Lucy Durack

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Lucy Durack
Lucy Durack.jpg
Durack in 2012
Born (1982-11-17) 17 November 1982 (age 38)
Perth, Western Australia
NationalityAustralian
Occupation
  • Actress
  • singer
Years active2004 - present
Spouse(s)
​
(m. 2014)​
Children2

Lucy Durack (born 17 November 1982) is an Australian actress and singer who played Glinda in the Australian production of Wicked, and Elle Woods in the Australian production of Legally Blonde: The Musical. She starred as Tugger in Australian television drama Doctor Doctor in 2016 and as Roxy Karibas in Sisters in 2017.

Biography[]

Born in Perth, Durack graduated from the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts (WAAPA)[1] with a Bachelor of Arts (Music Theatre) and prior to graduating was cast in the Brisbane and Sydney seasons of Mamma Mia! in which she understudied and performed the role of Sophie.

Durack has played the roles of Peggy Sawyer in 42nd Street,[2] Miss Dorothy in the Australian Premiere of Thoroughly Modern Millie,[3] Lois Lane/Bianca in Kiss Me, Kate,[4] Rikki Rose in Respect,[5] Sybil Chase in Noël Coward's Private Lives,[6] and Laurey in Oklahoma!.[7]

Durack's screen credits include the role of Cherry in the feature Goddess, Bunny in Southern Star/UKTV telemovie Dripping in Chocolate, Cassie Bennett on Channel Seven's headLand, All Saints, Rush II, Spicks and Specks, Parlami d'Amore,[8] the Australian feature film Finding Nigel and the worldwide broadcast of the BBC2 Voice of Musical Theatre Competition in Cardiff[9] in which she was a finalist. Durack is a frequent guest presenter on Channel Seven's Absolutely Melbourne.

Durack in 2012.

While regularly performing in concert with various orchestras throughout Australia, Durack's cabaret appearances include Immaculate Confection[10] with collaborator Matthew Lee Robinson which toured to Sydney, Melbourne, Perth, Tasmania and the Adelaide Cabaret Festival, All Star Cabaret for the Sydney Theatre Company, Cavalcade for His Majesty's Theatre, Perth, and the 2003 Sydney Cabaret Convention for which she received the Judges' Award.

Durack is known for playing the role of Glinda in the Australian production of Wicked.[11] After previews began in June 2008, the show opened on 12 July at the Regent Theatre in Melbourne. It closed on 9 August 2009, and transferred to the Capitol Theatre in Sydney, where it ran from 5 September 2009 through 26 September 2010. After a short break, Durack began performances on the show's Australian National Tour which began 25 January 2011 in Brisbane (running to 2 April). It moved to Adelaide from 14 April to 4 June 2011, and played Perth from 19 June through 11 September 2011. She has co-starred alongside Amanda Harrison, Jemma Rix, Pippa Grandison, Maggie Kirkpatrick, Bert Newton, Rob Guest, Rob Mills and Anthony Callea.

Durack sang the National Anthem at the AFL Grand Final[12] and at Oaks Day as part of Melbourne's Spring Racing Carnival and performing on Channel 9's Carols By Candlelight and Channel Seven's Carols in the Domain, all as part of the cast of Wicked.

At the end of the Australian tour of Wicked which took place on 11 September 2011 in Perth, Durack moved on from her four-year role of Glinda to Melbourne for rehearsal of the new Australian production of Strange Bedfellows,[13] where she played the role of the mayor's daughter, Faith. Durack passed the role of Glinda onto Suzie Mathers. When Wicked returned to Australia in 2014, Durack once again played the role of Glinda beginning with the Melbourne season in May 2014.[14]

Durack in Legally Blonde

In March 2012, it was announced that Durack would play the main character, Elle Woods in the Australian production of Legally Blonde,[15] which also feature her Wicked co-stars Rob Mills and David Harris as Warner Huntington III and Emmett Forrest respectively.[16] The Australian production season began in September 2012 at the Lyric Theatre, Sydney, before opening on 4 October 2012. It then went on to play at the Lyric Theatre in Brisbane from March 2013. It opened in Melbourne at the Princess Theatre in May 2013. Lucy won the Helpmann Award for Best Female Actor in a Musical for her work in Legally Blonde.

Durack completed filming the role of Katie Morgan in the film Now Add Honey in September 2013 playing the fiancée of Hamish Blake and sister of Portia De Rossi.[17]

Durack's debut self-titled album[18] was released on 28 September 2012. Beginning 2017, Durack portrays Glinda the Good Witch in the Australian tour of The Wizard of Oz.[19]

In January 2020, Durack portrayed Princess Fiona in the Australian production of Shrek The Musical in Sydney before transferring to Melbourne. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic the Melbourne run was cut short, with the final performance being on March 26.[20] The original Brisbane run was also been postponed as a result,[21] but is ultimately set to begin on January 2021.

