Ben Apfelbaum

QUEENIE VAN DE ZANDT JOINS TODD MCKENNEY ON THE CASTING COUCH @ THE ENSEMBLE

Whilst the cast of Barefoot In The Park took a well earned two day break late in the month of September, the Ensemble Theatre did not go dark but was illuminated by the sparkling personalities of Todd McKenney and Queenie Van der Zandt on a couch in front of the Barefoot set disguised by a lot of ‘battery powered’ candles  and candelabras. When Queenie appeared it was startling to see that she had ballooned since I  Had photographed her at the Helpmann Awards in July. This was not due to weight gain  but at the age of 46, after failed IVF attempts and see feral miscarriages, with the help of her younger sisters’ eggs and IVF with the baby due in January. After being twelve years alone she met her husband, a farmer, online and exclaimed that she was an Internet success story.

It was the candour with which both Todd and Queenie, with wit and verve, revealed themselves that made the evening so delightful. With Queenie’s’ mum and sister in the audience, and some of Todd’s’ personal friends as well, you felt that you were eavesdropping open a hugely entertaining dinner party except that it was occurring on a couch.Todd was candid about missing out on The Boy From Oz’s Broadway run, but was happy with his stints on Dancing With The Stars and in iOTA’s Spiegeltent production of Smoke and Mirrors where in both productions he and Queenie (real name Aquine also revealed) appeared. The  longevity of their  friendship, going back to the Boy From Oz, their genuine affection for each other meant that good natured teasing and banter flowed freely.

However it was not just a night of Bon vivant chat. There was some cabaret as well from Rosemary Clooney through Boy From Oz ballads to Bette Middler. There were solos when Queenie’s’ powerful voice ran out and Todd’s’ smooth molasses voice slipped through the ears. But when the two ‘queens’, (Todd’s term) harmonised it was a lovely aural treat. Todd was ably backed by pianist Luke Byrne and backup vocalist Lisa Callingham. The Q and A session was handled good naturedly by the pair an d after events minutes Todd wrapped it up.

Todd will be joined on the casting couch by Georgie Parker on October 16 – already booked out-  and Simon Burke on October 17 at 7.30 pm.

http://www.ensemble.com.au

 

Published by Ben Apfelbaum

My photography began when my father handed me the proverbial brownie box camera as a child. As cameras developed I went through Fujica and Olympus range finders graduating to my first single lens reflex camera, the Minolta SRT101, the latter being the greatest facilitator to my growth as a photographer. Digital photography has only added to this. I was a regular contributor to Camera Craft magazine (Australian Camera ) for over three years. During Australia’s Bicentennial year (1988) I made it a personal project to document the celebrations. This culminated in the creation of a book of my photos which was published in 1989. The book was called CELEBRATING AUSTRALIA and came with an accompanying calendar. My works have appeared in a number of publications including the coffee book entitled MY AUSTRALIA (1989), publisher Robertsbridge Severn. This book had a preface by the then Australian Prime Minister Bob Hawke. I was a co-photographer on a book entitled SYDNEY- DISCOVER THE CITY with text written by Robert Treborland. Major Mitchell Press was the publisher. Also for two years I was the photographer for calendars celebrating Sydney’s multicultural communities. The two calendars were entitled MULTICULTURAL SYDNEY. My work appeared in a group exhibition held at Sydney’s Town Hall pertaining to the diversity of life in South America to raise money for orphanages there. I have over one hundred photos stored in the New South Wales State Library archive. I had a solo exhibition held in 2007 entitled Ben’s Lens at the Sydney Jewish Museum which celebrated the vibrancy of the Sydney Jewish community. Some of these photos are on the Museum’s permanent display. I have exhibited internationally firstly at the Spruill Gallery in Atlanta Georgia, united states, and in an exhibition entitled Kosher and Co at the Jewish Museum in Berlin. Currently I am a regular contributor to J-Wire and this esteemed publication.