Sam Ludeman says he understands the ups and downs of a life in showbiz. Source: Herald Sun
Sally Bennett, The Herald Sun, reports
MUSICAL theatre hunk Sam Ludeman will be back on the boards this week when three new shows are given their first run at Arts Centre Melbourne.
Ludeman, 26, who performed the male lead in Xanadu the Musical, is in the cast of one of the chosen works, DreamSong, a tongue-in-cheek musical about religion.
The Ballarat Academy of Performing Arts graduate has managed to stay on his feet since Xanadu was abruptly shut down and the national tour cancelled just weeks after opening in Melbourne last year.
He immediately landed a role in the Doris Day show, starring Melinda Schneider, and is in the running to be on Channel Nine's new reality TV show The Voice.
"I've got a positive outlook on life and as long as I stay there I'm fine," he says. "I just say that phrase in my head, 'That's showbiz'. I expect anything to be possible and that's the beauty of it but also what lets it down."
DreamSong, along with The New Black and Cautionary Tales for Children, make up this year's New Music Theatre Series, also known as Carnegie 18.
The series aims to unearth "bold, innovative and compelling new Australian work" from independent artists and ensembles.
Ludeman says a spot in the final three is hotly contested ensuring the highest quality work makes the cut.
He describes DreamSong as a musical comedy - "it's kind of a piss-take of Hillsong" - in which he plays Fake Jesus.
Pastor Richard Sunday and his "Evangelical Megachurch" are in financial strife following the Global Financial Crisis, so he invents the second coming of Christ to raise cash and keep saving souls.
"Religion is such an interesting debate so I think this show appeals to all ages," Ludeman says. "But if you're Christian or a Catholic you might not like the message it's sending."
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NEW MUSIC THEATRE SERIES
Fairfax Studio, Arts Centre Melbourne, February 1-7
Tickets: artscentremelbourne.com.au or 1300 182 183
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The New Black
By Stephen Helper in collaboration with Leeroy Bilney and the Aboriginal Centre for Performing Arts
"A musical journey of justice, identity and winking ambition."
Cautionary Tales for Children
By Claudia O'Doherty, based on the poems of Hilaire Belloc, and performed by the Arena Theatre Company
"A lyrical satirical cabaret at which you may lose your head entirely."
DreamSong
By Hugo Chiarella in collaboration with Robert Tripolino
"An irreverent musical satire of faith, fortune and the Mega-church.''
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