How Nancye Hayes proved her mother (and everyone else) right

Nancye Hayes had an epiphany when she saw the musical when she was five years old. Annie Get Your Gun. “I knew exactly what I wanted to do then,” he says. “I kept saying to my mother, ‘When I grow up, I’ll go on stage.’ And she would just sigh and say, ‘Oh, it’ll be great, darling.'”

The future grande dame of Australian musical theatre had been learning to dance in Manly since the age of three and was appearing in amateur musicals as a teenager. After leaving school, Hayes was still determined to follow her dream, but her mother insisted on a two-year secretary job first. By accepting the deal, Hayes at least had money to buy musical LPs on which he could sing and dance. “The first one was West Side Story“I actually saw it at the Tivoli in Sydney and it changed my understanding of musical theatre,” he says.

After two years, she successfully auditioned as a dancer. My Fair Lady In 1961, the dancers did not talk or sing at all. “We used to make ‘goldfish’ [mouth] songs,” he says. “We used to catch goldfish [singing]’All the dukes, counts and nobles are here…’”

This changed with the more communal approach of the 1964s. How to Be Successful in Business Without Really Trying?She played a small role as an old woman scrubbing the floors. Producers recognized Hayes’ talent for comedy, and she worked on a secondary lead named Hedy LaRue. After being given a matinee for the role, she was cast for a national tour, providing a comedic role model rather than romantic or heartfelt leading roles.

After moving from Manly to Potts Point, he became a regular at musicals at the Menzies Theater Restaurant. Kiss me Kate, Brigade, Bells Are Ringing And Annie Get Your Gun. “I was in heaven,” he says with excitement. “We would play one thing at night and rehearse something else during the day.”

In 1966, a US director saw it. Boys of SyracuseHe said he would approach her. Sweet Charity It would be perfect for him and he sent him the record. “I played it to death,” Hayes says. “But I thought about putting someone my age [24] Taking on a role of this magnitude probably wouldn’t happen.”

It did, and it was a big break for him. “As I stood with my back to the audience in my costume on opening night, I was thinking: ‘Please God, don’t let anyone down. Let this work out.’ And so it happened. “It was a great opening night, so everything was very exciting.”

However, this success led to a fallow period when it was assumed that he would only accept leading roles. He cooled his heels with TV, straight theater and Menzies musicals, while making it clear he was open to any good role. Offers started pouring in.

Among his more than 100 characters, he remembers Charity Miss Adelaide particularly fondly (Men and Babies), Mrs. Lovett (Sweeney Todd) and Madame Armfeldt (A Little Night Music). Straight games he values ​​include: Glass Menagerie, The Importance of Being Serious, Go out And Six Dance Lessons in Six Weeks (with Todd McKenney).

Above all, she loved playing Roxy. Chicago – This was also when she met her late husband, Bob Bertles, a well-known jazz saxophonist. Hayes is a Chicago He had been a fan of Broadway since its opening in 1976, and the Sydney Theater Company mounted it in 1981, when it received an OAM (followed by an AM in 2014). Rehearsals led to sitzprobe (bringing the orchestra and cast together for the first time), which impressed the saxophonist.

He admitted to having a crush on singer Judi Connelli during the show’s second Sydney season. “He gave him the third degree and came back and said, ‘He’s divorced, he works at the Con, and he seems like a very nice guy. But if you become the mole in the group, I’ll never forgive you,'” Hayes says.

The couple married soon after, and Bertles frequently played at Hayes’ shows until his death in late 2024, when Hayes began rehearsing for STC. 4000 Miles. He had known for several weeks that he was dying, and a dear friend told him that his dedication to the game would give him the strength to cope with the loss. “In many ways it did,” he admits. “It didn’t make it any easier, but it made it possible for me to get up in the morning and do what I had to do. So the pain is there and it will always be there. I’ve loved her my whole life and I’ll miss her for the rest of it.”

Beginning in 1979, Hayes added choreography and then direction to the performance. “Once you get to a certain age, the roles aren’t always there,” he explains, “so I had to diversify.” When he directed the 2001 production The Wizard of OzWith a cast that included Nikki Webster (after her star turn at the Sydney Olympics), I undertook rehearsals for this masthead, and despite numerous challenges (including strict regulations involving Toto-playing dogs!) Hayes remained a picture of unflappable expertise and effortless charm.

he was doing Sunday in the park with George He was in Melbourne when David Campbell called him and told him that Darlinghurst Theater was changing to specialize in musicals and cabaret and they wanted to name the theater after him. “I was really stunned,” he recalls. “I think it’s ‘Are you sure?’ I said. ‘Cause I could think of so many people like Jill [Perryman] and Tony [Lamond].” He accepted, extremely flattered, and was amazed at the quality of work that routinely appeared there, especially the ingenuity of placing musicals on such a small stage.

Hayes has also taught extensively, including intermittently at the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts. (WAAPA) has been instilling the importance of discipline and accepting anything offered for 20 years. “Sometimes people come out of courses and they do leading roles and they just expect to play leading roles. Of course, that’s not always going to happen. So if the opportunity comes to do something, say yes because you don’t know who’s going to see you or who you’re going to work with.”

He also enjoys watching his students’ careers develop. “The standard of musical theater in this country has steadily risen,” he says. “They are very well trained and very good at what they do. It is very enjoyable to listen to the voice quality of the children I work with in this current program.” This AnastasiaHere she portrays the Dowager Empress. “It’s a very nice role,” he says, “so I’m very happy right now.” As for the future? “I hope I know when to get off!”