Cabaret treatement for The Love God: John O’Hara’s Dedications at Ad Cab Fest and Hayes Theatre Co
Australia’s John O’Hara is a dedicated, hard working, passionate, talented, all-round-wonderful guy with a knack for standing out from the crowd. For the last 15 years he has worked in the Australian arts industry, appearing in major musicals including Cats, Rock of Ages, Wicked, Dusty, The Rocky Horror Show, The Boy From Oz and more.
Well known to AussieTheatre readers as the host of the acclaimed Ticket A42 Podcast, it will be no surprise that his debut cabaret Dedications, which will enjoy a world premiere at the Adelaide Cabaret Festival next month, combines two of his great passions: storytelling and radio.
An innovative new show and a loving homage to Richard Mercer’s Love Songs and Dedications program (which aired on Australian radio for 17 years), Dedications is co-written by Anthony Harkin and John O’Hara and features arrangements and musical direction by Luke Hunter. Featuring songs made famous by Whitney Houston, Michael Bolton, Shania Twain, Aerosmith, Katy Perry, Thirsty Merc and many more, it is sure to be an evening to remember.
We caught up with John to talk about his creative process, his creative team and his favourite love song dedications ahead of upcoming seasons at Adelaide Cabaret Festival June 6-8 and as part of the Hayes Cabaret Season June 9-10.
John O’Hara: A Dedicated Man
What was the impetus for you writing a cabaret?
I’d always intended to write a cabaret/one man show but I’d never really known what to write it about. I’ve always had a kind of problem with cabaret that’s just about singing your favourite party piece/heartbreaking songs and so I’d been on the lookout for an idea that hadn’t been touched, had narrative potential and still had great opportunity for me to sing songs that I like in a style that I feel comfortable with and passionate about.
Back when I was doing Rock of Ages in Melbourne in 2011 I used to drive home from the theatre and catch the last 20 minutes of Richard Mercer’s Love Song Dedications radio show. I’d known of the show for years but I’d never been a regular listener. What struck me was how important his advice was to these complete strangers calling a complete stranger in the dead of night to dedicate a song and tell their stories to whoever was listening. The stories were heart breaking, heart warming, hilarious and sometimes just unbelievable. All of that combined with the epic love songs that belong to a certain kind of ‘catalogue’ struck me as an excellent jumping off point to start shaping a one man theatre piece with music. What ensued was a lot of talking, listening, writing and developing… and so was born Dedications.
Coincidentally, Love Song Dedications no longer exists as a radio program so I like to think of Dedications as paying homage to one of Australia’s longest running radio programs. Richard Mercer inspired many, myself included.
Is this your first cabaret?
It is, but hopefully not my last. We’re already talking about the next one. The creative dynamic on Dedications is electric so we’re keen to keep writing together as a team.
Anthony Harkin, Luke Hunter and Melanie Hawkins are all working with you on this one-man show. How did you choose your creative team?
Well I think I have the best creative EVER! They all kind of came onto the project as I needed them, it wasn’t premeditated. The initial idea I shared with Anthony Harkin (co-wrtier/director) one night walking back to the accommodation we were staying in when we did Rock of Ages in Brisbane. He was looking to further his writing aspirations and I needed help to shape my idea. I’d known Ant since WAAPA days and we’d really reconnected during Rock Of Ages. He helped me focus the idea, we spent months just sharing stories, writing stories, listening to music and deciding what we wanted to say and how to say it in the form of various phone call monologues. We then went to Luke Hunter (music director) who we’d both worked with previously and is one of my oldest friends. Luke really took the show to another level. We got rid of a lot of stuff, rewrote a lot of stuff and obviously musically scored a lot of stuff. We were so spoilt with choice in terms of love songs, the three of us all fought for ones we felt most connected too and found some along the way we hadn’t even considered. Last to the party was Melanie Hawkins (choreographer), who had been there on the sidelines all along. Both Ant and I had discussed ideas and thoughts with Mel along the way so she was very familiar with the piece since it’s inception. When we started putting the show on its feet it became abundantly clear we needed someone to help us shape it from a moment point view and she was our obvious choice. I honestly feel so incredibly lucky that three of my favourite friends who I happen to think are insanely talented have all come together to collaborate on Dedications. We definitely have our challenging moments but I wouldn’t change a thing… AND we almost always finish a rehearsal day with a beer, which is just #winning in my book!
What was the rehearsal process like?
The rehearsal process is equal parts exhilarating and terrifying. Ant, as a director has created a very safe, focused and relaxed rehearsal room. I feel completely comfortable in front of these guys but they know me so well that they can tell if I’m blocking, or resisting and they readily call me on it. I’ve found some of it very confronting because I’m really putting myself out there, I feel very connected to the characters and where we’ve placed them so there have been lots of tears but also heaps of laughs. Rehearsing a one man show is exhausting and there’s literally no where to hide but It’s pretty amazing to have three people who are literally invested in making you look and sound the best you can. Luke is still changing the keys of songs to make sure they sit perfectly!
Is there a correlation between your cabaret’s context and your radio aspirations?
