Very tragically Rob Guest has died in Sydney after suffering a massive stroke at his home on Tuesday night. Rob was a stage performer in a class of his own. He took over the role of The Phantom in the Sydney production of Phantom of the Opera in the early 90′s and performed the role a record 2,229 times.
Rob also played the role of Jean Valjean in the Australian production of Les Miserables after taking over the role from Normie Rowe. But these were just two of Rob’s many varied performances on the stage.
He was a charismatic Phantom; a heroic Valjean and was exciting theatre-goers as late as last Sunday as the Wizard of Oz in the Sydney production of Wicked.
I remember seeing him sing on many television shows such as The Midday Show and at the Carols in the Domain at Xmas time in Sydney. His talent knew no borders; rock, classical, theatrical…he was a much loved man and a much loved performer and colleague to his cast mates.
On Tuesday night, as Rob Guest lay fighting for his life in hospital, the performance of Wicked went on with understudy Rodney Dobson stepping in to play Rob’s role. The audience, fully aware of the fact that Rob was fighting for life in a hospital nearby, gave the cast a thunderous standing ovation at the end.
That is what Rob Guest would have wanted. For the show to go on. And of course, that standing ovation for a fully deserving – and completely shattered – cast of performers.
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