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Boeing Boeing lands in Melbourne June 7
Monday, March 31, 6:44pm AEDST.
Boeing Boeing, a comedy of matchmaking and mayhem, received rave reviews
and played to sell-out houses during its recent season in the West End. The same
production, with an all-Australian cast on board, is set to touch down in Australia for a
national tour from June 7.
Boeing Boeing originally opened in the mid-1960s and was one of the most successful
comedies of its time, running for an impressive seven years on London’s West End, 19
years in Paris, and was a hit when it toured Australia.
This stylishly new retro production, which opened in London last February and is
due to premiere on Broadway in May, will be directed in Australia by award-winning English
director and dramatist Matthew Warchus.
Boeing Boeing has been described as one of the most enjoyable and
mischievously funny shows in the West End for years and puts a seriously sexy and funny
twist on classic comedy.
Bernard (Shaun Micallef) is a successful architect living in Paris happily juggling
three airhostess fiancées – a German flying with Lufthansa (Sibylla Budd), an
Italian in the air with Alitalia (Rachel Gordon) and an American with TWA (Helen
Dallimore) who don't know of each other's existence. It’s all a question of airline
timetables, steered with the assistance of his reliable, long-suffering housekeeper Bertha
(Judi Farr), who has reluctantly taken on the role of romantic air-traffic controller.
When old school friend Robert, played by Helpmann Award winner Mitchell Butel
arrives, Bernard relishes the chance to show his wide-eyed visitor his first-class
romantic operation at work. Unfortunately, schedules change, flights are delayed and a new
turbo-charged Boeing aircraft is introduced: chaos ensues in this hysterical whirlwind.
Sonia Friedman of Sonia Friedman Productions, originating West End producer said: “It
has been a joy to produce Boeing Boeing and bring back life into a wonderful
comedy that has filled theatres with riotous laughter and thrilled audiences for years. I
am delighted that audiences in Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane and Perth will have the
opportunity to see this new hit West End production".
Rodney Rigby of Newtheatricals, co-Australian producer said: “This production of Boeing
Boeing is one of the funniest plays I have ever seen in London and what a sensational
cast we have for Australia. Who would have thought that we would get all these stars
together in one show!"
Boeing Boeing kicks off its national tour at Melbourne's Comedy Theatre on
June 7.
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La
Mama's future in serious doubt
Sunday, March 30, 6:19pm AEDST.
The State and Federal Governments are set to be called upon to help secure the
future one of Melbourne's most famous theatres after the building in which it is housed
was put for sale.
La Mama, which survived a battle for its future
last year after the Australia Council threatened to pull its funding, has been in
operation for some 40 years and has a reputation for producing theatre by creators of all
backgrounds.
The theatre's director, Liz Jones, has received
a letter from lawyers acting on behalf of the family who own the Faraday Street venue,
confirming it is on the market and asking Jones to make an offer.
It follows the death last month of 89-year-old
Rose Del Monaco, who owned the site and was a strong supporter of the theatre.
It is believed Melbourne City Council could be
considering buying the site and leasing it back to La Mama so theatre activities can
continue.
It is also hoped the State and Federal
Governments as well as individual donors will help secure the venue's long term future as
a theatre.
There's plenty of time to figure out a happy
ending, with La Mama having three years left to run on its lease of the building, and the
owners confirming they will honour that commitment.
Have you seen shows at La Mama? Share
your memories on our Discussion Forum.
---
Aussie
girls a hit in New York
Saturday, March 29, 1:18pm AEDST.
Two young Australian performers made a stir on Friday in the heart of New York City
as they performed a 40 minute cabaret showcase at the renowned venue Don’t Tell Mama.
Roshani Priddis and Carly Champion, both 20 years of age, were awarded the 2008 TDP/ASCAP
Bound For Broadway Scholarship, winning three weeks in New York City, the birthplace of
musical theatre.
As a part of the scholarship, the girls were introduced to Broadway royalty such as
Stephen Schwartz, Craig Carnelia, Stephen Flaherty and Dick Scanlan, and booked to perform
their showcase to members of the musical theatre community.
On Friday, they gave the performance of a lifetime.
The girls are about to prepare for their final week in New York City, but for now,
it’s time to celebrate the conclusion of a successful show.
“I don’t even have the words to express how amazing it feels!” said
Priddis, from country New South Wales.
“I can’t wait to get back to Australia and start working on a new cabaret
project."
Champion, from the western Sydney suburb of Penrith, is on a high after the
successful showcase.
“I wish I was performing it all again tonight! I’m on TEN!!” sighed
Champion, who heads to Chicago next week to work on her original tracks and a performance
in front of a 5,000 strong crowd.
Both girls agree the scholarship has been a life changing experience. They will continue
to reach for the stars, and do as Stephen Schwartz personally advised them during this
trip: “Defy Gravity”.
2008 is the third year the Bound For Broadway scholarship has taken place, and with
the project proving a success, the concept is set to continue as part of the New South
Wales-based Talent Development Project in the coming years.
Special Feature: Aussie girls take New York by
storm
- Erin James
---
Short
musicals on show
Friday, March 28, 10:39pm AEDST.
 New musical theatre pieces are getting a workout at the Seymour Centre
in Sydney with the launch of this year's Short, Sweet & Song tonight.
In its second year, the concept features 10 short musicals and includes a mix of
both established and new writers, directors and performers.
Previews have been held over the last few nights with the official opening night
held this evening.
With names like Peter Ross and Margi De Ferranti directing, actors include James
Millar, Octavia Barron-Martin, Nathan Carter, Catherine Shepherd, Meagan Caratti and
Vincent Hooper, as well as newcomers Harriet Dyer and Brent Dolahenty, among others.
In addition to the main festival, which runs until next Saturday, five works will be
performed as part of a Wildcard series on Saturday afternoons. These will be followed by a
Q and A with the writers and the creative teams to enable audiences to give feedback and
help shape the work. This feedback may then be used in developing the piece.
Short, Sweet & Song is an extension of the
popular Short & Sweet short play festival, which recently wrapped up its 2008 Sydney
season.
Short, Sweet & Song bookings: (02) 9351
7940.
Maz Dixon's review of Short, Sweet &
Song will be online shortly.
---
Melbourne,
then New York
Friday, March 28, 10:04pm AEDST.
The next Australian musical to take on New York, Dutch Courage, will play
an extremely limited season in Melbourne next month before jetting off to the Big Apple in
May.
Dutch Courage opens off-Broadway at the Wings Theatre on May 23.
The show's farewell reading will be at Theatreworks in Acland Street, St Kilda, on
April 10, 11 and 12.
The production is being facilitated by what director Will Conyers refers to as
"the lungs of Melbourne musical theatre", Magnormos. Magnormos is recognised
nationally and internationally for its contribution to independent musical theatre, with a
specialised focus on the work of Australian writers. Established in 2002, Magnormos is a
catalyst for the Australian musical through its two major performance projects: OzMade
Musicals (the annual national celebration of Australian musical theatre) and the Prompt
Musicals program (the presentation of rarely seen musical theatre work, with an emphasis
on original Australian musicals or Australian premieres of key international works).
“This show is full of laughs and entertainment," Conyers said.
"That being said, it’s a graphic tale of personal identity, the pursuit
of equality, persecution of minorities and the cement of friendship, loyalty and the
redeeming of the human spirit. Pretty relevant. But yeah - bring a tissue or two!”
The development of the book, music and lyrics of Dutch Courage has got to this
stage without one skerrick of public or private funding.
As writer, Barry Lowe, explained: “It’s really been 12 years since Sean
[Peter] and I have visited Dutch Courage. These two compacted ‘workshop
readings’ (in Sydney and Melbourne) are immensely valuable. What we have now is a
piece that we’re definitely proud to take to NY, but, with Will and his cast, we will
be tinkering right through the Melbourne process too! We have to. It’s what the
development process is all about."
Melbourne bookings: www.magtix.com.
Click here to listen to a special audio feature on
Dutch Courage
---
Theatre
centre's crisis
Friday, March 28, 6:33pm AEDST.
A farcical situation involving social networking website Facebook, a missing
General Manager and fears of demolition are dogging what should be boom times for Sydney's
famous Seymour Centre.
It is likely that the Centre, which houses several theatres of different sizes,
will be demolished at some point in the coming years, but a commitment remains in force
that it would be re-built as a theatre centre.
The Centre is owned by the University of Sydney and Professor John Coats has told The
Sydney Morning Herald that it is "showing signs of age" and "could be
demolished and re-built".
But there could be bigger problems at the Seymour. Late last year, General Manager
Julie Mullins launched the venue's first ever subscription season to much acclaim, but
there's now mystery surrounding her future.
The Herald reports that Mullins is now on extended leave while
negotiations continue in relation to her future. It is understood she has been on leave
since late October, just days after launching the subscription season.
In addition to fears over what demolition could bring and the Mullins mystery, a
bizarre Facebook group to save the Centre's Front Of House Manager, Buck Buckingham, was
launched late last year.
Buckingham, a long-time employee of the Centre, was given his marching orders by
Mullins in September but on the back of growing discontent amongst staff and a union
battle, was eventually re-instated.
