Lucy Lawless

The Wonderful World of Lucy Lawless
Michael Holloway

Born: Lucille Frances Ryan
March 29, 1968
Birthplace: Mount Albert, Auckland City,
New Zealand

The daughter of a banker and a mayor, Lucy Lawless always felt she was born to sing, even though it took a while for her to realize her dream.

Lawless studied foreign languages for a year at Marist College in Auckland. She dropped out to travel throughout Europe with her boyfriend, Garth Lawless. Then, settled in Australia working as gold miners; a career which is not as glamorous as people may think.

Lawless said, “People seem to have some romantic notion of what gold mining is. Like you’re down there with the seven dwarves–with little lamps on their heads, chipping bits of gold out of rock. Reality is, it’s drilling a deep hole and pouring in explosives.”

It was at this time Lawless discovered she was pregnant and later married Garth. When Lucy Ryan became Lucy Lawless, her first reaction was that people would never take her seriously as an actress again. In hindsight, the funky new name was perfect for a future warrior princess in the making. And, now she jokes she once considered changing her name to Rita Reckless.

Lawless gave birth to her daughter, Daisy, and is a devoted mother. Adding, yet another nuance to her multi-faceted nature. She was keen to return to acting and after performing in theater, television commercials, and other small gigs, she auditioned for a role in the live action fantasy series Hercules: The Legendary Journeys.

Centaur’s Floozy Makes Good

In the episode When Darkness Falls, she played a Centaur’s floozy named Lyla, whose motivation was to lace a drink given to Hercules (Kevin Sorbo) with a drug that would blind him. In order to keep him at bay, so she and the renegade Centaurs could sack a village. Lyla feels guilt over her part in Hercules misfortune and cannot bring herself to kill him, so she leaves the village with her lover.

It was a small role, but Lawless performed it well. Later, when the show’s producers were looking for someone to play a fierce Amazonian-type warrior princess, American actress Vanessa Angel and Lawless were considered for the part. There were reservations as Lawless was easily identifiable as Lyla, but when Angel became ill, Lawless was given a chance to audition for the role. It catapulted her to stardom.

Her marriage ended during the series, but eventually she found a new happy ending. She fell in love with the show’s producer, Rob Tapert. They are married and have added to their family.

They Couldn’t Kill Xena

Xena, Warrior Princess made her debut in a three part Hercules story arc, comprising the episodes The Warrior Princess, The Gauntlet, and Unchained Heart.

Lawless received rave reviews and amassed a legion of fans from her portrayal of a once ruthless warlord, who was redeemed by the son of Zeus; after many skirmishes and a potent love-hate-lust relationship.

Xena was supposed to be killed off in the third of episode. The one where she thanks Hercules for saving her by unchaining her heart and allowing her to be redeemed for her evil past.

However, the character proved so popular, not only did she get to live, but she was given her own spin off series Xena: Warrior Princess. It eclipsed its parent show, lasted for six seasons, and still remains an inspiring and influential milestone in popular culture. Most notably for the central theme of empowerment and a woman’s search for justice and redemption.

Musicals, Yes Xena Musicals

Perhaps the most ambitious episodes in the series are two musical episodes, The Bitter Suite: A Musical Odyssey from season three, and Lyre, Lyre, Hearts On Fire from season five.

Various actors got a chance to show their musical side and they succeeded admirably. The fans wished for more. These episodes and their CD soundtracks became musical masterpieces, which do remarkably well; even without the show to bolster them.

The Bitter Suite is a powerful and haunting epic with a harrowing storyline, which concluded a very disturbing, yet ultimately uplifting narrative arc. It began with The Deliverer and Gabrielle’s Hope in which Xena’s partner, Gabrielle (Renee O’Connor), is symbolically raped by the demonic Dahak. Later, she gives birth to a daughter.

Kill the Child, Spill the Wine

The once strong relationship between Xena and Gabrielle is rocked to the core when ambivalent feelings arise between the two over the baby, Hope. Xena believes Hope is equivalent to “the spawn of Satan,” whereas Gabrielle believes the child can be nurtured to encourage its goodness. In Maternal Instincts, the episode before the musical odyssey, any ambiguity over the nature of the child is shattered when a suspiciously and alarmingly fast growing child (played by Amy Morrison) shows up at the peace treaty between the Amazons and the Centaurs. It is indeed Hope.

