Rhonda Burchmore doesn’t get to Tasmania often enough, she tells me, when I call her to have a chat about her upcoming performance in Launceston of her show ‘Legs Eleven’. The show is based on Rhonda’s autobiography of the same name. Rhonda pulls up the car as the rain streams down. What would probably be perfect now would be the fish and chips Rhonda loves from Hobart’s waterfront. Rhonda says that visiting Tassie for a tour is like a holiday and Rhonda has performed gigs with the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra as well as participating in Carols by Candlelight in Tasmania and entertaining sailors on US ship visits here.
It must be something to do with the red hair, because on this rainy day Rhonda’s familiar bold and cheery voice exudes a warmth that seems to clear all thoughts of rain away.
Rhonda doesn’t really need any introduction, the bubbly Miss B is well known to TV viewers and show-goers alike and her career stretches from Hey Hey to Broadway, but not everyone knows Rhonda began performing at age 2. It was Rhonda’s sister that had the performing bug initially, taking dance classes and Rhonda would enthusiastically emulate her sisters dance moves until her sisters dance teacher Joan Smith invited Rhonda to join the class. Dancing however, wasn’t the total focus for Rhonda. She was, and is the ominous sounding ‘triple threat’; singing,dancing and acting. Intelligent and wise Rhonda believes it’s important to have versatility and cover all bases in entertainment.
The dancing part of the triple threat was itself under threat when Rhonda had a accident as a student. She was dancing along to the song ‘Cocaine’ in the ladies toilets at college and somehow managed to dislodge her toe, rushed to a small country hospital the toe was reattached by a brain surgeon!
The next project for Rhonda is a show bringing to life the story of Julie London and her music, as Rhonda says many female singers have had shows devoted to them but its not often we see a show about Julie London. Rhonda hopes to do a national tour with the show about the ‘Cry me a River’ singer who released 32 albums. Rhonda doesn’t seek to imitate Julie in the show but to sing her songs with some biographical detail added along to a show steeped in the ambience of the time.
Another thing you may not know about Rhonda is that she collects Barbie doll collectables and explains she goes through stages of ‘Barbie binges’ and then some cooling off time . I ask Rhonda the obvious question. When are we going to see a Rhonda Barbie? After all it might end the debate that Barbie’s proportions cannot be reproduced in the real world. Perhaps Rhonda is one of the closest living examples of Barbie. I’m delighted to learn that there is a special one off Barbie in Rhonda’s collection that is a miniature Rhonda wearing her ‘Mama Mia’ costume.
I ask Rhonda if her daughter Lexie is going to follow mum into show business. Rhonda clearly adores her daughter and tells me about the tribute song she recorded for Lexie called ‘In my daughters eyes’. For Rhonda, Lexie is simply ‘my rock’. At the moment Lexie is excelling in rowing, desiring to do something mum doesn’t do. Clearly her own person, and with a mum with the triple threat of entertainer extraordinare and a dad in the sciences this young lady, Rhonda says, might find herself to be the first singing dancing PM one day!
Rhonda will be performing at Launceston on the 13th May (Mother’s Day) and Rhonda is just too delightful to describe her with a phrase like triple threat, instead going to see Rhonda is seeing a triple treat, a singing, dancing ,acting all round entertainer!
Paula Xiberras