The very public battle via Facebook, however, shows that all is not well at the
Seymour. Some of the group's members are staff of the Centre, and some have suggested they
were unfairly treated by management over their support for Buckingham.
While the situation with Buckingham was sorted out some months ago, the group is
still active and prominence has been brought to it today (Friday) via the Herald's
story on the crisis at the Seymour, which refers to the group several times.
The Seymour Centre has often been looked at as a white elephant by the theatre
community, a venue that has never been able to officially establish itself as a true
theatre home despite the many productions it houses.
However, the venue has recently been given several votes of confidence. Firstly,
the subscription season attracted much interest and essentially put the Seymour Centre
back on the map. Then came the widely acclaimed new Australian musical The Hatpin,
which while part of the subscription season stood on its own two feet and brought much
publicity to the venue. And in the last few weeks, national musical theatre company
Kookaburra announced it would stage all three of its 2008/2009 season productions at the
venue.
---
QLD
playwrights honoured
Wednesday, March 26, 9:22pm AEDST.
Three talented playwrights have been selected as finalists for the 2008-09
Queensland Premier's Drama Award.
Arts Minister Rod Welford announced the short-listed finalists in a ceremony at the
State Library of Queensland, representing Premier Anna Bligh.
"I congratulate the finalists on their unique and inspiring scripts," Ms
Bligh said.
"Richard Jordan has been short-listed for his work 25 Down, Katherine
Lyall-Watson for Ned's Story and Sven Swenson for Dangerfield Park.
"Their scripts explore issues such as child abuse, justice for marginalised sectors
of the community and the effects of historical political events.
"The biennial Queensland Premier's Drama Award searches for honest, original,
entertaining and dramatic scripts which are in some way related to Queensland life. This
year's finalists were selected from 68 entries from across the state.
"Over the next six months, the finalists will receive extensive dramaturgical support
and attend comprehensive workshops to refine their scripts, before a public play reading
in late July when the winning play will be chosen."
Mr Welford said the award aimed to support local writers and give Queenslanders a bigger
taste of home-grown theatre.
"The Queensland Premier's Drama Award nurtures the writing craft and ensures
our local playwrights are recognised, rewarded and celebrated," Mr Welford said.
"The award offers professional development opportunities and supports the
creative process, which are vital elements for developing great plays.
"It's also the only award in the country which guarantees a production of the
winning play by a state theatre company.
"The Queensland Theatre Company, which administers the award, commits to
producing a fully staged, professional production of the winning play as part of its 2009
season."
The Queensland Government has contributed $230,000 to the 2008-09 Queensland
Premier's Drama Award with additional support from sponsors, Griffith University and
Multiplex.
---
Stablemates
season launched
Wednesday, March 26, 9:22pm AEDST.
Early this morning, around a bountiful breakfast table, Griffin Theatre
Company’s Artistic Director Nick Marchand launched the company’s fourth
Stablemates Season.
Similar in intent to Belvoir’s B Sharp program, Stablemates invites
independent theatre companies and production teams to showcase new productions within the
intimate SBW Stables space. For 2008, five productions which Marchand refers to as
“exhilarating and diverse” will take to the stage, celebrating contemporary
imagination and differing perspectives.
First up is the world-premiere of Sydney writer Lachlan Philpott’s Colder,
which was shortlisted for the 2007 Griffin Award. Inspired by a personal connection with
sudden loss, Philpott’s poetic play charts the mysterious disappearances of a man,
once when he was a child and now as an adult. Katrina Douglas will direct for
Pussycatomoko.
Royal Court playwright Debbie Tucker Green’s Stoning Mary will fill the
second slot, directed by Lee Lewis for Frogbattleship. At the forefront of a new wave of
black British playwrights, Tucker Green’s writing is confronting and forces us to
rethink our own empathy by transposing African stories into our own communities.
Company B’s Artistic Associate Eamon Flack will direct German writer Roland
Schimmelpfennig’s Arabian Night. Set in an urban apartment block on one
sweltering evening, five individuals’ stories are interwoven revealing their deepest
fantasies. This tale of love, intense desire and imagination, evoking the epic
Scheherazade, is the first production for Johnny Moffat Players.
Family Stories: Belgrade is a haunting and metaphorical work by Serbian playwright
Biljana Srbljanovic. Previously seen at the New Theatre, this production has been
translated by the director, Bojana Novakovic, and will be produced by Ride On. As a group
of destitute children play families in the rubble of a Belgrade home, innocent play
reveals shocking truths.
Finally, Pig Island, the team that most recently was seen in Simply Fancy in the
Belvoir Downstairs, will usher in 2009 with Hammerhead. Written by Nick Cole the
absurdist comedy line-up have left the following warning – “Expect the
Unexpected.”
Stay tuned for Joanna Erskine’s full debrief of the 2008 Griffin Stablemates Season
in this Friday’s Straight to the Point.
- Joanna Erskine
---
Stoppard
play rolls into Sydney
Wednesday, March 26, 9:21pm AEDST.
 Tony Awards,
London Evening Standard Awards and an Olivier Award litter the CV of acclaimed playwright
Tom Stoppard, but his latest work, Rock 'N' Roll, has been one of his most talked
about.
From the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1968 to the Velvet Revolution in
1990, Stoppard’s epic play focuses on the personal and political lives of Jan
(Matthew Newton), a young Czech student obsessed with rock music, and the Cambridge family
of British history professor, Max (William Zappa), wife Eleanor and their daughter Esme
(both played by Genevieve Picot).
Many have called it the culmination of a lifetime's work for Stoppard, a Czech-born
British playwright whose most famous plays include The Coast Of Utopia, The Invention
Of Love, Arcadia, Hapgood, The Real Thing, Night And Day, Travesties, Jumpers, After
Magritte, The Real Inspector Hound and Rosencrantz And Guildenstein Are Dead.
In Rock 'N' Roll, Ideological debate, family relationships and momentous
political change are interspersed with motifs and ideas ranging from the fragile genius of
Pink Floyd founder member Syd Barrett and the anarchic great god Pan, to the poetry of
Sappho and the significance of real-life Czech rock band, The Plastic People of the
Universe.
Rock is central to the sweeping and witty play which explores the relationship between
music and revolution and the action is punctuated by a soundtrack of songs by artists
including The Rolling Stones, Pink Floyd, The Beach Boys, The Cure and U2.
Presented by the Sydney Theatre Company, this Melbourne Theatre Company production
received mixed reviews when it opened in the Victorian capital earlier this year.
In her review for AussieTheatre.com, Anne-Marie Peard said, in part:
"Tom Stoppard brilliantly uses the potent, resonating, loud, angry symbolism of rock
and roll throughout Rock ‘N’ Roll. Stoppard continues to write superb
scripts; so why is the MTC’s production about as rock ‘n’ roll as Nanna
quietly humming The Sound of Music as she has a luke warm cup of tea and a Milk
Arrowroot?"
Directed by Simon Phillips, Rock 'N' Roll stars Chloe Armstrong,
Christopher Brown, Melinda Butel, Grant Cartwright, Danielle Cormack, Alex Menglet,
Matthew Newton, Genevieve Picot, Richard Sydenham and William Zappa.
It commences previews at the Sydney Theatre on April 11 ahead of a rare Monday
night opening on April 14. Bookings: (02) 9250 1777.
---
Company
B appoints new Downstairs Director
Tuesday, March 25, 10:25am AEDST.
Performing Arts industry young gun, Annette Madden, has been appointed the role of
Company B’s Downstairs Theatre Director.
Taking over from Lyn Wallis who left in 2007, Madden comes with a wealth of industry
experience, having worked both on stage and behind the scenes for a number of years and
across a range of performing arts genres.
Madden has come most recently from a position with Theatre Kantanka where she was a
Producer for the site-based, cross-cultural, physical theatre company. She recently worked
with the Performance Space as an Auspiced Grants Manager and prior to that was an Artist
Liaison for the 2007 Melbourne International Arts Festival and Project Manager for Stalker
& Marrugeku.
Madden is also co-founder and producer of The Hub Project – a development initiative
premiering new work in New York and Sydney. She has worked as an actor, both in Australia
and New York, as a youth drama tutor, a freelance arts publicist and has produced
independent films.
In the role Madden will be working along side independent theatre companies from all over
Australia to deliver the acclaimed B Sharp season.
Of her new role, Madden said: “As B Sharp heads into its tenth year, I’m
thrilled to be joining the Company B team, with the many incredible performance
possibilities for the Downstairs Theatre that lie ahead. I’m very much looking
forward to continuing the collaboration between B Sharp and the independent artistic
community, as well as helping sustain Downstairs at Belvoir St Theatre as a place for
dreaming, storytelling, research and development.”
The B Sharp season is being launched at Belvoir St Theatre on Monday, March 31. The 2008
Season kicks off on April 18 with Brendan Cowell’s Philip Parsons Young
Playwright’s Award commission, Ruben Guthrie.
---
Parke
bound for Perth, Riverside
Monday, March 24, 8:38pm AEDST.
