Gary Sweet cast as Bill Heslop in Muriel’s Wedding the Musical
If you are a child of the 90s then you KNOW Gary Sweet.
Best know for his role in Police Rescue, Sweet is a veteran of Australian TV, also appearing in The Sullivans, Bodyline, Come in Spinner, Cold Feet, The Pacific, Dr Blake, Wold Creef and Jant King, just to name a few. While being best know for film & TV, Sweet also appeared in The Club and The Recruit for MTC and previously in musicals La Cage Aux Follies and Oh, What a Night. In 1994 Sweet even released a cover of Billy Thorpe’s Most People I Know (Think That I’m Crazy) which peaked at #52 on the ARIA charts.
Sydney Theatre Company and Global Creatures announced this morning that Sweet would be taking on the role of Muriel’s father, Bill Heslop, in the upcoming production of Muriel’s Wedding the Musical.
Director Simon Phillips said: “It’s gratifying to realise that one of Australia’s most renowned bad boys has grown old enough to inherit the shoes left by the late great Bill Hunter. ‘Bill the Battler’ has achieved iconic status as an incorrigible Aussie scoundrel, but like everyone in Muriel’s Wedding he needs to be played by an actor of eye-twinkling charm. There can be no doubt that Gary fits the bill (no pun intended) in every way – he has effortless comic gifts and outrageous charisma. And, who’d’ve thought it, he can sing! He has put the icing on the cake of our Muriel’s cast.”
Sweet added that he was drawn to the role because… “He’s a scoundrel and a blaggard, he’s rambunctious, nasty at times, duplicitous and completely selfish… what an absolutely delightfully disgraceful character for an actor… mind you he does get his comeuppance!”
The production, a theatrical version of the iconic Australian film, has been updated to today by the original writer PJ Hogan, and features original music by Kate Miller-Heidke and Keir Nuttall alongside those beloved ABBA numbers.
Muriel’s Wedding the Musical opens at Roslyn Packer Theatre, Sydney on Saturday 18 November 2017 with previews from 6 November.
For more details and tickets visit: Sydneytheatre.com.au
