This last week has seen two considerably significant workshops (of sorts) of potential future Australian musicals performed in Melbourne.

Firstly, produced with a strong professional cast and surrounded with much industry interest and fanfare was Nostradamus, a piece written by Ziggy De Voight and Jackson B Sutcliffe that has been moving around in various forms for some time. The elaborate workshop staging directed by the marvellous Roger Hodgman with music direction by David Stanhope and choreography by Dana Jolley did everything possible to make the piece move as a piece of relevant musical theatre.

Strong and acclaimed music theatre performers were in the cast lead by Scott Irwin (directly from his Camelot triumph) in the central role, James Millar as the protagonist of the piece, Carrie Barr as his leading lady and able support from Lara Mulcahy, Derek Taylor and a strong ensemble. Everyone gave everything they could to the piece, yet the work remains stagnant and lacking in theatrical possibilities. The atonal semi operatic style score and the laboured melodramatic plot sadly did not justify the enormous interest shown by the many music theatre producers and performers who packed the Melbourne Theatre Company's rehearsal rooms for two performances last weekend.

Across town at Chapel off Chapel, there was much less fanfare and nowhere near the same interest shown in Words and Music (ably directed by Cameron Wenn), a tiny cabaret style show which showcased the music and lyrics of upcoming Melbourne music theatre writer Anthony Costanzo, yet this is the where the future of Australian music theatre may well lie. Costanzo like Matthew Robinson is a young man with the dream of taking his music theatre pieces into full scale commercial productions. Melbourne seems to breed and encourage these fine and talented artists (Eddie Perfect would fall somewhat into this category as well). Their music is fine, original, exciting, melodic and full of promise. Costanzo has written three musicals and his latest Life is a Circus has been short listed for the Pratt prize and much of this show featured songs from this interesting new musical.

Costanzo writes passionately from the heart, his songs are mostly big belt ballads that offer much to music theatre performers with solid voices. He allows his artists to pour everything into his songs and both performer and audience are aptly rewarded. This young man is a serious contender, at least half of the songs in this showcase were totally superb examples of modern music theatre writing (with a touch of pop sensibility) at its very best. Costanzo was ably served by a cast of top line music theatre stars in Maria Mercedes, Peter Murphy and Dean Lotherington and one of our most significant young music theatre performers well on her way to big things in young Zoe Gertz who held her own admirably in this rather royal company. A glorious show that ably served to prove that the Australian theatre industry often overlook the most talented writers for far too long.