Many will remember Russell Dixon as TV3's affable, clean-cut weather presenter from the mids who dabbled in theatre. He has changed very little in the years since he left our screens to tread the boards of London's West End. Admittedly, he has piled on a few pounds. It's not that he has overindulged in Kiwi tucker since returning home from the UK. It's more proof of just how seriously he's taking his latest role in North Shore Music Theatre's production of the award-winning Broadway musical Hairspray.
But with this role, I've let myself go a bit. It seems like a drastic sacrifice for a part in a local production. But Dixon's clearly not someone who does things by halves. He headed off to the UK eight years ago, "chasing his boyhood dream" to land a role in theatre. What came his way far exceeded his expectations - roles in popular musicals Blood Brothers , The Witches of Eastwick and then the lead role in the West End production of Top Hat.
So why come home? It's my home. I miss the sun, I miss the blue sky, I miss the sea I miss my family," he says. It's a fair argument. But surely performing to comparably tiny crowds in Auckland's SkyCity Theatre for a few short weeks will be a let-down for someone who has realised his dream in London?
That's what being a professional is all about. Plus, he quite likes the idea of knowing he's not locked into something for months on end. This is more of a challenge. And for now, that challenge is Hairspray , the musical based on John Waters' cult film, set in s Baltimore at the height of the civil rights movement.
It centres on teenager Tracy Turnblad who fights to end racial segregation on the local TV dance show, which only allows African American contestants to compete once a month. Dixon plays Tracy's obese mother Edna - a role brought to life in the Waters' movie by drag queen Divine and then again in the remake by John Travolta.
