A young Māori actor has taken on one of the leading roles in Priscilla Queen of the Desert: The Musical, currently playing at Sydney's Capitol Theatre. 24-year-old Euan Doidge of Ngāti Whakaue has spent most of his life living in Australia and trained at MJ Dance studio in Gambier, and has landed other big musical roles including Legally Blonde and Grease.
Speaking of his time playing Felicia he explains, "I've had a lot of time to delve into this character and watching the film a few times has really kind of helped me, but I've had great guidance from our creative team here in Australia, and I honestly do get to have just so much fun on that stage."
Doidge comes from a musical background and had 30 of his family members fly over from New Zealand to Australia to watch him in the Priscilla musical last week.
"I was beside myself nervous, you can ask anyone in the cast, because a lot of them hadn't seen me do a show before and so for me that's a very big thing and I am a part of their lives so much even though I don't get to see them as often as I'd like to, knowing that they want to fly all this way to watch a relative do what they love to do is so special and it honestly meant the world to me" says Doidge.
Doidge has also won the critical and audience acclaim and a Helpmann Award nomination for best supporting actor in a musical for his role as Paul in A Chorus Line. He was only 17 at the time.