Yes, absolutely. I’ve really been able to combine two of my passions; theatre and radio. I think without realising it one has fed the other. I’m much more theatrically experienced that I am in radio but my recent study in the field has definitely influenced and coloured Dedications. I’m the biggest commercial radio fan of the Dediactions team so I’ve definitely weighed in and commented on what would and wouldn’t happen from a commercial radio perspective. We use some recorded voice over track in the show to segue between sections and when we were in the recording studio I realised that I knew more than I thought in terms of where things needed to be placed language, energy and inflection wise. My podcast Ticket A42 has also taught me a lot about comfortability and truth behind the microphone. I love connecting with and hearing peoples stories which is hugely what Dedications is about.
How do you juggle working 8 shows a week in WICKED and devising and producing a cabaret for the Ad Cab Fest and Hayes Cabaret Season?
It has been and continues to be the hardest I ever worked EVER. Wicked is a very difficult show to sing and so is Dedications and both need constant commitment and attention. I carry my laptop everywhere and answer emails side stage at Wicked everyday. I talk to the guys most days about something to do with Ad Cab Fest or Hayes Cabaret season and we all have our designated jobs to get us to the finish line. Creating Dedications is a constant learning curve, it’s hard but incredibly rewarding and I think that it’s kept me inspired, positive and productive during the sometimes gruelling Wicked schedule.
Are there any plans for the show after the Ad Cab Fest and Hayes Seasons?
Yes! We want to take it everywhere. We’re in talks with a couple of venues around the country so we hope to have some news soon. We have a Facebook page and we’ll keep you updated there. Eventually we’d love to take it abroad too; Ant and Luke are already talking about where… I’m like, ‘guys! can we just get Adelaide and Sydney done first!’
What are the challenges and benefits of performing a show on stage alone?
I think like the rehearsal process it’s equal parts exhilarating and terrifying. I’m glad that Luke sits at the piano behind me, that calms me down… and he’s literally the calmest person I know so that’s a good thing! I think being on stage alone is an amazing opportunity to play by my own rules, and my own standards. It’s incredibly liberating to be performing by myself and saying words that I wrote and portraying characters that I had a hand in creating. At the moment I’m finding the stamina required for 70 minutes onstage alone the hardest thing to manage. I have to be mindful about how far I push things early on so I can successfully hit the home stretch… so I’m relishing the moments of stillness during the show. I do miss bouncing off another performer though, I’ll look forward to that again after Dedications.
What have you learned during the process that you have found most valuable?
[pull_left]The biggest lesson though has been to back myself. As artists we spend to much time questioning our abilities and aspirations, this process has pushed me to resist that and just get on with the task at hand[/pull_left]
Well that’s the million dollar question! I’ve learned and continue to learn so much. I’ve learned patience in that everything takes time and effort. Ant and I have been working on this piece for nearly 4 years on and off. Luke and Mel joined us along the way but it’s taken that long to formulate and decide exactly what this show was going to be. I’ve learned to trust my team; I’ve had to relinquish power and control along the way to open my mind to what is an even better way of doing things sometimes and that can be hard when you’re so attached to the piece emotionally. So many great songs and good material has ended up on the cutting room floor and I’ve had to accept that for the good of the piece. In saying that though I’ve also learned to trust my own instincts more than ever. There are moments and songs that exist in the show that I’ve fought for because I know they work. We’re all very strong and opinionated artists in our own right so there are times when we disagree but I’m incredibly proud of the way we work; it very open, passionate and at times heated but I’ve learned that that has been the best way to to work. The biggest lesson though has been to back myself. As artists we spend to much time questioning our abilities and aspirations, this process has pushed me to resist that and just get on with the task at hand.
Richard Mercer is known in Australia as the love god – is there a real life Love Song Dedication moment that you recall as a favourite?
Oh my goodness, there are so many. Those nights driving home from Rock of Ages in the dead of Melbourne winter were the inspiration to write the show and all the characters that exist in Dedications are rooted in the truth of those calls I listened to. There was a man who had lost his one and only love 15 years ago to religious reasons and just sounded so lost, I remember crying listening to the sadness in his voice. There were was a gay woman who rang to dedicate a song to her ‘Helen’ that just made me laugh because of her overt sexual innuendo. And I couldn’t forget the woman who rang to dedicate a song to her ex boyfriend who was getting married to another woman ‘next week’ and she still thought there was a chance for her. There were so many great songs and stories we could write literally write Dedications 2 AND 3.
What is your favourite moment in the show?
Wow, that’s hard. Luke has done an incredible arrangement of Heaven Is A Place On Earth by Belinda Carlisle which was one of our first stand alone pieces and a song I was determined to have included in the show so that’s definitely a favourite. I think my favourite section though is what we’ve done to I Was Made For Loving you by Kiss. We’re singing it at the Gala Concert for Adelaide Cabaret Festival with a full orchestra and I might just explode with excitement!
What is your favourite love song?
Every time I talk about the show people ask me what songs are included and are enthusiastic to tell me their favourite love song. I’m constantly asked what my favourite love song is; that’s a hard one but I can’t go passed I Would Do Anything For Love by Meatloaf and True Colours by Cyndi Lauper. Obviously we haven’t been able to include all our favourite songs, there were way too many and we’d be there all night but we have pulled material from the full spectrum of the ’70’s, 80’s, 90’s and NOW’ and I promise you’ll hear songs from Whitney Houston, Michael Bolton, Shania Twain, Aerosmith, Katy Perry, Thirsty Merc and many more!
Check out this sneak peek of John Singing ‘Heaven Is A Place On Earth’ from Dedications.
https://youtu.be/zUJfxSicrRc
