Cruising with Multi-Award Winning Entertainer Catherine Alcorn
If you’re going to find yourself on a long voyage to the South Pole, make sure it’s with Sydney-born Vacationer, Catherine Alcorn.
Known to Australian audiences as a multi-award-winning performing artist and producer, Catherine Alcorn is also an adventurer. Part powerhouse vocalist, part comedian with real acting chops, the naturally ebullient Alcorn is a seasoned traveler and was a delight to have onboard the MV Greg Mortimer for the inaugural Pride Antarctica cruise.
While Alcorn frequently refers to herself as a diva (okay, there was a separate suitcase for her wigs, and we were treated to an ever-changing rainbow of costumes that would shame the cast of RuPaul’s Drag Race) she is an unpretentious Aussie who should be on your radar.
Hailed for her self-devised stage shows The Divine Miss Bette and Go Your Own Way: The Story of Christine McVie, Alcorn has been described as “a must see!” (L.A. Times) and “absolutely hilarious” (Time Out). Her Sydney Opera House debut in her most famous role as Midler won her the Best Cabaret Production at the 2018 Broadway World Awards. She has many more successes, including From Sydney With Love: A Concert for Orlando at Sydney Town Hall, a benefit for Equality Florida Pulse Victims Fund.
Identifying as “human, a lover of all people,” Alcorn tells me, “the LGBTQIA+ community and culture has been a huge part of my life as a woman and an artist for the last 25 years, ever since I began performing on Oxford Street in my Bette Midler show, The Divine Miss Bette. Queer and Drag culture have been massive influences on my artistic life and career—everything from my onstage persona, my onstage style to my comedy and song choices.”
Joining 70 LGBTQIA+ expeditioners to Antarctica for two weeks, Alcorn proved to be the perfect Vacationer—entertaining us into the night with her unique brand of cabaret, and fronting up the next day to be your quintessential Aussie mate. Naturally, we wanted to catch up with her, post-adventure, and ask her about her history of wanderlust.
When did you receive your first passport? What was your first trip?
Catherine Alcorn: I’ve had to ask my Mum this question! My first international trip was at two years old when we lived in Dallas, Texas for three months. My father was on a job transfer. I still vividly remember being in our Dallas apartment and watching Born Free for the first time. That scene between the snake and the lion has never left me!
I got my first independent passport when I was in year 7 at St.Ives High School for an international exchange program. We traveled to the States and were billeted out with local families. We took a group trip to Tijuana one day. I bought some oversized jeans and was offered to purchase a handgun on the main tourist strip. I very politely declined. What a time! I mean, as if I need a pistol to keep firing.
What trip or travel experience sparked your passion for travel?
Catherine Alcorn: Thanks to my parents, travel and holidaying have always been a staple in our lives, for which I am incredibly grateful. Family holidays to Fiji, Norfolk Island, Banff in Canada, summers as kids on the beach at Old Bar, winters at the Fairmont Resort in the Blue Mountains (my personal favorite), and lots of other spots, including yearly trips back to Dad’s dairy farm in Kyogle (Northern New South Wales) where he grew up.
One of my standout professional travel experiences, though, was when I was a Production Assistant on Oprah’s 2010 Ultimate Australian Adventure tour. I was stationed in the Northern Territory (one of five Aussie locations Oprah’s US audiences could choose whilst Down Under) and was working with her A-team of producers and cameramen. I mean, I got to see my own backyard on Oprah’s budget. HELLO!?
Every moment was unforgettable. The peak was when the sixteen women, O’s producers, and the camera team were choppered out to Gabarnmung. I was blessed by Jawoyn elder and traditional owner of the site, Margaret Katherine, as the 56th non-Indigenous person in the history of the world to enter the ancient rock shelter in southwestern Arnhem Land in the Top End of Australia’s Northern Territory.
The flight out there was like the opening scene of M*A*S*H. Six choppers took the entire cast and crew across the Top End, right next to the Jim Jim Falls and onto land of the Jawoyn tribe.
Side note: That snap of me in front of Uluru is when I was sent by Oprah’s senior producer, Dave Rivera, to shoot the sunset time lapse over the Rock. I sat there sans book or mobile for approximately 8 hours, capturing the vision that was used as the opening series shot. I spent my time chatting to passers-by.
Since becoming a full-time performer in 2015, my work has taken me to many incredible places, including touring all over Australia, Hong Kong, the UK, and the USA.
Can you spill the tea on your latest and greatest trip?
Catherine Alcorn: In February, I was engaged by Mario Paez and Barry Warner from Planetdwellers in Sydney to host and perform for the passengers of the inaugural Pride Cruise to Antarctica, hosting 71 wonderful people from all over the world, namely the UK, USA and Australia.
Over 15 unforgettable nights, my team and I traveled from Sydney to Argentina where we boarded the MV Greg Mortimer, traversed the Drake Passage and spent six extraordinary days and nights experiencing the most majestic place on earth. The trip was life-changing and I feel that every cell in my body has been renewed.
