Australian star of the stage Ashleigh Rubenach is having a ball bringing Neil Diamond’s hits to life, and is set to stun Sydney this November.
Dressed in blue jeans and oozing confidence in her leading role in A Beautiful Noise: The Neil Diamond Musical, Northern Beaches actor Ashleigh Rubenach is owning the stage, and audiences are loving it. “The reception has been unbelievable – the most consistently full houses that I’ve ever seen in a musical that I’ve been a part of,” the actor says. “At every show, everyone’s up on their feet dancing and singing Sweet Caroline.”
Ashleigh is in Melbourne – a long way from her Avalon Beach home – at the time of our interview, where she has been treading the boards since the Broadway musical made its Australian premiere there on 5 August.
Despite having just performed a high energy, all-singing, all-dancing matinee show over two hours long, Ashleigh is relaxed and happy to chat, even though she should probably take some vocal rest. “Not chatting for a bit is very difficult for me because I could talk under water with a mouthful of marbles!” she says. “My favourite recovery is to jump in the ocean – that tops everything. But until I can be back home (on the Beaches) doing that again, I’m very grateful to get out in the sunshine during the day.”
With eight shows a week, it’s a tough schedule, but Ashleigh is looking forward to bringing the musical to Sydney audiences on 14 November.
The actor has been playing the role of Neil Diamond’s second wife, Marcia Murphey, to packed houses in Melbourne. “This is particularly telling at a time where the cost of living and financial pressure is making it really tricky for people to come out and see shows,” Ashleigh says.
Theatre has recently been taking a hit in Australia, with Ashleigh’s previous show, Back To The Future: The Musical ending its run in Sydney, with national tour plans scrapped, due to softer than expected ticket sales and high costs.
So it was a relief for Ashleigh to be playing to packed houses in Melbourne. “The appeal of the wonderful Neil Diamond seems to be bulletproof because we really do have incredibly full houses and insane responses from people who obviously love and connect with his music so much.”
The cast is led by Broadway star Will Swenson, who worked with Neil Diamond to develop the musical.
American singer-songwriter Neil Diamond was most prolific through the 1970s and 1980s, with his live album Hot August Nights spending 29 weeks at number one in Australia. He has sold 140 million albums and wrote a catalogue of hits.
Ashleigh describes the show as, ‘all of the songs you know and love wrapped up in a beautiful, heartwarming play that really gives you the warts and all story behind the man and his music.’ The story is effectively delivered, Ashleigh adds, admitting she was ‘shocked at how moved I was in rehearsals.’
Despite a decade-long musical theatre career where she has played numerous characters such as Betty Schaefer in Sunset Boulevard and Lorraine Baines in Back to the Future: The Musical, this particular role is a new direction for the actor. “Marcia is described as a force of nature. She’s attributed as the driving force behind Neil’s rise from introverted singer-songwriter in moody clubs in New York, to the bejewelled, bedazzled king of the stage that we all know him as today,” Ashleigh says, explaining that the pair met in a coffee shop, fell in love, and Marcia became the woman behind the man for 25 years.
“Marcia, I’ll be totally honest, scared the hell out of me in the early days, because she’s so confident, self-assured and unapologetic. That was a role in my career that I’d never really allowed myself to inhabit previously.
Ashleigh plays Marcia Murphey alongside co-star, Will Swenson
“The appeal of the wonderful Neil Diamond seems to be bulletproof.”
Ashleigh and husband, Tom Clark got married in March, wth their groodle, Ernie, in attendance
“A lot of my resume leans into either being an ‘ingenue’ princess or the ‘goofy’ (character). So to be someone who’s sexy and powerful felt like a big challenge because there’s vulnerability in that, but it’s been amazing.”
One look at Ashleigh taking to the stage in a red satin gown, singing a tender rendition of Play Me with co-star Will, and it’s plain to see that she’s mastered her character. She puts it down to rehearsals. “It’s always a big, old leap of faith, trusting that putting the work in will get me to the place I need to be,” the actor admits. “In hindsight, how delicious to be out of my comfort zone at this point in my career. It’s exciting and thrilling to get to do something really different.”
As Marcia, Ashleigh gets to sing ‘a handful of very beloved Neil Diamond hits’ in the show, including Song Sung Blue, Forever in Blue Jeans, and You Don’t Bring Me Flowers, which she sees as an ‘honour.’ “The quality of his voice and his songwriting is extraordinary,” she says. “You want to deliver them and do them justice for the people who love them so much.”
Ashleigh’s dressing room is a colourful collection of outfits for her role. She describes Marcia as the signifier of where the musical is in time, with her four wigs spanning popular hairstyles from the 1960s to the 1990s. Plus, she adds, “Marcia’s entire wardrobe is glorious!”
Playing the role of Marcia also came at a ‘perfect time in my life,’ the actor says. Now 32 and having recently wed her partner, entrepreneur Tom Clark, Ashleigh felt she was moving into a ‘new chapter’ of her life and ready to take on a challenging role.
She and Tom wed at sunset on 14 March, exchanging their vows in an outdoor ceremony at Jonah’s, Whale Beach. The couple met at a Bondi yoga studio during the COVID-19 years, when Ashleigh was teaching there.
She tries to get home every couple of weeks to see Tom. “When I’m not performing you’ll catch me at the dog park with our one-year-old groodle, Ernie,” Ashleigh says. “I’m one of six in a big blended family, so we have lots of nieces and nephews who are the lights of our lives. So usually I’ll be hanging out with them or with my mum, Michelle.”
When growing up in Mona Vale, Ashleigh was introduced to musicals by her grandmother, LaRaine, and clearly recalls seeing her first live performance of the Sound of Music with her at age five, and being ‘completely taken by it.’
She spent her childhood attending dance classes in Newport, and while a student at Manly Selective High School, she performed in Rock Eisteddfods and the Schools Spectacular.
The show’s Melbourne run has been a success
“In hindsight, how delicious to be out of my comfort zone at this point in my career.”
Ashleigh also joined Chatswood Musical Society (as it was previously known) and was part of a talent development project run by the NSW Education Department. “Nanna was the impetus, and then Mum very happily took me to anything and everything,” Ashleigh recalls. “We went to lots of plays at Glen Street Theatre growing up. And she drove me to endless dance classes and singing classes.
“Mum’s amazing, she has always been my biggest cheerleader and support system.”
Photo by Paul Versace
As for her next role beyond Marcia? While she admits she would love to play Elle in the musical adaptation of the movie, Legally Blonde, Ashleigh is happy to see what the future holds. “My favourite roles to date have been the ones that weren’t even on my radar prior to doing them. I’m a firm believer that a dream role is the one that picks me at this stage.
“To be able to do this for my job every day is such a gift. I can’t imagine doing anything else.”
A Beautiful Noise: The Neil Diamond Musical will run from 14 November to 14 February at the Sydney Lyric theatre.
For tickets, visit: theneildiamondmusical.com.au
