Local Boy Tackles Travolta

by Morgan Eldridge (Guest Blogger)

Adam Goodall in Bee Gees Way (Image Courtesy of Ben McShea)

Rising star of the Peninsula and Bayside area, Adam Goodall, is preparing to step into the enormous shoes of John Travolta to play Tony Manero in the World Amateur Premier of Saturday Night Fever, presented by Redcliffe Musical Theatre. Whilst being relatively new to the theatre scene, Adam does not disappoint, "this is my fourth role in a musical production, and my third leading role", he says. Stats like those tell me this boy is someone to watch. 

With someone so new to theatre, some challenges and learning curves are to be expected; this rings true for Adam as much as anyone. "The most challenging thing about theatre", he says, "is finding the true meaning behind each line - the emotional drive, the intention." So far, however, this seems not to have posed too much of a problem for Adam, as flawed male leads seem to be his specialty, having played both Link Larkin in Hairspray, and the Beast in Grace Lutheran's Beauty and the Beast, and now Tony Manero. Tony has been a special challenge for Adam, who has spent lots of time discovering the mannerisms of an Italian-American man, a subculture previously completely foreign to him, "I spent hours watching the film and listening to the music, and dissecting the script in particular... finding the correct emotion and action behind each line and scene". 

Adam has a major soft-spot for the Bee Gee's music, and has said it was the music which initially drew him towards Saturday Night Fever. His love for the music has only grown since starting the show, with Adam saying, "from my perspective, the best thing about the show is the music; it's fantastic".  This love and passion for music and theatre is his driving force, and asking him where he sees himself in five years time, his answer was simply "hopefully, performing professionally". He also offered some advice to young people hoping to possibly move towards musical theatre in their futures, "start as young as you can, and train hard. Get dance lessons and vocal lessons early on, they will help you so much as you get older, and hopefully progress into your career".

Adam is a shining example of young people in theatre; given the right opportunities to be nurtured and to grow, they can surprise people with the depths of their talent and their drive to succeed. Adam is also making a second Travolta premiere later this year, starting as Danny Zuko in RMT YOUTH's inaugural production, GREASE. This branch of Redcliffe Musical Theatre has been created especially for young people under the age of twenty, and hopes to foster their talent as they take potential steps into professional careers. Taking on two Travolta roles in less than six months is a very tall order even for a seasoned performer, but with what we've seen from Adam in the past, we're all very excited to see him reach new heights, exploring new characters and new depths in his theatre career. 

To see Adam is his glorious white suit, surrounded by women made delirious by his sweet disco moves, visit this link to book your tickets or call the Redcliffe Cultural Centre on (07) 3283 0400. With the show opening on the 19th of March you better be quick, they're selling extremely fast - make sure you're a part of Redcliffe bringing the Bee Gees back home.