Maggie McKenna Brings Australia's Daggy Sweetheart, Muriel Heslop, To The Stage

Arguably Australia's most universally adored coming of age story, Muriel's Wedding is a true sacred cow of Down Under pop culture. So, when it was announced that Sydney Theatre Company would be giving the 1994 cult classic a musical theatre makeover, some saw it as blasphemy. Questions abounded: could such a show do justice to the much-hallowed original? Could the suburban kitsch of Porpoise Spit be realised with the same uncanny nostalgia in the theatre? And what about ABBA? Would a new score - composed by Helpmann Award-winner Kate Miller-Heidke - measure up to the bumper to bumper legacy of disco bangers from the movie's soundtrack?

But perhaps the biggest question mark of all hung over one crucial conundrum: who could possibly take the baton from Toni Collette's definitive portrayal to bring the character of Muriel Heslop to life on stage? "There's a lot of pressure on me," admits Maggie McKenna, the 21-year-old rising star (and daughter of comedy legend Gina Riley, co-creator of Kath And Kim) who landed the hotly anticipated starring role. "It was something that really weighed on my mind a lot, you know; it's such a well-loved character, people's expectations are bound to be sky high. But, since we've started rehearsals, and we've been getting into the details of the show and singing the songs, I've found myself getting totally lost in Muriel's world. That's really taken the pressure off, because when we're rehearsing I totally forget about what's going on outside. Ten till six every day, I get to just live in Porpoise Spit, go on Muriel's journey and be totally immersed in it."

Pre-marital jitters aside, McKenna is well placed to helm this much-hyped new show. For starters, she's just one degree of separation from another dysfunctional family, who hail from a not dissimilar slice of suburbia as the Heslops. Her mother's true blue sitcom Kath And Kim channels the same ocker charm, albeit in a more caricaturish way; "I really don't feel very far away from that kind of life at all," McKenna admits. She's also been a fervent fan of Muriel's Wedding for as long as she can remember. "I would have been around three or four when I first saw the film, so I really don't remember my very first experience of it, but we watched it all the time growing up," McKenna recalls. "I remember that whenever the sad bits would happen I would put my hands over my eyes, because even though I knew they were coming, I always hoped they wouldn't! And I remember dancing along to Dancing Queen and singing along with all the songs. So, it's been a part of my life from way back."

However, those expecting a faithful reproduction of director and screenwriter PJ Hogan's much-loved film may baulk at its most irreverent departure. For Muriel's musical theatre incarnation, she is being transported to the 21st century, into a world of insta-fabulous social media celebrities and romance reality TV. Far from taking unwelcome liberties, this radical update wasn't just sanctioned by Hogan, it was made at his explicit insistence. "It puts Muriel in a very different zone to where we find her in the movie," McKenna explains. "In lots of ways, it adds a lot more relevance to Muriel's story. She's surrounded by shows like The Bachelorette and Married At First Sight, and images on Instagram of celebrity models who are famous just for being pretty, who promote a very specific definition of beauty. We're bombarded with that kind of thing today, and that totally fits with Muriel's dream of being famous for being in love. It makes sense that social media and reality TV would push her into making those poor choices."

Another major difference between the film and its stage iteration is the introduction of a newly adapted script, penned by Hogan, and a set of brand new songs, by Kate Miller-Heidke and Keir Nuttall. These will be performed shoulder to shoulder with the ABBA hits synonymous with Muriel's screen debut, but while the new songs harness a very different musical vernacular, McKenna says they're every bit as chart-topping as their Swedish counterparts. "The music team have done an incredible job of making the new songs blend seamlessly with the dialogue and the ABBA numbers. It's really character driven stuff, that's really integral to the storytelling. And it's got so many surprising musical influences that complement but don't try to mimic ABBA," McKenna beams.

Presenting this story in an entirely new guise has also helped McKenna step out of Toni Collette's shadow, to craft a unique account of Muriel that's all her own. "When I first auditioned, I was totally overthinking it. I got really wrapped up in trying to replicate Muriel's personality from the film," she reveals. "But then there was a voice in my head that said, 'You're already a dork! You are awkward and self-conscious and unsure of things. Just go in and be yourself.' And I guess that worked, you know. Realising that has really helped me understand this character. I am more uncoordinated than I want to be. I do weird things sometimes. I've been Muriel the whole time, even if I hadn't really realised it till now."

Discovering such an intimate synergy with her character has been an empowering experience for McKenna; one she hopes will resonate with audiences. "There's nothing more exciting than being able to play a woman who is flawed, who doesn't fit conventional beauty standards, who doesn't fit the conventional romance standards, and who makes a lot of mistakes but isn't a bad person or the enemy," she shares. "It's been thrilling to be part of a story like this. I've told PJ [Hogan] a bunch of times, 'Thank you for writing complex, interesting women who get to be all sorts of things that don't fit a stereotype.' Because I've had those doubts, like a lot of women have: questioning if we're good enough, if we're attractive enough, if we're cool enough. I really hope young girls come away from this show saying, 'Hey, I want to be Muriel.'"

Sydney Theatre Company presents Muriel's Wedding The Musical, 6 Nov 2017 — 27 Jan 2018, at the Roslyn Packer Theatre.