Late, Late at Night (The Rick Springfield Story)

A POP-ROCK ADAPTATION OF RICK SPRINGFIELD’S AUTOBIOGRAPHY  

Written by award-winning Australian playwright, Kieran Carroll and starring rising Sydney performer, Jackson Carroll (no relation) Late, Late At Night is a pop-rock stage adaptation of Rick Springfield’s compelling and searing autobiography, the New York Times best-seller, Late, Late at Night. Directed by Robert Johnson, the show features over 20 fantastic Springfield gems from Zoot to the present day and includes many of Springfield’s 17 Top 40 American hits in the 1980s. Late, Late At Night has received great acclaim since its debut in Melbourne in 2022. The show will be extensively touring America in October 2025.

Self-penned, the autobiography is written (except for the opening chapter) in chronological form: from the 1950s through to 2010. The work traces Springfield’s Australian and British childhood, his early music days in Australia, his rollercoaster ride in 1970s America and the huge pop and acting successes of the 1980s. This is followed by his fall from public view, his mental health demise, and finally, the resurrection of Rick Springfield as an artist in the 21st century.  

This two hours plus adaptation – much like the result of the autobiography – goes far beyond Rick’s popular pop image or what he is best remembered for on the 80s pop charts. Late, Late At Night captures the heart and essence of Springfield’s major concerns and musings: depression, God, no God, his parents, self-motivation, a long sustaining career, love versus sex, music versus acting, his wife and sons, the way America shaped him and what he left behind in Australia as he built his career to lead the seemingly glamorous and not-so-glamorous expatriate life.

This play adaptation is written as a two act, one-man work. Springfield moves between the text and the songs throughout. Late, Late At Night is a tumultuous and exhilarating journey of an Australian-American songwriter whose 17 top 40 hits in America with sales of 25 million albums worldwide make him one of Australia’s most successful musical exports of all time.

Late, Late At Night is an epic journey of a suburban boy whose journey to fame and fortune came with   large personal costs.

Written by Kieran Carroll

Performed by Jackson Carroll

Directed by Robert Johnson

Sound and Lighting – Shane Grant