Ironically, Amity Dry’s Adelaide Fringe show So You Want To Be Famous? was written and booked into the Paradiso Spiegeltent well before she and husband Phil Rankine decided to sign up for a second attempt at reality TV renovation show, The Block: All Stars.
‘How on earth am I going to convince people that I don’t care for fame when I’m back on their TV screens every night?’ she told producers. But after hearing this humble Adelaide singer-songwriter’s rise to fame and down again story, it’s obviously her determination not to let a challenge go begging that has seen her do it all again, while simultaneously pursuing a career in music.
Dry’s story is one that every aspiring artist should hear. Like many before her, the ‘overnight’ success she achieved was ten years in the making. And again, like many others, it was probably a good mix of talent, hard work, and a dash of luck that saw her release a top ten selling album, only to have the bright lights of fame fade away just as quickly as they came.
‘When I Get My Name in Lights’ from the Peter Allen inspired musical The Boy From Oz was the first Broadway showstopper sung by Dry to tell her story. Beginning with her dreams as a young girl who always wanted to become a famous singer, ‘Let Me Be Your Star’ from TV drama Smash was the next insight into her life story.
From here, Dry took us on her journey to Nashville during a period where she thought country music was more her scene. But despite writing with some of the industry’s best in the USA, it was the fortunate luck of being cast on the reality TV renovation show The Block that brought the record companies calling. A stirring rendition of her biggest hit ‘The Lighthouse’ showed why Dry doesn’t take the often nasty title of ‘one-hit-wonder’ to heart. She knows her song reached out and touched the hearts of others, including the families of Bali bombing victims who requested for it to be played at a memorial service.
Other songs attesting to Dry’s thoughts on fame included a cover of British indie pop star Lily Allen’s ‘The Fear’ and Irene Cara’s ‘Fame’. But it was the songs taken from her latest musical, Mother, Wife and the Complicated Life, which clearly meant the most to this loving mum. ‘The Day I Was Chosen by You’, a touching tribute to the joys of becoming a parent, was a clear highlight.
While the TV shows and a trip to the ARIA awards are no doubt stories that Amity Dry will tell her children for years to come, it’s easy to see that it is her joy of music and performing that will help her maintain her place on the stage for years to come.
Rating: 4 stars out of 5
Amity Dry – So You Want to Be Famous?
Paradiso Spiegeltent, The Garden of Unearthly Delights
2 – 5 March
Adelaide Fringe
www.adelaidefringe.com.au
15 February – 17 March