 Cabaret
and musical theatre performer Tyran Parke will perform in Perth this weekend before
returning to Sydney to present his new solo show at the Riverside Theatres in Parramatta.
Parke, who has just completed his tenure in the Sydney season of The Hatpin,
will perform Chinks In The Armour at Downstairs @ His Majesty's Theatre in Perth
on March 27, 28 and 29.
The show will be re-branded A Little Knight Music for the Parramatta
performance, which will play on Sunday, April 6.
A talented storyteller, Parke tells of being discovered in a jazz bar by Liza
Minnelli, dining with Stephen Sondheim and singing himself out of Rikers Island maximum
security prison. Each quest is celebrated in story and song, culminating in the quest to
create the role of a lifetime - his award-winning portrayal of George Seurat in Sunday
In The Park With George.
“It was the most amazing honour to spend time with Sondheim in both Sydney and New
York,” said Parke.
“We talked a lot about how he works, and how 20 years after writing Sunday,
it is still profoundly moving and very accessible to audiences in Sydney. Sondheim told me
to write something myself, and which this cabaret is the first step."
Having appeared in Listen to My Heart, Eurobeat, Oliver and The Sound Of
Music, Parke has established himself as one of Australia’s finest young
performers.
Perth bookings: (08) 9484 1133. Sydney bookings: (02) 8839 3399.
---
Mum's
The Word sequel headed to Sydney
Monday, March 24, 8:22pm AEDST.
A decade ago, a group of mums brought us tales of leaky boobs and dirty nappies in
the international smash hit play Mum’s The Word.
Finally the mums are back with their brand new stage production – Mum's The Word
2: Teenagers.
Laugh, cry and squirm as the women recall their youthful naive idealism regarding
motherhood and entertain us with tales of bewilderment and frustration in having to deal
with their children’s adolescence as well as their own aging.
The production opens at the Theatre Royal in Sydney on May 28 and stars five famous
Australian mums: Tracy Bartram, Katrina Foster, Jean Kittson, Victoria Nicolls and Louise
Siversen.
In this hit production, which has received rave reviews both internationally and when it
had its Australian premiere in Melbourne last year, the mums tackle trickier tests and
raging hormones with intense humour, bringing everyone back into the fray of the world's
oldest unpaid profession.
The Australian production of Mum's The Word 2: Teenagers, produced by Dainty
Consolidated Entertainment, Burberry Productions and Newtheatricals, is the follow-up to
the hugely successful original Mum’s The Word, which ran for seven years and
played to sold out houses across Australia and New Zealand.
Paul Dainty, who is looking forward to bringing the mums to Sydney, said: “Audiences
of this show immediately form a connection with these very real stories of parenting and
so every performance resonates with equal parts laughter and tears. And what a fabulous
cast we have to tell Sydney audiences these stories!”
Ewan Burnett of Burberry Productions adds: "A family therapy association in Victoria
said this show is equivalent to six hours of therapy. By sharing, laughing at and
celebrating the roller-coaster ride that is parenting, we walk away knowing that even in
our darkest moments, we are not alone!"
Tickets to the Sydney season go on sale March
31. Bookings: 1300 795 012.
---
Stars
of the future on show
Monday, March 24, 5:19pm AEDST.
They are the names and faces we'll be talking about in the years to come, but
theatre fans have an opportunity to see the next Cate Blanchett or Mel Gibson before they
are stars when NIDA's third year students present two plays for public viewing next month.
Two deliciously farcical comedy classics, William Congreve’s Restoration
Comedy, Love for Love and Carlos Goldini’s legendary 18th century Commedia
dell'Arte inspired The Servant Of Two Masters kick off the NIDA 2008 Play
Production Program.
Directors Darren Gilshenan (Bell Shakespeare) and Adam Cook (Artistic Director,
State Theatre Company, SA), along with NIDA’s third year students, are set to take
you on a journey of mistaken identities, disguises, deception and the duplicities of
society with these two witty, ironic and well-loved comic masterpieces.
"Fast, furious and funny" is how Darren Gishenan describes The
Servant Of Two Masters. This master of comedy, well known for his portrayal of the
roguish Truffaldino in Bell Shakespeare’s version of the same play, is sure to take
his NIDA troupe - and the audience - on a ‘carnivale’ trip to remember. With
circus inspired costumes, plates spinning and fairy lights flying, this production
promises to be a great night at the theatre.
A racy, juicy comedy set in the swinging 60s, this production of Love For Love
promises to be a richly decadent interpretation of this farcical comedy of clever dialogue
that exposes the idle gossip and frivolous chatter of men and women on the make.
"It’s as light and delicious as a meringue, oozing with sexuality and
glittering with wit," said Adam Cook.
NIDA is one of the most respected acting institutions in the world. It has an
impressive list of graduates, with its primary role to select and train exceptionally
gifted young people at a tertiary level, preparing them for careers in theatre, film and
television.
The Servant Of Two Masters opens at the Parade Playhouse on Tuesday, April
1 and will run until Saturday, April 5. Love For Love opens at the Parade Theatre
on Thursday, April 3 and will run until Tuesday, April 8.
Bookings: 132 849 or www.ticketek.com.au.
AussieTheatre.com Gold has 10
double passes to give away to Love For Love at the Parade Theatre. Login or subscribe to
our Gold section here.
---
Classic
play still relevant today
Saturday, March 22, 11:04pm AEDST.
Director Chris Kohn says his production of the classic play Antigone will
use the Nobel laureate Seamus Heaney's stunning translation, first produced in 2004.
The production, which is playing as part of Company B's 2008 subscription season,
opens at the Belvoir Street Theatre in Sydney on April 9.
Antigone delivers audiences a contemporary rediscovery of one of the greatest
and most lasting works of human creation.
For Kohn, the play marks his Belvoir Street Theatre Upstairs debut. He has previously
enchanted B Sharp audiences Downstairs with The Black Swan Of Trespass in 2005
and The Eisteddford in 2007.
“Antigone has resurfaced time and time again throughout history, in many
different contexts, because at its heart are the questions which have always confounded us
– questions of citizenship, family, love, regret, obligation and spirituality,"
Kohn said.
"It presents an argument between the rule of law and individual idealism, and
shows us that there are no simple solutions."
Sophocles’ magnificent tragedy cuts to the core of one of the most difficult
conundrums in the 21st century: how do we balance the rights of the people with the
demands of the state? The fire-powered crusade between Antigone and her proud uncle, the
ruler Creon, is still today one of the fundamental struggles of dramatic literature. Along
Creon’s insolent path to catastrophe, we get a deep and dazzling insight into the
nature of humanity.
According to Kohn, the script demonstrates the lyrical sense of a poet and cuts to the
heart of the tragedy by uncovering its roots in the personal.
“These are figures born in antiquity, yet also everyday people, familiar,
recognisable, and very much alive in the here and now," he said.
"While faithful to the original, Heaney’s translation is clearly written
in the shadow of recent history, as dogmatic rulers stake their claims on history with
blind devotion to harmful and extremist positions, unable and unwilling to see eye-to-eye.
It is, as much as ever, a play of our times."
Antigone opens on April 9. Bookings: (02) 9699 3444.
---
Shout!
dumps Tuesday performances
Friday, March 21, 5:43pm AEDST.
 Vibrant musical Shout!
has removed Tuesdays from its weekly performance schedule as the rock 'n' roll tuner
heads towards the end of its season at Sydney's Lyric Theatre.
The musical, which is scheduled to run until April 13 and is unlikely to tour,
opened at the Lyric Theatre earlier this month after transferring from Melbourne. In both
cities, it has attracted reasonable audiences but has failed to set the box office on
fire.
It has faced stiff competition in Sydney from blockbuster musical Billy Elliot
and the hit cult show The Rocky Horror Show, which is playing nearby at the Star
Theatre.
Originally, producers had announced Shout! would play 7pm Tuesday
performances but the show will now run Wednesday-Sunday.
In his review of the Sydney season of Shout! for AussieTheatre.com,
Troy Dodds said, in part: "Musically the show is tight and punchy throughout and Ross
Coleman's choreography is good without being dazzling, the best scene of the piece being
O'Keefe's first meeting with The Delltones in the back of his father's furniture
warehouse, highlighted by the hit song 'Get A Job'. It is sensationally staged, as is the
'Chapel Of Love' scene, while the megamix towards the end is an obvious audience highlight
and gives the show a true rock 'n' roll feel, certainly proving that with a better script
and improved casting, this show could well be a dynamite hit. Shout! is far from
a lost cause but loses any ounce of respect when Mark Holden, playing O'Keefe's manager
Lee Gordon, is forced to use his "touchdown!" line from Australian Idol.
But perhaps the crowning glory of tacky is the reference to Andrew O'Keefe having an
obsession with briefcases. Popcorn theatre indeed."
Shout! stars Tim Campbell, Alexis Fishman, Mark Holden,
Glenn Shorrock, John Paul Young and Colleen Hewett.
Bookings: 1300 136 166.
- Troy Dodds
---
Chicago
to open in February
Friday, March 21, 4:55pm AEDST.
It is believed that a new major production of the hit musical Chicago will
be presented in Australia next year.
