I later learned that he went straight to a phone and called Michael to warn him.
‘You had better not come in here today; I have just been stripped down to short pants,’ he told him.
An hour later, I see Michael’s head peeping around the door like a bold child, with that big grin on his face that is so disarming. I gave him a dirty look, shook my head at him … and then burst out laughing.
On reflection, I realised that it was important for the dancers to let off steam every now and then to keep up their enthusiasm and their spirit. I had them on a very strict cycle of dancing and rehearsing. I was probably a very hard taskmaster, but I had to be because opening night was coming up very fast. It was a scary deadline. So it was hard going and hard work. Every day we would be doing a new piece, adding something extra to the show, and there were thirty-six dancers to keep in shape.
* * *
By now, the dance troupe were starting to bond together as people. Apart from the discipline of the show rehearsals, the young guys and girls, ranging in age from sixteen to twenty, were also coming to terms with a new life in a strange environment. Many of them were living away from home for the first time, so I am sure they were having to cope with homesickness and all kinds of emotions. I found myself being a mother to them as well.
Until the show opened we didn’t have catering, so they were each given a daily allowance to cover their expenses, including their food. Their accommodation in houses and apartments had been taken care of, but we had to drill into them the importance of keeping the rental properties clean and damage-free. Teenagers can be very messy, so there were strict rules about being tidy. There were a few scary parties at the beginning, but they were knocked on the head pretty fast. It was just the normal kind of stuff that you would expect from teenagers, but we had to ensure that things never got out of hand. And, of course, we lectured them on the importance of having respect for their neighbours and keeping the noise down. Mind you, I had my own embarrassing experience with the neighbours during that period. Some of the lads were staying in a rented house in the Clonskeagh area of south Dublin, and a fancy dress party had been organised to celebrate one of their birthdays. Although I had been invited, I decided not to go as it came at the end of a long working day for me. However, one of the girls insisted that I accompany her, so I eventually gave in after some arm-twisting.
I was wearing dark pants and a dark top, and the girl who was taking me along with her had a brainwave that I should put a black stocking over my head and go to the fancy dress shindig as the ‘surprise dance star who is going to be unveiled for the show’.
The two of us hopped in a taxi from the city centre out to Clonskeagh, eventually reaching the address for the party. Before ringing the doorbell I put the black stocking over my head. There was no answer, so we knocked a couple of times until eventually the door was opened – by an elderly couple!
You can imagine the look of shock, horror and fright on their faces when they saw this menacing figure standing there on their doorstep dressed in black and wearing a balaclava.
Next the screeching started, and I’m sure you could hear the screams of the poor old lady all across the city.
Well, the two of us immediately turned on our heels and took off like a shot with our tails between our legs.
We eventually found the right house, where the party was in full swing, several doors down the street.
And, needless to say, I was the joke of the night.
While some of the young dancers may have been struggling to come to terms with life out in the big, bad world on their own for the first time, this was also an exciting period in their young lives.
For most of them, it was their first taste of freedom and, with the mix of boys and girls, inevitably there were a lot of first romances. We noticed a lot of couples forming, and the majority of them stuck together, which was good for stability in the troupe.
Later, we would have many, many marriages.
On the Road to the Oscars
The Point Theatre, Ireland’s biggest concert arena located in the docklands area of Dublin city, was the setting for the launch of Lord of the Dance on Friday, 28 June 1996, with the premiere planned for the following Tuesday, 2 July.
I will always remember the shock and awe I experienced walking in to the Point, which is now the fabulous 3Arena, and seeing the show’s set for the first time. It was gigantic, fantastic, and thrilling.
I’d never imagined being involved with a production on that scale, so looking at the stage, which seemed to be the size of a football pitch, gave my heart a little jump. A shiver went down my spine, but it was sparked by excitement rather than fear because I felt that we were prepared for the challenge to come. There were some small finishing touches to be completed here and there on a couple of the numbers, but nothing of major concern.
After months of frantic activity and hard graft, the dance troupe was now like an elite army about to go into battle. All the young people were well practised and drilled, with their entrances and exits perfected. They were very tight, so their confidence was really high. They were fit, ready and raring to go. And I just couldn’t wait to see them up and running.
Watching the crowd file into the Point that night brought more excitement. Thousands had come to see the new Michael Flatley extravaganza that had been built up in the local media by Irish publicist Chris Roche, a gentle giant of a man. Michael’s dream of taking it into major arenas around the world didn’t look so far-fetched at that moment.
Backstage, I listened as Michael gave the dancers a final pep talk before the curtain went up. He was trying to calm them down, reassure them that they were the best dancers in the world, and send them out on stage with that kind of self-belief.
Then I went out and took my seat in front of the stage beside Arlene Phillips, a major figure in the world of dance who was a director on the show alongside Michael.
