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SHOW: To Barbra, With Love | Buy Tickets #Sponsored
In the new show To Barbra, With Love, an ensemble of Australian performers pay homage to one of the greatest singers of the age; Barbra Streisand. Presented by Live Nation, To Barbra, With Love features the inimitable power of Ms Streisand’s songs performed alongside a symphony orchestra.
DNA had a chat with Ryan Gonzalez, one of the stars taking the helm for this production. Ryan’s credits include Moulin Rouge The Musical, ¡Hispanic Panic!, Jersey Boys and In The Heights. Ryan talks about Barbra, their dream theatre role, and how it feels to perform male roles as a non-binary person.
DNA: Which songs in To Barbra, With Love are you most excited to sing?
Ryan Gonzalez: Barbra has such a plethora of songs and genre’s that she hones into. She is truly the master of versatility. I have fallen in love with her album Guilty through this process, every track is an absolute bop. I would have to say the title song Guilty is one of my favourite tunes of the night, it comes in act two of the concert and you can hear the audience sigh with nostalgia. Also Gotta Move. A number from one of her b-sides. It’s such an emotional song, with drive and purpose. I didn’t know it before we started putting the show together, and now it’s become one of my favourite songs to sing.
What’s your favourite Barbra song ever?
This is a hard one. I think the musical theatre performer in me resonates so much with all the tunes in Funny Girl, as it’s such an epic score made even more memorable by Barbra’s choices and ability to make a song vibrate off the album and into your mind. I’m The Greatest Star has to be up there as my favourite, closely followed by The Way We Were.
This will not be your first time engaging with Barbra’s legacy, you were in Funny Girl In Concert. Would you classify yourself as a big fan of Barbra?
I would absolutely say I am a resident Barbra fan, for sure. I think as I get older I understand her music more and more. It is built on perspective and lived experience. There is so much detail to her performance. Funny Girl in Concert was truly thrilling. Because I had grown up watching Barbra’s interpretation of Fanny Brice, it was interesting to watch 12 women and non-binary performers pull the character apart. Each of them bringing their authenticity to the role yet keeping the character true to Fanny. I think through the experience I learnt what a legacy Barbra had left with that role, and how hard that job truly was. Yep, I am a true Babs fan!
You have quite an impressive theatre resume, are there any dream roles you are yet to play?
I have been so lucky to play two of my dream roles already. Frankie Valli in Jersey Boys and Usnavi De La Vega in In The Heights. Both brilliant shows and massive roles to undertake, but that’s what makes them dreams right? Because they are hard work and the pay off is second to none. There is truly not too much scope for short ethnic actors, so of course these two roles were on my bucket list. I would also have to say being in Moulin Rouge! The Musical is also a dream. I was obsessed with Baz’s film as a young adult, and I dreamed of being in the Roxanne scene, stomping around with Caroline O’Connor. And to now be playing Santiago and dancing Roxanne every night, is a massive pinch me/full circle moment. But further dreams and roles have to include the Emcee in Cabaret and George Micheal in the non existent stage play of his life, and any role that Stanley Tucci has touched. What a genius.
Tell us a little about your one-person show ¡Hispanic Attack! which you won Best Cabaret Performer in 2016.
¡Hispanic Attack! was a small cabaret show that started out as a joke between my director Richard Carroll and me. He was adamant that if I were to ever create a cabaret show, it would have to be called ¡Hispanic Attack!. From there, a slot became available at the upcoming cabaret season. So, we threw ideas around with our choreographer Amy Campbell and built a one hour show, based around Ricky Martin’s life with me as his arch nemesis. It had sprinklings of Jennifer Lopez, Enrique Inglesias and a medley of Australian songs, with a Spanish flair. A night of stand-up comedy, but laced with flamenco moves and sex, sex, sex! It is one of the hardest shows I’ve ever had to do, up there with the marathon of Frankie Valli. Over an hour of you on the stage by yourself. But the most rewarding gig I’ve done as well.
Being non-binary, do you find yourself comfortable playing roles designed for men?
This is such a great question. What being non-binary means to me is sitting between gender. All gender. Male and female are not the only options. They are the most forced upon us by society, but they are confining and restrictive. The minute I let go of trying to manipulate myself into masculinity, I started to lean into my queerness which opened my door of authenticity. All I had to do was allow myself the freedom to just be. Non-binary is the term that best suits me right now in this moment, but I want to be fluid with my gender, because confining myself to male wasn’t healthy for me mentally and it stifled my creativity.
Since this gender breakthrough, which is all about self-worth and unlocking your mind, I find it much easier to take on characters for their essence rather than their gender or sexuality. So I do feel comfortable playing characters that are designed for men, and maybe I have a more creative approach? Because I am no longer just playing the stereotype of the heterosexual man, I am fostering the energy that this character needs and creating them from there. To me it feels more like a three dimensional way to get inside a character, as opposed to my older approach which was putting on male/heterosexual characters as a costume.
Can you tease any future projects you’re really excited about?
After talking so much about ¡Hispanic Attack!, it might be time to put it on again? But also, who knows at this point, hopefully more concerts like To Barbra, With Love, where I can salute some iconic queer figures and bring their music to a younger generation. Hint hint!
Finally, as it’s summer Down Under, would you find yourself at the beach or at the pool? In boards or in speedos? Any nude beaching by chance?
The beach is my recharge spot. I love a speedo, a g-string speedo and a nude dip. Clovelly and Gordons Bay are my go-to spots but La Perouse is my go-to swimming destination during summer for a nude swim.
To Barbra, With Love opens on Friday, January 13 in Sydney with a show on Saturday, January 14. To Barbra, With Love will also tour in Brisbane on Friday, February 3 and Saturday, February 4 with two final shows in Canberra on Friday, February 10 and Saturday, February 11.