Sources say that the show is likely to open in Brisbane before transferring to
Sydney ahead of a possible national tour. Official confirmation of the production is not
expected for some months, but it is likely to open in February.
If the strong rumours are true, much discussion would surround the casting
decisions in relation to the lead roles of Roxie Hart and Velma Kelly. Caroline O'Connor
famously played Velma in the 1998 production of Chicago, and producers would no
doubt hope she'd be interested in resurrecting the star turn.
Since Chicago was last produced in Australia, interest in the show has
climbed, mainly thanks to the 2002 film version that starred Catherine Zeta Jones and
Renee Zellweger and was hugely popular in Australia.
First produced on Broadway in 1975, Chicago focuses on two murderesses who
find themselves on death row together in the 1920's. The pair fight for the fame that will
keep them from death in what is a comedic and satirical look at corruption in criminal
justice.
The show's most popular songs include 'All That Jazz' and 'Razzle Dazzle'.
In other news, Kookaburra has lost the publicist credited with turning around much
of its negative portrayal in the media. Libby Gauld has moved on, with a replacement yet
to be named. Gauld replaced Michelle Guthrie towards the end of 2007 after an at times
controversial debut year for the company.
- Troy Dodds
---
STC
to open Didion play early
Wednesday, March 19, 8:46pm AEDST.
The Sydney Theatre Company says it will start the opening night performance of its
production of The Year Of Magical Thinking at 6.30pm on March 29 due its support
of Earth Hour 2008.
The company will also throw a different spin on the traditional opening night
party, having a candle-lit affair at The Wharf.
Earth Hour asks households and businesses to turn off their lights and
non-essential electrical appliances for one hour of a March evening to promote electricity
conservation.
The Year Of Magical Thinking by John Didion is already a major work of the
international stage, having played to sell-out audiences when directed by David Hare and
featuring Vanessa Redgrave on Broadway last year. That production will be seen at London's
National Theatre in April 2008.
The Sydney Theatre Company's production will star former Artistic Director Robyn
Nevin and will be directed by Cate Blanchett.
Nevin plays the title character Didion, who, over the course of one year loses her
soul-mate of 40 years, John Dunne, while also enduring the prolonged illness of their only
child, Quintana. As the writer faces almost unbearable pain, she must also forego
familiar, rational, logical ways of seeing the world, for what she comes to know as
'magical thinking'.
The play will run until May 11. Bookings: (02) 9250 1777.
---
Carr
on theatre board
Tuesday, March 18, 10:32pm AEDST.
Former New South Wales Premier Bob Carr has won a spot on the advisory board of the
Alex Buzo Company, the theatre company started by the late playwright's daughter, Emma.
The company’s aim to to produce, promote and perpetuate the work of Buzo, who
died in 2006.
Joining Carr on the board is Linda Bathur, Emma Buzo, Deborah Franco, Wayne
Harrison, David Hill, Roy Masters, Aarne Neeme, George Newhouse, Alana Valentine, John
Ward, Barbara Warren and legendary Australian playwright David Williamson.
In 2008, the company will tour Norm And Ahmed and will present a
production of The Marginal Farm in Sydney in August.
---
Freeman
makes her mark
Tuesday, March 18, 10:29pm AEDST.
A dark fairytale work which premiered at the Arts Centre in a 2007 reading will
return in March as incoming Artistic Director Lucy Freeman’s first major theatre
production with 9minds.
The emerging new work company, which enjoyed enormous success with its first
original work Angels With Dirty Faces (BlackBox 2005 and Fairfax Studio 2007),
has assembled a stellar team for the BlackBox season of Kill The Wolf.
By new playwright Tim Nolan, Kill The Wolf tells the story of salesman Mikey
Wolf, his disabled father Richard, and out of work singer Rose, the unwilling object of
Mikey’s affection.
“Kill The Wolf is a bold and sometimes amusing new work that explores an
imagined world of wolves and angels, while simultaneously addressing the harsh realities
of mental illness, long term care, guilt and family responsibility," Freeman said.
Kill The Wolf features local actors Lee Mason (Mikey) – acclaimed for his recent
performance in feature film The Independent, Larrikin Ensemble Theatre Artistic
Director Chris Bunworth (Richard), and Marcella Russo (Rose) – best known for her
recurring role as Liliana Bishop on Neighbours.
Audiences can see Kill The Wolf at the Arts Centre, BlackBox in Melbourne from
March 27-30.
---
Antics
on show in Melbourne
Tuesday, March 18, 10:23pm AEDST.
With sell-out performances during the 2005 and 2006 Melbourne International Comedy
Festival with shows Great Procrastinations and Who Wears The Pants?, and
the critically acclaimed independent season Table For Two in 2007, Ezy-Peezy
Productions return in the 2008 Melbourne International Comedy Festival with Antics.
Ezy-Peezy founders, Logie winner Patrick Harvey and Ian Wallace have for the past
three years attempted to comically capture the complex nature of what they call their
culture, within a medium to which their contemporaries tend not to explore – live
theatre. At the age of 23, Patrick and Ian have built a young fan-base of blossoming
future theatre-goers over the three year period.
This season, Patrick and Ian delve into the lifestyles of several young television stars
dealing with over-night success. When a young writer is hired to breathe new life into the
breakthrough Australian drama, Antics Of The Heart, he naively takes it upon
himself to invade the actors’ greenroom in an attempt to write their characters
better through knowing their real life personalities.
Like previous Ezy-Peezy shows, Antics focuses heavily on telling a human
story through the use of razor-sharp conversational and irreverent humour. Past Ezy-Peezy
shows have seen involvement from Adam Hunter (Red Stitch), Kate Keltie (Neighbours),
Drew Tingwell (The Secret Life Of Us), Don Bridges (Charlotte’s Web)
and the crowd favourite James Beattie,
Antics stars James Beattie, Mahalia Brown, Cleopatra Coleman, Patrick
Harvey, Nicolas Riley and Ian Wallace.
The play opens at Gertrudes Brown Couch in Fitzroy on March 26. Bookings: (03) 9533
4952.
---
Theatre
mainstay David Nettheim dies
Tuesday, March 18, 7:10pm AEDST.
 Actor, writer and
voice-over artist David Nettheim has died at the age of 82.
Nettheim was a professional actor from his earliest years, beginning in the
Australian film Kid Stakes at the age of two. At seven he appeared on stage with
his mother, the actress Mary Hosking, in The Trojan Women at the Independent
Theatre.
Through his long and successful life, Nettheim
continued to appear in stage and television roles and was an active member of Actors
Equity (now the Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance), serving as Federal Treasurer and
then co-Vice President. In 1997 he became the first recipient of the Alliance's gold
Honour Badge. He led the six-year campaign (ultimately unsuccessful) against the
demolition of the Regent Theatre in Sydney, and was engaged in fundraising for the Actors'
Benevolent Fund.
Nettheim never married but he was delighted that
several of his nieces and nephews have followed him into the entertainment industry -
Daniel Nettheim is a film and TV director, Matthew Nettheim is a stills photographer on
films, Jennifer White is an actor/singer/accents and dialect coach and Rodric White is a
professional jazz musician.
David Nettheim is survived by his brothers John
and Garth Nettheim, sisters Judith Eburn and Nerida White, and their children and
grandchildren.
---
Tantrum
Theatre searches for new AD
Monday, March 17, 9:18pm AEDST.
Newcastle's Tantrum Theatre Company is on the hunt for a new Artistic Director
following the resignation of Leticia Caceres, who has led the company for the last two
years.
The company has confirmed on its website that the hunt is on for a new leader for
the dynamic youth theatre co-operative that engages a diverse range of young people aged
five to 26 in theatre skills training and performance.
Ms Caceres told The Newcastle Post: "This decision was not taken
lightly. I have worked hard to make this company the best place to work in. What I leave
behind is a financially stable, creatively charged and inspiring company full of young
actors."
Tantrum's principle and purpose is to create confidence in young people together
with their communities and create opportunities where imagination, self expression and
play are validated and celebrated.
Tantrum most recently presented a production of the classic play Cosi.
---
Rising
Star launched
Sunday, March 16, 9:10pm AEDST.
A performance at Light The Night 2008, an appearance on Channel Nine and special
behind the scenes access to Kookaburra's production of Tell Me On A Sunday
highlight a terrific range of prizes on offer to the winner of the AussieTheatre.com 2008
Rising Star competition, which has now been officially launched.
Won last year by 18-year-old Emily Cascarino from Sydney, the AussieTheatre.com
Rising Star competition gives one young rising musical theatre performer the opportunity
to kickstart their career in the industry.
The final judging panel that will decide the winner consists of a cross-section of
the theatre community and is made up of AussieTheatre.com Managing Editor Troy Dodds,
Kookaburra Artistic Producer Peter Ross, theatrical producer Rodney Rigby,
AussieTheatre.com London correspondent Skye Crawford, vocal coach Margi De Ferranti,
performer and writer James Millar, AussieTheatre.com Deputy Editor and actor Erin James,
Light The Night producer Shaun Rennie and respected theatrical agent Les Solomon.