Arlene was a household name in Britain as the former director and choreographer of Hot Gossip, a dance troupe she had formed in 1974. They were regularly featured on The Kenny Everett Show, and they even had a hit in the UK charts, backing Sarah Brightman on ‘I Lost My Heart To A Starship Trooper’. Arlene had also worked in London’s West End and around the world as a director and choreographer on major shows; later she would star as a judge on Strictly Come Dancing.
It was Michael’s then manager, John Reid, who had brought Arlene on board for Lord of the Dance.
Harvey Goldsmith was our promoter and he was in the major league, having run concerts for superstar acts like Led Zeppelin, Elton John, Queen, U2 and Madonna.
Watching Lord of the Dance come to life before our eyes in the Point that night is a piece of magic that will never leave my mind. That’s the show I’ll always remember, seeing it for the first time with the applause of the Irish audience ringing in my ears.
As the night went on, and I relaxed as I saw how smoothly the performance was running, a wave of emotion swept over me.
My mind drifted back to my mother, and I was wishing for her to be there beside me to see this wonderful show that her daughter Mar-ee was now working on. This was where her vision, and the money she spent on me, had taken me. She had been determined to give me every opportunity in life to be the person I became.
I remember thinking several times during the performance: ‘I wish Mum could be here now to see this.’
When the show reached its climax with that big number that sounds like a million feet dancing at the speed of light, the audience tore the place down. They sprung to their feet whooping, hollering, whistling and clapping wildly as if their lives depended on it.
Michael Flatley’s smile was as wide as the gigantic stage that night.
Lord of the Dance, his creation, had been a spectacular hit.
* * *
A few nights later we gathered around a television in the green room at the Point. The female dancers were jumping up and down with glee, while the guys pretended to be
cool, even though it was quite obvious that they were bursting with excitement as they watched a Lord of the Dance opening night report on the RTÉ TV early evening news.
There were shots of the crowd arriving at the Point for the show, and then it went to a recording of the dancers inside the venue.
‘Hey, it’s us!’ The girls were now bouncing around the room with excitement.
Michael and I glanced at each other, and judging by the gleam in his eyes I knew that he felt he’d died and gone to heaven.
With several performances under their belt, the dancers were comfortable and confident as they went out on stage for their big official opening night. I took my seat out front, passing our Irish promoter, a lovely old-school gentleman called Jim Aiken, in the wings. Jim, who had created the template for Ireland’s concert scene as the first promoter to bring in major international music stars on tour, looked really pleased with the way the public were responding to the show.
Waiting for the opening number my emotions were a mixture of nerves and excitement. There is always the niggling worry that something will go wrong. No matter how well you prepare, there’s the danger of an unexpected event happening. You always worry about a fall or an injury and the domino effect that would set off. But from the very start I could see that the dancers were supremely confident.
They were also buzzing with excitement, and, as it turned out, the show went smoothly with no glitches.
On opening night it struck me that while Michael Flatley’s fantastic charm and charisma had a major part to play in the success of Lord of the Dance, the energy and enthusiasm of the dancers, and the joy they exuded, were also infectious. That’s also the magic that pulled in the audience, got them involved in the show and ultimately had them jumping out of their seats.
I’ve always said that to dancers: ‘The night you become complacent and don’t get the audience out of their seats is the time you start to worry.’
But there were no worries that night.
* * *
Lord of the Dance was now a sensation.
After Dublin, the world beckoned.
First stop was Liverpool in England, where the warmth of the reception the show received matched Dublin. It was the same in Manchester. But Michael suffered a serious injury in Manchester when he tore his calf muscle during the first half of the show.
This caused major backstage drama.
Michael struggled through to the end of the first half, but our then production manager Martin Flitton came to me and said he would not be able to go back on when the show resumed
Michael’s understudy John Carey had been trained for this moment during rehearsals, but it was still a shock for him to be told that he was going to have to take over the role.
It was a shock for me as well.
The audience were then informed that Michael had sustained an injury and could not return to the stage. Meanwhile, I took John aside and we briefly ran through the second half parts with the leading lady and the opposite male lead, the bad guy.
As the curtain came up for the second half, I held my breath. I had total confidence in John’s ability, but in a live show anything can happen.
As it transpired, John gave the performance of his life, completing the show without a hitch. And at the end he received tumultuous applause from the audience who appreciated the task he had taken on, and the success he had made of it.
The injury should have put Michael Flatley out of action for a long time, possibly a year, but there was a sold-out run at The Coliseum in London coming up, including a Royal Command Performance for Prince Charles.
I have no idea how he managed it, but with expert help from our dance therapist and reiki healer Derry Ann Morgan, along with the power of positive thinking, and an incredible ability to battle through horrendous pain, Michael got back up on stage four days later.
It was truly a miracle.
No one could believe it. He was like a gladiator. As Prince Charles sat back and enjoyed the star performance of Michael Flatley that night, he had no idea of the superhuman effort it had taken to pull off that dazzling dance display.
We had been booked into London’s Coliseum for a week, but such was the phenomenal demand for tickets that we ended up playing sold-out shows there for an entire month.
