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23rd March 2016
12:00pm GMT

I loved the work I did in Dublin, I’ve played every Disney princess there is – Snow White in the Gaiety Panto, Cinderella at the Helix, Dublin and Cork Opera House, Belle at UCD, but I’ve never gotten to play an edgy, sassy, kick-ass part like Velma Kelly in Chicago, and that’s the dream, even if it was just for one day, for a matinee performance or even a rehearsal.
I’ll never forget seeing A Chorus Line on Broadway eight years ago. Ten minutes into the show, one of the actresses strutted to the front of the stage and slowly started to raise her leg, while her voice simultaneously climbed octaves.
By the end of the piece her knee was at her ear and she was belting out a note so high that it could have shattered glass.
After the show I went around the corner to eat lunch at a hamburger place.
After we ordered, our waitress, a young girl aged around 20, jumped up on the back of my seat and belted out Broadway Baby.
My friend explained to me that this was common practice on Broadway - aspiring performers would take jobs waiting in diners, literally singing for their suppers in the hopes that they would be spotted by that producer.
She was just as talented as half that girl I had seen on stage at the Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre thirty minutes ago in A Chorus Line.
That is the essence of Broadway – the “dream” and the “dregs” are literally rubbing shoulders. If you are a dreamer - you are always just moments away from your big break.
Chicago is one of my favourite musicals because it captures this. It is raw, gritty, slick and sparkly all at once, just like Broadway.
To stand on The Ambassador stage, where so many performers have tread their first “I made it!” steps, dressed in a leotard, bowler hat, fishnets and tap shoes, armed with a chair as a prop and a beaming spotlight overhead, is my big dream.
(And it would SHOW that focus-puller Little Bo Peep.)
If you want to Dream Big with thanks to Budweiser and live your American Dream to the value of €50,000 then head over to the Budweiser Facebook Page or visit BudDreamBig.ie to enter. Over 18s only. Please enjoy Budweiser responsibly, visit DrinkAware.ie.
