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Writer's pictureLouisa Clarke

Beginner’s Call: Stage and Screens Joe Locke and Lola Tung Take It Show by Show

Updated: Jan 23

If I had a nickel for every time a young actor went stratospheric in their first professional job on a series adaptation of a famous book series, to then gain the chance to star in a Broadway show, I’d have two nickels. Which isn’t a lot but it’s weird that it happened twice, right?



This week, Hadestown revealed that Lola Tung will be joining them on their Broadway run from February 9th as the shows female lead, Eurydice, a poor lonely girl who, partly willingly, partly desperately, journeys to the underworld to find herself trapped by Hades himself. A modern take on an ancient tale, the show leans into Orpheus’ role as a musician, blending American folk music and New Orleans-style Jazz, with hints of rock and gospel, to create an intimate, indie feel.

 

Lola Tung captured our hearts as Isobel Conklin, or ‘Belly’, in The Summer I Turned Pretty, the stunning and totally-binge-able series adaptation of the young adult romance novel trilogy by Jenny Han, opening with a book of the same title.

 

Tung led the first two seasons of the series, now available to watch on Prime Video, with a beautiful, layered performance full of multitudes of emotion, relatability and that classic love triangle that has us engaging in possibly the most intense shipping experience, the kind made mostly up of smitten-ly melting into our seats getting dangerously close to permanently heart-shaped eyes but also holds that pesky detail of shouting at our screens, those who disagree with your endgame and the days for not hurrying by and landing again on the release of a new episode.

 

The series is also where she first demonstrated her incredible vocals. Who can forget the iconic scene in the season one pilot where she belted Can’t Do Better by Kim Petras in the car and, even with the spontaneity and silliness mixed up in the moment, the talent was obviously there. Lola Tung has since posted a series of covers online but, possibly even better than that, is this candid behind-the-scenes clip.

 

Dressed in Belly’s simple, stylish cotillion ensemble, consisting of a gown, opera gloves and pearls, all in white, she holds a single red rose in a gentle grip, letting it for a split second become a microphone, leans lightly against the windowsill, in a position that could easily be featured on the cover of a magazine, and effortlessly delivers the most elegant, clear, crisp tone, clearly just overcome by music, lost in the feeling of it. It is only a single line, but it is so full of feeling and completely breath-taking  - and then has the audacity to apologise! That’s exactly the clip that came to mind at this exciting news, promising an exceptional run.

 



 

Eurydice is the love interest of Orpheus, currently played by Jordan Fisher, who has previously graced the Broadway stage in such roles as Evan Hansen in Dear Evan Hansen and John Laurens and Philip Hamilton in Hamilton and who you might also know from Grease Live!, the Teen Beach Movie franchise and To All The Boys: P.S I Still Love You. Fisher’s Hadestown debut was met with some epic online praise, after showcasing some strong, atmospheric vocals on, arguably the climactic number of the show, ‘Wait For Me’.

 

We came to know and love Joe Locke in his role of Charlie Spring in Heartstopper, yet another series adaptation of a young adult series, also awaiting its third season – the similarities are actually a little scary. Both shows also have their story’s original writers closely involved in the production process of the adaptation to refreshing results.

 

The original story of Heartstopper has been, and continues to be, told in a collection of graphic novel volumes by Alice Oseman, within the world of a larger series of books including such titles as Solitaire, Radio Silence, Loveless, This Winter and, of course, Nick and Charlie.

 

In December 2023, it was announced that Joe Locke would be making his Broadway debut in the revival of Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street as Tobias Ragg, apprentice to the abusive barber Pirelli, a big jump from his professional stage debut in Dawn King’s The Trials at the Donmar Warehouse in 2022, named Best Professional Debut at the What’sOnStage Awards 2023.

 

Despite some basic behind-the-scenes footage hinting at a performance with a band for season 3 of Heartstopper, Locke’s musical vocals remain unheard at this point in his career, bringing an exciting curiosity on top of the inevitable pride of watching a young performer make such big strides so quickly, especially one who got his start as a character that means so much to people, the way Charlie Spring does.

 

As he prepares to take the stage as Tobias Ragg, Joe Locke follows in the footsteps of another actor who found his big break on Netflix, Gaten Matarazzo of Stranger Things, who originated the role in this revival until last November.

 

In other news, which just about takes us into spoiled territory, we can also expect Locke’s epic entrance into the MCU in Agatha: Darkhold Diaries this year. A project also steeped in much curiosity, as is often the Marvel way, speculation has been stirring amongst fans on the details of who Locke will play, with particular favour seeming to hang on a new LGBTQ+ portrayal for the actor, prominent in the comic book universe.

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