Audition for fun swings scientist into hot musical role

Perth Now

09-05-2025

Joshua Kobeck was working in a "hectic" hospital emergency room when he found out he'd been cast in the musical Hadestown.
"I got the call from the producers and they asked 'is this a good time to chat?' I was like 'honestly, it's not'," said Kobeck.
The 24-year-old cancer scientist works with patients across various NSW hospitals, conducting clinical trials of experimental drugs for those who have not responded to regular treatments.
To lighten the mental load of his job, he meets with friends each month to try out fun activities such as pottery classes and ice skating. In March 2024, they tried a dance class.
It was part of an open audition call for the musical Hadestown. Other hopefuls came with years of training, sheet music and professional headshots.
Kobeck had been in amateur shows near his home in Camden, in western Sydney, and showed up with a printout of his Facebook profile picture.
But he made it through the session, staying back to perform some extra songs, which he says were "nothing fancy", and was asked to return for several more auditions.
"The amount of people in the room just kept getting smaller and smaller, and it was almost a bit laughable. I was like, this is surely not a situation, I'm just coming here after work," he said.
Hadestown has won eight Tony awards and a Grammy, attracting an audience of three million people on Broadway and the West End since it began as a small-scale theatre project in Vermont in 2006.
Created by singer-songwriter Anaïs Mitchell and directed by Rachel Chavkin, the musical weaves the ancient stories of Orpheus and Eurydice, and King Hades and his wife Persephone.
In the Australian production, Christine Anu plays Hermes alongside Abigail Adriano as Eurydice, with Noah Mullins as Orpheus, and Elenoa Rokobaro as Persephone.
Kobeck didn't just win a part in Hadestown, he was cast as a swing performer, which meant learning half a dozen roles and being ready to step into them at the last minute.
He admits to being a little intimidated by other performers who have been doing musical theatre all their lives. Having studied medical science instead of acting, Kobeck concentrates on simply having a human response to the action onstage.
He's been called up to play one part or another in about half the musical's Sydney shows, with Hadestown set to premiere in Melbourne at Her Majesty's Theatre on Saturday.
Since starting the show, Kobeck realised that working in health care is not the only way he can help others: performing can also help people heal in a profound way.
"It's doing just as much good - we've had so many people saying, this show has really helped me through some dark times," he said.
Stepping away from clinical trials to perform in a touring show was a risk, says Kobeck, but the experiences of his patients helped him take it.
"Some of them are here and some not unfortunately, but they taught me that sometimes you can never be guaranteed tomorrow. So take every day and really grab it, and do something with it," he said.
"It's because of that work and those people I'll never forget, that I'm doing something I absolutely love, in a way that's so special and not everybody gets the chance to do."