Making music together: Glenn Hazeldine and Alexandra Fowler star in Rhinestone Rex and Miss Monica.
Making music together: Glenn Hazeldine and Alexandra Fowler star in Rhinestone Rex and Miss Monica.
It's a classic case of opposites attract in playwright David Williamson's latest production, Rhinestone Rex and Miss Monica, coming to Ringwood this month.
Monica (played by Alexandra Fowler), hires Gary (Glenn Hazeldine) to renovate her kitchen — and, in doing so, gets more than she's anticipated. The two come from different musical backgrounds — Monica, a violin player, and Gary, aka Rhinestone Rex, a lover of country and western music.
Asked how he develops ideas for his productions, Williamson said it was through things he experienced or heard about.
"It started when I watched a female violinist in a large orchestra and wondered what her life was really like," he said. "When I started interviewing violinists I started to find the answers were not what I thought they would be. The one thing they seemed to have in common was an acute dislike of country and western music, so, of course, my playwright's mind started to say, 'What if?'."
In this case, Monica hates not just Gary's taste in music, but also his attitude towards women and the way he wants to install the kitchen cabinets. Gary isn't all that fond of Monica either, but still finds her attractive — in a cold, rigid and inflexible kind of way.
Rhinestone Rex and Miss Monica is on at Karralyka Theatre, Mines Road, Ringwood East, on October 12. Tickets: $39.50 or $37.50 for concession or groups of eight or more. Bookings: 9879 2933 or visit karralyka.com.au.