Almost 50 years may have passed since the king of rock and roll – Elvis Presley – passed away, but fans and creatives alike still seem to be 'all shook up' about the late singer and actor.
In the last few years, Elvis Presley has been the subject of two major feature films, 'Elvis', helmed by Australian director Baz Luhrmann starring Austin Butler and Tom Hanks, and Sofia Coppola’s 'Priscilla', which explores the tumultuous marriage between Priscilla and the late Presley, who is played by Australian actor Jacob Elordi.
Beyond the screen, Australian audiences and critics can’t help but be falling in love with the brand-new musical production 'Elvis: A Musical Revolution', which has proven to be such a smash-hit that it is returning to Melbourne’s Athenaeum Theatre. . . Proving that Elvis fever is still alive and well in Australia.
“I think part of the reason his legacy continues to live on is his music. I mean, choose your superlative”, Rob Mallett – who plays Elvis in the show – says. “Part of the reason he became so famous so quickly was not only because of the way he sang, but he was bringing in different sounds into the mainstream. He landed on television at a time when middle Americans were getting TVs in their living rooms and he happened to move the way he did and dress the way he did, so was greater than the sum of his parts and the stars aligned for him to exist.”
Image © Nicole Cleary
The Tasmanian born-and-raised actor couldn’t be more delighted to be donning the famous blue suede shoes for another run in Melbourne. “This has been one of the most cohesive and collaborative projects I’ve ever worked on,” Mallett describes on the phone. “The unique thing about this [show] is that maybe nine times out of ten the big-scale musicals are imported from America and the UK and they are a Bible kind of paint-by-numbers show, so they’re dictated to us by international creatives, whereas we’ve created this one from the ground up in Australia. We were given the script and the music, and we did all the rest – and that was such a joy as an actor and to be able to flex that creative muscle and be able to bounce off everyone in the room.”
Mallett, whose recent work includes roles in 'Home & Away' and in Disney’s stage adaptation of 'Aladdin', says there were some challenges with taking on a role as iconic as the king of rock and roll, with everything from Elvis’ instantly recognisable voice and immortalised dance moves being so ingrained in our cultural consciousness.
Image © Ken Leanfore
“It’s been a journey from when that audition brief ended up in my inbox to stepping into the shoes of [Elvis]. I was never a kid who would practise my Elvis impersonation in front of the mirror, so it was sort of taking a fresh take at it. I knew I had to get the technical [aspects] to capture his spirit and his little -isms to pull a convincing Elvis off. I wanted it to be authentic. Of course, once I got the job, I was helped throughout that process with an accent and dialect coach, a singing teacher, our choreographer Mikey who was amazing at making his moves work for my body. . . Another big part of it was honouring his legacy for his fans. He has a huge following across generations, who are really passionate supports. . . So I really wanted to create an authentic version for them.”
Mallett has been overwhelmed by the support and response to his interpretation of the performer. “One of the most rewarding things is coming across people at stage door who have been moved to tears and who say they’ve been transported back to a time when Elvis was singing, to the '50s and '60s, and the show really captures that so well with the explosive dancing and the way we’ve authentically captured those periods.”
“When he starts to find some momentum and fame, we do a medley of some of these iconic TV shows he appeared on, so we sing 'Hound Dog' and then all of these iconic numbers and it’s great to see this immediate recognition and burst of energy from the audiences as they start bopping along.”
Image © Nicole Cleary
Elvis is not the only role Mallett has been juggling for the last 10 months. On the same weekend 'Elvis: A Musical Revolution' opened, his wife, actress Chloé Zuel (who played Eliza Hamilton in 'Hamilton') went into labour, and the following day they welcomed their first child. “My wife came to opening night and she said the baby didn’t stop moving and was bopping along. . . Then I did two shows on the Sunday and then that evening she went into labour, and he arrived the next day. This whole period of my life has been defined by playing Elvis and bringing our first child into the world.”
While touring with a young family has had its challenges, Mallett has always been one to seek variety in his work and juggle multiple roles at a time.
“I live my career by variety which is the spice of life, and it’s critical in my opinion to have a diverse range of projects on the go and to dip your toes into different worlds. That’s the fundamentals of storytelling and acting.”
'Elvis: A Musical Revolution' returns to Melbourne’s Athenaeum Theatre from 27 July.
