Interview: Lara Mulcahy (ABBA-solutely Fabulous)

The original Australian dynamos from the worldwide sensation Mamma Mia!, award-winning entertainers Rhonda Burchmore OAM and Lara Mulcahy bring their smash hit live concert, ABBA-solutely Fabulous to Morning Melodies.

Get ready for an explosion of laughs and lycra with your favourite Super Troupers. Rhonda and Lara will delight audiences with their irresistible humour and spectacular renditions of those unforgettable songs, including ‘Dancing Queen’, ‘Waterloo’, ‘Mamma Mia’ and ‘Fernando’.

Carly spoke with performer Lara Mulcahy about working in this fabulous duo and what ABBA means to her. Read the full interview below:

Lara Mulcahy

ABBA-solutely Fabulous was born out of the backstage antics that happened whilst you were in Mamma Mia! What made you realise that you had the makings of a show in those hilarious backstage memories and what was the next step for you in going about putting this show together and making this tour happen?

Rhonda was approached to put together a show and thought it would wonderful for us to work together again as we hadn’t since Mamma Mia! We literally wrote the show together in an afternoon, I’m so proud of it. The show has taken us all over Australia in the last few years and the response from the audiences has been amazing. The main thing that shines through is our friendship and chemistry together onstage, people come thinking it’ll just be Abba songs but it’s so much more!

To clarify for fans coming to the show, this show is very much about Rhonda and Lara and your own experiences growing up with, I suppose, ABBA as a soundtrack to that. You do not ‘play’ ABBA per say. When did ABBA come into your life? Do you remember the first ABBA song that you loved and do you have a fav ABBA song today? And final ABBA question, which of the four are you most like?

I discovered ABBA when I was 7 years old. Mum and Dad bought me the ABBA Arrival Album, the first record I ever owned. I loved all the songs, but my sister and I would jump around singing “When I kissed the teacher” and “ Dancing Queen “. These days it’s hard to pick a favorite as it changes every show ... I love them all ! Well, I’m not really like any of them , but when I was a kid I always wanted to be Agnetha the blonde one.

As one of Australia’s most beloved musical theatre names, what has been a career highlight for you and do you feel that the characters that you have played have stayed with you beyond the runs of the shows? If so, can you each give an example.

Well a career highlight was definitely getting to play “Rosie” in the original Australian cast of Mamma Mia! with Rhonda. And that role has stayed with me for many years, in fact just recently I was flown to London to celebrate the 20th Anniversary of the show as I had also played “Rosie” on the West End for 2 years.

What is on your performance bucket list? Is there a place or a theatre you would most like to perform in in the future?

I would certainly love to have a crack at Mrs Lovett or a Mama Rose and a Dolly Levi in the future. But also I love working on film and tv and actually Rhonda and I are developing a comedy series for ourselves at the moment that we hope will make it to the small screen soon!

What do you hope audiences will feel or talk about as they walk our of ABBA-solutely fabulous?

I hope that audiences walk out with a huge smile on their face , I hope we’ve made them laugh and forget their troubles for a few hours .

RAPID FIRE QUESTIONS

Favourite production you have ever seen?

Just seen “Follies” at the National Theatre in London, it was amazing!

You’re getting on a plane tomorrow and you can go anywhere in the world, where do you go?

New York!

Dream role to perform?

Dolly Levi.

Plays or musicals?

Musicals

A hobby you have beyond the theatre?

I love to bake!

What’s next for you after this show?

Rhonda and I have another stage show called “Partners in Crime “ which starts in Sydney at the beginning of August.

ABBA-Solutely Fabulous opens at the Arts Centre Melbourne on June 24, 2019. You can get your tickets here.