Having had the opportunity to travel and perform on this expedition is a time I will never forget. My friend and Musical Director, Michael Griffiths, and I performed a Piano Bar each night, we hosted a White Lotus Party where I arrived as Jennifer Coolidge, I met the passengers on the port in Ushuaia as my Bette Midler character, The Divine Miss Bette and even made history as the first Australian vocalist to perform live in Antarctic waters in a zodiac at sunset in Paradise Bay for a very special Sunset Serenade for the passengers.
What made it so special was the unprecedented weather we had. Our head expeditioner, Mario Placidi Spring (aka Super Mario!), told us that the 3-metre swells we had crossing the Drake Passage, which are normally 8-10m, was the best Drake crossing they had ever had! We also had sunshine and blue skies for the entire trip. I believe that, because it was the inaugural Pride Cruise, Mother Nature, and her Universe was shining down on us.
The rest of the tea is private. What happened in Antarctica stays in Antarctica!
Where do you call home, and if Vacationers were coming to visit, what are three things they must do in your town?
Catherine Alcorn: Sydney is home and I live in her best suburb ever, Elizabeth Bay. I’ve lived in EBay for over sixteen years and it is the most divine mix of cultures and architecture. I’m an art deco freak and am surrounded by glorious buildings that make me feel that I’m (almost!) living in New York City or Paris.
My absolute must-sees for anyone visiting Sydney are:
- A show at the Sydney Opera House
- Dinner at ARIA
- A day at the beach. Any beach. All of Sydney’s beaches are beautiful
What are your top three favorite places in the world so far? Why?
- Denver, Colorado, because my brother and his family live there and we love to visit as often as possible.
- Los Angeles, because we have so many dear friends who live there and I love the city’s vibe and the “you never know what opportunity is around the corner” energy. We first took our son there in 2018 when I was touring the US and we get a family photo in front of the Hollywood sign each time. So far, we have three with Jack at 6 months, 2 years and 6 years. It’s pretty special.
- Lucca in Tuscany, Italy. We stumbled across this tiny but glorious city when traveling Italy years ago. It had a tiny paragraph about it in the Lonely Planet that I kept in my backpack, so we grabbed some local delicacies from the Florence markets, jumped on an old train, and went to explore this town. We got off the train and thought it looked like Goulburn train station, but once we walked inside the city walls, we were overcome by its beauty. Lucca is one of the best-preserved medieval cities in Italy, with picturesque alleys, squares, and churches. I instantly fell in love with it.
What three places are still on your bucket list to visit?
Catherine Alcorn: Greece, Spain and Morocco.
What’s one thing you never forget to pack in your suitcase?
Catherine Alcorn: I never travel without my Humidiflyer mask and a big bottle of water. As a vocalist, cabin air is my worst enemy, so I wear my Humidflyer mask for the entire flight. The mask looks like an oxygen mask but has a filter in it that lets you breathe in your own clean air, which helps to keep your vocal cords hydrated and reduce jet lag. It really works, so huge shout out to Humidiflyer for this game-changing apparatus!
Window or aisle? And who is usually sitting next to you? Or, who do you wish could sit next to you?
Catherine Alcorn: WINDOW or bust! That way I get to rest my head against the window and get some sleep. On a work trip, it’s my Production/Tour Manager Jaz Haynes sitting next to me. I never step into a venue or onto a gig without him, so he’s my non-negotiable. For Antarctica, I was also lucky enough to be accompanied by best girlfriend Riss who moonlighted as our Production Assistant, audience wrangler and now has PTSD when it comes to applying fake nails onto this diva’s hands. On a personal trip, it’s my son and partner. They’re also non-negotiable! If I could pick a celeb I’ve never met to sit next to me it would be my kings, Ricky Gervais or Robbie Williams. Whoever’s available on the day, lads!
Where are you headed next? What is the first thing you will do as soon as you arrive?
Catherine Alcorn: My next tour is to Auckland with The Divine Miss Bette to play the Auckland Live Festival in June. The first thing I’ll do is head to the hotel, pop my humidifier on in my room and head to the venue to suss her out and do a rehearsal. There’s no rest for the wicked!
As a musician, what is on your travel playlist?
Catherine Alcorn: Chris Stapleton, Brandi Carlile, Fleetwood Mac, Rachmaninoff, Kennedy Administration, Black Pumas, Groove Armada, James Quinn, Mia Wray to name a few…
Please plug your next big gig and why you are excited about it!
Catherine Alcorn: My next show is to re-open the iconic Sydney restaurant, Claire’s Kitchen, at Le Salon Oxford Street in Sydney on Friday, April 4. Then we have The Divine Miss Bette in Auckland in June. All dates are on my website catherinealcorn.com. I’d love to invite your readers to subscribe to my newsletter here. That way, I can let them know via my monthly newsletter when I’ll be coming to a city or town near them.
Anything we didn’t ask you that you wish we had?
Catherine Alcorn: Can we book you to tour the USA!? Yes, yes you can!
