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New jukebox show opens November 4
Wednesday, July 30, 7:38pm AEST.
Theatre veteran Garry Scale will star in a new jukebox musical entitled Las
Vegas (Confidential) The Musical, which will open at the State Theatre in Sydney on
November 4.
The Sydney season will mark the show's world premiere. It will also star Katrina
Retallick, Tamlyn Henderson, Tiffani Wood, Tony Nikolakopoulos and Alistair Toogood.
The tuner has been written by the little-known James Karp and will be directed by
Christopher Hurrell.
"This sizzling new musical captures the heart and soul of the world’s
entertainment capital, with something for everybody. Spectacular showgirl dance numbers
are combined with dazzling sets and costumes, colourful characters, dangerous romances,
grand illusions and the world’s greatest songs of love and luck including 'Love Me
With A Feeling', 'The Gambler', 'Que Sera Sera', 'Everybody Knows', 'In Las Vegas',
'D’ove L’amore', and of course, 'Viva Las Vegas'," boasts the show's
website.
"Set during a time when the mob ran the strip, Las Vegas (Confidential) The
Musical tells a seductive story of love, sex, luck, betrayal, and revenge. Based on
previously untold true events, writer and producer James Karp has crafted a fascinating
musical which invites you to enter the stranger-than-fiction world behind the glamorous
façade."
Tickets go on sale August 4.
---
Avenue
Q - more details known
Wednesday, July 30, 7:38pm AEST.
Avenue Q will be produced in Australia by Arts Asia Pacific with heavy
involvement from Torben Brookman, Richelle Brookman and Jarrod Carland, and is expected to
open in Melbourne around July next year.
Mr Carland confirmed the show would open next year but said no more information was
available as production details were still being finalised.
"We are very excited about bringing Avenue Q to Australia, and are
looking forward to giving Australian audiences the opportunity to see this dynamic piece
of music theatre," Mr Carland said.
Arts Asia Pacific has been involved with a range of musicals both in Australia and
overseas but is not considered one of the major commercial players. Avenue Q is
set to be its biggest ever venture in Australia.
- Troy Dodds
---
July
a record breaker
Wednesday, July 30, 4:02pm AEST.
July 2008 has become the most
successful month in the six-year history of AussieTheatre.com, recording more
hits than any other past month.
Both page views and unique visitor rates skyrocketed in July, breaking the record set just
last month.
In addition to breaking its own hits records, AussieTheatre.com has also recorded
remarkable growth according to the most recent Alexa ratings figures. The latest report
confirms that the website has increased its reach by 10 per cent in the last three months.
The website’s traffic rank rose by some 20,000 places.
Australian Stage Online dropped 59,000 places in the traffic rankings, while its reach
fell by 13 per cent.
“We’re obviously thrilled with breaking hits records – it’s great news
for our supporters, our advertisers and our editorial team,” said AussieTheatre.com
Managing Editor, Troy Dodds.
“Theatre is certainly on a high in Australia at the moment and we’re seeing
evidence of that here at the website.”
Dodds said after years of growth in the independent theatre scene, the commercial arena
was finally hitting back.
“Independent theatre is still on the rise – particularly in Sydney – but
the commercial sector is well and truly back thanks to great shows like Wicked,
Priscilla, Billy Elliot and The Rocky Horror Show, all of which have done
great business,” he said.
“It’s an exciting time ahead and we’re thrilled to be part of the
ride.”
Would you like to take advantage of AussieTheatre.com’s success by advertising? Email
info@aussietheatre.com to discuss what we can
do for you.
---
Writer not concerned over Helpmann snub
Tuesday, July 29, 8:00pm AEST.
The snubbing of the new
Australian musical The Hatpin at the 2008 Helpmann Awards may have been a talking
point in the industry, but it doesn't bother its writer, James Millar, in the slightest.
There has been heavy debate in recent weeks over why The Hatpin was not
nominated in any category at this year's Helpmann Awards, but Millar - who attended Monday
night's ceremony - has declared the show was not ready for such honours.
"It only takes looking at the current theatre and musical theatre landscape in
this country to feel nothing more than utter pride that we even got a new, fledgling
musical up and running amongst these hugely developed and bloody brilliant international
shows," Millar told AussieTheatre.com.
"I respect and appreciate people's support of our first work and the reception
it gained from many was overwhelming and wonderful and encouraging. We've always said
The Hatpin was a new work still largely in development. Musicals take time to fully
cook into what they are meant to be. The Hatpin shows lots of promise in that way
and continues to grow into itself. So in essence, it's not finished yet."
Millar said the show was still going through a process that the shows nominated at
this year's Helpmanns had already been through.
"The Helpmann Awards were fantastic last night and it was inspiring to watch
the snippets of all the works that are finished and fully developed garnering the
attention they exclusively deserved," Millar said.
"There has been some talk that we 'should' have been acknowledged in the
Australian Work category - but why? That's a huge field. Of hugely accomplished, developed
work from hugely accomplished and developed practitioners of the arts. This category spans
all artforms ... contemporary dance, theatre, opera ... there was not a work there that
shouldn't have been nominated for utter excellence in its field from Australia. Its as
simple as that."
Millar has already re-worked the show for its upcoming airing overseas as part of
the New York Musical Theatre Festival.
"I have done a newer draft after the first airing of the piece here in Sydney.
Two songs have been removed and a new song has been added in the place of another,"
he said.
"It has been really rewarding to do it. Some scenes have been redrafted a
little after my observations of our initial season. As with all new work it continues to
develop until it settles into itself which is why this second season has always excited
me."
- Troy Dodds
---
Avenue
Q in Australia
Tuesday, July 29, 2:57am AEST.
The hit Broadway musical Avenue Q will
be produced in Australia next year with the show likely to open in Melbourne.
Little details are known about the production but an advertisement in the programme
for the 2008 Helpmann Awards, held last night in Sydney, confirms the show is headed down
under.
The musical, largely inspired by Sesame Street and featuring
actor-controlled puppets, opened on Broadway in 2003 and beat Wicked to the Best
Musical award at the 2004 Tony Awards.
The show's best known songs are 'The Internet Is For Porn', 'There's A Fine, Fine
Line' and 'Mix Tape'.
---
Billy
named year's best show
Tuesday, July 29, 2:45am AEST.
 Billy Elliot was named the year's Best Musical at the 2008
Helpmann Awards last night, beating out The Phantom Of The Opera, Company
and Guys And Dolls to the top prize.
The show also won a swag of other awards - including Best Female Actor In A Musical
for Genevieve Lemon and Best Male Actor In A Musical for Lachlan Denholm, Nick Twiney,
Rarmian Newton and Rhys Kosakowski.
"I feel terribly lucky tonight but I feel very lucky every night that I get to
do this show," Lemon said in her acceptance speech.
Co-producer Louise Withers said it was a tremendous honour for Billy Elliot
to be named the year's best show.
"Over 200 people make Billy happen every night. This award is for
them as much as anyone," she said.
"We are so proud of this production."
After an embarrassing pre-broadcast - which included John Paul Young announcing the
winner for the wrong award, a host of no-shows and a series of technical difficulties -
the official ceremony went off generally smoothly. It included stellar performances from
the casts of Guys And Dolls, Billy Elliot, The Phantom Of The Opera and My
Fair Lady, and featured a special appearance by inaugural Helpmann host Simon Burke.
The pre-broadcast was only saved by the talented Julia Zemiro whose comedic
brilliance should have been used in the live-to-air broadcast, perhaps partnering the
talented but at times shaky Jonathan Biggins.
Company B's Who's Afraid Of Virginia Woolf won Best Play, while Richard
Roxburgh won Best Male Actor In A Play for Toy Symphony and Leah Purcell won Best
Female Actor In A Play for The Story Of Miracles At Cookie's Table, delivering
the most entertaining acceptance speech of the night.
Neil Armfield won Best Direction Of A Play for Toy Symphony while Stephen
Daldry and Julian Webber took out Best Direction Of A Musical for Billy Elliot.
The JC Williamson Award was presented to Barry Humphries and Sue Nattrass, who gave
an entertaining and informative insight into the history of theatre in Australia as she
spoke about her long career in the industry.
Following the Helpmann ceremony, guests partied at the Star City Grand Ballroom,
enjoying live music. Guests at the party included Caroline O'Connor, Marina Prior, Magda
Szubanski, Jason Coleman, Neil Armfield, Belinda Wollaston, Kate Hoolihan, Tyran Parke,
Paul Capsis, Tamsin Carroll and James Millar.
Full winners list is available at www.helpmannawards.com.au.
