http://divaknowsbest.com.au/2015/01/28/sigrid-thornton-will-star-as-judy-garland-in-peter-allen-tv-biopic/
NIDA graduate and soon to be Deadline Gallipoli leading man Joel Jackson will play the legendary Australian entertainer in Shine produced TV mini-series Peter Allen: Not the Boy Next Door.
It
was announced by Australian TV production company Shine earlier today
that Sigrid Thornton will join Rebecca Gibney, Henri Szeps, Nick
Farnell, Rob Mills and Sara West in the upcoming two-part TV mini-series
about the life of Peter Allen –
Not the Boy Next Door.
Thornton will play the coveted role of Judy Garland, while the title
character will be played by NIDA graduate Joel Jackson, about to star in
the Foxtel mini-series
Deadline Gallipoli. Gibney will play
Allen’s mother, Marion Woolnough, while Sara West will play the
Australian hit songwriters wife, US superstar and music theatre legend
Liza Minnelli.
Sigrid Thornton is best known to Australian audiences for the TV series
Seachange along with
The Man From Snowy River and
All the Rivers Run. Thornton also starred in Opera Australia’s 2009 production of Sondheim’s
A Little Night Music,
co-starring Anthony Warlow and Nancye Hayes. Thornton will play Judy
Garland, the legendary entertainer discovered Peter Allen in Hong Kong
in 1964 on the heals of her disastrous Australian tour and a subsequent
overdose. Allen opened for Garland in the years before her death in 1969
at the age of 47. Diva Knows Best understands that the role of Judy
Garland plays a significant part in the TV mini-series and that the
character will be present throughout. Sara West will play Liza Minnelli,
Garland’s eldest child, the actress having previously featured in the
movie adaptation of ABBA musical
Mamma Mia!, in
Spine and the TV mini-series
Anzac Girls.
Sara West will play the role of Liza Minnelli.
Diva Knows Best can also reveal that
The Boy From Oz
star Angela Toohey will provide singing vocals for the role of Liza
Minnelli, while at present it is unknown whether a vocal performer will
also be singing the role of Garland. We can only hope not. In the past,
Divinyls star Chrissy Amphlett and Broadway star Isabel Keating have
both played Garland in the stage musical adaptation of Peter Allen’s
life, while Judy Davis lip-synced to Garland’s own performances for the
TV movie
Me and My Shadows: Life with Judy Garland.
Australian music theatre star Rob Mills will play Peter Allen’s first
performance partner Chris Bell. Bell joined Peter in the variety act
The Allen Brothers, which performed widely throughout Australia in the
1960’s and eventually took Peter to Hong Kong.
Mother and Son star Henri Szeps will play Allen’s manager Dee Anthony, while Nick Farnell has been cast as Allen’s father Dick Woolnough.
Packed to the Rafters and
Mental
star Rebecca Gibney will play the role of Marion Woolnough, Peter
Allen’s mother. Roles so far unannounced include Allen’s long term
partner Gregory Connell, while we are yet to hear of the casting of
multiple possible celebrity characters to be in the TV movie, including
Olivia Newtown-John, Bette Midler and Bernadette Peters, the three
performers all worked closely with the Australian throughout his career.
Joel Jackson will play the all important leading role of Peter Allen.
Jackson graduated NIDA in 2013 and was later cast as the lead in the
upcoming TV mini-series
Deadline Gallipoli in which he will
play a war correspondent, Charles Bean, opposite Bryan Brown, Charles
Dance, Hugh Dancy, Rachael Griffiths, Ewan Leslie and Sam Worthington.
Jackson is also an indie-rock singer and some of his original work
can be found on Triple J Unearthed here.
The gorgeous young actor is currently in rehearsals for this, the role
of a lifetime and Shine Australia’s follow up to their global success
story,
INXS – Never Tear Us Apart.
Peter Allen – Not the Boy Next Door will be directed by Gary Seet (
The Code).
Peter Allen with his then bride to be Liza Minnelli and her mother, the iconic Judy Garland.
It is understood from New.com.au
that the first table read of the projects script by Justin Monjo and
Michael Miller was led yesterday by director, Seet, while on-location
filming will commence in the coming weeks. Sources have already revealed
to Diva Knows Best that the atmosphere on the set is electric as the
cast prepare to play their host of inimitable characters. Australian
icons and legends about to play Hollywood icons and legends. No doubt
all eyes will be on Sigrid Thornton in the months to come. The
formidable Australian actress makes an unexpectedly welcome addition to
the cast in the role of Judy Garland, and more welcome yet the news that
hers is one of the most significant roles in the TV movie. No doubt
Garland fans worldwide will be eagerly awaiting their first look of the
actress in character.
It is understood that
Peter Allen – Not the Boy Next Door
will make its Australian TV debut in April this year. If its INXS
predecessor is any measure of what’s to come, this will easily mark one
of the big moments in Australian television for the year, and with the
lead cast finally announced, it can only be hoped that a soundtrack will
also be forthcoming along with a re-release of Allen’s own discography.
More information from this project as it comes to hand – already a
moment of serious gravitas for the Australian TV. With stakes high and a
big year ahead for television, this unexpected treasure chest of
Australian entertainment history is the one to watch.
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