Gavin Leahy Gets His Name In Lights

Amongst the treadmills, dumbbells and sweaty, red-cheeked females, one man takes centre stage. Naturally.

“Who wants to get rid of their J-Lo?” the perky instructor calls out over the beat.

“I do!” he exclaims.

Yet Gavin Leahy, dressed in tight short shorts and firm-fitting tee, isn’t showing any signs of identifying with Jennifer Lopez’s curvaceous body and booty.

At 27, Leahy is tall, lean and can boast the best legs in the room.

Fitness instructor and hairdresser by day, Leahy is also Miranda Musical Society’s latest recruit by night, playing the title role in the Society’s quietly ambitious version of “The Boy From Oz”. This makes him only the third person in the world to officially portray the besequined Peter Allen in this role.

“It was a bit daunting at first to take on a real-life character,” Leahy admits.

“Especially someone like Peter who gave everything he had to whatever he did. That quality is rare in a person.”

However, you can’t help but notice that this Shire resident from Maianbar has more in common with the effervescent entertainer than he thinks.

Onstage, when Leahy picks up the maracas, swivels his hips and dons an outlandish ‘I Go To Rio’ shirt, his energy and charisma are limitless. Leahy seems to be doing a perpetual shimmy, even when he’s standing still, and he captures the insinuating sparkle that was so often in Allen’s eyes when he was performing.

Just as the introspective nature of much of Allen’s music contrasted with his bold performing style, Gavin Leahy is also a man of contradictions.

When Gavin isn’t under the stage lights, or instructing an aerobic class, he is softly spoken, gentle and without pretence.

At the close of the show, the performers come out into the hall and receive the gushing praises from proud family, friends and audience members. Gavin is found, after careful inspection, leaning against a wall near the back door, surrounded by only a small group of people, almost unnoticed.

“I do enjoy the attention that I receive when I perform. Yet even after all these years, I still don’t know what to do with it,” Leahy says.

Gavin trained at the Newton High School of the Performing Arts and completed his HSC in 1997. In 2003, Gavin commenced studies at the University of Wollongong where he gained a Bachelor of Creative Arts majoring in Theatre Performance.

As well as dance and performing arts, Gavin has an outstanding baritone/tenor voice and enjoyed travelling the world as principal singer on the MV Silver Whisper for the world’s only six- star cruise line, Silverseas, in 2004.

Gavin’s first venture into amateur theatre was in the ensemble of Rockdale Musical Society’s 1995 production of ‘Oliver!’. Later roles included ‘Florindo’ in ‘The Venetian Twins’(2001), ‘Ronnie Shaughnessy’ in ‘The House of Blue Leaves’(2002), ‘Geoffrey’ in ‘Stepping Out’(2003) and ‘Charles Kringas’ in ‘Merrily We Roll Along’ (2007).

But it is his current role that Leahy is finding the most rewarding.

“I think Peter’s life story is a very important story to tell. ‘The Boy From Oz’ is the tale of a man who was never afraid to take a risk, personally and professionally, a man who made a lasting impression on the world,” he says.

“For an Australian to make it to New York, well, like the song goes – if you can make it there, you can make it anywhere.”

Uncategorized | Comment (0)