Interview: Marilyn Cutts On FUNNY GIRL!

Hello Marilyn! Thank you so much for talking to us. You must be so busy now that you're opening - what's it like transferring from a reasonably small venue to a large one like the Savoy?

We've got some extra people in - eight new cast members, two replacing people who left. The stage isn't that much wider at the Savoy, but it's much deeper - they've added some set. Some more rewrites have gone in. The backstage facilities are certainly more luxurious, but not quite so intimate - you kind of miss your mates after a while! In practical terms, it's a bigger space to fill so you can't be quite as nuanced as you were at the Chocolate Factory. I'm having to find different ways to get the same effect and information across; in a bigger house the laugh takes a bit longer to come back at you. It's like a wave, it has further to roll. One is just adapting to that and finding the best ways to use the space. The big dance routines can now blossom. It's still enormous fun - just in a different way.

Funny Girl is such a tour de force for the leading lady - it must be work for you guys to establish yourself in relation to her.

Yes, absolutely. Very early on one of the producers was asked why this show hadn't been done for so long, and they said you have to have the right leading lady before you can put the show on. You need someone extraordinary in the lead - and we've got someone extraordinary in the lead. Certainly my role is so beautifully written to give her what she needs, but I get such a lot of her as well. It's a terribly warm show. We're a happy company, and I hope that comes across as well - we just delight in one another's talent. There's strength in depth as well. There are covers and second covers - people waiting to step up to the plate. It's a delight to work with these people.

How well did you know the show?

I didn't know it at all! I'd seen the film - I was reminded by an old boyfriend that we'd gone on a date to see it, and I certainly remember dancing round the house attempting to sing 'Don't Rain On My Parade'. That was it. I hadn't had any knowledge of it at all since then.

Is that a good thing or a bad thing?

I think it all depends. There are shows that I wouldn't like to approach - especially Sondheim, because he's hard to get under your belt - but that's just a question of doing your homework. There are some shows where a four-week rehearsal period isn't enough, and music is becoming increasingly more complex as contemporary composers realise they can challenge us more and audiences become more sophisticated - something like London Road, or The Go-Between. It's a very broad church - some you need more than those four weeks.

What kind of shows do you like to go and see?

Opera. I love doing musicals, I really love it. For my time off I'd rather see an opera - that is so beyond my capabilities, and there are so many more opportunities for them to look jolly interesting as well - sets can be just captivating. I will certainly go and see a Sondheim musical when it comes up, and be near the front of the queue.

That's interesting - obviously opera companies have been extending into musicals at the moment.

The argument I've seen from ENO is that they wouldn't be programming during the period - they'd be a receiving house, so that's effectively what they're doing [with Sunset Boulevard]. But we also know that it'll balance their books, so in times of austerity, let's hope for their accountants' sake they've made a good choice there.

You've done such a wide range of roles - is there a role you still want to play?

If they ever did a musical of Coriolanus, I'd love to play his mother! I always wanted to play Rosalind, or Eliza in My Fair Lady - I was offered it but I wasn't free to do that particular role, which broke my heart. I've been staggeringly fortunate in that I've done many of the things I wanted to do, and other things I wouldn't have considered, and had an absolute ball. I'm aware now that as I'm that much older, roles for older women don't have singing that's as challenging as it used to be. It was very interesting when Glenn Close was talking about her preparation for Sunset Boulevard and she said, "Well, I'll have to get back on the treadmill." I just smiled. That's it - it's the physical stamina that's required for those big roles. I certainly try to keep my stamina and my vocal technique up, but those big roles that really stretch one in one's later years are few and far between.

I'll mention that Coriolanus idea, then, and perhaps someone will take that on!

There will be some great duets for men as well! Lionel Bart worked on a few Shakespeares, but I don't think anyone has tried Coriolanus yet, so let's put it out there!

Marilyn Cutts stars in Funny Girl at the Savoy Theatre.

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