Kelly Osbourne as Matron "Mama" Morton
|
The musical
Chicago has fielded some singular casting gambits both sides of the pond, folding into the casting mix the likes of Brooke Shields, Ashlee Simpson, Melanie Griffit and Usher on one side of the Atlantic or the other (or sometimes both). But the decision to cast 22-year-old Kelly Osbourne as Mama Morton may be the most headline-grabbing yet. Written to be played by a woman in middle age, the part of the sassy prison warden might seem a stretch for a young chart-topping performer whose life was laid bare for the world to see in the popular Emmy-winning program
The Osbournes. There were Kelly and younger brother Jack—elder sister Aimee sat the show out—on full, inevitably eye-catching parade as part of an unusual family headed by her rocker father Ozzy, of Black Sabbath fame, and mother, Sharon, a genuine personality who is the one that seems as if she might be the most obvious Mama of the lot. Indeed, Kelly says she first heard of her current job when a fax to that effect was slid under her door by her mother, who has done her own time on stage in
The Vagina Monologues. ("That was a lot for me to watch," laughs Kelly. "There was my mother lying on her back squealing, squirting water into the air.") And with the sort of determination one feels her current stage incarnation might well appreciate, Kelly said yes, signing on for a seven-week run through 3 November— precisely one week after she turns the ripe young age of 23. Since our chat early one recent evening, Osbourne
fille—rarely out of the headlines—was making the front pages of several of the papers yet again, this time for carrying on with her role despite nursing a broken foot. It seems that a fellow cast member trod on her inadvertently during the song "Class," as a result of which Osbourne missed a performance. In the week or so since the accident, she's been sighted at this late-night club or that, according to the London tabloids, gamely putting the injury behind her. Class? Perhaps, alongside a knowledge that the show—just like life—goes on.
It's amazing, isn't it, that you even agreed to do this.
You're telling me! When it first came up, I thought, I'm 5'2" and 22 years old, and I' ve never done a show in my life. Did I know the show? Well, I'd obviously seen the movie, which, of course, doesn't have one of Mama's great songs, "Class." And we all know I'm not Queen Latifah. But that's what life is: a series of surprises, and you can't second-guess it. The opportunity to play the West End was just too great. People talk about Broadway, but the fact is this is where it all began when it comes to the theatre, and I thought I'd be crazy not to do it. So I just showed up and went to work.
The Osbourne family (Ozzy, Kelly, Sharon)
on Kelly's opening night in Chicago
|
One can imagine the themes of Chicago perhaps having some resonance for you. After all, you're a product of somewhat the same celebrity culture that the show puts center-stage—though Roxie and Velma weren't around in the era of reality TV.
Sure, if you think that's what the show is about. The thing about Chicago is that it's so subtle that it can mean different things to different people. It can just sort of be whatever you want it to be or whatever makes most sense. People make such a fuss about my life, but what can I say? All I did was be born. So I'd be lying if I said I felt I connected to this show because, you know, I've been on reality TV or whatever it is that people might think. To me [Chicago] is about people desperate to get what they want and who will go to any extremes to get it.
How is the show for you, vocally?
I get it easy compared to [co-stars] Annette [McLaughlin] or Josefina [Gabrielle], and sometimes I just look at them from the wings and think, God, they're so great. But I have released two albums and, you know, I do have a voice. It's just that my singing voice surprises people when they've heard me speak. For this especially, I feel as if I sound so much lower, but you've got to give Mama that authority. But as the run goes on, I do wish everyone who saw me in the first week could come back and see it again. Each night I do it, I feel as if I'm learning so much more. I'm not sure what other musicals would make a lot of sense for me, but I'm loving doing this one.
And it sounds as if you're really happy to be back in London.
That's for sure. It's not as if I want to live in L.A.—that town is sick. I have a home here now and my friends and really interesting stuff to do. I'm doing a radio program for the BBC on Sunday nights where people can call in with problems and looking for advice. That's been amazing, and it's not as if I pretend to know everything; we do have a doctor there. The other night there was a call from a 14-year-old girl who was pregnant, and that sort of thing can be intense. But you like to feel that you're making a difference; that the choices somehow or other are adding up.
Kelly Osbourne as Matron "Mama" Morton
|
That's fair enough—not to mention the fact that you're getting into the lifestyle rhythm that goes with the theatre actor's life.
Absolutely. I've got a routine, I know what I'm doing, I know where I have to be. You have to realize that I've never had that in my life; for that reason alone, this would be an amazing thing for me to be giving a go—if it weren't that I love being part of Chicago so much. I'm really looking forward to the show's special tenth anniversary performance later this year. That's got to be so amazing, to have all these people who have been part of the same production but at different times all in one place.
What do you think Mama would make of reality TV? Would she thrive under the spotlight?
I doubt it. [Laughs.] Mama's too much of a bitch.