Wicked has returned to Sydney, and Lucas Van Rhijn will be singing his heart out on stage.
When Lucas Van Rhijn was 12 and enjoying his life on Bilgola Plateau, he saw Broadway hit Wicked which has won over 100 awards and played in over 16 countries. In 2018, he worked as an usher at the Sydney Lyric Theatre. Now Lucas is performing at the Lyric as part of the Wicked ensemble, and says life has come full circle. “The universe works in weird ways!” he laughs.
Lucas, who was born in Holland but grew up in Bilgola Plateau, is also understudy for Liam Head who plays the role of Fiyero, ‘the Winky Prince’.
The 23-year-old started his foray into musical theatre when at Northern Beaches Christian School in Terrey Hills. “I found that I had a bit of a knack for it,” he says. After he did a few musicals he took up ballet, then studied at Sydney’s renowned breeding ground for performers, Brent Street. After graduating last year from the Victoria College of the Arts, he made his professional debut, joining the Australasian tour of Disney’s Frozen, understudying the role of Hans, which he got the opportunity to perform in Singapore.
“For anyone in musical theatre, Wicked is such a monumental show and it’s such a foundation for a lot of people who dream of being in musical theatre.”
To gain a role in Wicked, he competed against 2,000 applicants, of which 1,000 were auditioned. “It was long, it was intense. I shed blood, sweat and tears, but it was all worth it,” he laughs.
Now Lucas has the chance to perform in one of his favourite musicals, which tells the story of two of the witches of Oz – set well before Dorothy fell down from the sky.
“For anyone in musical theatre, Wicked is such a monumental show and it’s such a foundation for a lot of people’s dreams (who want to) be in musical theatre. And the fact that we have the privilege to do it, it’s so surreal.”
The ensemble routine is gruelling, with actors performing five nights a week – with two matinees on the weekend – over several months. At this stage, the show is scheduled for performances in Sydney through to December.
“You have to work out a lot, even when you don’t want to because you have to keep your body strong in order to be able to do the shows,” Lucas explains.
“And usually on the days which I’m not at work, I’m not doing a lot of talking, and I’m steaming and doing a lot of vocal exercises to release the tension from my voice.”
It was when Lucas started acting in high school that he knew he would pursue acting. “I found that I had a knack for making people laugh and really loved that. There’s a moment on stage when you’re connecting with the audience. And everything stands still and it feels like you’re all connected through some weird universal force. And that’s when I realized I really could not do anything else!”
Lucas’ mother still lives on Bilgola Plateau, and he has fond memories of growing up on the Peninsula. “I’m just very grateful that I grew up near the beach. My memories are filled with going down to Bilgola and Avalon Beach on the weekend for swimming. And especially during summer when you get those beautiful, warm summer days and the water there is crystal clear.”
The show is starring several Australian veterans of the stage, including Todd McKenney and Robyn Nevin. Lucas says is it ‘absolutely incredible’ to work with them. “The professionalism and the decades of experience and knowledge that they bring to the text – it’s a fantastic privilege to be a part of. And they all approach the work in such beautifully rigorous ways. And so it’s really lovely to learn vicariously from them.”