---
Helpmanns
handed out tonight
Monday, July 28, 12:00am AEST.
Sydney is preparing to host the 2008 Helpmann Awards, with the gongs to be handed
out at a star-studded ceremony at the Lyric Theatre, Star City this evening.
The blockbuster musical Billy Elliot is expected to dominate the evening.
It has 11 nominations and is up against The Phantom Of The Opera, Company and Guys
And Dolls in the Best Musical category.
Sydney-based Company B has 15 nominations tonight, proving itself as the new number
one theatre company in the country. The once unshakeable Sydney Theatre Company has just
one nomination.
Tonight's ceremony commences at 6.30pm with a selection of awards to be handed out
ahead of Foxtel's live coverage commencing at 8.30pm on the Bio Channel. The evening will
be hosted by Jonathan Biggins.
The ceremony will be followed by an exclusive after-party at the Star City
Ballroom.
2008 Helpmann Award nominations
---
Does
YouTube spoil the magic?
Sunday, July 27, 8:16pm AEST.
More and more audio clips illegally recorded inside Sydney and Melbourne theatres
are appearing on internet website YouTube, but anonymity means offenders will probably
never be caught.
The opening of blockbuster musical Wicked in Melbourne has sparked a
flurry of illegal audio recorded from the audience - some of it from the opening night
performance on July 12.
There are currently at least 10 illegal audio clips on YouTube from Wicked,
many including performances by leading ladies Amanda Harrison and Lucy Durack.
Audio from the Sydney production of The Rocky Horror Show popped up on the
website earlier this month, while audio and video from other Australian productions also
features on YouTube.
Neil Gooding, who produced The Hatpin in Sydney earlier this year, said
such content ending up online can have its advantages and disadvantages for shows.
"I think that there can certainly be some advantages - for example the High
School Musical phenomenon was fuelled dramatically by illegal material on
YouTube," Gooding said.
"But I think it is tough on the performers as the live recordings can sometimes be
very harsh on their performances. I think maybe it is just a new techological phenomenon
that we may just have to accept, and possibly even embrace. I don't think the producers
are ever really going to have the resources to prosecute the offenders."
Performer James Millar, who has appeared in countless musicals, condemned those who
put up illegal audio and video on content sharing websites.
"To film a theatre performance and release it is not only an invasion of
privacy, but is also doing theatre an injustice, as it is being captured as less than what
it is and sent out as a rendition of that," Millar said.
"That is why the conditions with which filming or recording are done in
theatre are always very delicate and smartly done. It's often done as a "fan
thing", but its entirely unsupportive and shady. Come and watch it in the moment. If
not, wait for a recording of it that has been done with care and precision."
- Troy Dodds
---
Young
stars highlight new show
Friday, July 25, 9:39pm AEST.
A fun and sexy new tiki sci-fi, rock 'n' roll musical comedy is about to hit
Sydney, with Risky Lunar Love to play CarriageWorks’ Bay 20 Theatre from
September 15 for a limited season.
Award-winning director John Sheedy, musical director Ross Johnston, designer Gypsy
Taylor and highly acclaimed choreographer John O’Connell will unleash Luke
Milton’s original story and music with an exciting young musical theatre cast.
Press notes for the show read: "This musical is a Tiki wonderland, Mai-Tai
masterpiece, set to captivate audiences with the story of a sexy alien invader who
manipulates the desires of two arch rival science-fiction writers in a bid to destroy our
planet and colonise a new one. Featuring 18 musical numbers and a six piece band, Risky
Lunar Love will play in a cabaret environment with the tables being served canapés
and drinks."
“Risky Lunar Love is like watching a fantastical and bizarre lucid dream
explored through several interweaving storylines and one hell of a party,” said
producer Oliver Wenn.
“The play explores one of our greatest natural fascinations, the power of an
alternate reality and the ability to change our lives to suit our desires.”
The show stars Eliza Anderson, Don Christopher, Shannon Dooley, Ryan Gibson,
Sheridan Harbridge, David Hynes, Julia Ohannissian, Mark Pound, Emma Palmer, Nick Simpson
Deeks, Lauren Rutherford, Melle Stewart, Lucy Taylor, Amy Usherwood and Sophie Webb.
Risky Lunar Love opens on September 15. Bookings: www.ticketmaster.com.au.
---
The
Hatpin to premiere in New York 15/9
Thursday, July 24, 9:55pm AEST.
 Australian musical The Hatpin will play its first
performance in America on Monday, September 15, it has been confirmed.
Written by Peter Rutherford and James Millar (pictured), The Hatpin makes
its international debut as part of the New York Musical Theatre Festival.
It will play at the American Theatre Of Actors through until Wednesday, September
24.
The Hatpin has retained its original artwork for the New York season,
though it is understood there has been some tweaking to the script.
The musical, which tells the true story of Amber Murray, opened at the Seymour
Centre in Sydney in February and was extensively critically acclaimed.
In a strange twist to The Hatpin's ongoing success, however, it was
snubbed when it came to the 2008 Helpmann Awards, which are to be presented in Sydney on
Monday night. Despite its extraordinary critical and audience acclaim, the show did not
receive a single nomination, causing a major talking point amongst theatre-goers. The
Helpmanns could be left red-faced if the show continues on its merry way and achieves
major overseas acclaim.
---
STC:
Gallipoli one of our most ambitious productions ever
Thursday, July 24, 9:27pm AEST.
The Sydney Theatre Company says its production of Gallipoli - which opens
at the Sydney Theatre next week - is one of the most ambitious productions it has ever
staged.
The Nigel Jamieson extravaganza commences previews at the Sydney Theatre tomorrow
night ahead of a June 30 opening night.
The show features the STC Actors Company and third year acting students of NIDA,
bringing the total cast to over 40.
Combining spectacle, mass choreography and choral work, aerial performance and huge
projected images across multiple tiers of set, the STC says this is a truly explosive
work.
"Each year we pledge to remember the Diggers, but is this a clear-eyed remembrance or
a sentimental version in convenient soft-focus?," the company asks on its website.
"Drawn from letters, diaries, contemporary reportage, film footage and official
documents ... Gallipoli re-examines a story at the very bedrock of Australian
identity, with seismic results. Unmissable!"
Nigel Jamieson is one of Australia's most distinctive theatre creators, specialising in
large-scale ceremonies and events. His creations have included the unforgettable Tin
Symphony for the Sydney 2000 Olympics Opening Ceremony. His award-winning Adelaide
Festival hit Theft Of Sita has been seen in New York and around Europe, and his
recent work Honour Bound, about the incarceration of David Hicks at Guantanamo
Bay, was performed in Australia, New Zealand and through Europe.
Gallipoli plays until August 23. Bookings: (02) 9250 1777.
---
Guys
And Dolls enters final weeks
Thursday, July 24, 9:18pm AEST.
 The
producers of Guys And Dolls are poised to announce a Sydney season as the show
heads towards its conclusion at Melbourne's Princess Theatre.
Rumours have been circulating about the future of the production ever since it was
confirmed the tuner would close on August 10 after a four month season in Melbourne.
While the musical will not make an immediate transfer to Sydney, it is expected to
arrive in the harbour city either late this year or early 2009. It is believed the show
could then embark on a national tour.
The big question will be whether or not the show can retain its self-titled
"dream team" cast for the Sydney run. The show stars Lisa McCune, Garry
McDonald, Ian Stenlake, Magda Szubanski, Shane Jacobsen and Garry McDonald.
“The stars of this production must be the greatest cast of billboard names in
Australian music theatre history,” co-producer Howard Panter declared when the
musical was announced.
“Each is a household name: a star of stage, screen or television – and in some
cases, of all three. And all of them are perfect for these classic roles in this fresh new
production."
Guys And Dolls is set in New York in the 1940’s. It focuses on small-time
gambler Nathan Detroit, who bets his big time pal Sky Masterson that he can’t make
the next woman he sees fall in love with him. When the next doll happens to be the
neighbourhood missionary Sarah Brown, the stage is set for an unforgettable evening’s
entertainment.
---
Kookaburra
to present gala Melbourne concert
Thursday, July 24, 9:09pm AEST.
 National
musical theatre company Kookaburra will officially launch in Melbourne with a fundraising
concert featuring performances by some of Australian musical theatre's biggest names.
The gala concert will be held at the Her Majesty's Theatre on Monday, September 8.
Performers will include Wicked star Lucy Durack, Nancye Hayes (pictured),
Rhonda Burchmore, Julie Anthony, Peter Cousens, David Harris, Marina Prior, Matthew
Robinson and Wayne Scott Kermond, among others.
