Quebec artists who are part of the new production of Starmania form a tight-knit core. We feel a lot of complicity between David Latulippe (Zéro Janvier), Miriam Baghdassarian (Sadia), Gabrielle Lapointe (Cristal), William Cloutier (Johnny Rockfort) and Heidi Jutras who, since last January, has played the character of Marie-Jeanne.
When you interview all five of them, the jokes and laughter are easy and plentiful. After one of the interpreters answers, it is not uncommon to hear a “what you just said is beautiful” from another.
Quebec artists have performed in France’s biggest cities over the past 18 months. They have mostly performed on the immense Seine Musicale stage in Boulogne-Billancourt, where this new production of Luc Plamondon and Michel Berger’s rock opera premiered in November 2022 under the direction of Thomas Jolly, the prodigious director whose name has been on everyone’s lips since the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics.
Read the interview with Thomas Jolly
But for these singers, most of whom are at the dawn of their careers, singing in front of a Quebec audience is a highlight of this great adventure. “The French audience has given us a fantastic welcome, but we’re sure it will be even stronger here,” David Latulippe told me.
I was among the Quebec journalists who attended the creation of this new production in France, whose staging is breathtaking. As Luc Plamondon had demanded in 1979, when the work was created, Quebec artists occupy half of the main roles. Let me tell you that they are all up to the task.
The troupe therefore arrives in Quebec with approximately 285 performances under its belt. “We will give the 300the performance of the show at Place Bell, on August 10, at 8 p.m.,” Miriam told me proudly.
Even if Starmania is a huge musical show, there was no sign that it would be a success again. “We felt that things were going well during rehearsals,” says David Latulippe. “But you can never be sure of anything. A show like that can last 30 or 100 nights. The response was incredible.”
A varied audience
Exactly, who comes to see Starmania in France? “At the beginning, it was mainly those who knew the work,” says Miriam Baghdassarian. “Over time, we saw young people arrive.” It must be said that the troupe is young and that the setting imagined by Thomas Jolly has everything to please the younger generation.
Quebec spectators will see the same show that was presented in France. Nothing has been reduced or removed. Place Bell in Laval will be equipped with a huge stage where the set elements and stage prowess can be fully deployed. “The set and the format of the stage mean that we can’t play just anywhere,” explains Heidi Jutras. “There are several technical requirements.”
It has been said that this new version is now seen as a kind of prophecy. “It’s crazy to see this skyscraper builder who, out of a thirst for power, goes into politics,” says William Cloutier. The end of Starmania, It is the collapse of the tallest tower in the West following a terrorist attack. It was a spectacle that was a utopia of the worst. We arrive in 2024 and we realize that many things had been announced.
And what about this President of the Republic who marries a sex symbol to boost his fame? And the omnipresence of the media? And the rise in violence?
Those who go to see the show in Laval will undoubtedly make the same observations. From a visionary show, Starmania has become, 40 years after its birth, disturbingly topical.
“The characters carry very contemporary issues within them,” continues William Cloutier. Sadia is trans, Ziggy is homosexual and he is not reduced solely to this characteristic. Even Johnny Rockfort, who could be his bully, never alludes to his homosexuality. It is said, it is assumed, like today.”
Talent before fame
One of the themes of Starmania is the obsession with celebrity. I wanted to know if, after several months of performances in France, our Quebec artists have become big stars among our cousins. My question made them laugh. “The girls all wear wigs on stage,” said Gabrielle Lapointe. “So we are unrecognizable outside of that.”
Miriam Baghdassarian, who plays a flamboyant Sadia, was surprised one day to be asked for a selfie with admirers. She was very proud of it. “Then they asked me if I was one of the dancers,” she says with a laugh.
The performers, however, have noticed the presence of spectators of Asian origin who are completely crazy about the show. “Some have come to see us about twenty times,” says Miriam Baghdassarian. “They arrive dressed in costumes that look like ours. It’s crazy!”
Of course, the troupe’s Quebec artists will be highlighted during performances in Quebec. Some will be replaced once a week. But Heidi Jutras, William Cloutier and Gabrielle Lapointe, who do not have an understudy, will have to be present at each performance, which does not make them unhappy. And if something happens to you, what do you do? I asked, looking worried. “Nothing can happen to us,” Gabrielle Lapointe said, smiling.
There is no doubt that these young artists do not have to leave the underground universe of their character. They have already found the sun. And clearly, as Plamondon wrote, they want to be happy before they are old.
At Place Bell from August 6 to 18
Visit the show website