Josh Piterman: In Concert

The Fame Reporter interviewed the talented Australian stage performer, Josh Piterman who is about to embark on his national concert tour, beginning at the Eternity Playhouse in Sydney on 8 June, heading to the Cremorne Theatre, QPAC in Brisbane on 20 June and concluding his debut tour on 22 June in Melbourne at the Alex Theatre, St Kilda!

Josh Piterman has already forged a professional career as an award winning performing artist in musical theatre and is poised to take his career to the highest level in Australia on stage and screen.

Josh kicked off his career performing with the International group, The Ten Tenors and then made his mark as Tony in the 2010 tour of West Side Story. An early career highlight was when he understudied/played George in The Drowsy Chaperone for Melbourne Theatre Company alongside Geoffrey Rush.

Josh Piterman, Mat Verevis and Lucy Maunder – Beautiful: The Carole King Musical

Other musical theatre credits include playing Bustopher Jones/Gus/Growltiger in the 2016 season of Cats, a role that won him the Green Room Award for Best Supporting Actor in A Musical; Edward in Willy Russell’s Blood Brothers; Corny Collins in the UK tour of Hairspray; Ramon Gutierrez in An Officer And A Gentleman; The Caliph in Kismet for The Production Company and Giuseppe in The Light in the Piazza at The Arts Centre, Jamie in The Last Five Years for The Victorian Theatre Company in December 2016 and Gerry Goffin in the Australian tour of Beautiful: The Carole King Musical.

Recently Josh celebrated the release of his debut self-titled pop-opera album (Fanfare & Sony Music) which reached number one on both the ARIA and iTunes Charts (Classical/Crossover); and most recently his show-stopping performance of Nessun Dorma at the Australia Day Live Concert at the Sydney Opera House. Now Josh is thrilled to finally be taking his music to stages across the country.

We talked to Josh about his brand-new Australian concert tour, his debut album, his musical influences, the incredible theatre career he has carved for himself and more.

See our interview below!

Welcome to The Fame Reporter Josh, what was it that sparked your interest in performing initially?
Doing my high school musicals. In particular “Fame” and “Jesus Christ Superstar”.

What can audiences expect from your new solo concert and what inspired you to take your music on the road?
From the beginning of working on the album I knew I wanted to perform the songs live. It’s thrilling, emotive and exciting music that just lends itself beautifully to the stage and I cant wait for audiences and fans of the album to experience that.

My aim is to just bring a sense of myself to it. My silliness, my passions, my banter and my love (probably a few dad jokes too).

It’s classical musical but it’s not a classical show, I’m really wanting to changes people’s perception of what a night of classical music can be.

Your album is incredibly moving, what were your musical influences for this record and what was the best thing about recording and creating a body of work compared to performing someone else’s?
Firstly thank you! It always warms my heart when people say that. There was so many special things about creating this album. Turing my favourite pop and rock songs and putting them through the classical crossover filter was super cool.

Working with John Foreman is always magic. He is a genius artist and even better human.

I got to work with old friends and some of my favourite musos too. Watching all the components come together bit by bit over the half-decade journey to make it happen was super rewarding but I think the most unforgettable thing was the first time I stood and sang with The Prague Philharmonic Orchestra. To hear them bring these songs to life was insanely emotional. I was singing through the tears.

What attracted you to the role of Gerry Goffin and what was it like playing the music icon?
It was an incredibly rewarding honour and by the same token incredibly challenging. He was such a troubled genius Gerry. An extraordinarily talented songwriter and yet he suffered relentlessly from mental health issues. For all those reasons I wanted to play him and thrilled I was given the opportunity. It was an unforgettable year of my life.

What 3 performers dead or alive would you love to have a dinner party with?
Michael Bublé, Luciano Pavarotti and Sammy Davis Jnr.

How was it performing with ‘The Ten Tenors’ early on and what did you learn from that experience?
So fun! I travelled to over 20 countries and really learned how to sing as a tenor. It taught me so much about myself as a vocalist and for a 22-23 year old classical singer, I couldn’t think of a better job.

Do you have a role in any musical theatre or straight theatre piece that you are dying to play?
The Phantom in Phantom Of the Opera.

What do you hope audiences take away from attending your concert?
A really fun and entertaining night out! Think Bocelli meets Bublé. Hopefully it is a complete shift in what their concept of a night of classical music can be. Classical music can be heartfelt and beautiful but it can also be sexy and thrilling.

I hope audiences who love classical music have a great time but I also hope it ignites a new found love for those who are yet to find a connection to the style.

Fame Reporter Word Play

Favourite musical
Currently, Dear Evan Hansen.

Spirit Animal
Unicorn

Bucket list
West End lead role

New York
Broadway

Go-to dance move
The Moonwalk

Any secret talents
I go alright with a tennis racket in hand.

Brisbane
Sun

Dream co-star to work with
Lucy Maunder

Dressing Room necessity
Diffuser

Place you want to travel to
Mauritius

Future dream
Performing at the Teatro Antico di Taormina

Netflix Binge
It’s not on Netflix but Game of Thrones. Obsessed!!

Favourite song you perform
Say Something or Iris but Nessun Dorma is always a banger too!

Finally, favourite thing about theatre/performing
It fills my hearts cup up!

Thank-you for joining us at The Fame Reporter. We wish you all the best for an incredible Australian Tour with your new concert.

The live and intimate show featuring a band and string trio led by Jack Earle, includes songs from the album such as “Burn for You” (John Farnham), “Unchained Melody” (Righteous Brothers), “Wicked Game” (Chris Isaak), “Creep” (Radio Head), “Iris” (Goo Goo Dolls) and “Hallelujah” (Leonard Cohen) as well as crossover classics such as “The Prayer”, “Music of the Night” and “Time to Say Goodbye”.

Don’t miss Josh Piterman performing his favourite songs from his debut album, playing around Australia this June!

Tour Dates
–
Sydney
Saturday 8 June, 8pm
Eternity Playhouse
darlinghursttheatre.com

Brisbane
Thursday 20 June, 7:30pm
Cremorne Theatre, QPAC
qpac.com.au

Melbourne
Saturday 22 June, 2pm & 8pm
Alex Theatre, St Kilda
alextheatrestk.com.au