The event is being produced mid-way through Kookaburra's Melbourne season of Tell
Me On A Sunday, starring Jolene Anderson. The show is also being produced at the Her
Majesty's Theatre.
Tickets to the gala concert will go on sale soon.
---
Angels
on track for Broadway despite stumble
Thursday, July 24, 1:59pm AEST.
The Australian-conceived musical Angels will still head to Broadway
despite cancelling its pre-New York tryout.
The tuner, written by a duo from Sydney's north shore, tells the story of the
ancient war between the Angels and Lucifer's fallen minions. This timeless tale of good
versus evil, hope versus despair — angels vs demons — is told through the eyes
of Sera, the Angel of Light (Jessica Grové). Though she is gifted with the power to
control light, she aspires to a more heroic role. Her ambition is manipulated by Lucifer
(Robert Cuccioli), which results in tragic consequences to the Angels and the humans they
protect. Sera must find the courage and power to defeat her nemesis.
The show, loosely based on the famous poem Paradise Lost, is to premiere
on Broadway within the next 12 months at a theatre yet to be announced. But producers have
confirmed the pre-Broadway run in Louisiana won't go ahead.
"We are very disappointed to not be able to debut Angels in
Shreveport as planned," producers said in a statement.
"Angels is a very complex production with specific needs and, of
course, can only be performed when absolutely ready. Everyone at The Strand and the
wonderful people of Shreveport have been very warm and supportive, and we hope to
eventually play that legendary theatre."
Angels was written by Marcus Cheong and Ken Lai.
---
Helpmanns
2008: Will Billy scoop the pool?
Thursday, July 24, 12:17am AEST.
Billy Elliot is poised to scoop the pool at the 2008 Helpmann Awards, with
the blockbuster show going into Monday night's ceremony at Sydney's Lyric Theatre with 11
nominations and the support of Australia's theatrical community.
The hit musical, which opened at the Capitol Theatre in December last year, is
nearing the end of its Sydney season and will head to Melbourne later this year where it
is hoping to replicate the success it has achieved in the harbour city.
It is the favourite to take out the Best Musical award at the Helpmanns on Monday,
a category which also features Kookaburra's production of Company, the revival of
The Phantom Of The Opera and the vibrant and fun Guys And Dolls.
However, for the past two years the Helpmanns have shunned the big-budget favourite
in favour of smaller, company-based musicals when it comes to the Best Musical gong. Last
year, Company B's Keating! took home the top award despite all the pre-Helpmann
talk surrounding Priscilla, and in 2006 the Melbourne Theatre Company's
production of The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee beat out general public
favourite Dusty, which starred Tamsin Carroll.
So, does that mean Kookaburra's Company could be in with a chance?
Kookaburra CEO Peter Cousens is proud of the nomination, either way.
“We’re absolutely thrilled and I think it’s a credit to the depth of
talent in Australia that a musical with a considerably smaller budget can have such a
significant impact," Cousens told AussieTheatre.com.
“We’re also wonderfully proud that everyone involved in creating this production
of Company is Aussie and it’s a delight to be up there alongside the
wonderful mega musicals from overseas."
Monday night's ceremony will be broadcast live on Foxtel's Bio Channel, and is to
be hosted by Jonathan Biggins.
ERIN JAMES PREDICTS THE MUSICAL
WINNERS AT THE HELPMANNS
Best Musical - Billy Elliot,
Best Direction Of A Musical - Gale Edwards for Company, Best Choreography - Peter
Darling for Billy Elliot, Best Male Actor - the boys from Billy Elliot,
Best Female Actor - Marina Prior for Guys And Dolls, Best Supporting Male - Linal
Haft for Billy Elliot, Best Supporting Female - Sharon Millerchip for The
Rocky Horror Show.
JOANNA ERSKINE PREDICTS THE
THEATRE WINNERS AT THE HELPMANNS
Best Play - Toy Symphony,
Best Direction Of A Play - Neil Armfield for Toy Symphony, Best Male Actor -
Richard Roxburgh for Toy Symphony, Best Female Actor - Leah Purcell for The
Story Of Miracles At Cookie's Table, Best Supporting Male - Russell Dykstra for
Toy Symphony, Best Supporting Female - Susan Prior for Riflemind.
---
Anderson:
Campbell a major influence
Tuesday, July 22, 10:05pm AEST.
 Jolene Anderson has credited David Campbell as playing a major role
in her move into musical theatre as she readies for the forthcoming tour of Tell Me On
A Sunday.
The show, being presented by Kookaburra, opens in Wollongong next week before
moving to the Glen Street Theatre and then to the Seymour Centre. It will then play a
Melbourne season.
Anderson, who is on a break from her television commitments with All Saints,
said Campbell, with whom she won reality TV show It Takes Two, has had a big
influence on her career.
"I definitely thought about musical theatre [before now], I just didn't know
how to approach it," she said.
"It Takes Two was fantastic for me because I worked with David
Campbell and he is big on musical theatre and he kickstarted by confidence."
She said Campbell has been a great support for her as she prepares for Tell Me
On A Sunday.
"He taught me not to take myself too seriously and just to have fun and be
versatile," she said.
Click here to see Jolene Anderson's full video
interview with AussieTheatre.com
---
Legendary actor Bud Tingwell in hospital
Monday, July 21, 10:09pm AEST.
 The
legendary actor Bud Tingwell is in hospital after falling ill during the Melbourne season
of Follies, presented by The Production Company.
The criticially acclaimed production closed yesterday but 85-year-old Tingwell
appeared only in the opening night performance and was replaced by Grant Smith for the
remainder of the short season at the State Theatre.
It emerged today that Tingwell fought on and performed on opening night without
telling his fellow cast members that he was ill with a urinary tract infection.
"That was being treated with antibiotics and things till the opening night of Follies,
when it all started to go wrong," the ABC quotes Tingwell as saying.
"Nobody knew. I was able to get through the show, but the following morning I was in
an ambulance on the way to the emergency section of the Austin Hospital."
Tingwell has battled a series of health scares since suffering an internal
haemorrhage last August. He remains in hospital and is expected to be released in a few
days.
Tingwell is a respected stage and screen actor who has appeared in countless films
and in shows such as The Man From Snowy River.
---
Wicked
leaves more records in its wake
Monday, July 21, 10:07pm AEST.
 Wicked has taken a box office gross of $1,691,529 for the
week ending July 20 (eight performances), a new record in Melbourne theatre.
It's not the first record the Australian production of the smash hit tuner has left
in its wake, however.
Last Monday, following the show's opening at the Regent Theatre on July 12, the rush for
tickets set a new one-day box office sales record for any Melbourne Theatre.
And in just three hours on February 13, when advance bookings first opened in
Melbourne, group bookers snapped up advance tickets worth $2.3 million – a record for
Australian musical theatre.
Wicked now holds $13 million in advance sales, and last week released a
further 60,000 seats for sale.
“Wicked is unique,” said the musical’s co-producer, John Frost.
“Week by week it just gets bigger and bigger. This is a spectacular musical
that has won the big the awards: a Grammy for Best Musical Show album - the album has sold
more than two million copies - three Tony Awards and six Drama Desks including Best
Musical. The amazing book that goes with the show, Wicked The Grimmerie, has sold
200,000 copies."
Wicked is the untold story of the witches of Oz. Long before Dorothy drops
in, two other girls meet in the land of Oz. One, born with emerald green skin, is smart,
fiery and misunderstood. The other is beautiful, ambitious and very popular. Wicked
tells the story of their remarkable odyssey, how these two unlikely friends grow to become
the Wicked Witch of the West and Glinda the Good Witch.
In his review of Wicked for AussieTheatre.com, Troy Dodds said,
in part: "Wicked’s spectacular costumes and contemporary staging are
the real stars of the show, and the gasp of wonderment from the audience when Elphaba
(Amanda Harrison) flies into the air at the spectacular conclusion to act one embodies the
incredible connection this show builds with an audience throughout. And such gasps keep
coming, whether it be at one of the many hundreds of wonderful outfits or the strong,
action-packed script that has so many surprises along the way that it almost makes Wicked
a show you need to see two or three times to really take it all in."
Wicked is expected to run at Melbourne's Regent Theatre for at least 18
months before moving to Sydney. Bookings: 132 849.
---
New
VCA course confirmed
Saturday, July 19, 8:00pm AEST.
The Faculty of the Victorian College of the Arts at the University of Melbourne has
confirmed it will offer a new full-time three year Bachelor of Music Theatre degree
commencing in 2009.