She has teamed up with Xena’s arch-nemesis, Callisto (Hudson Leick), a psychotic warrior (once wronged by Xena). She had become immortal and later a goddess in other episodes. Hope and Callisto’s plan is to murder Xena’s son, Solan, whom she had given up at birth. He was adopted by the Centaurs years ago. Xena, still loving the son she never knew, is horrified that her best friend Gabrielle may be the cause of the tragedy.

This culminates in the murder of Solan by Hope, whom Gabrielle had told Xena she had killed, upon realizing what the child really was. In reality, Gabrielle believed Hope and innocent and set the baby adrift on the river. In order to save her from Xena, who was admant the must be destroyed.

When Gabrielle is forced to see the truth about her progeny, a revelation which comes too late to save Solan. The love between the two women becomes fraught with anger, self-loathing, and hatred for each other. After such a dramatic series of episodes, how did the producers feel was the best way to resolve the conflict?

Have the characters explore their emotions through song and dance.

Xena, a musical? Surely you jest? Especially with all the recent gut-wrenching events that would make Days Of Our Lives seem like Sesame Street.

Make a musical they did, and it turned out to be a major hit. Full of original songs and instrumental compositions. Directed under the aegis of virtuoso Joseph LoDuca, who composed the music for the revamped version of He-Man And The Masters Of The Universe animated series. They ran for two seasons in 2002 to 2004.

Music Tames the Beast of Hate

Bitter Suite showcased excellent performances by Lucy Lawless, Renee O’Connor, Ted Raimi, the late Kevin Smith, Willa O’Neill, Hudson Leick, and Danielle Cormack (whose character, the Amazon Queen Regent, Ephiny, only appeared in the non-musical pre-credits teaser and thus did not participate in the musical sequences).

Xena and Gabrielle are transported to the world of Illusia after a tragic murder/suicide attempt sees our heroines temporarily dead. It is through this surreal dreamscape, which can best be described as travelling through Frank L. Baum’s wonderful world of Oz…on a heady mixture of LSD, crack, and God knows what else.

Composer Joseph LoDuca is understandably proud of this monumental episode, and gives his thoughts why this episode is so meaningful and so radically different.

“We decided to use an orchestra and chorus for the episode. We also brought in a Broadway director/choreographer named Jeff Calhoun. I had a chance to work with some wonderful lyricists; all the things that wouldn’t be part of an ordinary episode. There are seven main numbers, as many as you would find in a full-length musical,” said LoDuca.

Though the singing voices of Leick and O’Connor were dubbed by Michelle Nicastro and Susan Wood; Lawless, Raimi, Smith, and O’Neill all performed their own vocals. Leick did contribute the recitation of the Book Of Tokens and the spoken part of her character Callisto’s song What’s Still Unwritten.

This song saw Leick dressed as a rather comical looking court jester; in stark contrast to her usual vicious performances as Xena’s dark counterpart. Raimi, as the loveable bumbler, Joxer, contributed yet another variation of his “Joxer The Mighty” theme song, which features an amusing repartee between him and O’Connor. It provides a rare and welcome moment of levity in an otherwise nightmarish episode.

Gabrielle: “The Elysian Fields. Only heroes wind up here. Dead heroes. Dead naked heroes…”

Joxer: “Joxer, the Mighty Master of geography
Here to guide you on your way
Stick to me, you’ll never stray
And if you’re in a land that’s new
I’m the man who’ll get you through
Even when you’re slightly nude…
I’m Joxer, Joxer the Mighty!
We’re in Illusia…”

Gabrielle (chagrined): “So much for the Elysian Fields theory…”

Joxer (lasciviously): “Yeah…”

Joxer & Gabrielle (scream in unison): “Ahhhhhh!”

Gabrielle: “How did you…Joxer, go away, can’t you see I’m naked!”

Joxer: “Okay, but, maybe I could, like, help you out, with…”

At this point, an apoplectic Gabrielle, silences the leering boob with a glare and a stifled shout. This piece of comic gold also appears on the CD soundtrack, as do other snippets of dialogue.

A Leather-Clad Inferno of Lust

The much loved and sorely missed Kevin Smith, who was tragically killed in an accident in 2002, plays Ares, God Of War. He is a malevolent, but undeniably seductive, leather-clad walking inferno of lust. He sizzles in a dance sequence with Lawless (as a dancer, Lawless taps into yet another amazing hidden talent) and sings an erotic seduction piece, Melt Into Me. The song fuels the dance.