The winner will receive the opportunity to perform at the 2008 Light The Night
charity concert in Sydney, an appearance on Channel Nine's Mornings With Kerri-Anne,
a headshots package from RapidEye Studio, a place in dStudio's Scene Into Song Workshop in
July, a day at Kookaburra to watch rehearsals for Tell Me On A Sunday, opening
night tickets to Tell Me On A Sunday, a publicity package from Watchdog
Communications, a consultation session with theatrical agency International Collective
Artist Management, a subscription to Theatre Jobs and a fully produced cabaret show to be
presented in Sydney later this year or early 2009.
"Apart from providing some wonderful opportunities, the Rising Star
competition is all about providing the winner with materials and experience that will help
their career in the future," said AussieTheatre.com Managing Editor, Troy Dodds.
"We are expecting a large number of entries and we're very excited about
seeing the undiscovered theatrical talent that exists out there. We've also refined the
rules this year to give a wider range of performers the opportunity to enter."
The winner of the AussieTheatre.com 2008 Rising Star will be announced on July 1.
For more details on how to enter, logon to our Rising
Star page. To view a video of last year's winner Emily Cascarino performing, click here.
---
Guys
And Dolls close to opening
Saturday, March 15, 3:55pm AEDST.
 Final rehearsals are
underway for the upcoming Melbourne season of the classic musical Guys And Dolls,
which commences preview performances on March 26 at the Princess Theatre ahead of an April
4 opening night.
The musical stars Lisa McCune as Sarah Brown, Marina Prior as Miss Adelaide, Ian
Stenlake as Sky Masterson, Garry McDonald as Nathan Detroit, Shane Jacobsen as Nicely
Nicely and Magda Szubanski as Big Jule.
The principal cast is joined by Wayne Scott Kermond, Bert Labonte, Russell Newman,
Anne Phelan, Amy Berrisford, Elise Brennan, Andrew Conaghan, Cristina D'Agostino, Grant
Durham, Michelle Fitzmaurice, Zoe Hardman, Luke Joslin, Kristy Kackenzie, Ashley McKenzie,
Tanya Mitford, Adam Murphy, Emily Paddon-Brown, Christopher Parson, Troy Phillips, Jordan
Pollard, Julia Smith, Troy Sussman, Taneel Van Zyl and Paul Watson.
Guys And Dolls is expected to run for at least six months in Melbourne
before transferring to a major Sydney theatre where it will continue its run. It's unknown
if the principal cast will travel with the show to Sydney.
Marina Prior will not perform in Tuesday evening performances for the initial weeks
of the season due to her commitments with the popular Channel Seven series It Takes
Two, which airs live on Tuesdays at 7.30pm.
Guys And Dolls bookings: www.showbiz.com.au.
Want to see more shots of Guys And Dolls in rehearsals? Check out our photo
special here.
---
Legal
laughs in new Aussie play
Friday, March 14, 6:30pm AEDST.
With interest rates rising, share prices crashing and Brendan Nelson just
being…well, Brendan Nelson, boy do we need to laugh more than ever!
Get set to have your funny bone tickled once again by Sydney’s own master of mirth,
playwright and social satirist, Tony Laumberg.
Tony’s 8th play, Two Weddings & A Lawyer, promises to be more fun than a
strip poker night at Wollongong Council Chambers.
When a young lawyer gets engaged to two different women at the same time, he has to
convince the Immigration Department he really is going to marry his super sexy Swedish
flatmate to help her stay in the country. Meanwhile he has to keep the
"engagement" secret from his real fiancée. Good luck! Hey, who said lawyers
were dull?
Playwright (and – you guessed it – lawyer) Tony Laumberg is one of
Australia’s most prolific writers and producers of romantic comedies for stage. His
hit shows – all directed by Richard Cotter - include Lawyer! Lawyer!, Lawyers in
Love, My Fair Lawyer and Unsolicited Male.
Two Weddings & A Lawyer plays at the TAP Gallery, Darlinghurst - in the heart of
Darlinghurst’s entertainment precinct - from May 8.
Bookings: 1300 306 776.
---
Beauty
And The Beast plays Glen Street
Thursday, March 13, 10:54pm AEDST.
 In a year in which multi-million dollar productions
dominate the theatrical headlines, it is important to remember that the spirit and joy of
non-professional theatre remains in tact and Sydney's Willoughby Theatre Company is out to
prove the 'amateur' scene doesn't always live up to its name when it presents Beauty
And The Beast at the Glen Street Theatre from April 26.
Beauty And The Beast ran on Broadway for 5,464 performances between 1994 and
2007, has grossed more than $1.4 billion worldwide and played in 13 countries and 115
cities. Now, Willoughby Theatre Company, arguably Sydney’s premier community musical
theatre society, presents this ambitious musical in a theatre that - unlike many that host
non-professional productions - boasts luxurious seating, an elegant foyer, a generous
stage, ample parking, raked theatre seating and an orchestra pit of professional
dimensions.
After a slew of sell-out hits including Cats and Kiss Me Kate, the
Willoughby Theatre Company production team of director Tom Sweeney, MD Mark Pigot,
choreographer Janina Hamerlok and Joy Sweeney have been fortunate to attract some of
Sydney’s freshest and brightest talent for the show.
The lead roles feature the magnificent voice of Stig Bell as The Beast, talented and
beautiful Josie Ison as Belle, hunky Rob Hale as Gaston, the comic genius of Luke Davis,
together with Craig Donnell as Lumiere (recreating his performance in the role at Her
Majesty’s Theatre).
Philip Youngman is the pompous Cogsworth and sexy Morgan Powell plays Babette.
The talent doesn’t stop there, with Sarah Hobson as dour Scotswoman Mrs Potts, Warren
Blood as the bumbling Maurice (Belle’s father), Sara McLean-Jones as the Wagnerian
Madam de la Grande Bouche (the wardrobe), Clive Hobson as the dark and brooding villain
Monsieur D’Arque, and 10-year-old Tobias Hannson as Chip. Together they front an
all-dancing all-singing 30-strong chorus and full orchestra.
Another first for Willoughby is the biggest set it has ever built – designed by Simon
Greer and lit by Sean Clarke.
“This is truly a show for everybody, but with just 10 performances, it will sell out
fast," said director Tom Sweeney.
"Come enjoy the magic of one of the world’s favourite stories, live and
(high) kicking!"
Beauty And The Beast plays at the Glen Street Theatre from April 26.
Bookings and information: (02) 9975 1455.
---
Hitchcock
Blonde set for Sydney debut
Thursday, March 13, 10:19am AEDST.
Behind Alfred Hitchcock's obsession with beautiful blondes in jeopardy lay a deep,
dark secret, finally revealed in Hitchcock Blonde; Terry Johnson's fascinating
play about sex, desire and the famous film director.
The show was first performed at London's Royal Court Theatre in 2003, where it
attracted rave reviews. Now, Factory Space Theatre Company brings this witty drama to the
Sydney stage for the first time. Directed by Roz Riley, Hitchcock Blonde opens at
Manly's Star of the Sea Theatre on Saturday, April 12 for a two week season.
The play shifts between three time zones, each contributing its own clues to the
mystery. In the present, a film professor and his female student are in Greece, sifting
through some badly deteriorated film footage from 1919. We watch the action with them as
they unravel the story of an unknown Hitchcock film and the mysterious blonde it features.
We also see the impact of these early events on Hitchcock himself and on his later work in
flashbacks to 1959, where a sassy, beautiful blonde auditions for the role of Janet
Leigh's body double for the shower scene in Psycho.
For Riley, the fascination of the play revolves around the gradual solving of the puzzle
as clues emerge from all three time zones.
"It is like a jigsaw," she said.
"The final pieces fit together as the secrets from each era are revealed. We
find out why the 1959 actress needs the job in Psycho and what she must to do to
get it; we discover deep secrets about the film professor and his student; and we see the
moment with the 1919 blonde that had a significant and lasting effect on Alfred Hitchcock.
More is revealed about each character than they originally planned.”
In the present, Geoff Cartwright plays the film professor with Eleni Schumacher as
his student, while in 1959 Stephen McGrath plays Alfred Hitchcock, Belinda Marques the
blonde he auditions and David Sutton the blonde’s husband. The 1919 film featuring
Amelia Foxton as the blonde was shot and edited by cinematographer David Tucker and still
photos by Stephanie Foxton.
Hitchcock Blonde opens at the Star Of The Sea Theatre on April 12.
Bookings: (02) 9439 1906.
---
Priscilla
off to New Zealand
Wednesday, March 12, 10:49pm AEDST.
 Priscilla has
confirmed it will play its first international season from May 27, with the Australian
production - complete with its stellar principal cast - to head across the ditch to the
Auckland Civic Centre in New Zealand.
Priscilla tells the funny and moving story of three fish out of water who head
across Australia, from Sydney to the outback to perform their show. Mitzi, Felicia and
Bernadette make their own personal journeys of discovery as they cross the country in a
battered old bus nicknamed Priscilla.