As revealed by AussieTheatre.com earlier this week, The Bachelor of Music
Theatre is being introduced as a three-year program next year in response to the strong
level of interest shown in VCA Music’s highly-successful Music Theatre evening course
which has been running for six years.
The VCA Bachelor of Music Theatre degree course is called Music Theatre – The Triple
Threat and comprises an intensive skills building program throughout the three years
across the principal disciplines, or ‘triple threat’, of singing, acting and
dance, in a nurturing workshop environment. Students will be able to apply these skills in
fully staged musical theatre shows in the latter stages of their training, in addition to
experiencing the collaboration involved in staging new works. The course offers
significant industry contact and mentoring through workshops and master classes, an
Artist-in-Residence Program and the breadth of professional performing artists teaching in
the program.
"It is exciting that Melbourne is finally able to offer such a fantastic
full-time course," said respected performer and Guys And Dolls star Marina
Prior.
"For students to be nurtured in the midst of such a wonderful arts community
is fabulous."
The Bachelor of Music Theatre at the VCA provides some of the finest professional
practitioners, teachers and facilities for intensive training in the three core
disciplines of Music Theatre. It is directed towards educating and training students to
become professional artists of excellence and international standard. They will graduate
with all the skills required for a successful career in Music Theatre and become
sufficiently flexible to contribute to the changing needs of the artistic community. They
will be creative leaders who can generate, develop and perform new work.
Co-Head of Music Theatre at VCA, Martin Croft said: “The launch of the Bachelor of
Music Theatre for 2009 marks a new phase for Music Theatre at the VCA. The industry now
demands highly talented and multi-faceted performers who can sing, dance and act with
skill and ease. The VCA is a perfect place to provide this intensive learning, performance
experience and industry exposure over a three-year degree”.
For more details about the Bachelor of Music Theatre at the VCA please visit http://www.vca.unimelb.edu.au/musiccourses.
---
Noni
takes on motherly role
Friday, July 18, 9:29pm AEST.
 Respected Australian actor Noni Hazelhurst will take on the unseen
role of the mother in Kookaburra's forthcoming production of Andrew Lloyd Webber's Tell
Me On A Sunday.
Hazelhurst, who is currently gaining critical acclaim in the Seven Network drama
series City Homicide, will record the voiceovers required for the motherly role
in the tuner.
Starring Jolene Anderson, Tell Me On A Sunday opens out of town in
Wollongong later this month before moving to the Glen Street Theatre on the fringe of
Sydney, and then to the Seymour Centre. Following that, the show will play a Melbourne
season at Her Majesty's Theatre.
In other news, Kookaburra Kids is trying to take as many kids to its Discover The
Theatre days as possible, especially considering there are so many sensational musicals
now on stage in Sydney.
Last Saturday one of Kookaburra’s Founding Patrons, Rachel Vassallo, accompanied the
kids to see Anthony Warlow in his legendary role as the Phantom in The Phantom Of The
Opera.
Coming soon, AussieTheatre.com's Troy Dodds goes one on one with Tell Me On
A Sunday star Jolene Anderson in a very special video interview. Stand by for more
details.
Photo: Noni Hazelhurst with Sophie Ross in the Sydney Theatre Company's
production of Woman In Mind.
---
Wicked
breaks box office record
Friday, July 18, 4:21pm AEST.
 Wicked
co-producer John Frost says the reaction and box office success of the show has exceeded
his "wildest expectations" as news comes through that the musical has broken the
one-day box office record for Melbourne theatre.
The Monday after opening at Melbourne’s Regent Theatre on July 12, the rush for
tickets set a new box office record, with $1.5 million in sales. Wicked now holds
an astonishing $13 million in advance sales.
It follows an incredible opening weekend in which the attention the show garnered
was unprecedented. Reviews have been largely stunning, and the marketing and publicity
machine continues to work over time.
“The fantastic critical reaction and overwhelming audience excitement for Wicked
in Melbourne has exceeded our wildest expectations," Frost said.
"We always felt there was a huge audience for Wicked in Australia and
we’re thrilled that Melbourne has embraced this spectacular musical as its own.
"We’re proud to join the list of international ‘Emerald Cities’
which Wicked can call home for a long and healthy run and we thank the Broadway
producers, Marc Platt and David Stone, for choosing to mount this spectacular production
with us here in Melbourne.”
The production at the Regent Theatre stars Amanda Harrison as Elphaba and Lucy
Durack as Glinda.
Frost said he expects sales to continue to be solid, given Wicked's strong
box office history overseas and the incredible word of mouth it garners from those who see
it.
"They all spread the Wicked word. Wicked grows by word of
mouth in a way and to a degree unlike any show I know," he said.
"And Wicked, unlike almost all shows, maintains and builds on its advance
sales. At the moment we’re holding $13 million in advance sales and this week
we’ve put another 60,000 seats on sale. They’re selling fast."
Wicked is enjoying a relatively free reign over Melbourne at the moment,
with only the tail end of the Guys And Dolls run and The Production Company's Follies
as box office competition. Things will get tougher, however, with The Rocky
Horror Show opening in September and blockbuster musical Jersey Boys just
around the corner.
---
Wicked
film likely?
Wednesday, July 16, 10:21pm AEST.
As excitement continues to surround the opening of the Australian production of the
blockbuster musical Wicked, there is renewed speculation that the show could be
turned into a multi-million dollar film.
As the movie-musical comeback continues - the most recent success story being Mamma
Mia!, which has achieved extraordinary publicity - there is talk that Elphaba and
Glinda could soon be taking on the silver screen.
Producer Marc Platt has told Variety that he and Wicked
co-producer David Stone are currently in "early movie talks" with Universal
Pictures. Winnie Holzman, who penned the Tony-nominated book for Wicked, would
write the film's screenplay. No casting has been mentioned.
Universal Pictures production president Donna Langley said: "Our goal now is
absolutely to make the Wicked film, but much like Judy Craymer wouldn't give up
screen rights to Mamma Mia! until the stage show had reached its pinnacle, Marc
and Stephen Schwartz are very mindful of the right timing. But we're dying to do it."
Wicked is a smash hit all around the world and it would seem similar
success is likely in Australia, with extremely positive reviews following last Saturday's
premiere in Melbourne. Early reports indicate the show has done incredibly well at the box
office this week and is likely to run for at least a year the Regent Theatre.
60,000 new seats went on sale on Monday for the Melbourne season, which has been
given no closing date at this stage.
Meanwhile, Wicked's youngest cast member says the experience of being
involved with the show has been "absolutely amazing".
17-year-old Romina Villafranca, who is in the show's ensemble, said she is loving
the experience of working on such a mammoth show.
"We have had a great response, and have been given a few standing
ovations," she told the Illawarra Mercury.
"It is such an awesome show and the cast are absolutely fantastic, particularly the
leads ... they are all really genuine people."
In his review of Wicked for AussieTheatre.com, Troy Dodds said,
in part: "So often we look at shows and it’s easy to pinpoint errors and when
they were made, whether it was in the casting room, the rehearsal process or the
day-to-day performances themselves. Wicked, however, gets it so right. The
casting is strong, the staging is wonderful, the direction and musical direction is spot
on and as expected given its international success, the script is tight and punchy."
Wicked bookings: 132 849.
---
Final
Phantom tickets on sale Monday
Wednesday, July 16, 10:21pm AEST.
 Over 65,000 new
seats will go on sale on Monday as The Phantom Of The Opera gets ready to leave
Sydney.
“The Sydney audiences have been fantastic,” said co-producer Tim McFarlane.
“Our limited season has been very well received and certainly sales reflect
this.”
John Frost, co-producer said: “We are half way through our tour and the production is
set to open in New Zealand on October 14. Sydney will need to get in quick to not miss
out.”
The Phantom Of The Opera opened in Sydney on May 15 and is currently playing the
Lyric Theatre, Star City
The Phantom Of The Opera is the longest running musical on Broadway, having recently
celebrated 21 years since its debut in London’s West End, and has won more than 50
major theatre awards, including seven Tony Awards. It’s been 11 years since the
musical was last performed in Sydney.
The Phantom Of The Opera tells the story of a disfigured musical genius known only as
‘The Phantom’ who haunts the depths of the Paris Opera House. Mesmerised by the
talents and beauty of a young soprano - Christine, the Phantom lures her as his protégé
and falls fiercely in love with her. Unaware of Christine’s love for Raoul, The
Phantom’s obsession sets the scene for a dramatic turn of events where jealously,
madness and passions collide.
