When Amanda Harrison takes to the stage as Elphaba on July 12 at the opening night of Wicked, it will be almost three years to the day since she gave new life to the almost-there musical Leader Of The Pack at the Palms At Crown Melbourne.
It was July 14, 2005 and after a Sydney season a couple of years earlier that didn't go down all that well, Leader Of The Pack tried its luck in Melbourne, and Harrison gave it the knockout punch it so desperately needed.
Moments like that, however, have littered the career of Amanda Harrison. They are moments that have proven to audiences, critics and producers that she was something out of the ordinary; something very special.
The Sydney-born Talent Development Project graduate made her professional stage debut as a teenager as Jenny in Aspects Of Love. It was 1993, and while her name might not have been on everyone's lips back then, a journey had begun.
And what a journey it has been.
Ironically, Harrison's emergence was almost stunted when she was accepted into the Western Australian Academy Of Performing Arts (WAAPA). She was at WAAPA for six weeks and then left after landing the role of Betty in Sunset Boulevard. She hasn't looked back since - roles in Les Miserables, The Journey Girl, Mame, The Boy From Oz and Guys and Dolls followed, before the UK beckoned. Abroad, she starred in a host of shows and also managed to meet the man who would eventually become her husband, and the father to her only daughter.
When she returned to Australia, the role of Oz in We Will Rock You became her own - it was a stellar performance that gave her newfound respect within the industry, and led to bigger and better things.
The birth of her first child, a solo cabaret show and a few other roles followed, before she landed Elphaba in Wicked - one of the most powerful female roles in musical theatre.
As Amanda Harrison readies for opening night, there is very little doubt that her journey is far from over - indeed, it's just beginning.
Wicked opens at the Regent Theatre on July 12. Bookings: 132 849.
Aussietheatre.com
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