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Jemma Jane as Olive shows her costar Bradley Allan Zarr how to shimmy.
Photo by Matthew Murphy, used with permission of STG
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The next big Broadway hit arriving at the Paramount is “Bullets Over Broadway,” based on the Woody Allen movie of the same
name. Jemma Jane plays Olive Neal, one of the stars of a Broadway show
financed by her mobster boyfriend. Set in 1929, the show matches popular
tunes of the era with the tangled backstage antics of several
mismatched couples trying to put on a show.
The show ran in 2014 on Broadway and is now on a national tour. Jane recently responded to questions about her plunge into American musical theater via email.
RJ: In your bio, it says that your training took place in New York City and prior to that you performed in Australia in a number of shows. How did that jump of continents happen?
JJ: After I graduated high school in Australia I spent a couple of years working and performing whilst studying part-time at The National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA) in Sydney. I then moved to New York City to study full-time at AMDA (The American Musical and Dramatic Academy) and graduated at the beginning of June 2015. Where better to study and work in musical theater than the industry’s beating heart?
RJ: How soon after school did you land a role?
JJ: I was very fortunate to book “Bullets” before I graduated AMDA and so I knew that I had a job to go straight into. Which is something that I am grateful for everyday!
RJ: For you, what's the difference between performing in Australia and in the United States?
JJ: One of the big differences is the amount of work. There is far less work in Australia. It’s a much smaller world in that sense. Perhaps this contributes to the fact that music theatre in NYC is a much faster world, you are far busier and life is more hectic. I love that! I love my work and I love to work. The States provides much more opportunity for that simply because the market is so much bigger and older!
RJ: So how is life on the road?
JJ: Touring also is a completely different experience for me. Nothing I had done in Australia had toured and so life on the road was a whole new experience. Many of the places that we get to visit are places that I may never have gotten the opportunity to see. Each city has a completely different feel and reacts to the show in a completely different way. That makes it very exciting.
RJ: Susan Stroman is one of my favorite choreographers—her work has been seen here at Pacific Northwest Ballet as well as touring hits from Broadway. Do you have a particular dance sequence that you like best?
JJ: All of the dancing in “Bullets” is just incredible, as you would expect from Susan Stroman choreography, and has been so well cared for by our tour choreographer, Clare Cook and director, Jeff Whiting. The girls in the ensemble have a slew of incredibly detailed, precise numbers throughout the show, all of which are terrifically demanding. The boys have a number which never fails to stop the show, “’Tain’t Nobody’s Business.” My own favorite dance number may be “Let’s Misbehave.” This is a number performed between my character, Olive, and Warner (the leading man of the show within a show). It is a fabulously playful cat-and-mouse seduction scene and the choreography brilliantly captures this game whilst playing on our characters’ comedy and chemistry. Like all the dance numbers, it flows so seamlessly from the scene before that it is a joy to play each night!
RJ: Were you familiar with the movie “Bullets Over Broadway”?
JJ: Before auditioning for the show I was unfamiliar with “Bullets,” I went to the open call not having seen the film. When I was in callbacks I wanted to do as much research as I possibly could without actually watching the taped production at Lincoln Center or the original movie so that my choices wouldn’t be influenced by anybody else’s interpretation. After I had booked the role with “my own Olive,” I then watched both the film and the Broadway production, which only made me more excited to get to work on this amazing production!
RJ: When you're talking with family or friends, how do you describe the show?
JJ: I always describe “Bullets” as a big, Broadway comedy. I tell them that it is witty, it is hilarious and I usually mention tap-dancing gangsters, Stroman Showgirls and giant, dancing hotdogs. If that description hasn’t perked someone’s interest then I’m not sure anything will!
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“Bullets Over Broadway” opens Feb. 2 and plays through Feb. 7 at the Paramount in downtown Seattle. Check the Seattle Theatre Group website for times and ticket information.
The show ran in 2014 on Broadway and is now on a national tour. Jane recently responded to questions about her plunge into American musical theater via email.
RJ: In your bio, it says that your training took place in New York City and prior to that you performed in Australia in a number of shows. How did that jump of continents happen?
JJ: After I graduated high school in Australia I spent a couple of years working and performing whilst studying part-time at The National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA) in Sydney. I then moved to New York City to study full-time at AMDA (The American Musical and Dramatic Academy) and graduated at the beginning of June 2015. Where better to study and work in musical theater than the industry’s beating heart?
RJ: How soon after school did you land a role?
JJ: I was very fortunate to book “Bullets” before I graduated AMDA and so I knew that I had a job to go straight into. Which is something that I am grateful for everyday!
RJ: For you, what's the difference between performing in Australia and in the United States?
JJ: One of the big differences is the amount of work. There is far less work in Australia. It’s a much smaller world in that sense. Perhaps this contributes to the fact that music theatre in NYC is a much faster world, you are far busier and life is more hectic. I love that! I love my work and I love to work. The States provides much more opportunity for that simply because the market is so much bigger and older!
RJ: So how is life on the road?
JJ: Touring also is a completely different experience for me. Nothing I had done in Australia had toured and so life on the road was a whole new experience. Many of the places that we get to visit are places that I may never have gotten the opportunity to see. Each city has a completely different feel and reacts to the show in a completely different way. That makes it very exciting.
RJ: Susan Stroman is one of my favorite choreographers—her work has been seen here at Pacific Northwest Ballet as well as touring hits from Broadway. Do you have a particular dance sequence that you like best?
JJ: All of the dancing in “Bullets” is just incredible, as you would expect from Susan Stroman choreography, and has been so well cared for by our tour choreographer, Clare Cook and director, Jeff Whiting. The girls in the ensemble have a slew of incredibly detailed, precise numbers throughout the show, all of which are terrifically demanding. The boys have a number which never fails to stop the show, “’Tain’t Nobody’s Business.” My own favorite dance number may be “Let’s Misbehave.” This is a number performed between my character, Olive, and Warner (the leading man of the show within a show). It is a fabulously playful cat-and-mouse seduction scene and the choreography brilliantly captures this game whilst playing on our characters’ comedy and chemistry. Like all the dance numbers, it flows so seamlessly from the scene before that it is a joy to play each night!
RJ: Were you familiar with the movie “Bullets Over Broadway”?
JJ: Before auditioning for the show I was unfamiliar with “Bullets,” I went to the open call not having seen the film. When I was in callbacks I wanted to do as much research as I possibly could without actually watching the taped production at Lincoln Center or the original movie so that my choices wouldn’t be influenced by anybody else’s interpretation. After I had booked the role with “my own Olive,” I then watched both the film and the Broadway production, which only made me more excited to get to work on this amazing production!
RJ: When you're talking with family or friends, how do you describe the show?
JJ: I always describe “Bullets” as a big, Broadway comedy. I tell them that it is witty, it is hilarious and I usually mention tap-dancing gangsters, Stroman Showgirls and giant, dancing hotdogs. If that description hasn’t perked someone’s interest then I’m not sure anything will!
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“Bullets Over Broadway” opens Feb. 2 and plays through Feb. 7 at the Paramount in downtown Seattle. Check the Seattle Theatre Group website for times and ticket information.