With spectacular sets and more than 230 costumes by international designer, the late Maria
Björnson, The Phantom Of The Opera contains some of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s
most famous music, including ‘The Phantom Of The Opera’ and ‘Music Of The
Night’.
The sydney season will close on September 14. Bookings: www.ticketmaster.com.au.
---
Company
B introduces play-reading series
Wednesday, July 16, 10:18pm AEST.
In an effort to drive creative development and unearth new Australian work, Company
B will present rehearsed readings by some of the country's most talented writers over the
next five weeks.
Designed to test the new work in front of an audience in the nurturing and informal
atmosphere of the Company B rehearsal room, Company B has chosen works at different stages
of development. Each work will be teamed with a cast and director for a day.
The Monday night play-reading series offers a unique peek inside the creative process and
gives Company B an opportunity to discover the freshest new writing.
Company B’s Artistic Associate, Eamon Flack, said: “We’re very excited
about the new series for a number of reasons. For Company B, we have an opportunity to tap
into the raft of new Australian talent and stories that just need a little bit of support,
and the benefit to the industry is an opportunity to workshop and develop new work in a
theatre sector screaming out for opportunities in this area.”
The play reading series will run for five weeks from July 14 (the inaugural play reading
has already been held) and is open to the public for a gold coin donation. All play
readings will be held at the Belvoir Street Theatre rehearsal space at 18 Belvoir St,
Surry Hills.
There will be no reading on Monday, July 28 due to the 2008 Helpmann Awards.
The details of the play readings are as follows.
Monday 21 July
Beyond The Neck by Tom Holloway (directed by Wayne Blair)
Monday 4 August
The Sugar House by Alana Valentine (directed by Lee Lewis)
Monday 11 August
The Water Carriers by Ian Wilding (directed by Sam Strong)
Monday 18 August
Buy Guns by Gareth Ellis (directed by Cristabel Sved).
---
Billy
delay warning
Tuesday, July 15, 8:14pm AEST.
 Patrons attending performances of Billy Elliot at the
Capitol Theatre in Sydney this week are being warned to expect delays due to celebrations
surrounding World Youth Day.
World Youth Day continues through until Sunday and there are considerable road
closures and changes to traffic conditions as a result.
Ticket holders are being urged to leave themselves plenty of time when heading to
the theatre, whether they be driving or going by public transport.
In other news, Linal Haft has asked the producers of Billy Elliot to be
released from his contract and Alan Cinis will take over the role of George from this
week.
---
Scorching
good play
Tuesday, July 15, 8:04pm AEST.
Lebanese-French-Canandian playwright Wajdi Mouawad’s epic family story about
the search for reconciliation and truth, Scorched, is coming to the Belvoir
Street Theatre this month for its Australian premiere.
Scorched is the story of Janine and her twin brother Simon and their gruelling
journey into the mystery of their mother’s life. She has recently died and the twins
set about discovering the unspoken truths of their family.
As their story progresses through a Middle East torn apart by war, the twins are brought
face to face with who they are and where they’re from. Their origins, like a dream,
unravel before them as they enact their mother’s final request.
According to Director Neil Armfield (Toy Symphony, Keating!, Exit the King), Scorched
is about trust and story, and the trust we must place in the storyteller to deliver us
safely to the unknown.
“Scorched is a rich and beautiful theatrical fable; it asks the
crucial question of us all – where does our story begin?" he said.
“With Company B’s production, I have the pleasure of working with a huge
and hugely talented cast that also stem from a range of countries and origins – from
Palestine to Mauritius to Greece and Italy – and the coming together of this
diversity for Mouawad’s masterpiece is going to be electric."
French playwright Wajdi Mouawad is one of the most acclaimed writers in the
French-speaking world. Born in Lebanon, raised in Paris and currently residing in Quebec,
Mouawad has delved deeply into humans’ sense of attachment, our struggle for
reconciliation and our unfailing ability to survive in the face of war and terror.
Scorched opens at the Belvoir Street Theatre on July 24. Bookings: (02)
9699 3444.
---
New
three year music theatre course
Tuesday, July 15, 12:03am AEST.
The Victorian College of the Arts (VCA) will announce as early as today that it
plans to offer a three year Bachelor of Music Theatre degree from 2009, setting itself up
as a rival to the famed Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts (WAAPA).
The Degree will be just the third of its kind in Australia, with the others offered
at WAAPA and the University of Ballarat.
Degree participants will have the luxury of experiencing the majority of
professional and amateur shows staged in Melbourne whilst they study and, furthermore,
have the networking opportunities required to kick-start their careers. The course
comprises an intensive skills building program throughout the three years across the
principal disciplines, or ‘triple threat’, of singing, acting and dance.
Since 2003 the VCA has run a popular evening music theatre course, with students
coming from every state and territory resulting in a significant list of alumni success
stories.
Among them is Erin Cornell, who appeared in Wicked in Japan and recently
won the AussieTheatre.com 2008 Rising Star competition.
"VCA Music Theatre was a dream come true for me as a training ground. I worked
with the most influential and inspiring people who pushed me further then i could of ever
imagined as a performer," Cornell told AussieTheatre.com.
"It was also inspiring as our course directors and guest directors were still
fully fledged artists working in the industry/ I am forever grateful for the exposure I
received during this course and the network of supportive industry people that continue to
support me in my career."
Applications into the degree close in September with auditions held across the
country later this year.
- Troy Dodds
---
Another
arm for Short & Sweet
Monday, July 14, 3:50pm AEST.
 The hugely successful Short & Sweet concept has grown another
arm, with Short & Sweet One Act set to be presented in Sydney.
Short & Sweet One Act presents a longer format of the popular mini play
formula, with 16 20-30 minute plays showcased – four per night for a week - over a
four week season at the festival’s ‘home’ of Newtown Theatre.
The rise and rise of Short & Sweet is one of Australia’s great theatrical success
stories of the decade. Attracting almost 2500 international entries annually, the 10
minute mini play form has given rise to sell-out city seasons in Sydney, Melbourne and
Singapore (and shortly Brisbane, London and Kuala Lumpur), regional festivals in NSW and
Victoria and a touring show that has wowed them from Darwin to Tassie.
Now, 16 slightly longer new works will have their premiere – each with its own local
director and cast of local actors – over four weeks from 22 July. Short & Sweet
founder and artistic director of Newtown Theatre, Mark Cleary, said this latest addition
to the Short & Sweet family was another step in the company’s nuturing of fresh
new writers and the development of new work for Australian performing artists.
“While some of our writers are experienced playwrights, this longer form
presents a step up for our newer writers, on the way to becoming highly skilled writers of
full-length plays," he said.
“It’s also a very attractive, colourful and varied format for audiences to
enjoy,” added the Festival director and Newtown Theatre manager, well-known writer
and teacher, Malcolm Frawley.
The plays chosen for the inaugural Short & Sweet One Act festival were selected by a
panel of judges from more than 200 entries. They cover everything from teen runaways to
poker tournaments, motherhood, fatal accidents, porno lines, HIV-AIDS, war, backpackers in
Argentina, dead dogs in suitcases, actors, prodigal sons and virgin birth. And that’s
just the comedies!
Among directors making their debuts at Short & Sweet are well known Sydney actors John
Derum, Zoe Carides, Linden Wilkinson and Angela Kennedy – the last three making their
first forays into directing.
Others include rising stars Deborah Jones, Uma Kali Shakti, Lauren Hamilton Neill and Beck
Carrig as well as experienced ‘pros’ Wayne Tunks, Alexandra Byron, Victor Kline
and Nicholas Papademetriou.
The first week of performances begins July 22. Details: www.shortandsweet.org.
---
World
premiere pending for new play
Monday, July 14, 3:39pm AEST.
A wickedly satirical take on the pharmaceutical industry, psychiatry and
‘family values’ is set for its world premiere next month at the Zenith Theatre
in Sydney’s north.
Playwrights Ken Granneman and Dr Oliver O’Connell say Heterodex is “an
absurdist Jewish comedy about the drug industry, love and homosexual tendencies”.
Directed by Northern Beaches theatre doyen Roz Riley this Factory Space Theatre production
boasts a brilliant cast, and premieres at Chatswood’s Zenith Theatre from August 1.
Stars include Jennie Dibley, Daniel Spehar, Nicola Furst, Leo Domigan and Michael Hilliar.
The medicalisation of natural physiological and psychological processes is a source of
great revenue for the multinational drug companies. While this chemical intervention
mostly benefits humanity, there are certain experiments at the frontiers that are darker
and more questionable in their ideology, ethics and outcomes. This is the story of such an
experiment.
