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    King of legends

2004-12-01 10:21

His curling lips make women swoon. He's got the sideburns, the patent suit and the 55-pound belt buckle. He's got one for the money, two for the show, three to get ready, and he's set to go.

No, it's not "King of Rock and Roll". It is Martin Fontaine, a red-headed French Canadian who will play The King in 'The Elvis Story,' to debut this Thursday at the Poly Theatre. The musical tribute is the only full-length musical production that recreates the life, times and music of Elvis Presley, from his discovery at Sun Records in Memphis, through his swinging Hollywood heyday, to his final years as a Vegas icon.

As the only performer to receive authorization from Elvis' family to play the icon on stage, Martin Fontaine has played the lead an astounding 1,000 times since 1995, which has earned him huge fame and recognition. That may make him a hound dog, but Fontaine insists it doesn't make him an Elvis impersonator.

"I'm an actor-singer playing the role of Elvis on stage," says the star.

"When I arrive at the theatre, I transform into Elvis. I show the young, energetic, shy, unsure-of-himself Elvis. That's my job on stage. But offstage, people don't see me as Elvis. If you passed me on the street, you might think I look like an accountant."

Fontaine's makeover takes two hours before wiggling into the first of 16 costumes portraying the rise of Presley, from his days at Sun Records in 1954 to his finale in 1977, when a tired Elvis wearily stalks off stage mid-song (rest assured, that's not how the musical ends). It's a delicate work, he says, but nothing compared to the self-hypnosis he goes through to inhabit the mind and body of Elvis.

"Then I get down to the ground to the funky sound. Ow!" howls Fontaine, shifting into a James Brown impersonation before catching himself.

"When I'm done, there's no Martin left. It is a complete illusion. I mean, I'm really a 170cm guy with bushy red hair and a French accent."

Shape-shifting comes easy to the 40-year-old, who began his musical career at 16 as part of a Beatles tribute band working pubs and clubs around French Canada. His break when the producers of the recently restored Le Capitole spotted him and asked if he would audition for a musical tribute they had in mind.

"I didn't really know what Elvis was about until I got the part ... I'd only seen re-runs of his movies on TV," says Fontaine, who beat 40 others for the role. "But I did learn he was really dedicated to his work, very shy and very humble."

Martin told Beijing Weekend that the tragedy of the king was that "Elvis thought he was born for his role, to give something to the world. He gives himself too much pressure to be perfect but finds it too hard to bear."

"He died from giving the world so much of himself," reflected Martin.

It's a fate Fontaine obviously wants to avoid, and he's careful that the spirit of Elvis doesn't consume his own soul.

He has kept on writing and practicing his own songs amid tumultuous performances. He told Beijing Weekend he plans to quit the current job as a full-time actor next May and devote himself in preparing his own show.

"I will be back, " he smiled, "but not for Elvis. The next time, it'll be me."

(China Daily 11/24/2004 page7)

 
                 

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