New Zealand’s very own Jeremy Stanford sports the famous orange and pink
“thong dress” (and many others) to play one of the shows leading roles, Tick
(Mitzi). Jeremy is best known for his portrayal of Buddy in The Buddy Holly Story
– a role that launched him from the more traditional theatre stage to that of
musicals.
Bill Hunter, who played Bob in the original movie Priscilla Queen Of The Desert,
will return to the stage for the New Zealand season, while leading actor, director and
writer Tony Sheldon plays the role of Bernadette and Daniel Scott will stay on as Adam
(Felecia).
The role of Benjamin (Tick’s son) will be cast locally with director Simon Phillips
looking to cast four New Zealand boys between the ages of six and eight to play the role.
Tickets to the New Zealand season go on sale
Monday. The show is currently playing in Melbourne and is due to close next month.
---
Rising
Star to be launched Monday
Wednesday, March 12, 10:39pm AEDST.
 AussieTheatre.com will launch the 2008
Rising Star competition on Monday, with a range of prizes offered to the winner including
a performance at the renowned Light The Night charity event later this year.
This year, the initiative has a major sponsor in the shape of Kookaburra: The
National Musical Theatre Company.
AussieTheatre.com held its inaugural Rising Star competition last year. It was won
by Emily Cascarino (pictured) who wowed audiences at the 2007 Light The Night event. She
also won a headshots package, agency consultation, vocal coaching and a range of other
prizes.
This year, there's even more prizes on offer and the competition rules have been
refined to ensure a greater range of entries.
"We were really impressed with the quality of entrants last year so we were
very, very keen to bring the idea back this year and give a young musical theatre star an
opportunity to give their career a kickstart," said AussieTheatre.com Managing
Editor, Troy Dodds.
"The winner this year receives consultation with a top agent, a headshots
package, a place in a workshop being hosted by Margi De Ferranti, a publicity package and
of course, the appearance at Light The Night 2008, along with other prizes."
Full details of the Rising Star competition will be announced on Monday.
---
Kookaburra
commissions new musical
Monday, March 10, 9:45pm AEDST.
 Kookaburra
announced at its 2008/2009 season launch tonight that it has commissioned Peter Rutherford
and James Millar (pictured), authors of The Hatpin, to write their second
musical.
“James and Peter are two of the most exciting creative talents in Australian musical
theatre right now,” said Kookaburra Artistic Director Peter Cousens.
“Kookaburra is delighted to be unleashing their creative talents once again to
develop a new Australian musical.”
Kookaburra is using the funds raised through Up Close & Musical (2007), its late-night
cabaret series, to fund the commission. More than 50 artists, technicians and theatre
personnel gave their time and skill so that the shows’ proceeds could be channelled
into creating new Australian works.
“This commission embodies what Kookaburra is all about,” said Cousens.
“Australia has an abundance of incredibly talented writers, creatives, artists
and technicians, and we want to provide a forum for them to showcase new Australian works.
“Kookaburra also wants to develop a meaningful and ongoing relationship with
Australian audiences. This involves entertaining Australia with existing musical
productions and commissioning new works to reveal to them just how diverse and exciting
musical theatre can be.”
Rutherford and Millar’s first show The Hatpin is currently being performed
at The Seymour Centre.
“The Hatpin is a benchmark for Australian musical theatre. It’s
courageous, engaging and throws to the wind any notion that musical theatre is just about
high kicks,” said Cousens.
The commission will be run through The Nest, Kookaburra’s creative development wing.
The Nest supports new initiatives in Australian musical theatre by providing practical
support, script writing assessments, workshops and commissions.
In 2008 The Nest is also launching 5 in 10. The project will take five new Australian
musicals and bring them to life over 10 days. Each musical will have two days exploration
with five different Australian directors and five professional actors (up to 25 actors).
This will be conducted twice in 2008.
The directors for 5 in 10 are Stephen Colyer, Peter Cousens, Gale Edwards, Neil Gooding,
and Peter Ross.
“There is so much Australian musical theatre talent out there. Kookaburra has its
work cut out for it ensuring that Australian audiences get to see it all!” said
Cousens.
---
Kookaburra
launches 2008/2009 season
Monday, March 10, 9:05pm AEDST.
 National music theatre company
Kookaburra tonight launched its 2008/2009 season, confirming it will stage productions of Tell
Me On A Sunday, Little Women and the hit off-Broadway musical I Love
You, You're Perfect, Now Change.
The launch, held at the Seymour Centre in Sydney, featured performances from
Katrina Retallick, Hayden Tee and Jolene Anderson (pictured), with Anderson singing two
numbers and clearly being presented as the company's new poster girl.
Anderson will star in the one-woman musical Tell Me On Sunday from August
19 at the Seymour Centre, arriving at Kookaburra's new home after seasons in Belrose and
Woolongong, where it will debut at the Merrigong Theatre on July 20. Directed by Peter
Ross, the musical charts the course of a single girl who has just arrived in New York,
brimming with optimism about her fresh start.
"Jolene has that wonderful 'real' quality to her performance," said
Kookaburra Artistic Director Peter Cousens.
"When Jolene sings she truly connects with the lyrics and the audience, and
that's critical in a one-woman show."
Little Women will star Trisha Noble, Judi Connelli and Hayden Tee and has
a stellar creative team - director Stuart Maunder, musical director Peter Rutherford,
choreographer Martin Michel, set designer Michael Scott-Mitchell, costume designer Julie
Lynch, lighting designer Trudy Dalgleish and sound designer Michael Waters. The show will
open at the Seymour Centre's York Theatre on November 7.
Tee turns up again in I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change in which he
will star alongside Katrina Retallick. Opening at the Downstairs Theatre at the Seymour
Centre on April 21, 2009, the show focuses on sex, dating, marriage and infidelity and is
an hilarious look at the trials and tribulations of love.
As a special event, Kookaburra will present The Noel Coward Letters
starring UK great Barrie Ingham in August.
Kookaburra tonight announced a dramatic switch in media partner, with The Daily
Telegraph replacing The Sydney Morning Herald, which had an at times
turbulent relationship with the company last year despite the corporate partnership.
There was also a revelation tonight that a deal was being sought with the
Commonwealth Bank that would "secure the financial future of Kookaburra".
Tonight's launch went for about 40 minutes and was crisp and impressive, with
Cousens speaking well about the lessons learned from 2007 and the future of the company.
He was genuinely excited about some of the company's off-stage ventures.
"As an arts company, Kookaburra's goal is to develop a meaningful and ongoing
relationship with Australian audiences," he said.
"We're working hard to engage and educate new audiences about musical theatre,
and develop the art form itself."
Kookaburra also launched a new website tonight: www.kookaburra.org.au.
- Troy Dodds
---
My
Fair Lady is Melbourne bound
Sunday, March 9, 10:16pm AEDST.
Opera Australia's 2008 Autumn Season concludes at the Arts Centre with the premiere
of Lerner and Loewe's smash hit musical, My Fair Lady, directed by Opera
Australia’s executive producer Stuart Maunder. It stars one of Australia's all-time
stage greats, Reg Livermore as Professor Henry Higgins and gorgeous young soprano Taryn
Fiebig as Eliza Doolittle. My Fair Lady opens on Friday, May 16.
Livermore is a legend of the music theatre stage. He began putting on his own shows at the
age of 13 and was rocketed to stardom when he appeared in Hair in 1969. He is a
regular on stage, screen and television and, of course, in countless musicals including The
Rocky Horror Show, The Producers and with Opera Australia, The Gondoliers, The
Pirates of Penzance and Iolanthe.
Taryn Fiebig began her vocal studies in 1993 and focused initially on early music: she
studied with Emma Kirkby and Jane Manning in the UK and performed with the Australian
Brandenburg Orchestra. In 2005 she joined the Moffatt Oxenbould Young Artist Program and
has since expanded her repertoire from Mozart to Gilbert and Sullivan to Janácek.
Following her success as Mabel in The Pirates of Penzance, she now takes on one
of the most prized roles in music theatre.
Nancye Hayes' stage career began as a dancer in the original J C Williamson production of My
Fair Lady in 1960. From there she went on to become a leading lady in shows including
Sweet Charity, Funny Girl and her own show, Nancye with an E. She now
comes full circle to play Mrs Higgins, mother to Reg Livermore's Henry Higgins.
Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe's musical is an adaptation of George Bernard Shaw's
play Pygmalion, which is, in turn, a reference to the Greek myth told in Ovid's
Metamorphoses. Pygmalion is the sculptor who falls in love with a woman he has carved out
of ivory. The statue comes to life and they fall in love. In George Bernard Shaw's comedy
of manners the story is far more about the process of transformation than the romantic
denouement. It all begins with a bet, when Colonel Pickering challenges Henry Higgins,
professor of linguistics and confirmed misogynist, to take a Cockney street seller and
turn her into a lady.
The show was always destined to be a smash hit. It features a glorious succession of
show-stopping numbers from ‘I Could Have Danced all Night’ to ‘Get Me to
the Church on Time’ to ‘Wouldn't it be Loverly’ to ‘I’ve Grown
Accustomed to her Face’. The original score was written for Julie Andrews and Rex
Harrison, and after a record-breaking run on Broadway it was adapted for film, this time
starring Audrey Hepburn.