Chair of Psychiatry at a leading University, Professor Marvyn Younge had a homosexual
affair in his youth with his long-time friend Dr Maurice Bornstein. Through bizarre and
convoluted circumstances they fathered a child together. Miriam, the boy’s mother,
confused and depressed, has killed herself.
Maurice and his son Benjii continue to live with Babs, Maurice’s intrusive and
critical mother who continually chides ‘my son, the doctor’ for not being more
successful. Meanwhile she dotes on her androgynous grandson.
Maurice has been in deep denial of his romantic feelings for Marvyn and of his own
suppressed sexuality. He sublimates his desires with florid sessions at the piano. Marvyn,
on the other hand, remains both sexually ambivalent and insatiable with his sexual
appetite underscoring his clinical practice. In the context of all this, it is hugely
ironic that Marvyn develops and champions a medication, HETERODEX ® said to
“cure” homosexuality in young males.
However Marvyn’s desire for international recognition has led him to be less than
rigorous in following scientific protocols in clinical trials of the drug. Meanwhile,
Maurice projects his repressed sexuality onto his son and puts him up as a guinea pig for
the trials… with chaotic and shocking consequences.
This fast-paced, edgy satire highlights the interplay of competing personal, social and
financial pressures in the genesis and clinical development of a new drug.
Heterodex opens on August 1. Bookings: (02) 9411 7088.
---
Production
Company swings into action
Monday, July 14, 10:36am AEST.
Final frantic rehearsals are underway for The Production Company's opening 2008
gambit with Follies, with the show to open at the State Theatre in Melbourne on
Wednesday evening.
Part of The Production Company's 10th Anniversary Season, Follies stars
John Diedrich, Anne Wood, Philip Gould, Debra Byrne, Monique Brynnel, Kenneth Collins,
Judy Connelli, Nancye Hayes and Melissa Langton - a veritable who's who of Australian
musical theatre.
The action in Follies takes place on
the stage of an about-to-be-demolished theatre in 1971. Impresario, Dimitri Weismann is
hosting a reunion party for the Weismann Girls who descended his theatre’s staircase
in opulence and style in the Follies revues from 1918 to 1941.
This joyously nostalgic party gives each of the guests a chance to step into the limelight
and briefly re-visit their magical past.
The winner of seven Tony Awards, Follies is well and truly a sensational
classic that is a perfect choice to kick off The Production Company's 2008 season, which
also includes Damn Yankees and Mame.
Follies opens on Wednesday. Bookings: 1300 136 166.
---
Stevenson
steps in
Sunday, July 13, 11:36pm AEST.
Jemma Stevenson enjoyed her first in-season bout as Elphaba this afternoon,
stepping in for Amanda Harrison at the 1pm matinee performance of Wicked at
Melbourne's Regent Theatre.
Harrison was back for the 6pm performance, while Lucy Durack performed in both of
today's shows.
The vocal demands on both girls are quite tough during the show, and with the duo
coming off the rehearsal process, it is expected both may miss performances in the coming
weeks.
Wicked opened at the Regent Theatre in Melbourne last night.
- Troy Dodds
---
Opening
night guests paint the town green
Sunday, July 13, 10:47am AEST.
 The cast of
Wicked painted the town green last night during their opening night party at the
Sofitel, celebrating the biggest musical ever to hit Australian shores.
Arguably the largest event of its kind to be staged in Melbourne, this delightfully Wicked
function proved that Melbourne sure know how to throw a party. Over 1700 guests were
greeted with pink and green cocktails, setting the mood for the night to follow.
Two of the Sofitel’s ballrooms were decorated to represent the two Witches of Oz,
Elphaba and Glinda - The ‘green’ room, complete with mini Dragon Time Clock and
green mood lighting, and a ‘pink’ room, adorned with mirrors and white drapes.
Amanda Harrison (Elphaba), Lucy Durack (Glinda) and the cast arrived in the Wicked an hour
after the function began, and looked radiant after the thrill of an opening night standing
ovation.
Harrison was sporting over $90,000 worth of diamonds, and had a bodyguard with her all
night, and Durack shone in a stunning red gown.
Guests at the party included Chris Lilley (Summer Heights High), Sean Micalef,
Jane Turner and Gina Riley (Kath And Kim), Peter Costello, Nikki Webster, Bree
Amer (Big Brother) and Tim Campbell.
- Erin James, in Melbourne
Picture: The cast of Wicked at the post-show party at the Sofitel.
---
Durack
steals the show as Wicked witches shine
Sunday, July 13, 10:47am AEST.
 Australian musical theatre welcomed a new top-flight star last night
with Lucy Durack giving the standout performance at the opening night of blockbuster
musical Wicked at the Regent Theatre.
Durack's extraordinary turn as Glinda came complete with wonderful comic timing, an
obvious understanding of the requirements of the role and of course, sensational vocals,
highlighted by her trademark number, 'Popular'.
While the strain of the rehearsal process was obvious in some of the vocal
performances of the principals, the signs were extremely good that the casting team have
got things spot on when it comes to the Australian premiere production.
Durack, born in Perth, has worked on various musicals - including many for The
Production Company in Melbourne - but there is no doubting Wicked is her big
break and the show that could make her a household name.
Wearing a stunning red dress, Durack beamed at the show's after-party last night,
speaking of how extraordinary the experience has been for her and her on stage partner in
crime, Amanda Harrison (the two are pictured, left).
For Harrison, the show is the culmination of years of hard work, with key roles in
shows such as Leader Of The Pack and Miss Saigon leading to the
extraordinary mountain that is Elphaba in Wicked, a demanding yet fulfilling role
that is now one of the most recognised in musical theatre history.
Her rendition of 'No Good Deed' at the opening night performance was a five star
standout.
Harrison's husband Scott and Durack's partner Chris were both in attendance at last
night's performance, beaming with pride, while both girls had family members in
attendance.
The rehearsal schedule has been demanding for the duo, as has the media work with
constant photo and interview engagements from February onwards.
- Troy Dodds, in Melbourne
---
Wicked
opens with a bang
Sunday, July 13, 10:45am AEST.
 Blockbuster musical Wicked last night commenced performances
in Melbourne with a solid standing ovation from an opening night audience made up of
celebrities, investors and theatre industry representatives.
The Regent Theatre was packed to capacity for the show, which created an
extraordinary buzz at interval and an even bigger positive reaction at its completion, and
at the star-studded after-party.
The after-party, held at the Sofitel in Melbourne, was one of the biggest parties
of its kind ever held in the city - spanning at least three major rooms and featuring
extraordinary catering and green and pink cocktails.
Earlier, opening night guests walked the green carpet as the media clamoured for
photographs, with spotlights working overtime and a Melbourne radio station broadcasting
live from the event.
The performance commenced around 10 minutes late, at 7.10pm, but everything went
off without a hitch, a stellar workout that the cast and creative team must surely be
thrilled by.
Wicked, already a major hit overseas, tells the back-story to The
Wizard Of Oz with particular focus on the two witches - Glinda The Good and the
Wicked Witch of the West, who in this tale is given a name, Elphaba.
The duo form an unlikely friendship as mysteries unravel, all mixed with one of the
most iconic contemporary musical theatre scores, which is leading a new generation of
youngsters into the theatre.
The show is expected to be a major success story in Melbourne, running for anywhere
up to three years at the Regent before even considering a move, most likely to Sydney.
Melbourne had been "turned green" for last night's premiere, with street
lamps on Collins Street changing colour and the buzz of the city evident as guests began
to arrive for the opening night performance.
For the cast who partied into the night and celebrated an extraordinary
achievement, reality now sets in: Eight shows a week for who knows how long.
- Troy Dodds, in Melbourne
---
Cloudy
and wet in Melbourne ahead of Wicked opening
Saturday, July 12, 4:04pm AEST.
It is overcast and wet in Melbourne ahead of tonight's opening night performance of
Wicked at the Regent Theatre, with final preparations now underway for the gala
premiere and the cast feeling nerves ahead of the night Australian theatre has its eyes
on.
"It's so unbelievably exciting, but yes, nervous would be an
understatement," one ensemble member told AussieTheatre.com this afternoon.
From the airport to the CBD, Wicked is everywhere in Melbourne, from
magazine covers, posters and flags through to a giant green tram that works its way
through the city.
“It’s just everything on a grander scale really, this musical is just
enormous,” Lucy Durack, who plays Glinda, told The West Australian.
Of her on and off stage partnership with Amanda Harrison, Durack said: “There’s
a lot of responsibility and a lot of hype and it’s really nice to share that with
somebody instead of just having it on one person’s shoulders.”
