The role that terrified Nicole Kidman: “I’m so out of my comfort zone”
Nicole Kidman has had many roles that most actors would consider as outside of their comfort zone, performing on a stripped-back sound stage in Dogville, as a mother dealing with an abusive relationship in Big Little Lies and as a woman who forms a strange relationship with a child in Birth.
There is no question that Kidman is a master of taking risks, despite her insistence on feeling equally terrified and nervous for each new project and daring creative venture. After starring in Baz Luhrmann’s 2001 musical Moulin Rouge, the actor was all too familiar with the challenge of embodying the ‘triple threat’ (acting, singing and dancing). However, her skills were really tested after working with Ryan Murphy, an experience that took her right to the edge of her comfort zone.
The Prom was a comedic musical released in 2020, with a star-studded cast that included Meryl Streep, James Corden, Julia Roberts, Kerry Washington and Keegan-Michael Key. The story follows a group of downtrodden Broadway stars who stir up a small town in Indiana by protesting their high school ban on same-sex couples at the prom, grouping together to support two lesbian students. Ryan Murphy, of course, is most well-known for creating Glee, a musical show about a high school glee club that has transcended pop culture itself as one of the most iconic TV shows of the 2000s.
Since then, Murphy created American Horror Story and Pose, becoming a champion of queer stories and revitalising musicals with modern narratives, and The Prom was no exception. However, while the project was not new ground for Murphy, it was a for many of the cast, with a unique performance style that challenged their previous musical experience. When discussing the role, Kidman said, “I was terrified, I was doing Fosse dancing. So Fosse dancing is not my dance that I’m was educated or trained in. So I was like, ‘I’m so out of my comfort zone?’”
Fosse dancing was created by legendary musical theatre director and performer Bob Fosse, who became infamous for pioneering a new style of choreography that featured exaggerated and jerky movements, hip thrusts, finger snaps and lots of jazz hands. This was something that translated onto the stage and the screen, with his groundbreaking film All That Jazz acting as an ode to his life’s work and the dangers of the entertainment industry. It is equally heartbreaking as it is invigorating, showcasing the pull and allure of the art form and the way it consumed his life, for better or worse.
Kidman’s unease at adopting the Fosse dancing style is not unwarranted, as it is a very specific type of choreography that contradicts many of the more classical techniques that dancers and actors teach. It is edgy, non-traditional, and understandably something that would intimidate a performer with no experience of it.
However, despite Kidman’s initial fear about the choreography, she obviously managed to pull it off because she is Nicole Kidman. The film was met with mixed reviews, but ultimately, it was a project with a lot of heart and came out at a time when audiences desperately needed to be swept off their feet by the magic of musical theatre.
