Source : PERTHNOW NEWS
Perth-raised darling Samantha Jade is no stranger to striking a mesmeric pose for an STM feature, having fond memories of cover photo shoots past for her hometown magazine.
The fact she did two in 2014 is not lost on the multi-talented performer, first gracing the cover in January wearing a striking red Wheels & Dollbaby design in honour of her role as Kylie Minogue in two-part Australian television miniseries INXS: Never Tear Us Apart.
The second was mere months later in May following her mum Jacqueline Gibbs’ shock cancer diagnosis. Gibbs died after a short battle the following month.
“The one that I did for my mum was amazing, and I loved the black leather top I wore on the front cover so much that I went out and bought it the next day,” The X Factor Australia 2012 winner from Lockridge recounts.
“I was obsessed with Wheels & Dollbaby and could never afford it, and they gave me the dress after the shoot. I felt so special and still have it.”
Jade is now wearing a different red dress for her role as Vivian Ward in the Australian production of Pretty Woman The Musical, buoyed by the connection the film has to her mum, having watched it with her on numerous occasions.
“It was one of our comfort films and I just knew it off by heart, so when I got the script, I was like ‘OK, good, I know some of these lines already’,” the 38-year-old laughs while in Perth for her latest STM photo shoot.
“Mum would have loved watching me in this musical. She would have been in the front row wearing a red dress and the gloves.
“Actually, she would have come to see it so many times that she would have made her way through all Vivian’s costumes . . . She would have been very proud of me for doing something that’s new to me. I think this might have been one of her favourite things that I’ve done.”
Never one to shy away from a challenge — the singer was named runner-up when she took to the floor for Dancing With The Stars in 2024 — Jade says she signed on to her first musical with a mix of trepidation and excitement, after being asked if she would like to audition for the role made famous by Julia Roberts in the 1990 Los Angeles-set film.
She describes the experience as being like a rollercoaster ever since.
“As you get older, you have less chances to challenge yourself, and obviously I haven’t done a musical before so that was a really big thing for me,” she explains.
“I was beyond nervous when I first said ‘Yes’ and was like, ‘What have I done?’ but when I got to rehearsals, I made a pact with myself to just take on everything. I was like ‘Be a sponge and ask all the questions’. I genuinely asked a million questions to everyone . . . and I think it’s the best thing I did, because then I was very prepared.
“It’s definitely the hardest thing I’ve done because there’s nowhere to hide up on that stage.”
Despite what the musical (and film) would have the uninitiated believe — given the adjective in its title — Jade says Vivian is not just pretty and, in fact, “pretty” is probably the last word she would use to describe her character, whose life is changed forever when she meets the male lead character Edward, and vice-versa.
Mountain & Moon Elena earrings, and
Billini Idana heel. Styling: Clare Ryan; Make-up: Hendra Widjaja; Hair: Amanda Magistro; Location: Hyde Perth.
Credit: Jackson Flindell/The West Australian
Instead, she would opt for strong, fearless and unapologetically herself, which is what Jade loves most about her role.
“I get to step into that power every single night,” she shares.
“I sing a song called I Can’t Go Back which is about her making the decision to really not go back to the life that she has had to live.
“She’s super strong and I love playing her. It really gives me a strength that I actually probably didn’t have before this.”
The aforementioned song is just one on the rock score written by the long-time songwriting partnership of Bryan Adams and Jim Vallance for Pretty Woman The Musical, which made its Broadway debut in 2018 before an extended season on London’s West End.
The love story’s Australian production premiered at Brisbane’s QPAC Lyric Theatre in October, touring to Sydney ahead of Crown Theatre Perth this month, starring Jade alongside Ben Hall as Edward Lewis, Michelle Brasier as Kit De Luca, and Bobby Fox in the dual roles of Happy Man and Mr Thompson.
Jade gleefully warns the show’s songs are earworms that will stay in your head long after leaving the theatre.
“The funniest thing is my husband singing them all the time to me at home,” Sydney-based Jade says, who married Pat Handlin in Venice in October 2022.
“I’m like, ‘OK, please stop, because I do this now every single day’, but they’re really great songs.”
In a welcome turn of events, Jade will celebrate her 39th birthday on the Crown Theatre stage in the first two Pretty Woman The Musical Perth preview performances on April 18.
She admits to becoming emotional every time she lands at Perth Airport and sees the “Welcome To Perth” sign while riding down the airport escalator.
“Every time I’m in Perth, it’s a weird experience because my mum’s not here,” Jade adds.
“It sometimes affects me, of course, but it’s nice because there’s memories everywhere. . . I want to go to Rottnest. I haven’t been for so long, and I want to go back there.”
Rottnest Island also holds a special place in the heart of Jade’s Perth-raised co-star Hall, who proposed to his wife Prue Bell there two years ago. The couple returned to the island hotspot between Brisbane and Sydney seasons last November to tie the knot.
Having grown up in Lathlain, Hall discovered his love of acting at Aquinas College and was encouraged to audition for WA Academy of Performing Arts’ musical theatre course.
The 2012 WAAPA graduate met his future wife — a music theatre performer-turned bespoke jeweller of collection Prudence — at a Sydney music theatre awards event, and they have been together for 12 years, calling Melbourne home.
Credit: Jackson Flindell/The West Australian
Known for his roles as Ned Willis on Neighbours, in Robbie Williams’ biopic Better Man and as Sam Phillips in Elvis: A Musical Revolution, Hall says he has steered clear of musicals for about the past seven or eight years.
“They are really hard work,” the 33-year-old states.
“The people who are involved are so skilled, and they’re like a marathon. This is 12 months of doing eight shows a week, living out of a suitcase and travelling around . . . But this one has a really great culture, and working with Sam is just a joy.”
A big fan of Richard Gere, who was 40 years old when he filmed Pretty Woman, Hall says it was nice to steal a little bit of the actor’s suaveness while making the rest of Edward his own.
“I did think, ‘Oh, geez, I must be ageing really fast’ while looking at myself in the mirror when I was cast,” Hall jokes.
“I suppose the most important thing was the dynamic between Sam and myself, and making sure that that chemistry worked. So the age thing wasn’t as big of a problem, and probably for the modern age, for now, less of an age gap is maybe a nice thing as well.
“The main thing I took away from his performance is just his stillness and the power that he has in that stillness. He is such a calm and relaxed actor, and that is something that really grounds the show where he is stoic to begin with . . . and she is the complete opposite to him.”
Hall says the score opens up the emotion of the musical in a way the the film never could, where audiences get a front-row seat to what each character is thinking and feeling.
The result makes the live theatre experience more relatable as the songs expand the storyline and create more depth.
“If you love the film, you’re going to love the musical,” Hall says.
“If you love Bryan Adams’ music, you’re going to love the music, and we just have so much fun up there. We love an audience that comes and gets involved and is vocal. Have a champagne, have a night out, and enjoy yourself.
“It’s not Shakespeare, but you’re going to leave the theatre much happier than when you walked in.”
Pretty Woman The Musical is at Crown Theatre Perth, April 18 to May 24. Tickets at ticketmaster.com.au.
