Lisa McCune stars in Girl from the North Country, the acclaimed musical that features the songs of Bob Dylan.
Bohemian Rhapsody - Queen
I first heard this as a teenager. At the time I was dabbling with a classical singing teacher so I was discovering music in a very different way. My teacher was giving me pieces from different operas to start playing with, so I started listening to it and really enjoyed it.
Then I heard Bohemian Rhapsody and was blown away. It encapsulated so many different styles in a really epic way and it told a story. It was super-cool. I was listening to a lot of musical theatre and it was very theatrical. It's a mad song but it makes a lot of sense.
Freddie Mercury was mind-blowing. It was just so different. I adored it. I don't think my friends got it the way I liked it. It's one of those ones that if it ever comes on in the car I will sit there and not get out until the end of it.
Children will Listen - Stephen Sondheim
This song is from a musical called Into the Woods, which was written by the great Stephen Sondheim. Sadly, he passed away recently but he left a body of work that's extraordinary. Like Bob Dylan, he was an incredible lyricist as well as a great melody writer. He captured a great heart in music and poeticism in story.
Children will Listen is beautiful. I did Into the Woods and played Cinderella for the Melbourne Theatre Company in the late 90s. My character sang it with Little Red Riding Hood and Jack from Jack and the Beanstalk.
I think Sondheim wrote for the singing actor. You don't have to do too much with his stuff because he's doing so much of the work for you with the melody and the writing. Sometimes just being the vessel for the work is the simplest way to go. An audience doesn't need all the affectations or it becomes too much and gets in the way of the message. When you're doing good work there's a simplicity in the performance which means the work stands out more. Children will Listen is a moment like that on stage.
There's not one particular version I like. Bernadette Peters did a very beautiful version of it. It's a gorgeous song.
Tight Connection to my Heart - Bob Dylan
When I heard this song on the cast recording of Girl from the North Country I just went, "Oh my God, this is such a beautiful song." The way the show works is that Dylan's songs are interweaved through the play.
I can't tell you how excited we are to be coming to New Zealand. We're thrilled. There's something about this show that people really like. It's not an in-your-face musical or a jukebox musical, it's a really soulful play with poetic soulful music. It washes over you and leaves you thinking about it for days afterwards.
My character doesn't sing this song, I do Like a Rolling Stone and Forever Young, which are extraordinary songs, but this is sung by one of the other girls in the show. It's very different from the Dylan version but it's beautiful. I get great enjoyment hearing it every night backstage.
Loving is Easy - Rex Orange County
My kids listen to cool stuff and I heard this through them. This was one they were playing and I just loved it. They listen to music through Spotify and Apple Music and all that stuff and zip through music quicker than we did. I'm not sure they stick with it as much as we may have.
The thing I really miss that my kids don't have is when I was growing up you'd get the record and it would have all the information and the lyrics. I loved that. That's a really important thing they miss out on. I think it's sad we've lost that.
Raglan Road - Teddy Tahu Rhodes
This song is so Irish and their music can feel like it comes out and wraps its arms around you. This is quite folky and tells a simple love story about a guy seeing a girl.
A very dear friend of mine, Teddy Tahu Rhodes, who's a New Zealander, does a version of this. He's got a massive operatic voice and one day he sang it in the lightest, simplest way, just with a piano rehearsing for a concert he was about to do. That performance has stayed with me. Whenever I see him and know he's doing a concert I always say, "Can you please do Raglan Road?" It's just gorgeous.
I love Irish music, it's folky and inclusive and musicians can easily riff on it. I haven't spent a lot of time in Irish pubs but I wish I did. If my name was Molly and I hung out in Dublin I'd probably be really happy.
* As told to Karl Puschmann.
Lisa McCune stars in Girl from the North Country, the acclaimed musical that features the reimagined songs of Bob Dylan. The show opens in Auckland on June 30 and in Wellington on July 21.