Zoy Frangos is a busy man with shows in Geelong, Sydney and Melbourne for the next four months. Once a Greek Indigenous boy from regional Victoria had dreams of becoming an Olympic athlete, a sprinter. However, an injury cruelled those hope. Sliding doors being what they are, Zoy discovered a more innate talent he was unaware of – a magnificent voice.

Zoy is now one of Australia’s most dazzling musical theatre performers, garnering accolades from across the musical theatre world.

On August 16, Zoy will perform his own work, Variations, at the Geelong Arts Centre, after a successful debut in 2022 at Claire’s Kitchen, Bunjil Place, and Hamer Hall.

“Variations is something for me, it’s a story for me, I have the opportunity in theatre my own work,” says Zoy to Neos Kosmos.

Zoy’s opulent tenor will sing songs from Lloyd & Webber, Elvis, Ennio Morricone, and even our own, George Dalaras, and weave them thought-provoking and humorous stories from his life. His take on classics like Bring Him Home, If I Loved You, and his Wemba Wemba language version of Anthem will elevate audiences.

The boy from Ballarat dreamed big

The boy from Ballarat, with a Greek father and Indigenous mother, once dreamed of being an Olympic sprinter. “I was a good sprinter, but there’s then one guy ran past me in training and I just felt the burden, I thought I’ll never have his natural talent, as hard as I work, I’ll never be that” he shares.

Zoy wanted to be an athlete, a sprinter, but an injury forced him to quit.

“I was committed to making the Olympic team, but I got injured, and I began to sing, and I was interested in acting, and I thought maybe like this was my way in.

“When I started singing, I felt I could do anything, I had this voice with a big range and it was surprising.”.

Music took over

People would ask him to sing Freddie Mercury or Elvis, and he could. What he discovered was a natural talent quickly overturned his passion for track and field.

“I was pretty good at singing, I was a natural,” the musical star says.

So, he took the plunge and moved to Melbourne, and graduated with a BA in Music Theatre from the Victorian College of the Arts, Melbourne University.

His opera debut was as Jimmy in the Aboriginal Australian soprano, actor, composer, and playwright Deborah Cheetham’s opera Pecan Summer. He originated the role of Michael McKeeg in Margaret Fulton – Queen of the Dessert and performed South Pacific at the Sydney Opera House. Zoy’s talent earned him acclaim as Dr Fine/Dr Madden in Next to Normal. He toured nationally in the 25th anniversary production of Les Misérables, impressing critics and audiences with his portrayal of Feuilly. Zoy co-directed and starred in Dogfight and took on the iconic role of Judas in Jesus Christ Superstar.

And he has garnered awards such as the the 2019 American Australian Rising Star Award. Never far from his roots, he was Taxithi II Metanastes about Greek migration, and the ground-breaking opera A Tasmanian Requiem GAP IN THE FENCE on the Tasmanian Black Wars. Among his many roles, he also won accolades for his role as Judas in Jesus Christ Superstar.

Racism was real for Zoy

Variations is “a very personal work” tells the singer’s story of growing up Greek-Indigenous.

“Now we are all ‘multicultural,’ but theatre has always been a bunch of people singing songs and telling their story very much from an Anglo perspective, especially in the musical world,” Zoy says.

Racism was very real in Ballarat and growing up “Greek and Aboriginal” created challenges for him. “Racism was normal; in Ballarat, it was constant ‘wog boy,’ ‘greaseball,’ and stuff like that, and that has shifted.”

Zoy says because he didn’t look evidently Indigenous, being “olive-skinned,” people just assumed he was Greek, and many did not know he was also Indigenous, he felt “covert racism.” “I would hear people talk about Aboriginal people in racist ways in front of me because they saw me as Greek and did not know about my other heritage.”

As a young man he found solace in seeing faces like his in American films.

“I wanted to be Al Pacino, or Robert De Niro…the first time I saw The Godfather, I just swear it was like we were with my cousins, I never saw faces like that here in Australia, faces like mine, I related to these actors,” Zoy says.

Greek and Indigenous pride

Zoy is proud of being Greek and Indigenous and says that growing up in Ballarat, “my father went to Greek church, we attended all the Greek festivities and listened to Greek music.”

Zoy has also performed in Karijini Experience – Opera in the Gorge, The Dreaming Festival, Naidoc Week, and for the ABC Indigenous Staff awards.

This song master’s calendar is full, after Variations he will be in Sydney to play Pierre in Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812, the Australian premiere of an electro-pop opera based on a outrageous slice of Tolstoy’s War and Peace. The work was nominated for 12 Tony Awards, including Best Musical and Best Original Score.

Elvis, the most famous Greek

Zoy returns to Melbourne after Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812, to play Elvis songs at Bunjil Place.

“I’ve always wanted to do it, given Elvis the most famous Greek,” Zoy laughs.

He will be reinterpreting Elvis’ songs, not doing an impression.

“I saw a concert when someone broke into this Elvis impression and it was interesting for about 30 seconds…I would rather watch Elvis on YouTube.

“I want to reinterpret his songs because Elvis was fascinating, as was the band he played with him,” Zoy adds.

Finally on the question of whether Zoy Frangos will be voting Yes for a First Nations Voice to Parliament, “Yes, absolutely,” he says.

Variations, August 16, Wednesday August 16, 10.30am at The Playhouse Geelong Arts Centre. Tickets here.

Neos Kosmos is giving readers a chance to win four double passes to Variations by Zoy Frangos to win please send an email headed ‘Zoy Frangos’ to enquiries@neoskosmos.com.au and include your name, and contact details.