The Star: January 17, 2019

24
Latest Christchurch news at www.star.kiwi
Thursday January 17 2019
Theatre/Arts
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The Star
Fire rages, homes at risk
Ga-ga over lead role in Queen show
• By Georgia O’Connor-Harding
CALEB JAGO-WARD has
always been a “massive fan” of
British rock band Queen and its
lead singer Freddie Mercury.
It was his powerful rendition
of the music icon’s Somebody
to Love that saw him skyrocket
into the Australasian spotlight
and capture the attention
of international star Delta
Goodrem.
Following his “blind audition”
of the song on The Voice
Australia, Jago-Ward had a
successful stint on the show,
making it to the semi-finals
under the coaching of Goodrem
in 2015.
Yet, as far as he is concerned,
compared to television, “theatre
has more heart.”
But his career and passion
for Queen has now come full
circle, with the talented singer
landing the lead role in Showbiz
Christchurch’s first production
of the year We Will Rock You.
Jago-Ward, 25, was signed on
to play the role of Galileo last
week, which he describes as “the
spirit of Freddie Mercury.”
Well-known performer
Jane Leonard has also been
Delta
Goodrem
Caleb
Jago-Ward
cast to play the lead role of
Scaramouche.
Celebrating Queen’s biggest
musical hits, We Will Rock You
has been seen by more than 16
million people in 28 countries.
It is the second rock opera in
a row Jago-Ward has starred in
after playing the demanding role
of Judas in The Court Theatre’s
successful season of Jesus Christ
Superstar – which finishes up
next week.
While Jago-Ward described
Jesus Christ Superstar as a
“bucket list show” to perform in,
he said it was one of the demanding
roles in musical theatre.
“It is a dream role for me but
it does come with a sacrifice to
build up that raw energy every
night . . . the pay-off is you get
to tell a fabulous story, and
thank God, The Court Theatre
production is fantastic,” he said.
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The role of Judas was what
brought Jago-Ward, who is
originally from Wellington to the
city last year.
Since working under Goodrem,
Jago-Ward joined Australian
music ensemble The Ten Tenors
for their New Zealand tour of The
Power of Ten.
He also played the lead role
of Felicia in Norwegian Cruise
Line’s transatlantic season of
Priscilla Queen of the Desert
and was a lead vocalist in the
Australian live dance show Burn
the Floor.
In spite of Goodrem praising
Jago-Ward’s talent, he didn’t
immediately come out of the
show “feeling like a rockstar”
and working in television was
draining.
He said being on social media
where “people pick you apart
for anything” gave a good
understanding of how ugly the
job can be.
“But how else do we build
ourselves up as people . . . you go
through a hard time and you get
back up again,” he said.
•We Will Rock You opens
March 29. To book tickets
go to ticketek.co.nzshowbiz
ROCK: Caleb Jago-Ward as Judas in The Court Theatre’s
summer season production of Judas. ​
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