One night only: Australian diva Erin Cornell is heading to The Basement, Sydney

Following a celebrated international career, singer / actor Erin Cornell is back in Australia and in the final stages of preparation for her solo show, An Evening With Erin Cornell – Live At The Basement, which will play one night only on August 9 at 8pm. She managed to squeeze a cup of tea into her busy schedule with the AussieTheatre team to chat about the show, her life and her eclectic musical tastes.

After six years touring and performing abroad, Melbourne-born Cornell is happy to be back on home soil, starting a new adventure in the Harbour city. She’s assembled a stellar lineup of musicians (including the unparalleled Michael Tyack on keys/musical director), worked on some pretty exciting arrangements for her equally exciting repertoire selection and is full of excitement when she talks about her debut Sydney show.

“I feel very honoured that my first ever show here is at Sydney’s oldest, longest running live venue,  The Basement”, she said of the iconic venue in the heart of Sydney.

“I thought it would be a nice little introduction to me and what I do. So I’m using the show as a little bit of a welcomer for me, since I haven’t been back in Australia, living somewhere permanent for over six years.”

After making a name for herself in Australia (with a stint in Eddie Perfect’s Shane Warne The Musical as well as several other shows with Magnormos and The Production Company), Erin was invited to take on the role of Elphaba in Wicked, Japan.

The VCA graduate then moved to London where she worked as a singer and actress for three years, performing in A Class Act (Landor Theatre), Bohemian Rhapsody – West End stars sing Queen (Original Cast, National and International Tour), An Evening with Dame Edna (Claridges), John Bucchino and Friends (St James Studio) as well as her well-reviewed one woman show An Evening with Erin Cornell at St James Studio. Andrew Lloyd Webber came calling and Cornell set off on an intense 18 months starring as Grizabella in CATS in South Korea, Macau and Singapore and finally spent a 8 months touring with CATS Australia/NZ as pop star Delta Goodrem’s standby, reprising the role of Grizabella several times in Brisbane and Melbourne.

Earlier this year, Erin performed a similar show in her home town of Melbourne, but there have been some tweaks and changes for the Sydney engagement.

“It’s a very honest show. I wear my heart on my sleeve”, she said.

“It’s not just music theatre. There’s a lot of pop rock, folk and jazz. That’s me. I’m all of that. I’m not just a music theatre girl and I wanted to show all the sides of me, musically.”

With a set list as diverse as her musical tastes, Cornell will be performing musical stylings of tunes from Annie Lennox to Stephen Schwartz, U2 to Lloyd Webber, Carole King to Kylie Minogue. But not as you know them.

“Musically, things are done a bit differently. The majority of numbers that we do have a little twist – our arrangements aren’t like the “familiar” versions already in existence. Even ‘Let It Go’ has a really different feel.”

“It’s really about what I like to sing, how I want to sing it and also to capture some epic moments with the band. You can’t have those musicians on stage with you and not showcase that!”

Featured in the incredible show band are Michael Tyack (musical director/keyboard), Clive Lendich (guitar), Nick Sinclair (bass), Aldous Mitchell (drums) with backing vocalists Stephen McDowell and Gemma Purdy. Special guests for the evening include Margi di Ferranti and Ben Clark.

Tickets are available from Moshtix. 

Visit Erin’s official website erincornell.net for more information