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It’s not quite a midlife crisis Ma-Anne Dionisio has been battling recently. |
It has more to do with getting a line on the right melody and memorizing plenty of songs for her upcoming role in Gateway Theatre’s musical production of Closer Than Ever, which debuts locally Feb. 4 and runs until Feb. 20.
Still, the singer who vaulted to stardom onstage in the Toronto run of Miss Saigon has found herself burning the candle at both ends since arriving in the Lower Mainland from her home in Toronto a couple of weeks ago in an anxious quest for perfection.
“The show’s a beast,” she exclaimed last week as rehearsals got underway. “It’s definitely one of the most challenging pieces of theatre I have ever decided to take on.”
Rehearsals have been running from 10 a.m. until 6 p.m. every day, but Dionisio admitted she has been putting in extra time.
“I’ve been up until 4 a.m. just looking through my bits before I come in at 10 a.m.,” she said. “Then, at night, even through I am wiped, you kinda review what you did during the whole day just to get it into your body and brain more.
“This has to be the toughest I have encountered in my whole career,” she said. “A lot of the shows I have done like West Side Story, Les Miserablesand Miss Saigon, the melodies are a lot easier to follow.
“These melodies are very conversational, very storytelling. It’s hard to describe sometimes. It’s just different and requires a different learning skill from my part.”
Luckily, she has been able to draw on personal experience to help back herself up as she plays a variety of roles in the ensemble cast that includes Kevin Aichele, Danny Balkwill, Chris D. King and Caitriona Murphy.
“The whole show is basically about people going through the middle age part of their lives,” she said. “It’s basically personal challenges and how they respond, react and move on from them.”
At 42, it’s somewhat unfamiliar, but welcome onstage territory for Dionisio.
“Well, technically I didn’t have to do any research,” she said, “because I’m middle aged.”
That was another reason she decided to take on the production.
“For the most part in my career, because of the way I look, people tend to cast me as the romantic ingenue, the younger part. But I am really excited to play something that’s closer to my age.
“It’s a gift for me to have this,” she added. “I am grateful that I finally get to play my age. Even if it’s for a short bit.”
And while some midlife issues can be dour, Dionisio said this story is uplifting.
“The goal is to say that things will be alright,” she said with a laugh. “Yes, of course there are challenges, but there’s a certain comfort that everyone goes through it. And everyone manages to find the other side. It’s a part of life.
For more information and tickets to Closer Than Ever, visit online at gatewaytheatre.ca.
