The greatest silver screen starlet of them all, Marilyn Monroe, faded to black 55 years ago. She died young and still on a career upsurge on Aug. 5, 1962.
No one in Prince George knows this date more than singer-actor Kat Fullerton. The local performer has made a theatrical career out of portraying real-life characters of stage and screen, and none more so than Monroe.
To celebrate the body of Monroe's work in music and movies, and hint at the sparkling possibilities had Monroe lived on, Fullerton presents a special event dedicated to the blonde bombshell. Forever Marilyn is her tribute show to the Hollywood icon. It comes to Artspace on Saturday, that anniversary night.
"I'm not trying to be Marilyn, I'm trying to honour her spirit and invoke the depths of her talents," Fullerton said.
"I think she was misunderstood, and I think a lot of misconceptions are applied to her. If you look closely, you can see it."
Fullerton has looked obsessively closely. She studies details like the way Monroe wrapped her mouth around consonants, the curl of her lips during enunciation, the tip of a shoulder and pop of a hip, the inflection Monroe used during singing and different tones for speaking, and many more hints and hallmarks that made her such a riveting performer.
"I like to think about, had she lived, where her career would have gone. She was in talks to do a biopic of her idol Jean Harlow, and I really want to see that movie but we never will. I believe Marilyn had an Oscar in her. We could see that ability. When you think of Marilyn Monroe, a lot of people think of the dumb blonde stereotype, but if you see what she did in Don't Bother To Knock or what she did in Niagara, you know she was a highly skilled method actor."
Fullerton, too, is much more as an actor. Local viewers will remember her as the jealous queen in Prince George Theatre Workshop's production of Snow White, or in the Gordon Long production of Elves. That was before she departed Prince George in 1999 (she was a PGSS grad of '96 then did transfer courses at College of New Caledonia) for Alberta where she graduated from Mount Royal College then went on for additional training at the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology.
She came back to Prince George in between studies and was a part of a string of Excalibur Theatre Arts productions like Sweeney Todd, Hair, Miss Saigon, and Beauty and The Beast.
"You get to do so many different kinds of characters when you do community theatre," Fullerton said.
"If you can put your ego aside, you can really grow as a performer."
She has spent the past two years almost constantly on stage in a variety of musical theatre productions presented by Jubilations Dinner Theatre, touring Edmonton, Calgary and Winnipeg. She has portrayed other celebrities like Lady Gaga, Lucille Ball, Sarah Palin, Gloria from Modern Family, and many more.
She's done some standup comedy and sketch comedy along the way but it is the creative substance of the Marilyn Monroe portrayal that sparks her best commitment, she said. It started as a quirky hobby for fun, but then she started to get requests and then entire showcases as Monroe.
"I want to focus on Marilyn for the next year," said Fullerton. "You can't portray her forever, there's a window of time, so I've got to go for it now."
She deepened her place in the industry by attending the 2015 Reel Awards in Las Vegas, a global convention for tribute artists of all kinds. She got to perform at the famed Golden Nugget, and rub shoulders with fellow actors and booking agents alike. It was a learning experience and a marketing clinic for Fullerton's aspirations.
The second round of peer sharing happened earlier this summer when she attended the Vancouver Island Tribute Festival in Parksville.
Next comes when Fullerton attends the Sunburst Convention Of Celebrity Impersonators in Orlando. She will be one of five Marilyn tribute artists at the event, another of them being Bonnie Kilroe of Vancouver who has sometimes performed her multi-character shows in Prince George. Fullerton once assisted Kilroe as part of her learning process.
Now, Fullerton is available for singing telegrams, party appearances, meet-and-greet events (she was prominent at Summerfest this year) and full tribute shows like the one on Saturday night.
Forever Marilyn at Artspace is another step in Fullerton's grasp of the Marilyn Monroe persona. Tickets are on sale now at Books & Company or at the door ($20 regular, $15 student/senior). Refreshments will be available, and part of the show is a fundraising opportunity for the SPCA in keeping with Monroe's affinity for animals. All ages are welcome.
Showtime is 8 p.m.
