Sober enough Craig Urbani gyms up for sexy ‘Chicago’ run in SA
Ten years ago every show was a rock concert, until he realised he was no Mick Jagger
When singer and actor Craig Urbani razzle-dazzles us in the return of the sexy and sophisticated musical Chicago, he’ll be reprising a role he first played 10 years ago. With one major difference — this time he’ll be sober. A decade ago, when Urbani cruised around as the suave lawyer Billy Flynn, he was on a downward spiral of alcoholism that almost cost him his life, let alone his career. Now he’s a clean-living gym fanatic who looks fabulous at 48, if a little rugged around the edges, and his toned body is inspiring Chicago co-stars half his age. “The truth is that I was in my late 30s and early 40s, I wasn’t looking good, I wasn’t sounding good, I wasn’t present enough and I wasn’t sober enough,” he says. “Revisiting this role in this new frame of mind is a gift. I’m 10 years more mature, a lot more lucid, a lot more sober, a lot fitter and a lot more grounded.” What fuelled the high-life was playing the title role in The Buddy Holly Story in SA, London and Australia. Every show ...
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