Director Stuart Maunder works once more with the award-winning design team of Roger Kirk
and Richard Roberts. He is looking forward to a musically and visually spectacular
production, saying: "From Ascot to the Royal Opera House, to the Pearly Kings and
Queens to a grand ball there are so many opportunities for wonderful frocks!"
Following its Melbourne season, My Fair Lady will tour to Sydney, Canberra and Brisbane.
---
Six
months on, Gold a hit
Sunday, March 9, 1:16pm AEDST.
AussieTheatre.com Gold is celebrating six months online and has proven to be a
major success, with members winning great prizes and taking advantage of very special
offers that are available on a regular basis.
With the paid-for members only section a key element of the website's financial
viability, we're encouraging everyone who hasn't yet joined to throw their support behind
the website's future and take advantage of all the great things available.
So far, AussieTheatre.com Gold has given away tickets to The Rocky Horror Show,
tickets to The Hatpin, tickets to Shakespeare Under The Stars, copies of Val
Jellay's biography, tickets to A Night Of Crime And Passion, musical theatre CDs
and many other prizes.
Members of AussieTheatre.com Gold also have a permanent discount at Broadway Best,
to make purchases of musical theatre CDs and DVDs just a little less expensive.
And there's also games, special columns and of course, exclusive news -
AussieTheatre.com Gold revealed Andrew Bevis was to play Brad in The Rocky Horror Show
before anyone else, and has plenty of other breaking news stories.
With exclusive picture galleries and much more, AussieTheatre.com Gold is well
worth the membership fee.
You can join AussieTheatre.com Gold for just $19.95, and there's no renewal
- ever. For more details or to join today, click here.
---
New
Billys on the boil
Sunday, March 9, 1:16pm AEDST.
 Smash hit Sydney musical Billy Elliot will
welcome two new young actors to the company this week who will take on the show's title
role.
Dayton Tavares (pictured), from the western Sydney suburb of Penrith, and
Hobart’s Joshua Waiss-Gates join the Billy Elliot family and both will take
to the stage as Billy in a few months' time.
Billy is currently played by Lochlan Denholm (Melbourne), Rhys Kosakowski (Newcastle),
Rarmian Newton (Melbourne) and Nick Twiney (Sydney), who alternate the title role.
Tavares and Waiss-Gates will not replace any of the other Billys in particular, but
the original actors will begin to move on eventually primarily due to the developmental
age they are at.
"I used to watch both my sisters at their dance eisteddfods and thought it looked
like fun so one day in 2005 I decided to do a hip-hop class at Studio 11 in Penrith,"
said Tavares.
"That day I discovered my true passion was to dance and perform. I also love
to sing, play soccer and I’m a blackbelt in taekwondo. Since I started dancing I have
won lots of awards, done well in eisteddfods and I was lucky enough to win Australian
Junior Dancer of the Year 2007, which meant I got to represent Australia at the World
Dance Championships in Las Vegas."
Tavares has performed at the Urban Music Awards, Industry Awards, The Sydney Opera House,
toured to Malaysia with Studio 11 and said he was excited to have the opportunity to play
Billy Elliot.
"It’s a dream come true after many, many months of training and auditions and I
would like to thank everyone at Billy Elliot," he said.
"I would also like to thank my parents for believing in me and most
importantly my dance teachers Kylie Vassallo and Thern Reynolds for all their guidance and
encouragement."
Waiss-Gates is no stranger to the world of musicals.
"In 2006 I was understudy for Young Peter in Hugh Jackman’s The Boy
from Oz and while working on that show I realised that I wanted to continue to work
in musical theatre," the 12-year-old said.
"When I found out that I was going to be a Billy Elliot I was so excited. It’s
an experience I’m looking forward to very much and I would like to thank all the
people that have helped me along the way to achieve my dream."
Billy Elliot opened in December last year and is performing well at the
box office, with its season at the Capitol Theatre showing no sign of closing.
---
High
School Musical to open in December
Friday, March 7, 11:20pm AEDST.
Australia - get ready for a theatrical phenomenon.
AussieTheatre.com can exclusively reveal that a major production of High School
Musical will be staged in Australia later this year by Jacobsen Entertainment and The
Really Useful Group.
Based on the smash hit Disney film that has defined a generation of young musical
theatre lovers, High School Musical is likely to open in Sydney with performances
to commence in December.
The musical has been performed by several amateur companies and will be presented
'on ice' shortly around the nation, but this will be the professional premiere of the true
stage show.
The show is set at East High School and focuses on Troy Bolton, the school's
basketball superstar turned singer, and his blossoming relationship with Gabriella Montez.
Almost a modern day Grease, the heart of the story is Troy's difficult choice
between pursuing his basketball career and following his new dream of being in the school
musical.
High School Musical is currently touring throughout the United States.
---
Spamalot
confirms closure
Friday, March 7, 7:40pm AEDST.
The producers of Spamalot have confirmed the Australian production of the
Tony Award-winning musical will close ahead of schedule on April 5 after failing to fire
at the box office.
As revealed exclusively by AussieTheatre.com early Friday morning, the
cast of the musical were informed just prior to Thursday night's performance at the Her
Majesty's Theatre that the ride was over for the production.
"We're very proud of the Australian production, which will have been seen by
over 150,000 people when it closes in Melbourne," said co-producer Michael Coppel.
"The Australian production of Spamalot has been lauded as one of the best
mounted anywhere in the world. The Melbourne season has drawn both critical raves and
fantastic audience responses, and we look forward to the opportunity of presenting it
around Australia."
While Coppel hinted at a tour, it is unlikely to happen particularly given the lack
of theatres available in Sydney, which would be the logical next city for the production.
While rumours suggest a November transfer is possible, the six month gap could mean
massive casting changes and unwanted expenses.
A statement issued on Friday reads: "Touring options are being considered with
announcements to follow."
Despite high acclaim overseas and a strong publicity campaign, Spamalot was
unable to attract a solid audience in Melbourne, swamped in particular by surprise success
story Priscilla, which has been performing well despite initial fears it would
struggle outside of Sydney.
Spamalot's disappointing Melbourne performance is evident in its decision
to cut 6.30pm Sunday performances after this week, reducing the performance schedule to
just seven shows per week.
Telling the legendary tale of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table, and
their quest for the Holy Grail, Spamalot features a chorus line of dancing divas
and knights, flatulent Frenchmen, a killer rabbit and one legless knight.
Directed by Mike Nichols, Spamalot features a book and lyrics by Eric Idle, music
by John Du Prez and Idle, and choreography by Casey Nicholaw. Spamalot is
lovingly ripped-off from the classic film, Monty Python and the Holy Grail by Monty
Python creators Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones
and Michael Palin.
The cast of the musical includes legend of stage and screen, Bille Brown as King Arthur,
newcomer Lucinda Shaw as The Lady of the Lake, Stephen Hall as Sir Lancelot and Derek
Metzger as King Arthur’s faithful servant and coconut keeper, Patsy.
Spamalot bookings: 132 849.
---
Ullmann
to direct STC show
Friday, March 7, 1:40pm AEDST.
The Sydney Theatre Company today announced that Liv Ullmann will direct A
Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams as part of the Company’s mainstage
season next year. STC Co-Artistic Director Cate Blanchett will play Blanche duBois in the
legendary play at the Sydney Theatre in August 2009.
Liv Ullmann said: “It is an honour to work with STC. Tennessee Williams’ chief
aim is the creation of character. He has a deep feeling for the mystery of life, exploring
the beauty and meaning of the confusion of living. He holds his audience through the
revelation of quiet and ordinary truths and I’m excited by the prospect of
discovering these with the inspiring artists we’re assembling.”
STC Co-Artistic Directors Andrew Upton and Cate Blanchett said in a statement:
“Having an artist of Liv Ullmann’s revelatory, exacting vision at the helm of
STC’s production of one of the greatest plays of the 20th century will be wonderful.
As we plan towards our first full season for the Company, it’s great to have one of
the highlights confirmed.”
Liv Ullmann has spent the last week in Sydney in creative discussions with Andrew
Upton and Cate Blanchett, meetings with designers and auditioning for the production.
The Pulitzer Prize–winning play opened in New York in 1947 and guaranteed
Williams’ status as one of the major American playwrights. Actors taking on the role
of Blanche duBois have included Jessica Tandy, Glenn Close and Jessica Lange. Elia
Kazan’s 1951 screen adaptation, which featured Vivien Leigh and Marlon Brando, is
regarded a cinematic classic.
A director, actor and author, Liv Ullmann’s name is synonymous with European cinema
and theatre. She played a number of major roles as a permanent member of the Norwegian
Theatre in Oslo as well as in productions in Sweden, Australia, London’s West End and
on Broadway. In film she is particularly well known for her collaborations with Ingmar
Bergman and has been honoured with numerous awards and nominations. As director,
Ullmann’s work includes Faithless, Private Confessions and Paul
Claudel’s Break of Noon.
---
Spamalot
to close April 5
Friday, March 7, 2:23am AEDST.
