Rhonda Burchmore’s highly acclaimed stage show ‘Cry Me A River: The Julie London Story’ is coming to Melbourne for a limited run.
Rhonda Burchmore - Photo By Ros O'Gorman
In the show, Rhonda tells the story of American singer and actress Julie London who achieved global fame with her 1955 hit ‘Cry Me A River’. The song went on to become one of the all-time musical greats.
“So many people have covered that song from Streisand to Buble to Joe Cocker,” Rhonda tells Noise11.com. “It was a song that was originally written for Ella Fitzgerald. Julie London went to Hollywood High. One of those incredible stories, her classmate Arthur Hamilton actually wrote the song. When Ella rejected the song they gave it to Julie and that was the start of this extraordinary hit that put Liberty Records on the map. She sold zillions and people still play her version”.
The show tells the highs and lows of Julie’s career and life. “The exciting thing for me is that a lot of people tell the story of the divas like Judy Garland and Piaf but I don’t think anyone has ever told Julie London’s story,” she said. “I think I’m the first. It’s not remarkable in a lot of way. A lot of people today go through similar things that she encountered but it is sad. On the other side it is a life story. She was two times married, one of those was to an alcoholic. She lost a child in a car accident, but there are also all the wonderful things and feel good things about the show. I don’t try and be here but I love telling her story”.
Rhonda will perform ‘Cry Me A River: The World Of Julie London’ at Melbourne’s Comedy Theatre from August 16 to August 19.
Watch the Noise11.com interview with Rhonda Burchmore here.
