BERT NEWTON: Nikki Webster and Nancye Hayes. Don’t want to make this an unabashed plug for the show, but I just thought it might be interesting. I made the comment that it’s a big show for a director. Now from people away from, from theatre, they might say is big simply the number of the cast or the size of the set? What do you mean by big?

NANCYE HAYES: Well there’s a lot of elements involved. As I say there are things that we have to make happen that are much easier to happen on film than they are on stage. As we know, the witch has to melt, and we have flying involved, the witch flying, and you flying in the balloon and all those things. We have a, a little Toto that has to do so many things and be with Nikki the entire time.

BERT: And occasionally ad-libs quite a few times.

NIKKI: Oh yes!

NANCYE: Ad-libs a couple of times, too. And keeping him safe from pyrotechnics and all those things, it was quite a… And this little, this lovely little lady here, she is so wonderful with, with Toto, and in coping with all the things she has to cope with. She hardly leaves the stage.

BERT: She’s very disciplined, isn’t she?

NANCYE: She is indeed, indeed. And I’ve always been very proud of her. You know we worked with her many years ago.

BERT: That’s right, in Cinderella!

NANCYE: In Cinderella.

NIKKI: Yes.

NANCYE: And you were about 7 I think, wasn’t it?

BERT: Oh younger! About 4!

NIKKI: Yeah, I think I was about 4 or 5.

NANCYE: Just a baby then. So we go back a while.

BERT: What are your memories of Nancye in Cinderella?

NIKKI: Just plain – ’cause she, was it the Fairy Godmother that you played? – just plain beautiful, and just um, I mean with both of you were just so great to all the kids that were there, ’cause there were so many of us, as with The Sound of Music and stuff, but I just remember… after that I was always, you know, wondering what you’re up to because I just, you were just so great to, to me.

NANCYE: We used to wear very long eyelashes.

NIKKI: [laughs]

BERT: That’s right.

NANCYE: And every day, Nikki would come to me and there’d be a little tug on the fairy costume and she’d say, “Are they your real lashes?” and I’d say, “No Nikki, they’re not.” Because they were silver tinsel and everything. And I’d think, “Oh, that’s all right then.” And the next day she’d say it again: “Are they your real lashes Miss Hayes?” [laughs] I should have given you a pair for opening night I think!

BERT: I saw one of the folk go along I think to Delia [Hannah] as Glinda and say, you know, “Are they real lashes that you’re wearing?” And I would’ve thought my dresser man would have known.

Nikki, I know I’ve asked this question before, but what really intrigues me – and we can speak as friends – the fact that you’ve had so much success, all those things happening for you, the Olympics. If nothing else ever happened in your life, you’d have that wonderful memory of the Olympics, but so much else has happened too. How have you managed to keep the feet on the ground and has it been hard, eventually, with your contemporaries, you know, the kids you go to school with and people who live in the street or whatever.

NIKKI: Well, it’s actually been really easy. I mean I still go to school, and when I’m not at school my friends are always on the phone, and um, basically I’m still keeping up with my schoolwork because I’m doing exactly the same with my tutor.

BERT: Yeah.

NIKKI: So that’s great. But, um, every day off that we have, you know, Mondays and the Tuesdays, I try and catch up with all my friends, um, and just see what’s happening and stuff.

BERT: And how do they treat you?

NIKKI: Really well. I mean they treat me as I was before, you know, September, um, 2000. They’re just so supportive and they’re always there for me, even if I haven’t spoken to them for a couple of months they’re always, “What’ve you been up to?” and “We’ve been up to this” and stuff. So, and they always tell me how much they miss me, so I couldn’t have done them without all my friends, and family.

BERT: That’s lovely to hear. You’ve known Nancye throughout her career and me throughout my career. All performers, and I’m thinking of you know, a younger performer like Kylie Minogue, goes through an area where people turn on her because of success and that’s the tall poppy thing and so forth. And you haven’t been without criticism. Ah, fortunately I think the huge majority just love you and celebrate the fact this young person is doing such great things. But how do you cope with that, I mean do you just throw it aside, or?

NIKKI: Um, basically if anything’s written like that, I just try not to make it put me down. I just think, oh well, hopefully… I’m doing this for all my fans and stuff. I love performing and I love, I love to see when I’m performing people smile, so um, I’m basically trying to give it everything I’ve got and if one day it never works out, I’ve still – as you said –

BERT: You’ve got your memories. Yeah.

NIKKI: – have all those memories, of working with great people and stuff.

BERT: When it was uh, when it was launched for Sydney first up, and we’re all there for the launch and so forth, the thing that really pleased me – and there you see James Erskin and John Frost, who are the producers along with Ken McKenzie Forbes, and there’s Nancye – the thing was, the media was so supportive of not just Nikki but the whole concept itself. I think it shows once again what a wonderful story it is and how much it’s held to the hearts of everybody, The Wizard of Oz.

