Playing an iconic character on stage that someone else portrayed so well in film can come with a certain degree of expectation.
However, Kirby Burgess who plays Kathryn — in Cruel Intentions: The 90s Musical — is taking it all in her stride.
"Most people say, 'Oh, you're playing Sarah Michelle Gellar'," Burgess laughs.
Sarah Michelle Gellar plays the scheming Kathryn in the 1999 film Cruel Intentions, based on the 1988 film Dangerous Liaisons. That film was, in turn, inspired by the 1985 play Les Liaisons Dangereuses, adapted from the 1782 French novel of the same name.
"Sarah Michelle Gellar, herself, is an icon of the 90s," Burgess says.
"So, stepping into her shoes, regardless of what role she's playing is already quite a big feat.
"But it's also quite an honour. She did such an incredible job with this role."
In Kathryn, Burgess is playing a villain. But she's a likeable villain.
"I think there's a real challenge as an actor to win the audience over, even though they know you're awful and mean and doing terrible things."
She says the audience gets to see a side of Kathryn they probably do not get to see in the film.
"I think the audience gets to see that, maybe, she's not just a villain. She's hurt. She's broken. She's fighting against gender norms."
Burgess is an old hand when it comes to Australian adaptions of major musical productions, having played Baby in Dirty Dancing, Campbell in Bring It On and Rizzo in Grease.
"I would say Rizzo has probably been the closest to Kathryn," Burgess says.
"She's kind of — unapologetically — herself and sits in her sexuality unapologetically and also gets villainised for it."
The Producer, David Venn, says the stage production of Cruel Intentions is pure entertainment and should not be taken too seriously.
"When you think about the plot line of the story, of these two characters having a dare to try [to] win someone else over and the things they get up to, and the level that they go to to get that, is just outrageous as a concept."
He says once you establish you're not going out for a serious piece of drama, all that's left to do is to lean in and have some fun.
The musical features songs from the movie — such as The Verve's Bitter Sweet Symphony and TLC's No Scrubs — but also a variety of hits from the 90s including Kiss Me by Sixpence None The Richer.
Venn says the 90s was like no other period.
"There were so many iconic things in terms of … inflatable furniture that came out then, which was just ridiculous. The baggy jeans with your chain hanging out of your pocket and the wallets. Hairstyles," Venn says.
"There was a lot of huge celebrities [who] came out of the 90s as well. Even now, Britney Spears is still in our media. Her huge rise was during the 90s.
"Nineties' fashion is also coming back today in that you walk down the street, or go to shops, and it's all 90s fashion trends coming back in.
Burgess wants people to keep in mind that something else has changed since the 1990s.
She says the musical is a nod to how far we've come, and how we need to learn from the past, and make a real effort to continue evolving.
"There is not only a lot of very uncomfortable sexual encounters in the show, but there is display of homophobia, of racism," Burgess says.
"And, if you're sitting in the audience feeling a little uncomfortable by some of those lines or some of those actions displayed, then good on you, you've come far from the 90s, because it was so casually thrown around back then. And it wasn't that long ago.
"And we've come a long way to now sit in an audience and go, 'Oh, that's not OK'.
There's still time to see the musical in Sydney. Then Cruel Intentions is off to Brisbane, Perth, Adelaide and Canberra. You can find out more here.