At this stage, it is believed the full principal cast will take to the stage
tonight with no requirement for standbys.
- Troy Dodds, in Melbourne
---
Excitement
builds in Melbourne
Saturday, July 12, 12:00am AEST.
 Tonight is the
night Australian musical theatre comes of age, with years of rumours, anticipation and
excitement surrounding blockbuster show Wicked culminating in a gala premiere at
Melbourne's Regent Theatre.
The most anticipated show in Australian musical theatre history, this production
has already broken records, and is expected to become a phenomenon in Australia and make
its stars household names.
Starring Amanda Harrison as Elphaba and Lucy Durack as Glinda, Wicked tells
the backstory to the much-loved children's tale The Wizard Of Oz, with particular
focus on the witches and their personal journeys.
The cast also features the legendary duo Rob Guest and Maggie Kirkpatrick, along
with newcomers Anthony Callea and Rob Mills and Rodney Dobson and Penny McNamee.
Wicked is this generation's Les Miserables or The Phantom Of
The Opera, and its key roles - Elphaba and Glinda - have become two of the most
iconic in music theatre history. Idina Menzel won a Tony Award in 2004 for her performance
as Elphaba on Broadway.
Stage legend Rob Guest, who played the Phantom in The Phantom Of The Opera
for thousands of performances, said Wicked is unlike anything he has ever been
involved with.
"This is more high tech than any show I have done," he told Channel Nine.
"It has transformed the Regent Theatre. You walk in there and you are part of Wicked
as soon as you are there, that's the exciting thing."
The publicity and marketing machines have been working overtime in Melbourne in
preparation for tonight's opening, with parts of the city turned green as the show takes
hold as a major tourist event.
Tonight's opening night performance begins at 7pm, with an exclusive after-party
scheduled for the Sofitel Melbourne just after 10pm. It is there when co-producer John
Frost and the creative team will have their first indication of how the show has been
received artistically, ahead of a week's worth of reviews.
Wicked is likely to remain in Melbourne for 18 months, and while no tour
has been confirmed yet, it is expected to be in Sydney either late 2009 or early 2010,
depending on the box office performance of its premiere season.
- Troy Dodds, in Melbourne
---
Julia
Holt quits, Campbell named as replacement
Thursday, July 10, 10:52pm AEST.
 Julia Holt has quit after eight years at the helm of the Adelaide
Cabaret Festival and will be replaced by swing sensation David Campbell, who says he hopes
to bring his knowledge of the international cabaret scene to the position.
“I have reached this decision after deep reflection," Holt said.
"From developing the initial idea and after considerable nurturing and
fine-tuning, the Adelaide Cabaret Festival is now an internationally acclaimed boutique
arts festival. It boasts an enthusiastic and substantial audience base, both locally and
from further afield. Artists who have been a part of the Adelaide Cabaret Festival hold it
in great affection and the international reputation the Festival has achieved in such a
short time is quite remarkable."
She added that it had been an honour and absolute delight to have had the
opportunity to lead the Festival.
Campbell, who marries fiance Lisa Hewitt later this year (pictured), had originally
agreed to direct the 2010 and 2011 Festivals but with the post vacated earlier than
anticipated, he will look after 2009 as well.
Frank Ford AM, Chair of the Adelaide Cabaret Festival Committee and initiator of
the Festival, praised the Festival Centre for the success of the Festival to date.
“On behalf of the Adelaide Cabaret Festival Committee I wish Julia every
success in the future and acknowledge her outstanding achievement, a legacy that will
continue to keep South Australia a leader in the arts,” he said.
---
Wicked
to introduce lottery system
Thursday, July 10, 9:26pm AEST.
Blockbuster musical Wicked will replicate a successful international
system in which cut price tickets are available via a lottery for its Melbourne season at
the Regent Theatre.
A limited number of $30 tickets will be made available for each performance in the
front row, with a limit of two tickets per person. Names will be taken at the box office
two and a half hours prior to each performance, with the lottery drawn two hours before a
show begins.
The lottery will begin for performances from Wednesday, July 16.
The system is a massive hit on Broadway, with hundreds of people lining up to take
part in the lottery, aiming to get front row tickets for $25.
Wicked commences performances at the Regent Theatre on Saturday night.
AussieTheatre.com has a team in Melbourne, headed by Managing Editor Troy
Dodds, covering the opening weekend of Wicked. Stay tuned across the weekend for all the
latest news and information, plus our Wicked review on Monday.
---
Shane
Warne The Musical on sale 21/7
Thursday, July 10, 9:15pm AEST.
 Melbourne, the greatest spectator city on Earth, has the sporting box
seat each year on the last Saturday in September, first Tuesday in November and Boxing
Day.
Now, Wednesday, December 10 will take its place on Melbourne’s calendar as the
day the sheikh of tweak finally got a musical all of his very own. Shane Warne The
Musical is a leg-spun yarn about what it means to fall arse-backwards into the
Australian Dream and emerge a champion. In a country that routinely lops its tall poppies,
this show sets out to both celebrate and understand the life of cricket's most adored and
maligned hero as he battles fame, failure, fidelity and the ferocious Australian media.
The boy from Black Rock will be immortalised on stage by the most impressive team
ever assembled for an Australian musical premiere.
Shane’s ups and downs will be brought to life by the multi-talented composer
and comedian Eddie Perfect with editorial assistance from Casey Bennetto, the creator of
Keating!. Neil Armfield, one of Australia’s most acclaimed theatre, opera and
film directors (Keating!, Stuff Happens, Exit The King, Candy) will lead the
creative team, with set design by Tony Award winner Brian Thomson (Priscilla,
Keating!, Boy From Oz – Arena).
A sizzling live band and an exceptional cast, including Eddie Perfect as the man
himself, bring to life a brilliant score which fuses soul, gospel, rock, power ballads,
drum n bass, opera and even a touch of Bollywood.
Shane Warne The Musical is a new breed of Aussie music theatre that
smokes, drinks, carries a few extra kilos and still brings home the Ashes. Made in
Melbourne, by a boy from Melbourne, about the greatest player the Sandringham Line ever
produced.
The show opens at the Athenaeum Theatre in Melbourne on December 10. Tickets are on
sale from July 21. Bookings: 1300 723 038.
---
Tyran
Parke: Audio Samples
Thursday, July 10, 9:15pm AEST.
Music theatre and cabaret performer Tyran Parke, whose website is part of the Aussie Theatre Network, has
released his debut solo cd, Sunday In The Parke.
Parke, who earlier this year starred in The Hatpin at the Seymour Centre
and is currently working internationally with Eurobeat, found the inspiration for
the CD while working on Sunday In The Park With George last year.
“In the second act George says a lot about the next thing he does needing to really
mean something and I was performing the show thinking the same thing, what is next for
me,” Parke said.
“I decided to make a CD and have spent the last year putting it together. It’s
got from songs from Sunday In The Park With George which I thought was important,
but it’s got a range of other songs as well.”
Sunday In The Parke Audio Samples
Catch Me
Finishing
The Hat
I Hope I
Never
Just Say
When
You're Strange
Windmills
Of Your Mind
You can buy Tyran Parke's CD through www.tyranparke.com,
an Aussie Theatre Network website.
---
The
theatre's good
Thursday, July 10, 9:14pm AEST.
At the end of July prepare to be transported back to Sydney, 1789, filled with
convicts, thieves, liars and whores, as Darlinghurst Theatre Company and The Group Theatre
present the award winning play Our Country’s Good by Timberlake Wertenbaker,
based on award winning author Thomas Keneally’s novel The Playmaker.
Our Country’s Good tells the remarkable true story of the first play that was
ever staged by white people in Australia, amazingly performed entirely by convicts.
Captain Arthur Phillip, Sydney’s first governor, faces the challenge of building a
new society out of bitter, resentful officers, and hundreds of thieves, pickpockets and
murderers. In an effort to humanise the population, the progressive and enlightened
governor decides that some culture and education will need to be brought to the convicts,
as well as providing an alternative to the only existing form of public entertainment;
hangings.
He commissions Lieutenant Ralph Clarke, a young and serious officer, to direct a play
starring a cast of convicts, many of whom are illiterate and one who is about to be
hanged.
Over the course of the rehearsal period, the already married, Lieutenant Ralph falls in
love with his lead actress and convict Mary Brenham. All based on actual events with St
Philips Church in Sydney holding records that Ralph and Mary had a daughter named Alicia
in 1791.
The beginnings of their love affair is depicted throughout the play as well as many
historically true events and people, including the infamous convict Mary Bryant who
famously escaped the colony by stealing a ship and sailing to Timor and William Dawes who
was the surveyor and astronomer on the first fleet.