NANCYE: It’s beloved isn’t it? Really.

BERT: Yeah. Very much so.

NANCYE: Yes, we have everyone coming along, well not everyone – the children coming along, many Dorothys in their little –

NIKKI: Yes!

NANCYE: – check dresses and little ruby slippers, and a basket with Toto. As I’m going in and out of the theatre I see them, and I think, isn’t that terrific, you know, that they come along and so much want to be a part of it.

NIKKI: We’re bringing so many young children into the theatre, which hopefully is another generation to come around.

NANCYE: That’s right. That’s the really important thing.

BERT: And we saw the boys there, of course, who play the Tin Man, Cowardly Lion and Scarecrow in Kane [Alexander] and Philip [Gould] and Doug [Parkinson]. And they have done a – they’ve bonded terrifically as characters, haven’t they?

NANCYE: They have, they’re just fantastic. And seeing Doug dancing and singing, well he’s always danced and sang, but in a different way…

BERT: Yeah.

NANCYE: … and playing a character like that. Kane is a fantastic young performer and I know will be a very big star, and Philip I’ve loved for years, he’s a consummate performer as far as musical theatre is concerned.

BERT: I believe you are publicizing in a different manner for, uh, for Melbourne. There’s a new poster. I don’t make these decisions, the producers do. But I think uh, I think it’s about time that that really was recognized.

NANCYE: Official.

BERT: Official, yes. I’ve come out in a little polka-dot dress there. So, we open in June – bookings already in Melbourne have done terrifically. But before we go I also want to talk about your recording career, ’cause you’re on the charts again at the moment, aren’t you?

NIKKI: Yes!

BERT: Tell us about that, the song.

NIKKI: Um, well my new song Best Days has come out, and it’s doing really well at the moment. Basically we’re hoping to take it overseas and hopefully make another album to come out.

BERT: And on Best Days, it’s also…

NIKKI: It’s also got Somewhere Over The Rainbow, um, which is my own version, not the same version as the show.

BERT: Right. OK, let me just go through what we’ve got available here. These are the CD’s. This is the cast album from The Wizard of Oz, which is terrific. It was done over three very early performances in the piece, and it’s come up terrifically. There’s the one we’re talking about, The Best Days and Over The Rainbow, and that’s, of course, Follow Your Heart, uh, that’s the album isn’t it?

NIKKI: Yes.

BERT: That’s the album. And also a special bonus to everybody who buys a copy you can get The Bert & Patti Family Album.

NIKKI: [laughs] Can’t wait to get out and get that one!

BERT: No, well if you take this one at least I’ll know where the other one is. So there you go. Good luck for the rest – it’s rather unusual, being part of your show and doing this show, sort of speaking to you as if you’re brand new guests and we haven’t met before.

NANCYE: Yes.

BERT: Can I ask you one final question. I’ve mentioned a couple of times on this show when you’re talking about doyens in Australian theatre, divas if you like in musical comedy. The three names that always come forward of course are Jill Perryman, yourself and Toni Lamond. Was that a very special time, that starting out time, when you guys started on your yellow brick road?

NANCYE: Absolutely. I mean we were with Jason Williamson’s of course, and that was a, a wonderful position to be in because they were a company doing a lot of musicals and we were there right on the spot and we’d all started, many of us in the ensemble, but it certainly was a golden era for me.

BERT: And you’ve remained friends, of course.

NANCYE: We have remained great friends.

BERT: Well there you see the photographs of three people, I think without them in Australian theatre over the years, it would have been so much of a less industry, because you just look at Jill and think of all her great performances, and Toni of course who broke through for Australian artists in The Pajama Game. And of course you there Nancye, particularly of course for Sweet Charity those years ago when all of a sudden you burst upon the scene. We’ve got some flowers for you, just to welcome you officially back to GMA, for you Nancye.

NANCYE: Thank you very much Bert.

BERT: And I know you’re both flying back to Sydney today.

NIKKI: Ohh, thank you!

BERT: And you can’t really fly with flowers, so um, in advance, Patti thanks you very much indeed for them! No! Enjoy them and thanks for coming in this morn- Have you had breakfast by the way, Nikki?

NIKKI: [laughing] I have thank you.

BERT: Oh I brought some along for you just in case.

NIKKI: Oh no, no!

BERT: She loves crumpets and I just thought you might like to have that, and I’ll sign it for you after!

NIKKI: Oh lovely!

BERT: Please thank Nikki Webster and Nancye Hayes. We have only three weeks to go at the Lyric Theatre in Sydney. Your chance to come along and see a wonderful production by Nancye of the legendary The Wizard of Oz, and then we come to Melbourne in June. And bookings for Melbourne are open already and going very very well, so get in early.

Screencaps: Click here.