Stage Whispers Sept/Oct 2015 edition

2 Stage Whispers September - October 2015

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In this issue

Joel Jackson: Not The Boy Next Door ..................................................... 10 Starring as Peter Allen in the TV Mini-Series Matilda’s Terrible Parents ...................................................................... 14 Meet our Wormwoods, Marika Aubrey and Daniel Frederiksen Hanging Up His Boots ........................................................................... 16 Michael Flatley, retiring Lord of the Dance 2015 Helpmann Awards ....................................................................... 18 All the best gags and the big winners

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16

Fit New Cats On The Prowl .................................................................... 21 An interview with Josh Piterman and Holly Meegan Appeal of the Bells ................................................................................ 24 The making of an Australian Theatre Dynasty West End Gems Hide Grim Backstages .................................................. 34 Guided tours in London’s “Theatreland” Why Drama Matters .............................................................................. 36 Andrew Upton on Drama education Costumes & Stage Make Up Showcase .................................................. 39

Regular Features Stage Briefs

20

39 60

6

Stage On Disc

28

London Calling

30

Broadway Buzz

31

Stage To Page

32

Amateur Stage Briefs

48

On Stage - What’s On

52

Reviews

64

Musical Spice

92

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68 4 Stage Whispers September - October 2015

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Editorial Dear theatre-goers and theatre-doers, These opening words in each edition of Stage Whispers are - ironically - often written last, as I proof-read the magazine from first page to last. This edition is no exception.

Consequently, as I peruse everything one last time, little thoughts continually spring to mind.

As soon as I read Peter Pinne’s Stage to Disc column each edition, I find myself promptly ordering some of his top picks.

Ana Maria Belo with Stage Whispers editor Neil Litchfield With one new Australian cast album, at the launch of the Ensemble Miracle City, and solo albums from two of Theatre’s 2016 season. our finest leading men, Simon Gleeson and Alex Rathgeber, my labours preparing this mag for print have certainly been brightened by a marvelous musical theatre ambience.

Once each year we focus on costumes, costume designers and costume makers, and their role in the illusion of theatre. Through more than 40 years appearing in community theatre productions, I’ve worn some great (though occasionally not-so-great) costumes. In my most recent performance, I’m happy to say I was splendidly costumed by one of the tireless teams featured in our costume supplement.

Thanks to the fabulous costume team at Bankstown Theatre Company for helping me look and feel great in Anyone Can Whistle.

With John Bell’s retirement from the helm of Bell Shakespeare announced, Coral Drouyn has chatted with John and his daughters Lucy and Hilary, welcoming us inside their theatrical dynasty. As a first year university Drama student, my passion for Shakespeare was ignited by John Bell’s Hamlet at the Nimrod (now Stables) Theatre in 1972, then subsequently nurtured by numerous Nimrod and Bell Shakespeare productions.

Like myself, I’m sure many of you have been, and will continue to be, affected by his astonishing body of work.

As a born-again fitness enthusiast, I was fascinated to chat with Josh Piterman, returning to commercial musical theatre in the new production of Cats, as he told me more about his Melbourne-based fitness business PITFIT, and his perspective on musical theatre performers as athletes as well as artists.

Since our last edition, Stage Whispers has romped past the milestone of 12,000 likes on Facebook. I thoroughly enjoy administering the social media side of Stage Whispers, even if I often seem like a bit of an invisible man on my own pages.

I hope you enjoy a far more leisurely read of our latest edition, finding a connection or two yourselves.

Yours in Theatre,

Neil Litchfield Editor

CONNECT

Cover image:

Joel Jackson appears as Peter Allen in the TV mini-series Peter Allen: Not The Boy Next Door on the Seven Network beginning September 13th.

See David Spicer’s interview on page 10.

Photo: Tony Mott. www.stagewhispers.com.au Stage Whispers 5

6 Stage Whispers September - October 2015

 Guy Edmonds, Ursula Mills and Matthew Zeremes in Betrayal by Harold Pinter, part of the Ensemble Theatre’s 2016 Subscription season. http://bit.ly/1JxmnQA

Stage Briefs

 Six time Tony Award winner Audra McDonald appears in concert at Hamer Hall, Arts Centre Melbourne on October 31 (www.artscentremelbourne.com.au) and at Sydney Opera House from November 5 to 7 (www.sydneysymphony.com)  Adam Garcia, Jack Chambers, Gretel Scarlett and Erika Heynatz will star in the Australian version of the hit West End production of Singin’ In The Rain, which commences its Australian tour at Her Majesty’s Theatre, Melbourne in May 2016. http://bit.ly/1Jxmg7K

 Don’t forget to check out our comprehensive 2016 Performing Arts Guide, covering courses available from institutions right across Australia and New Zealand.

