logo
‘It must be in the DNA somewhere' - Annie star credits her famous gran

‘It must be in the DNA somewhere' - Annie star credits her famous gran

Mackenzie Dunn might well be the best antidote for anyone catastrophising about our fraught world. She has dreams. She has verve, and she has the talent to bring some of theatre's sassiest roles to the stage.
Cast as the dopey but spirited Lily St. Regis in a new Annie production, she shares the stage with Australian luminaries such as Anthony Warlow. At 30, she has an infectious optimism, intelligence and a clear sense of her role in Australia's music theatre scene.
In fact, her cheerful nature echoes the very heart of Annie's appeal. Just as Annie brims with optimism in the grim surrounds of her 1930s orphanage, there's something about Dunn that's heartening amid our doomscrolling and global anxieties.
Perched in a chilly rehearsal room with a snug yellow beanie and opinions to spare, she's a spirited advocate both for original new Australian work, and for comforting revivals.
'People still need hope. I think its good to go back to your inner child no matter what age you are, and Annie reminds us of family and of passion. We need something that's uplifting and I think Annie is the perfect show for any age.'
In her iconic red dress, Annie is brave and optimistic amid depression-era misery. Based originally on the comic strip Little Orphan Annie that began in the 1920s, the tale tells of mean Miss Hannigan and her brood of neglected little girls. Annie is rescued by a would-be philanthropist, Oliver 'Daddy' Warbucks, who offers to host an orphan for a short spell in his mansion. Escaping squalor, Annie gets a taste of luxury and love.
Inexplicably, American president Franklin D. Roosevelt makes an appearance – with a bit to say about the New Deal, a nod to Annie's sense of fairness – and the dastardly duo of Rooster and his gold-digging girlfriend Lily set off to dupe Warbucks, and make money out of Annie's sudden good fortune.
The original Broadway musical, created by Charles Strouse and Martin Charnin, opened in 1977 and blitzed that year's Tony Awards. Chernin's reflections very much bear out the need for hope and light in dark times.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Transvision Vamp book first Australian tour in 27 years
Transvision Vamp book first Australian tour in 27 years

Courier-Mail

time9 minutes ago

  • Courier-Mail

Transvision Vamp book first Australian tour in 27 years

Don't miss out on the headlines from Music Tours. Followed categories will be added to My News. Transvision Vamp frontwoman Wendy James vividly recalls the hysteria generated by the band's popularity in the late 80s. As hit singles Baby I Don't Care and I Want Your Love set up camp on the Australian charts, the band were greeted by thousands of fans and a big police presence outside the venues they were booked to play and appearances on Countdown and Hey Hey It's Saturday on their first tour in 1989. Those memories came flooding back when she found old Super 8 footage of those days last year. 'I found a lot of Australian footage, especially film we captured in Melbourne, and I remember there were riot police on horses and people in the street and this one girl who screams they're bigger than the Beatles,' James said, laughing. Transvision Vamp singer Wendy James is bringing the band back to Australia. Picture: David Leigh Dodd / Supplied. James was made for the 80s. The outspoken young star declared Transvision Vamp would be bigger than Madonna and was a vocal critic of the emerging Stock Aitken Waterman pop factory which launched the careers of Kylie Minogue and Jason Donovan. But after a heady three years touring the world, the band broke up after falling out with their record label. James embarked on a sporadic solo career, moving to New York in 2002 and when she released her latest solo record The Shape of History to critical acclaim last year, she decided it was time to get back on the road. James and her bandmates in the late 80s. Picture: Supplied. The self-managed singer emailed a couple of Australian promoters to gauge if there was interest in her returning to the country for her first tour in 27 years. 'I knew when I made this 10th album I wanted to not just do the UK again but go back to Australia where the whole thing started. I know we broke out of the UK, but really the rapturous, the enormousness broke out from Australia,' she said. 'I wrote a couple of emails to Australian promoters who received me very warmly.' James released a new solo record last year. Picture: David Leigh Dodd / Supplied. A woman fronting a punk pop band in the 80s was a rarity. With her baby-doll dresses and bright pink lipstick, James was a unique pop star paying homage to the influence of Blondie's Debbie Harry. The short-lived band also exerted its own influence on other artists from Nirvana's Kurt Cobain to young female pop stars who have probably had her picture on their vision boards such as Sabrina Carpenter. Cobain famously wore a Transvision Vamp T-shirt during Nirvana's 1991 tour of the US and a live performance on MTV. 'That T-shirt is just known now as the Kurt shirt,' James said. 'He came to quite a few of those shows we did in America in 1991 and he purchased his tour T-shirt and wore it for quite a few of his performances, including the MTV one. 'There's really funny footage of him telling Courtney (Love) about her hair cut and he's wearing my T-shirt. So yeah, it's a great thrill.' The Transvision Vamp tour opens at The Triffid in Brisbane on February 12 and heads to The Station, Sunshine Coast on February 14, King Street Bandroom, Newcastle, on February 15, Metro Theatre, Sydney on February 17, Northcote Theatre, Melbourne on February 18, The Gov, Adelaide on February 19 and Magnet House, Perth on February 21. The tour early bird presale opens on July 11 from 9am and general tickets are live from July 15 at 9am with all details via Originally published as Punk pop star Wendy James brings Transvision Vamp back to Australia where it all began

Aussie tennis star Jelena Dokic's 'very special person' revealed as Melbourne hospitality worker Yane Veselinov
Aussie tennis star Jelena Dokic's 'very special person' revealed as Melbourne hospitality worker Yane Veselinov

