meet moments of utter sincerity

That make a caricature of Liza

(Though the portrayal is so spot on

It's more real than play) 

Human 

You remember

State Music camp and

Being around other people who

Got it

You performed ‘Over the Moon’ from RENT

(Which you had learnt by heart

By listening to the recording

Over and over til you got it right

Moo)

(And your friend

Gave you your first standing ovation

Lept to his feet when you finished moo-ing)

It was thrilling to sit in chairs around the piano

Holding sheets of music

And singing the songs

You had listened to

And already knew by heart

And all that jazz

And you remember all your teachers

Mrs Harrison and Mrs Ross

Mrs McAndrews

Mrs Stevenson, Miss Lorschy, Mrs Martinotti, Mrs Turner

Mr Harrison, Miss Boyle, Miss Richards (theatre etiquette!), Miss Paris, Miss Simone, Mrs Page, Mrs Stewart, Mr Kelso, Mrs Miltiades, Mrs Miller, Mrs Cull

George, Andrew, Gina, Frank, Kane, Ste, Christine

The ones who believed in you and gave you a chance

And if you could tell your fifteen year old self

You get to do it!

You go to New York

Broadway is real

You study musical theatre in London

You live in a houseful of actors

You learn for real the phrase

“Starving actor”

It’s not just about hunger and being poor

You need to perform and write and play music and tell stories

And when you don’t

You get really depressed

And even though it’s hard

It’s incredible

There is no other life you can lead

The Tony Awards are real

You actually go, twice

Get all dressed up

And sit in the rafters

And watch your childhood heroes

Make their acceptance speeches

You see Idina Menzel in concert (twice)

You see her rehearsing!

You see Marvin Hamlisch conduct the London Symphony Orchestra

In a medley from A Chorus Line

You see Liza in concert

You see Trevor as Liza in concert

And it takes you back to 15 year old you

Who wants nothing more than

This life

And you say

Hold on

You’ll get here

The end.