MICHAEL ON BBC RADIO 2
With Don MacClean
Sunday, 2nd December 2001
Don: With me in the studio now is somebody I can only describe as a heart throb. How are you Michael?
Michael: I'm very good thanks.
Don: I always seem to interview you around Christmas time don't I?
Michael: Yeah ... well it's a nice time of year to do things.
Don: I think so. And Christmas of course is very busy for us performers but you're really putting yourself about this year aren't you?
Michael: (Laughing) Yes, I've had a really busy year, culminating with my recent album Centre Stage, and a video of the show I've done at the Donmar Warehouse.
Don: That's the new one-man show isn't it?
Michael: Yeah, yeah. I only did it for two weeks at the Donmar which is ... I don't know if you've been there ... a very experimental theatre.
Don: A funny place is what you're trying to say.
Michael: Well it's an unusual venue ... it's where you can take risks and do something different which I did with the one-man show ... not doing any songs that I've ever performed before ... not speaking to the audience ... which is something I love to do normally because I was in a character ... we developed a musical theatre evening.
Don: I didn't know this.
Michael: Yeah, yeah ... normally it's kind of a cabaret but when I spoke to Sam Mendes who runs the theatre he said do something completely different, shock people, this is your opportunity ... we know what you can do ... show us what people don't know you can do. So I devised with the help of two great talents Jonathon Butterill and Jason Carr, Director and Musical Director ... devised this show, this evening, that only contained songs that I've never performed before, I didn't ...
Don: Not new music?
Michael: Some new music and some very old music and it was kind of the story of a performer's life, what inspired him to go on stage, the pitfalls, the experience of appearing in front of an audience but told just through songs, I'd finish a song and let the emotional content of that song, the emotional feeling that that song would contain would take me onto the next one. For example talking about the performer's relationship with his father I would start off by singing Jack B's "Son of a thief, son of a saint, who's the child without complaint" so setting up in childhood and that took me into taking the character of the father, a drunk abusive who walked out singing "Little Pal" the Al Jolson song, "Little pal when Daddy goes away promise that you'll ...." but done with a bit of a slur because he's a violent agressive man, and that then would take me into "The Man Who Got Away" the Judy Garland song but it's about the boy whose now grown up talking about the father ... so it was that kind of style of performance, it was fascinating, terrifying, the scariest thing I've done, only with a piano ... I only did it for two weeks ... they asked me to transfer it to the West End but it wasn't right for that ... but we did film it and it's worked quite well.
Don: So it's out on Video then ... excellent. The only thing I can think of that's anything like that from what you've been telling me is Song and Dance, remember the first part of Song and Dance ...
Michael: Yes absolutely.
Don: I'm going to ask you this though, when you create a new show like this, I mean how do you break it in, I mean surely you can't just rehearse with a piano player and then go out in front of 250 people and do it?
Michael: That's exactly what we did ... I can never ... I discovered adrenalin was brown ... it was terrifying. It's a lovely feeling when you are in a rehearsal room ... you take risks and you are brave because you're safe and we developed the show and only I think four people had seen it, had seen a run through before we actually came to do it in front of an audience so I had no clue what was going to happen.
Don: Presumably the sort of thing you can do when you've got a few bob because obviously with 250 people ... you didn't do it for the money did you?
Michael: I lost money on it (laughing) no, it was something purely for me, no it was for the audience, but just to say something.
Don: Well of course, musical theatre is your first love and I've had my ear to the ground Michael Ball, and I've heard there is a new musical in the offering. So come on you can tell me ...
Michael: Yes, I can, I'm really excited about it, it's Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. Now you can't go much more to the other extreme from doing what I did at the Donmar to Chitty Chitty Bang Bang ... it's going to be an epic production. It's directed by Adrian Noble who is the head of the RSC, Virginia Linda for choreography and Anthony Ward is doing the sets ... I think it's going to be the most expensive production that's ever been mounted ... it's going to ...
Don: There'll be no money for you then ...
Michael: (Laughing) You're right!! It's another one I'm doing for love.
Don: So what are you playing then?
Michael: I'm playing the lead, Caractactus Potts, the Dick Van Dyke role.
Don: Fabulous!!
Michael: It's going into the London Palladium which is the best family theatre ... and I think the time is right for that ...
Don: And flying cars ...
Michael: Flying cars, there are three cars ...
Don: So we are looking forward to Chitty Chitty Bang Bang when?
Michael: Well I start rehearsing ... I'm doing the pre-rehearsals now, the dancing, then we start rehearsals proper the beginning of January and it goes into preview in March and then the official opening is the middle of April.
Don: Well, put me down on the list, I will be there on the first night.
Michael: Love to see you there
Don: And let us have the CD of the soundtrack as soon as you can, but in the meantime we will have to make do with the latest CD which is Centre Stage. I shall choose a record shall I?
Michael: Why don't you do that ... they are all songs from the Theatre ... obviously I've been going back in this direction ... back to the Theatre Music so you pick something.
Don: Well, they're great ... there are fourteen great tracks but I'll tell you my favourite, and that's the one we are going to play, "Tell Me On A Sunday" from Song and Dance. Great to have you on the programme once again Michael.
Michael: Cheers Don.
(They play Tell Me On A Sunday)