Sky News AU

timean hour ago

  • Sky News AU

Aussie tennis star Jelena Dokic's 'very special person' revealed as Melbourne hospitality worker Yane Veselinov

Jelena Dokic has officially gone public with new boyfriend Yane Veselinov after months of speculation about the mystery man. Dokic, 42, took to Instagram on Monday to reveal the identity of her new beau months after published bombshell footage of the pair getting cosy at Melbourne Airport. "You are my calm, safe, peaceful and happy place. So glad I found you," Dokic wrote alongside a romantic snap with her new partner. It can now be revealed that the new love in Jelena's life is a hospitality operations manager who describes himself on Instagram as a "food and wine enthusiast, pleasure seeker and life enjoyer". Dokic stoked speculation about her love life on Sunday after sharing a glimpse of a night out with a mystery date two years on from her shock split from Brazilian-born Tin Bukic. The Aussie tennis great has just wrapped up commentary duties covering the iconic Wimbledon tennis tournament, the same event where she reached the semifinal in 2000 at just 16 years old. This year's tournament saw Poland's Iga Swiatek thrash American Amanda Anisimova in the women's final, while Italy's Jannik Sinner defeated Spain's Carlos Alcaraz in a four-set thriller in the men's tournament. On Sunday, Dokic marked the end of Wimbledon fever by sharing a photo of a cocktail in a ritzy restaurant via her Instagram. 'A little mid Wimbledon drink with a very special person,' the retired tennis great wrote in the caption. The former World No. 4 did not reveal the identity of the 'special person' but her loyal fans flooded the comment section asking if Dokic was back on the dating scene. 'Is this what I think it is! So happy to hear this gorgeous Jelena,' one fan wrote. 'Enjoy your time with someone special.' 'Like the sound of a special person Jelena, enjoy your time together,' a second follower wrote. Dokic split from her previous partner, Bukic, in late 2022 after an almost two-decade-long relationship. She recently opened up on the Mental As Anyone podcast about how the demise of her relationship jeopardised her plans to start a family. 'I was in a relationship for almost 19 years from the age of 20, and right when we split up, we were about to start trying for a family,' Jelena said. 'I actually think I would be a good mum, to be honest; I love kids.' Dokic revealed she was now planning to start a family as a 'single parent' and was open to exploring adoption. 'It is something I would like to do because I love kids,' she said. 'I didn't have the best experience (but) if I was, let's say, a single mum and adopted one day, it would have all the love in the world.'

Australian tennis icon Jelena Dokic hard launches new relationship with Yane Veselinov
Australian tennis icon Jelena Dokic hard launches new relationship with Yane Veselinov

7NEWS

time2 hours ago

  • 7NEWS

Australian tennis icon Jelena Dokic hard launches new relationship with Yane Veselinov

Australian tennis icon Jelena Dokic has finally gone public with her new boyfriend Yane Veselinov. The much-loved commentator hard launched the new relationship on Instagram. The couple had previously been photographed together in May, but hadn't confirmed the romance publicly until now. Dokic, 42, posted a photo of herself with Veselinov, writing: 'You are my calm, safe, peaceful and happy place. So glad I found you.❤️' The post was quickly flooded with likes and comments from her adoring fans. 'Oh YAYYYYYY!!!! So happy for you xxxx you deserve all the joy and happiness life has to offer,' one fan wrote. 'This makes me so happy! You deserve all the happiness in the world Jelena!' Another said. 'You seem very happy. All the best Jelena x,' another wrote. 'So happy to see you happy,' another said. Dokic was previously in a 19-year relationship with Tin Bikic that ended in 2021. Since then she has rebuilt her life (she has previously stated that she was a mess after their romance ended) and undergone a huge transformation, both mentally and physically. The story about the abuse she suffered from her late father Damir, who died last month, has also been detailed in the series Unbreakable: The Jelena Dokic Story. Dokic, who just wrapped up two weeks of commentating at Wimbledon for Channel 9, recently opened up on her desire to be a mum. Despite her own tumultuous upbringing as a child and a young woman that left her forever mentally scarred, Dokic said she has so much love to give. 'I actually think I would be a good mum, to be honest,' Dokic said on the podcast Mental As Anyone. 'I love kids.' But, despite that, Dokic sadly admits that her parenting dream may never be realised. 'I don't think that that's going to happen for me,' she said. 'I was in a relationship for almost 19 years from the age of 20 and right up to when we split up, we were about to start trying for a family.' Dokic said that the abuse she received throughout her life never crushed her maternal instincts. Surprisingly, she said it might have even nourished them. 'Even 15 years ago, when I was 25, I always said, 'I want to have kids, but I want to adopt',' she said. 'Maybe it comes from when you grow up maybe in a home that's fractured and with pain and you go, maybe I can give something different to a kid that I know maybe will have the same, or they won't have parents or something like that. 'So I always felt like I wanted to do that for at least one kid in the world. 'That's a big kind of wish of mine and passion and I hope to do it one day. 'Did I at one stage maybe think, I didn't have the best experience and know a lot of people with parents and having that childhood and what would that mean for me? 'Because I know a lot people that have been through family violence or abuse, domestic violence, however you want to frame it, they are worried about that, whether they would be the same or if there's something there.' Dokic said she would consider adopting a child, with or without a father. '(But I'd) love it to have a father as well,' she said. 'I know that I can give it absolutely everything and would have all the love and support and I would be completely different and … I could never be that (like my father) ever. 'I know that yes, obviously, it's a challenge, which I would love. I would embrace it and take it on. 'I just love kids so much. I know I would be a bloody good mum and I know I would give it the love in the world of a million people. 'I have so much love to give.'

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store