Smith and Lawless also participate in ensemble number, War And Peace, which cleverly contrasts the intertwining and sometimes seamless boundaries between good/love/peace and evil/hate/war in two vastly different settings. The stark setting of Ares’ blood-soaked Halls Of War and Gabrielle’s “flowers and bunnies” village of Poteidea could not be more different. Despite that, the song works well as the two forces start out polar opposites, then clash with a vengeance at the song’s climax.

A Favorite Scene

One of my favorite scenes in the episode, and the audio counterpart on the CD is when Lila swoons onto a moving hay cart with a blissfully quaint and side-splittingly ironic statement of idyllic country bumpkin life.

“Sit and watch the world go by
Vegetate until you die
Villagers love peace, peace, peace…”

The Horror Of It All

The more dramatic moments are brought forth in the songs Hearts Are Hurting and the reprise Hearts Are Hurting II. In the former song, Lawless and O’Connor (or rather Susan Wood) heart-achingly bring Xena and Gabrielle’s pain, torment, and rage at each other to a boiling point.

Then follows an instrumental piece, which I do not care for at all. This is not to say it is not good or that it does not deliver the desired effect, because it certainly does, which is where the problem lies for me. Dahak’s Theme, sounding much like the horrific score to The Omen is one of the few musical pieces that quite literally terrifies me to listen to. For Gabrielle, it is like a second rape from the demon who caused all this anguish, and in many ways, this piece is an emotional, if not physical, assault on the listener. It is a technically marvelous score and very descriptive in its evocations of demons and damnation, but it is too successful in its goal. It will make you wet your pants.

This One Keeps My Pants Dry

The second musical episode, Lyre Lyre, Hearts On Fire, is a brighter affair; though it does rely on covers for its score, albeit brilliantly performed. As a satire on talent programs like American Idol, this episode’s use of the covers is a clever touch. The comedy and irony would not have worked so well with original tunes as The Bitter Suite did. Personally, I like this one much better. It’s funny, touching at times, the music rocks, and I get to keep my pants dry.

However, there are a couple of clankers. For example, Jay Laga’aia performs a couple of excruciating heavy metal screechers Always Something There To Remind Me and Kick Up The Jams, and a half pleasant/half painful Xena Rap, brilliantly performed by Lawless and not so brilliantly by Laga’aia.

Lawless and a spunky singer named Gillian Iliana Waters (plays a delightfully kinky Amazon rocker chick named Amoria) perform a magnificent rendition of the Annie Lennox/Aretha Franklin women’s empowerment anthem Sisters Are Doing It For Themselves, after Xena’s mother, Cyrene (Darien Takle), disapproves of her warrior princess daughter being an unwed mother-to-be.

If you’ll remember, at the beginning of season five, Xena discovered she was mysteriously pregnant, though she has no recollection of having made a baby in the first place. In Animal Attraction (also known as Xena meets the Wild West) she terrifies a hapless town doctor who faces her hilarious wrath after he tells her she is about to have a blessed event.

“It’s impossible! I cannot be pregnant. If you weren’t such a quack, you would know that getting pregnant involves certain physical requirements that I haven’t had in a long time and I mean a…very…long…time. No one! Zilch! Zippo! I am a love-free zone. Therefore, it is utterly impossible that I be up the duff.”

Other great tunes include: Ted Raimi’s tour de force as Joxer and his flamboyantly gay twin brother Jace (whose spicy latino-flavored rendition of Dancing In The Moonlight rocks the house); a cover of The Beatles’ We Can Work It Out performed by Lawless and Renee O’Connor’s vocal double Susan Wood (it was cut from the episode but appears on the CD). Lawless’, Wood’s, Raimi’s, and Waters’ performance of the seminal War (What Is It Good For...); the ensemble cast of principals and a horde of extras performing People Got To Be Free and Gettin’ Ready.

Bonus Waters

On the CD, there is a bonus recording of Waters singing Let The Spirit Move Me, which was sung off screen to a dance performed by Shiri Appleby as a rebellious young teenager living in a town where dancing is forbidden in season four’s A Tale Of Two Muses. The CD is rounded out by five marvelous instrumental arrangements. Including, Amazon’s haunting funeral dirge played many times in the series.

The episode skillfully weaves themes of acceptance, tolerance, universal love and a need to combat racism, sexism, and homophobia, and it is all set to music. What more could a Xena fan want?

Lawless on Tour

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