Michael’s dream to take Lord of the Dance around the globe then proceeded with Australia, where the crowds went crazy. They absolutely loved it. The whole of the Irish dancing world in Oz came out to see it.
Ian was with me on the tour, so this was a very exciting time in our lives. It was a new chapter and new experiences that we never envisaged when we got together and married. We were travelling around the world with a hit show and it couldn’t have been a better life at that time.
However, there was a worrying couple of days when Ian took a bit of a turn in Australia and felt unwell. Like many men, he refused to go to a doctor at the time, despite my insistence. Then he seemed fine, so I let it go after he promised to have a medical check when we got home.
It was in Australia that I celebrated my fiftieth birthday, in a place called Newcastle, by a strange coincidence. Martin Flitton organised a surprise party for me, and Michael ordered a fantastic cake that I still remember to this day. I had the best night, with Ian by my side. I had to pinch myself that night, remembering where I was and what I was doing at the age of fifty!
* * *
There was often more drama off the stage than on it when we were out on the road with Lord of the Dance.
When London’s Wembley Arena appeared on our tour schedule for 1997 there was huge excitement among the troupe. It is one of those iconic venues in the world of live entertainment. For performers, playing Wembley Arena is a true mark of success. Michael Flatley was just thrilled when the shows started selling out at the venue; and they went on to break records, with twenty-two successive nights.
In the build-up to the opening night, Michael had no idea that there was a major saga unfolding in the troupe. One of our dancers, Jimmy Murrihy, had been deported from the UK and sent back home to the States, giving me a major headache to sort out.
Jimmy, who was raised in Boston by Irish parents, had gone home to spend Christmas with his family. When he was returning a few days later, Jimmy was stopped by customs at Heathrow Airport and refused entry.
It transpired that there was an issue with his visa documentation.
A customs officer contacted the Lord of the Dance company manager to inform him. After lots of pleading from our side, Jimmy was allowed into the country for twenty-four hours while customs decided what to do with him. Lord of the Dance was then in Newcastle, with the next stop Wembley Arena.
Unfortunately for Jimmy, his next stop was going to be Boston. The word came back that he was being deported, and so the following day Jimmy flew from Newcastle to Heathrow Airport, where he was held under armed guard until it was time for him to board the plane. Jimmy remembers feeling like a major criminal at the time, particularly after he was informed that his bags wouldn’t be put on the plane until he had boarded.
Jimmy’s American passport was then stamped: DEPORTED.
Naturally, Jimmy was devastated, as it had also been his dream to perform at Wembley Arena. So, along with the Lord of the Dance management, I then set in motion my mission: ‘How to get a Yank an Irish passport in twenty-four hours.’
Fortunately, as Jimmy’s parents were originally from Ireland and had their births and marriage certs in their possession, they met their son at Boston airport with all the required documentation.
At 7 p.m. that evening we got Jimmy back out of Boston – and his next destination was Ireland. Jimmy arrived in to Dublin airport at 6 a.m. the following morning. As luck would have it, I had a friend working in the Dublin Passport Office, so Jimmy was waiting outside the door when the office opened that morning, and shortly afterwards he had an emergency Irish passport in his hand. By lunchtime, we had Jimmy on a flight from Dublin to London’s Heathrow A
irport where the whole shenanigans had started a couple of days earlier. This time he had no problem getting through on his Irish passport.
Jimmy Murrihy arrived at Wembley Arena that evening for the opening night of Lord of the Dance with just an hour to spare.
And he gave the performance of his life.
Michael Flatley had been blissfully unaware of the drama that was unfolding behind the scenes as he was doing his round of media interviews and getting ready for the performance in the build-up to that big night at Wembley.
We felt that he had enough on his mind without having to worry about one of his dancers getting the boot out of Britain.
When told later, Michael saw the funny side of the incident and gave Jimmy a good-natured slagging.
Jimmy tells me that he kept his old passport as a souvenir of the day he was deported from the UK.
* * *
The big prize for Michael would be success in America with Lord of the Dance. Most hugely ambitious and driven people in show business dream of cracking America, and Michael was no different. The difference with Michael is that he doesn’t just dream, he makes it happen.
One of the most exciting aspects of working with Michael Flatley was feeding off his positivity. He is a super-positive person.
So, when Michael said, ‘We’re going to take this show to the Oscars,’ I believed him.
If we got the opportunity to perform at the Oscars in Los Angeles, it would put Lord of the Dance on the map in America and around the globe. It’s the biggest night of the year in show business, so pitching to get his show on to the stage at the 1997 Academy Awards was an inspired move. It has a worldwide audience of more than one billion people!
‘We got it, Marie. We got the Oscars!’ Michael told me one day.
By the look on his face, you’d think he had hit the jackpot and cleaned out all the casinos in Las Vegas.
‘Marie, what did I tell you? We’re going to put Irish dancing on the biggest stage in the world,’ he said, giving me a huge hug.
Lady of the Dance Page 12