Late, Late At Night (The Rick Springfield Story) has acquired an American booking agent, Chris Swartz at Dynamic Talent International. We very much look forward to working with Chris.
chris.swartz@dynamictalent.com
Here’s a new trailer video for LLAN. Filmed and edited at the Memo Music Hall, Melbourne by Tony Cornish.
Below is the promo video for the US streamed performance of Late, Late At Night (The Rick Springfield Story) from May 18 2024. The promo features Rick telling us about the play.
https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=301884239630078
LLAN played at the Redcliffe Entertainment Centre in Brisbane on Sunday July 20 and received this fantastic review below written by Martha Graham for whatstheshow.com.au.
2026 SHOW DATES
Saturday January 10th – Gippsland PAC, Traralgon, Victoria – 7pm.
https://www.latrobe.vic.gov.au/gpac/events/Late_Late_at_Night_The_Rick_Springfield_Story
Sunday 31st May – Cardinia Cultural Centre, Pakenham, Victoria
Saturday 13th June – Funhaus Factory, Gosford, NSW
https://funhausfactory.org.au/whats-on/rick-springfield/
The US/Worldwide stream of Late, Late At Night (The Rick Springfield Story) which began on Saturday May 18 for 72 hours was a great success. Here’s Jackson Carroll chatting about starring as Rick in Late, Late At Night (The Rick Springfield Story). Thanks to Jennifer at Crush Malibu Music for making the video of Jackson.
Below is some fantastic commentary from American fans about Late, Late At Night from Laurie Bennett and Shelly Reigh.
LAURIE BENNETT
Dear Kieran,
I watched the “Late, Late at Night” play last night with my husband. We’re in the Los Angeles, CA area.
I didn’t know what to expect. As a hard core fan now for 42 years, I’m fiercely protective of Rick, and I was unsure of this whole idea. Besides, who could play Rick with any justice to him?
In the first 5 minutes, I knew that worry was unfounded. You treated Rick’s life with respect, care, and love. You showed his perseverance, determination and resilience. It’s clear you studied his book and have a strong grasp of Rick’s story. More importantly, you too care for this amazing man.
For 2 hours, I cried, I laughed, I melted, I noticed ALL (hopefully) the little details and even the names that fleshed out Rick’s life story.
Mostly, though, I focused. Hard. I wanted to soak up every minute, every song, each word and movement from Jackson, the set, the sounds, the lights and their colors, even Mr. D’s background squeal. I knew I wanted to remember this special event, and tuck it into my heart to save.
Rick is a complex, intelligent, smart, funny, and often tortured person. He’s led a roller coaster life, with stratospheric highs and dangerous lows, some unique to the celebrity life, yet common to married men who sometimes struggle, fathers who come full circle with their own sons, and anyone who suffers with clinical depression.
Your writing was simply superb. It was intricate, comprehensive and profound, over and over. You captured all the important parts, but you didn’t hold back and were true to the subject for the play’s entirety. You wrote Rick not as a flat, famous celebrity, but as a whole person, fleshed out in details that mattered. The play was FULL, an experience in of itself. How you crammed in so much without sacrificing clarity was wondereful. Beautifully, you found a way to weave together the many important stories and parts of Rick’s life to create a cohesive whole. As a long-time fan, I knew 98% of the stories (and learned some details I didn’t know). Your writing also would easily reach and include even the viewer who knew little of Rick beyond “Jessie’s Girl.”
Your choice of Jackson Carroll to bring your vision to life must have been divinly inspired. That young man captured my heart quite quickly. He truly embodied Rick’s essence and spirit. He has a special voice and his performances of the songs I’ve been loving and singing for decades were spot on, with just enough of his own interpretation. For example, “State of the Heart” is a song I like but it hasn’t been a favorite. Now, seeing how and when it fitted into Rick’s life, and the caring way in which Jackson interpreted the song, I have a new love for it. He made it sound fresh for me. He obviously has a great command of both the guitar and piano. One or two faulty notes made him all the more personable and likeable (have you ever seen Rick forget his own lyrics? Even he laughs.) Jonathan Demme said, when casting Rick for Ricki and The Flash, he wanted a true musician who also had enough acting skills to stand beside Meryl Streep. You too needed someone who could perform totally solo, deeply draw the audience into the story, and completely hold their attention. The fact that he memorized two hours worth of tremendous, complex dialogue is a mind bender. How did he do it? Add in projection, movements (some dramatic and physically taxing), even accent changes, and WOW. Jackson made me feel like I was watching Rick himself! I was totally hooked. I was so enamored by the acting quality that I did not even notice there was a live audience for more than 30 minutes. You could hear a pin drop in that room. What a superb performance. He gave me a new perspective and added to my love for a man whose music has deeply touched my own life.
I’m so happy, touched and grateful that you were inspired to create this special play, and do the work necessary to bring it to completion for so many to enjoy. I probably watched it with a more critical eye than the average viewer or casual fan, but you more than passed the “test.” Exceptional!
Thank you. Thank you, thank you. Take a bow.
Phenomenal, indeed. Mic drop!
Oh, and apologies, as this was supposed to be a review, not a “love letter.” Guess I just couldn’t write it that way. 
P.S. I’m happy to DM this to you, for you to keep.
SHELLY REIGH
You pulled out the main threads from Rick’s book and wove them together in a way that compresses time, yet doesn’t lose any of the emotional impact of the rollercoaster ride of Rick’s life. The songs enhance the story, and the story enhances the songs. Bravo!
And what can I say about Jackson Carroll, except that he has that star quality. How he can jump so quickly from emotion to emotion, Aussie to American, plus piano and guitar – all while being authentic and in the moment – is evidence of a great talent and incredibly hard worker. His portrayal of the human condition via Rick’s story is stellar.
Thank you for bringing this work to us. I’m watching again as I write this, and it still blows me away. If you were able to sell a DVD or video download, I’d definitely buy a copy so I could keep watching after Tuesday.
BRAVO!!!
Below is video of Rick talking about the play and the May 2024 stream.
With permission granted, Late, Late At Night (The Rick Springfield Story) is a two act, one man pop-rock play written by award-winning Australian playwright, Kieran Carroll. The production stars rising Sydney performer Jackson Carroll (no relation) and is directed by Robert Johnson from Burning House Theatre Company. The play is adapted from Rick Springfield’s searing, compelling and best-selling New York Times autobiography Late, Late At Night and features 20 fantastic Springfield gems from Zoot to the present day including many of Springfield’s 17 Top 40 American hits in the 1980s.
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 (The Rick Springfield Story) 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 (The Rick Springfield Story) 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 (The Rick Springfield Story) is an epic journey of a suburban boy whose journey to fame and fortune came with large personal costs.
Late, Late at Night – Rick Springfield Story
Kieran Carroll - Playwright 