The cast of Spamalot gave their all on stage at the Her Majesty's Theatre
last night but what the audience didn't know was that the entire company had been told
just minutes before the curtain went up that the show would close on April 5.
It means the musical will not reach the six month mark in Melbourne and is unlikely
to tour, though there seems to be some talk about a possible Sydney season in November.
Spamalot has struggled at the box office since opening late last year,
perhaps an indication of its limited target market or the strong competition it has faced,
including runaway success Priscilla.
In her review of Spamalot for AussieTheatre.com, Anne-Marie Peard said, in
part: "The Australian cast are all pretty close to perfect. Lucinda Shaw is the stand
out as The Lady of the Lake. It’s a tough role. It was written to include a female in
the all male story and much of the musical theatre satire rests with her. Lucinda excels.
Her comic timing is only matched by her voice. Mark Conaghan (Prince Herbert), Jason
Langley (brave Sir Robin), Ben Lewis (Dennis Galahad) and Derek Metzger (Patsy) are all
memorable and have taken the roles beyond the film characters. Stephen Hall is wonderful
as Lancelot, but has to stop pretending to be John Cleese. Billie Brown leads the knights
as Arthur. Billie doesn’t match the vocal ability of the rest of the cast, which is
especially noticeable in the duets, and he hasn’t completely embraced the character
yet. Arthur is the serious one. Billie plays it like he’s the one in on the whole
joke. We need to laugh more AT Arthur, rather than with him."
Telling the legendary tale of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table, and
their quest for the Holy Grail, Spamalot features a chorus line of dancing divas
and knights, flatulent Frenchmen, a killer rabbit and one legless knight.
Directed by Mike Nichols, Spamalot features a book and lyrics by Eric Idle, music
by John Du Prez and Idle, and choreography by Casey Nicholaw. Spamalot is
lovingly ripped-off from the classic film, Monty Python and the Holy Grail by Monty
Python creators Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones
and Michael Palin.
- Troy Dodds
---
Nevin
back at STC
Wednesday, March 5, 9:49pm AEDST.
 Her
office has barely been cleaned out but Robyn Nevin will return to the Sydney Theatre
Company (STC) later this month to star in the company's production of John Didion's The
Year Of Magical Thinking, to be directed by Cate Blanchett.
Nevin plays the title character Didion, who, over the course of one year loses her
soul-mate of 40 years, John Dunne, while also enduring the prolonged illness of their only
child, Quintana. As the writer faces almost unbearable pain, she must also forego
familiar, rational, logical ways of seeing the world, for what she comes to know as
'magical thinking'.
The Year Of Magical Thinking is already a major work of the international stage,
having played to sell-out audiences when directed by David Hare and featuring Vanessa
Redgrave on Broadway last year. That production will be seen at London's National Theatre
in April 2008.
From 1999 to 2007 Nevin was Artistic Director of STC, where as a performer her credits
include Love-Lies-Bleeding, The Cherry Orchard, The Breath Of Life, The Glass
Menagerie, Old Masters, A Cheery Soul and many others. She has acted for all
Australian state theatre companies since graduating with NIDA's first students in 1959 and
her numerous awards include the Sydney Critics' Circle Awards for Best Actress and for
Outstanding Achievement in Theatre, the Sidney Myer Performing Arts Award and Logie,
Penguin and Sammy Awards for Best Actress.
This production features costumes designed by Giorgio Armani.
The play opens at Wharf 1 on March 25. Bookings: (02) 9250 1777.
---
Chess
to play Theatre Royal
Wednesday, March 5, 9:17pm AEDST.
It made its Australian premiere at the Theatre Royal almost 20 years ago and
now the Benny Andersson and Bjorn Ulvaeus musical Chess is returning to the
theatre, albeit on a smaller scale.
Balmain’s Light Opera Company Inc will stage the tuner with an ensemble of
local actors and a 25 piece orchestra from May 8.
This vibrant musical is directed by Mark Hoath from BLOC and stars Pat Ulloa as Anatoly,
Ed Steiner as Freddie and Lucy Boocock as Florence.
“Being able to put on Chess anywhere is such an honour but it will be
something special to put it on at the Theatre Royal, where it was first performed in
Australia almost 20 years ago,” said Hoath.
Chess is set in the mid 1980’s and revolves around the World Chess
Championships, the American current title holder, Freddie, his partner, Florence and the
Russian contender, Anatoly. This turns into a drama-ridden love triangle, commenting on
how cold war tensions of the time seemed to dominate all aspects of life - even those
considered to be the more refined ones.
Chess originated as a concept album released in 1984. The musical takes the
audience on a journey through the scenic towns of Merano, Italy and Bangkok, Thailand.
'One Night in Bangkok' was a million-selling smash across the globe, topping the charts in
many countries, including the UK, US, and Australia. The duet of 'I Know Him So Well' was
number one in the UK for three weeks and a top 10 hit in Australia in 1985 when released
as a single by Elaine Paige and Barbara Dickson.
BLOC Inc has been producing musicals since 2005 and is a non-profit organisation committed
to providing the best community theatre in Sydney. BLOC Inc’s previous shows have
included the 2007 season of Pirates of Penzance and the 2007 season of Into
the Woods at the Seymour Centre.
“Performing as an amateur company in a professional venue and to an audience of over
1000 is extremely rare. It is going to be such a showcase of young talented people
including cast, orchestra and those working behind the scenes,” said Hoath.
Chess opens at the Theatre Royal on May 8. Bookings: 132 849.
---
Short,
Sweet & Song program announced
Tuesday, March 4, 9:21pm AEDST.
The all singing - and sometimes dancing - version of the world’s biggest
short play festival returns in 2008 for a strictly limited season at the Seymour Centre
from March 25.
Live, fresh and original works selected from around the world and across Australia combine
in an evening of drama, comedy and romance at Short, Sweet & Song. With music
styles from rock to opera, broadway to jazz, there is something for everyone in these self
contained 10 minute musical gems.
With a creative team led by composer/lyricist/writer Michael Huxley and musical supervisor
Bev Kennedy, these works are performed by some of the best new and established music
theatre performers including Andrew Benson, Meagan Caratti, Nathan Carter, Sarah Croser,
Roanna Dempsey, Brent Dolahenty, Harriet Dyer, Brad Dylan, Fabian Hartwell, Julie Haseler,
Vincent Hooper, Brendan Irving, Anita Margiotta, Simon Brook McLachlan, Tom Morley, Sally
Osmond, Kate Parry, Jennifer Peers, Caleb Rixon, Amy Robertson, Taryn Ryan, Garry Scale,
Catherine Shepherd, Peter Silver, Aaron Taylor, Rachael Thompson, Andrew Threlfall and
Simon Ward.
Directors include Margi De Ferranti, Peta Downes, Louise Fischer, Adam Gelin, Mary-Anne
Gifford, Neil Gooding, Katie Gompertz, James Lee, Jane Miskovic, Maarten Mourik and Peter
Ross.
In addition to the Festival, five works will be performed as part of a Wildcard series on
Saturday afternoons. These will be followed by a Q and A with the writers and the creative
teams to enable audiences to give feedback and help shape the work. This feedback may then
be used
in developing the piece.
SHORT, SWEET & SONG 2008 PROGRAM
Waiting for Lenny (NY, USA)
Composer: Norman Weiss
Lyrics: Brown Cardwell
Libretto: Brown Cardwell
Director: Peter Ross
Cast: Julie Haseler, Sally Osmond, Garry Scale
The Morning After (NSW, Aust)
Composer: David Hines
Lyrics: David Hines
Libretto: David Hines
Director: Katie Gompertz
Cast: Marika Aubrey, Simon Brook McLachlan
The Short Prince (NSW, Aust)
Composer: Bruce Daniels
Lyrics: Bruce Daniels
Libretto: Bruce Daniels
Director: Maarten Mourik
Cast: Aaron Taylor, Zach Jardine, Harriet Dyer
The Pretty Girl (Vic, Aust)
Composer: David Young
Lyrics: David Young
Libretto: David Young
Director: Peta Downes
Cast: Brent Dolahenty, Catherine Shepherd
Henry and Hyde (Ca, USA)
Composer: Thomas Adams
Lyrics: James Eisenman
Libretto: James Eisenman & Thomas Adams
Director: Adam Gelin
Cast: Raine Francis, Brendan Irving, Brad Dylan
The Road to Bethlehem (Vic, Aust)
Composer: Mathew Frank
Lyrics: Dean Bryant
Libretto: Dean Bryant
Director: Neil Gooding
Cast: Amy Robertson, Rachael Thompson, Taryn Ryan, Marika Aubrey, Nathan Carter, Andrew
Threlfall, Sarah Croser, Caleb Rixon, Catherine Shepherd, Peter Silver, Simon Ward, Fabian
Hartwell, Tom Morley, Harriet Dyer
In My Arms (Qld, Aust)
Composer: Megan Shorey
Lyrics: Megan Shorey
Libretto: Megan Shorey
Director: Margi de Ferranti
Cast: Meagan Caratti, Sara Grenfell
Short Sighted (Vic, Aust)
Composer: Tom Taylor & Simon Barlow
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