He fulfilled a lifelong dream in February last year by making his Broadway debut as Aladdin in the Disney musical of the same name, and now, Bathurst-born entertainer Ainsley Melham is gearing up for a return to an Australian stage.
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Melham will star in the title role in an upcoming production of Pippin, set for launch at the Sydney Lyric Theatre on Tuesday, November 24.
He joins a star-studded cast featuring the likes of Gabrielle McClinton, Kerri-Anne Kennerley and Simon Bourke.
"I'm super excited to step back into the theatre," Melham said.
"Our industry has been closed for the last eight months and now we have an opportunity to invite people back into the audience as part of the first main stage theatre production post-COVID."
Melham is one of many professional performance artists who has faced a disrupted 2020 due to COVID, and was due for a second stint as Aladdin on Broadway prior to the outbreak of the pandemic.
"I was about two days out from flying to New York, then the pandemic got really bad in America and forced Broadway to close," he said.
"At the time, I was very disappointed but in hindsight, I'm very grateful to be in a country managing the pandemic reasonably well, which has allowed us to bring live performance back."
Melham said rehearsals have been full on, with the cast and crew working quickly to provide an entertaining spectacle for audiences.
"We have a condensed rehearsal period because we're trying to get the show together as fast as possible," he said.
"There's several rehearsal rooms going at once: one for our leads and main ensemble, and another for our acrobats, because the show has this wonderful circus element."
Melham said it's also been an interesting process preparing a professional show under a COVID-safe plan.
"People are already familiar with a lot of it [masks, sanitising etc.], but we also have to adhere to separate theatre zones," he said.
"It's quite strict, but everyone's being a wonderful sport about it, as it allows us to be back in the theatre."
Melham said its more important than ever for Australians to support the live entertainment industry coming out of the most challenging year it has ever faced.
"Live entertainment is a great contributor to the Australian economy, and a lot of entertainers haven't had work for much of the year," he said.
"Entertainers have mortgages, children and responsibilities as well, and audience support goes a long way to helping entertainers and artists maintain a stable career."
For ticketing and more information on Pippin, visit www.sydneylyric.com.au.