‘At Last The Etta James Story’, starring Vika Bull is set for an extended run in the UK after a surprise three-year hit in Australia.
The show’s producer Moira Bennett told Noise11.com she was totally surprised by the instant take-up of the show in Australia. “We put the first show on sale in 2013 and got a shock when the sales from our very first eDM were about 250, I thought it was a mistake, but people have just resonated with this show. We ended up selling over 7000 tickets for the first run at The Athenaeum Theatre in 2013”.
‘At Last The Etta James Story’ started in Melbourne, where Moira and Vika are based. “We thought maybe it’s just a Melbourne phenomena” she said. “I wondered if Sydney would like the show as well but since then we’ve done 3 trips around all the capital cities in Australia including Darwin Byron Bay, smaller regional theatres and the reaction is the same. people love it. We’ve done over 3.5 million in tickets in Australian now, and, we thought well let’s see if it’s just an Aussie thing.
The UK uptake was instant as well. “On the first four days of sales in the UK and we’ve sold 25% of the London show, (1100 seat venue) so it’s shaping up well there as well. If this works it onto West End in 2018 and then the USA. I always had the plan to tour the world with it, and it’s finally coming to fruition”.
Melbourne singer Vika Bull was a perfect choice to play Etta James. “I decided to do the research. I spoke to Joe Camilleri who said you can’t go past Vika Bull. Joe said “she is Etta James” so we had a chat. Vika was a bit hesitant as it was a first but soon warmed to the role and has been doing it ever since”.
‘At Last The Etta James Story’ will have its UK debut in Liverpool on March 28, 2017. See ticket details here.
