RYAN Gonzalez, 20, of Brighton-Le-Sands and Ash Bee, 26, of Kogarah Bay, have homes only a few kilometres apart but had never met until they won roles in the musical version of the 2001 film comedy, Legally Blonde, coming to the Lyric Theatre, Sydney.
Bee plays the roles of Kate and Chutney, and Gonzalez is a "swing", which means he covers many of the male roles.
Bee, a French-loving, feminist performance artist who adores country music, is the artistic director for Sydney-based company Carousel Entertainment, which has produced French-themed shows for Alliance Français, Slide nightclub and several Sydney restaurants.
As an independent dancer and choreographer, Bee was doing a residency at Critical Path dance centre with her collective, Blonde Ambition, and will now join choreographer Liz Lea for her Australian season of 120 Birds.
Oddly, Bee cannot quite remember when she first saw the Legally Blonde movie, but she saw it more than once.
"What I do remember is watching it the first time with my cousins and being impressed because it was a film in which the hero was on a journey and she was doing it in style," she said.
Bee's musical pursuits have included VIP entertainment at Sydney Entertainment Centre's concerts for P!nk and The Motown Event, and providing Total Concert Experience entertainment at Acer Arena for Leonard Cohen and Dolly Parton.
Gonzalez graduated from Brent Street's Talent Development High School and received a full-time certificate IV course last year.
Gonzalez's feature film credits include George Miller's Happy Feet 2, the soon-to-be released The Great Gatsby directed by Baz Luhrmann and the Australian film Goddess.
Gonzalez has been in workshops for the upcoming world premiere musical King Kong and has toured with contemporary dance show Tannos and Choice.
Commercially, Gonzalez has performed for many of Australia's leading choreographers in televised and live events including the ACCTA Awards, Sydney Festival's Trocadero, Aria Awards, The X-Factor and So You Think You Can Dance Australia.
Gonzalez has performed with music artists Olivia Newton-John, Washington, Wynter Gordon and Alexis Jordan, and has worked with musical theatre star, Caroline O'Connor.
More details, tickets:
http://sydneylyric.com.au, ticketmaster.com.au.