Based on the novel The Playmaker by Thomas Keneally who is arguably one of
Australia’s best known and most loved writers. His other work includes, The Chant
of Jimmy Blacksmith and Schindler’s Ark which was made into the Oscar
winning film Schindler’s List by Steven Spielberg.
Our Country’s Good was written by Timberlake Wertenbaker in conjunction with an
extended development with an ensemble cast at London’s Royal Court Theatre under the
direction of Max Stafford Clark. Wertenbaker has said of the piece "It is a modern
play. I'm trying to write about how people are treated, what it means to be brutalised,
what it means to live without hope, and how theatre can be a humanising force."
Directed by Michael Booth, who has received a cult following from his recurring role in
the Greater Union cinemas ad campaign, and has previously directed for The Group Theatre The
Zoo Story and The Grey House at The Old Fitzroy Hotel. Our
Country’s Good will feature an amazing ensemble of 11 actors, including TV vet
Chris Rodwell from ABC’s The Pet Show and Discovery Channel’s Animal
X.
Our Country's Good plays at the Darlinghurst Theatre from July 23.
Bookings: (02) 8356 9987.
---
Christo's
one man mountain
Thursday, July 10, 9:08am AEST.
 Music theatre and cabaret performer Nick
Christo is preparing to capture the magic and music of comedienne, jazz legend and
entertainment revolutionary Frances Faye in a one-man, one-night-stand on Tuesday, July 29
in Sydney.
Outrageous recording artist and wickedly naughty band leader Frances Faye was certainly
without equal. Her outlandish style, cut throat vocals and highly camp quips had seen her
rise from mobster gin joints of the 1920’s to become the phenomenon of clubs across
the United States, eventually smashing the record set by Peggy Lee at New York’s
famous Basin Street East in the early ‘60s.
Under the direction of Neil Gooding (The Hatpin, Back to the ‘80s, Short
Sweet+Song, Fast+Fresh), Nick Christo recreates the essence of Frances Faye; her
explosive 1962 Australian debut at Chequers nightclub; her taboo-incinerating relationship
with Australian audiences; and her unmistakable stamp (or stomp) of influence on
performers like Bette Midler and Peter Allen - “Whatever comic timing I have, I got
from Frances Faye.”
A graduate of WAAPA, Nick received a Western Australian Equity Award (A Swell Party)
and won the Short Sweet+Song Festival for 2007 (Building A Wing). Currently
performing as Zoltan Karpathy in My Fair Lady for Opera Australia, Nick’s
recent credits include the world premiere of The Hatpin, Motel in Fiddler On
The Roof (TML), Louis in Sunday In The Park With George (Q Theatre),
Salvador Dali in Barber Of Seville (Opera Australia), Jay Yates in Titanic (Seabiscuit
Inc) and Mordred in Camelot (The Production Company).
The Fabulous Frances Faye promises another musical jibe-fest of latin heat and
jamming hip cats featuring the LB Little Big Band, under the swinging baton of Luke Byrne
(The Hatpin, I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change, Urinetown, The World’s
Wife, Tick, tick…BOOM!)
The show plays for one night only at Slide Bar in Darlinghurst on Tuesday, July 29.
Bookings: (02) 8915 1899.
---
Mamma
Mia! stars hit Sydney harbour
Tuesday, July 8, 7:09pm AEST.
The stars of the new movie-musical Mamma Mia! graced Sydney Harbour today
as they continue their publicity tour for the film, which opens across Australia on
Thursday.
Meryl Streep, Colin Firth and Dominic Cooper are all in Australia for the film's
premiere.
Streep plays Donna in the film, which is an adaptation of the smash hit musical
that has been successful right across the world and played in Australia for an impressive
four years from 2001.
Her co-star Firth, who plays Harry Bright, said the film was a delight to make.
"It was just this wonderful feeling that we were on a holiday on a greek
island really - it was almost obscene to be getting paid," Firth told a press
conference today.
Click
here to see LiveNews.com.au's video footage of the Mamma Mia! cast in Sydney
---
Karaoke
The Musical to premiere
Tuesday, July 8, 10:47am AEST.
After years of speculation and workshops, producers have finally confirmed a season
of Karaoke The Musical, with the new Australian show to open at The Factory
Theatre in Enmore on Thursday, September 4.
The show features new songs and includes a parade of hits including: 'Howzat', 'Like A
Virgin', 'Absolutely Everybody', 'Am I Ever Going to See Your Face Again?', 'Suspicious
Minds', 'Physical' and 'Love Is In The Air' led by the man himself, John Paul Young.
This new musical is written and directed by Guy Noble, one of Australia’s leading
musical directors, writers and entertainers. It features an ensemble of talented
Australian actors including Stephen Mahy, Warwick Allsopp, Kaeng Chan, Lizzie Mitchell,
Debora Krizak, Anna Burgess, Meredith O’Reilly, and Rob Thomas.
"I love sending an audience home feeling better than when they came in, and that's
exactly what Karaoke The Musical is about,” said Guy Noble.
“A high energy fast-moving show with great characters, a hot band, a fun
story, lots of laughs and a chance for people to have a good old-fashioned singalong as
well!"
Jack, Darren and Flynn are three young friends who have two things in common – they
love singing Karaoke and none of them has a girlfriend. Having been thrown out of every
Karaoke Bar in Sydney for their raucous performances, they decide to open their own live
karaoke bar, featuring a band on stage.
It is here that they meet Cindy and her dysfunctional family – Tammy, the stage
mother from hell, sisters Shania and Twain (who made it to the final 12000 of Australian
Idol) and downtrodden father, Frank. The show brings all these characters together
into a toe-tapping 90 minute comedy.
Bookings: (02) 9550 3666.
---
Corin
makes full-length debut
Friday, July 4, 8:49am AEST.
 B Sharp will welcome
performer, producer and now playwright, Tahli Corin and her first full-length play, Bumming
With Jane to the Belvoir Street Downstairs Theatre next month. Inspired by the poetry
of Charles Bukowski, Bumming With Jane is an exploration of love, poverty and
constructed reality.
Patrick and Jane are madly in love, madly in lust and occasionally just plain mad. They
live on a diet of cheap wine, baked beans and whatever else they find in the large
dumpster bins outside their local supermarket. They take turns seeking part-time
employment, and all of their furniture, except a large tattered couch, has been sold to
Ronnie, the pawnbroker. Life is great if completely transitory, but their situation
spirals out of control.
Bumming With Jane is a unique romantic comedy – delicately weaving a
humour-filled love story with provocative undercurrents exploring complex social issues
around poverty and homelessness, gender roles and relationships in the modern Australian
city. It’s about choice: the choices we make, the choices others make for us, and the
choices that circumstance dictates.
Tahli Corin, who has most recently come from co-writing and performing in Conclusions:
On Ice, a black comedy that premiered at the 2008 Adelaide Fringe Festival, wrote and
is producing the new Australian work inspired by a kind of raw poetry of the street.
"When I first picked up a book by Bukowski, I thought I would hate it. I heard that
he was a crude, womanising, alcoholic. What I discovered in fact was a particularly frank
and somewhat refreshing record of modern life. He treated the dire and divine aspects of
life with the same reverence, and he was an incredible storyteller," Corin said.
“Often in a metropolitan city like Sydney, we walk the streets with our blinkers on
to what is really around us. We tend to stare at or ignore people who are different to us,
rather than engage with them. Bumming With Jane is a slice of life less ordinary
– one of a poverty-stricken couple on the verge of everything, making what they can
out of nothing."
Bumming With Jane opens for just over three weeks from August 14 at Belvoir Street
Downstairs Theatre. Jane will be played by Sophie Cook (Packed to the Rafters, The
Burlesque Ball, Scarlett Girls) and her boyfriend Patrick by Tahki Saul (The
Cherry Orchard). Their boozy landlord Bev will be played by Gertraud Ingeborg (Manna,
The Crucible, The Tempest).
The play is scheduled to run until August 7. Bookings: (02) 9699 3444.
---
Amanda
ready to fly
Thursday, July 3, 5:47pm AEST.
When Amanda Harrison takes to the stage as Elphaba on July 12 at the opening night
of Wicked, it will be almost three years to the day since she gave new life to
the almost-there musical Leader Of The Pack at the Palms At Crown Melbourne.
It was July 14, 2005 and after a Sydney season a couple of years earlier that
didn't go down all that well, Leader Of The Pack tried its luck in Melbourne, and
Harrison gave it the knockout punch |
