Nearly two decades on from her meteoric rise to fame with her surprise Australian Idol win at just 16 years of age, Casey Donovan is enjoying a renaissance in her musical career.
She’s on a national tour around Australia starring as Judy Bernly in 9 to 5 The Musical, attracting many accolades, with spontaneous standing ovations after her showstopper solo Get Out and Stay Out.
And she won’t stay still once that tour’s done, going back on the road in September with a series of live and intimate shows in her solo tour dubbed BluesDay—featuring her favourite bluesy tracks.
On Streets of Your Town (press play on the podcast app at the top of this story!) Casey tells us how thrilled she is to be back on stage after the pandemic years, and how she can feel the excited energy from the audience from being together again.
What I love about making audio stories like this is you can hear the joy and the energy in their voice. I defy anyone to hear Casey’s giggle, and not get a smile on their face.
“After two and a half years of being shut down, it’s been amazing to get back up on stage again, and we can all feel it on stage with the audiences that are coming in, they’re hungry for it,” she says.
“They’re hungry for entertainment, and laughter and joy, and things that stop normality for a minute and take you into the world of musical theatre.
Casey has given a glimpse of backstage life in a recent Instagram post that takes people behind the scenes of her preparation prior to each show, including the dreaded Covid-19 RAT test before each performance.
“It’s always nice to give people an insight into what actually goes on,” she said.
“It’s just such a joy being on stage. And everyone’s excited to be back at work. And we are all still RAT testing and masking up and doing all the things we need to do so that we can still get on stage and perform night after night.”
The musical production of 9 to 5 The Musical is based on the 1980s movie of the same name.
Some critics were surprised that Casey Donovan was cast as the somewhat matronly former housewife, who returns to the office after a crushing divorce.
But Casey has made the character—played by Jane Fonda in the movie version—completely her own. She’s revelling in taking her rendition of Judy to new audiences on different stages around the country.
“Look, it’s great to play a character like Judy Bernly and play that vulnerability and the beautiful character that she is, with all of her beautiful little quirks, and funny one-liners and her wit, because I have usually played the villain or the very staunch, confident one,” she says.
“It’s nice to play the innocence for once and be able to just stand there, quite vulnerably as Judy Bernly.
“It’s such a killer cast and such a great show to perform night after night.
“I get to work with Caroline O’Connor, Marina Prior, Eddie Perfect, Erin Clare and the ensemble are absolutely amazing, they are the backbone of this show and they work tirelessly, as well as everyone else. I want to give those guys a special mention because they really do work hard day in, day out, and make our jobs coming into work so pleasant and so joyful.”
She says it’s startling how much of the 1980s themes have not dated, and still resonate today.
“I think this musical is still to this day, very relevant to things that we’re going through, and 9 to 5 just does it in a very witty, funny way,” Casey said.
“Most of our crowds absolutely love the show and they laugh and understand all the jokes, because most of these women were in those moments where you could only be a secretary, and you couldn’t go further up the food chain because you just weren't allowed.
“We have come a long way, but we still have a long way to go. I’m very happy and proud to be part of a show that just uplifts and empowers more women to just stand in their power.
“It’s a very, very, very slow process. And we, as women, we need to stand up and be louder and prouder than we've ever been before, and have our voices heard.”
Casey will go back on the road for her solo show in September on her BluesDay tour.
“The BluesDay show, it’s just me in my rawest form talking absolute nonsense most of the time, but singing absolutely beautiful songs, and songs that mean things to me,” she said.
“It’s great to be able to bring BluesDay and also get to do 9 to 5 in a very quick, hot minute."
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I acknowledge that for tens of thousand of years Our First Nations people have walked this country and shared stories on this great land down under, and I walk in their footsteps today.
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Casey Donovan on being back on stage, "9 to 5"