By David Russell
For Sara West falling in love with Liza Minnelli was the first step in preparing to play the iconic film star and singer in Channel Seven’s two-part mini-series Peter Allen: not the boy next door.
The Adelaide actress told Inside South Australia she didn’t hold her breath after auditioning for the plumb role. A month later from a three-tier hostel bunk bed in Copenhagen Sara opened her email and saw the offer sitting in her inbox.
“I was blown away and instantly packing it,” she said.
“The idea of playing Liza… was so daunting, but it was one of those things that you knew would truly only come around once in a lifetime.”
Sara returned to Australia and got to work learning everything there was to know about Liza Minnelli.
“(I) have always loved her films, (but) it wasn’t until I started researching her earlier work that I fell a bit in love with her.
“She was and is a remarkable talent across so many mediums. My favourite film and biggest reference point was her first movie, The Sterile Cuckoo. It’s a stunning performance and she’s so open and endearing. (It) was such an insight for me in terms of how I thought she should be portrayed.”
Sara West on set at Liza Minnelli.
From there Sara read and watched anything and everything she could get her hands on, particularly earlier works (the Liza character is aged 19 to 23 in the mini-series).
“I had a few voice technique sessions and a couple of dance rehearsals… then went away and danced for two months in my backyard to the same song, over and over and over again.
“Needless to say it didn’t come naturally so it took me forever to get the one routine I had to do looking anywhere near decent.
“Joel Jackson, who plays Peter Allen, had about 15 routines and all the songs; he blows my mind, every single one was spot on.
Despite the uncanny resemblance to the young Liza Minnelli, Sara says she doesn’t look anything like Liza in real-life.
“No one was a bigger skeptic than me in terms of how they’d get me to look anything like her. It’s all the incredible makeup and hair work done by Sheldon Wade and his team that sell it. They did an unbelievable job and I’m really grateful.”
Adelaide-born actress and Flinders University graduate Sara West.
Working with co-stars Rebecca Gibney and Sigrid Thornton was also an incredible opportunity, says Sara.
“I’d worked with Rebecca Gibney on (the Seven Network’s) Winter, so it was great to have that camaraderie already. She’s a powerhouse so just being around her and learning everything you can is priceless.
“Sigrid was perfect as Judy Garland and it was great to watch her everyday come in and nail it. I remember watching an early rehearsal of her singing ‘Somewhere Over the Rainbow’ and getting goose bumps and knowing I’d remember that moment for the rest of my life.”
Sara’s career began when she was accepted into the Flinders University Drama Centre at the age of 17. After graduating, she moved to Sydney, where she scored a role in a production of The Wild Duck that took her on tour to London and lead to other roles with the Sydney Theatre Company, Griffin Theatre Company and Malthouse Theatre.
She’s also worked on a range of projects in South Australia; Sara’s big TV break came when she landed a role in Anzac Girls, which was shot in South Australia.
“(Anzac Girls) was such a fun and invigorating experience. The cast and crew were incredible and we were telling the true story of these amazing nurses in the war, so it was really a gem to be involved.
“I was also a part of Nick Matthews’s feature debut One Eyed Girl, which shot in South Australia (and have) been back to Adelaide (to make) short films of my own with my dear friend and university tutor Richard Back… (through our) production company ‘salvage. Productions’.”
The second and final instalment of Peter Allen: not the boy next door airs on the Seven Network this Sunday.
Flinders University is a Brand South Australia member.