In late 2020, Durack was revealed to be the 'Cactus' in the second season of The Masked Singer Australia. She was the seventh contestant eliminated from the show, placing 6th overall.[22][23]

Filmography[]

Film[]

Year Title Role Notes
2015 Now Add Honey Katie Halloway Main role

Television[]

Year Title Role Notes
2016 Doctor Doctor Tugger Supporting role
2016 The Letdown Sophie
2017 Have You Been Paying Attention? Herself Guest quiz master
2017 Sisters Roxy Karibas Main role
2018 Show Me the Movie! Herself 1 episode
2019 Herself Celebrity guest
2019 Celebrity Name Game Herself 2 episodes
2019 Australia's Got Talent Judge
2019 Hard Quiz Herself Celebrity contestant
2020– Neighbours Rose Walker Recurring role
2020 The Masked Singer Australia Cactus/herself Contestant

Awards[]

Year Award ceremony Category Role Production Result
2008 Green Room Awards[24] Best Leading Actress in a Musical Glinda Wicked Nominated
2009 Helpmann Awards[25] Best Female Actor in a Musical Glinda Nominated
2009 Sydney Theatre Awards[26] Judith Johnson Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical Glinda Nominated
2012 Sydney Theatre Awards[27] Judith Johnson Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical Elle Woods Legally Blonde Won
2013 Helpmann Awards[28] Best Female Actor in a Musical Elle Woods Won

References[]

  1. ^ WELCOME TO WAAPA (PDF), retrieved 17 January 2013
  2. ^ Stephanie Glickman (5 October 2007). "42nd Street | The Production Company". Australian Stage. Retrieved 30 July 2013.
  3. ^ ICS Voices lucy Durack, archived from the original on 30 December 2012, retrieved 31 July 2012
  4. ^ West Wyalong Lucy Durack, archived from the original on 17 December 2012, retrieved 31 July 2012
  5. ^ Respect - The Musical
  6. ^ http://www.mtc.com.au/plays-and-tickets/mainstage-2014/private-lives/
  7. ^ Wire image
  8. ^ Parlami D'Amore (2000), retrieved 17 January 2013
  9. ^ Top Six
  10. ^ Immaculate Confection
  11. ^ Perth's Good Witch Lucy Durack floats home for Wicked
  12. ^ last call before Lucy flies off into a bright future
  13. ^ Lucy Durack as Faith in Strange Bedfellows, archived from the original on 18 April 2012, retrieved 12 August 2012
  14. ^ The Worldwide Phenomenon Returns to Melbourne with an All Star Cast
  15. ^ Exclusive interview with Lucy Durack, Australia's Elle Woods
  16. ^ Lucy Durack to Play Elle Woods in Australian LEGALLY BLONDE
  17. ^ http://www.news.com.au/entertainment/movies/portia-de-rossi-hamish-blake-8212-and-maybe-ellen-8212-bring-a-little-honey-to-australian-movie-shoot/story-e6frfmvr-1226690727027
  18. ^ Lucy Durack, archived from the original on 19 February 2013, retrieved 17 January 2013
  19. ^ "Lucy Durack and Jemma Rix Join Anthony Warlow in a Trip Down the Yellow Brick Road in THE WIZARD OF OZ". Broadway World. broadwayworld.com.
  20. ^ "What events have been cancelled, postponed or rescheduled in Melbourne, Victori". Herald Sun. heraldsun.com.
  21. ^ "COVID-19 AND BRISBANE PERFORMANCE CANCELLATIONS". Shrek The Musical. facebook.com.
  22. ^ Story, Hannah (31 August 2020). "The Masked Singer's Cactus Was Unveiled Tonight & She's Definitely a Familiar Face". PopSugar. Retrieved 31 August 2020.
  23. ^ Whitehead, Mat (31 August 2020). "All The Clues From Episode 7 Of The Masked Singer 2020". 10 Play. Network Ten. Retrieved 1 September 2020.
  24. ^ "Green Room Awards Past Recipients (2008)". Green Room Awards. Archived from the original on 9 April 2013. Retrieved 27 January 2013.
  25. ^ "Helpmann Award nominees (2009)". Live Performance Australia. Archived from the original on 3 April 2012. Retrieved 27 January 2013.
  26. ^ "2009 - Nominations and Winners". Sydney Theatre Awards. Retrieved 29 January 2013.
  27. ^ "2012 - NOMINATIONS AND WINNERS". Sydney Theatre Awards. Retrieved 15 June 2013.
  28. ^ Jerry Mitchell, Legally Blonde and King Kong Honored at Helpmann Awards Archived 2 December 2013 at the Wayback Machine Playbill, Retrieved 29 July 2013

External links[]

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