Read it online now at http://bit.ly/1WM9gVG

www.stagewhispers.com.au Stage Whispers 7

ďƒ§ Dame Julie Andrews will direct the 60th Anniversary production of My Fair Lady, to be produced by Opera Australia and John Frost, opening at Sydney Opera House in August 2016. http://bit.ly/1JxmjAq

8 Stage Whispers September - October 2015

Stage Briefs

 Cast members of Georgy Girl - the Seekers Musical which has its World Premiere at Her Majesty’s Theatre, Melbourne on December 22.

Phillip Lowe (Keith Potger), Mike McLeish (Bruce Woodley), Pippa Grandison (Judith Durham) and Glaston Toft (Athol Guy) at the Myer Music Bowl. http://bit.ly/1JxmhbT  Jonathan Church, Artistic Director of Chichester Festival Theatre since 2006, will succeed Andrew Upton as Artistic Director of Sydney Theatre Company. http://bit.ly/1Jxmg7K  Hugh Jackman returns home to Australia in November and December for a five-city arena concert tour - Broadway to Oz - based on his smash hit and sold out Broadway show, Hugh Jackman: Back on Broadway. http://bit.ly/1Jxmj3q www.stagewhispers.com.au Stage Whispers 9

Cover Story

Joel Jackson Not The Boy Next Door Joel Jackson as Peter Allen with The Rockettes in Channel 7’s Not The Boy Next Door.

Online extras!

Watch a preview of Joel as Peter Allen by scanning the QR code or visiting http://yhoo.it/1fxdcb7 10 Stage Whispers September - October 2015

Fresh-faced NIDA graduate Joel Jackson is the new Boy From Oz, shaking those maracas in the Channel 7 mini-series Not the Boy Next Door, based on the life and times of singer songwriter Peter Allen. *David Spicer reports on the lengths he took to prepare for the role and how he got there.

When Joel Jackson auditioned for NIDA, the teenager from Karratha in north-western Australia had never even set foot on stage in a play.

Against the odds he was plucked from the thousands of hopefuls to join the prestigious drama course.

Joel’s credentials were as a musician.

“I was a singer song writer playing in pubs since the age of 14,” he said.

Sound familiar? Peter Allen made his start in the pub of a country town in New South Wales Armidale. He’d dance and he’d sing, do just about anything, just to get his name in lights.

Joel Jackson says Peter Allen is his kindred spirit.

“We both came from very small country towns and made something out of nothing. I draw a lot of my own life story from the early part of his. I sympathise with his struggle of wanting to be heard singing your own songs, but not knowing where your songs will be heard, or what your target audience will be.”

Peter Allen’s rock was his mother Marion. She was immortalised in an episode of ‘This is Your Life’, saying she was proud as punch of her son.

“My Dad was exactly that. He was always driving me to the pub to play, and staying to make sure everything was OK. He was that pivotal person who I owe everything to.”

And while Joel Jackson has not yet won an Oscar, or sold out Radio City Music Hall, or married the daughter of Judy Garland (as Peter Allen did), his career, even in its early stages, is impressive.

He scored two major TV roles in his first year out of NIDA. The first was that of Charles Bean, one of the journalists who reported on the deeds of ANZACS, in the Foxtel series Dateline Gallipoli.

“Watching other great leading men and women doing their thing gave me the confidence to research and to play Peter Allen, the leading man.”

This helped him a week in to the shoot, when the director took him aside and urged him to own the camera, to put his stamp on it as leading man.

Joel has never seen the musical The Boy From Oz and

was determined to avoid even any glimpses of the performances of Hugh Jackman or Todd McKenney that are available on-line.

“I did not want any hang over of their performances. I wanted to make it my own.”

There was plenty of original material to dive into. He watched hours of footage of Peter Allen’s concerts, videos of his holidays and Vaseline ads from his school days, available in the State Library of NSW. “The more I read and the more we shot, the less I wanted to say goodbye to him. I think he was a remarkable human being. His charisma, his jokes, he was so lovable. A lot of people spoke about him never being angry, never upset or worried too much. He was a really simple guy. He knew what he wanted to do, then only did them once and kept going.”

So how did Peter Allen cope with the disappointments? Breaking up with Liza Minelli, having a flop on Broadway (Legs Diamond), struggling to get his own music recorded?

“We all crack, but he put it into his song-writing. He released the deep seated fears into his music.

That is why his songs are so lovely and so evocative.”

I asked Joel to name his favourite Peter Allen song. I was expecting something like ‘Tenterfield Saddler’, ‘Everything Old is New Again’ or ‘I Still Call Australia Home’.

Instead he nominated the little known song ‘I Don’t Go Shopping’.

“One of his record producers said you’ve got the gay audience, why don’t you write a song about shopping? He sat down with a friend and said I hate shopping! So he wrote a song about not going shopping for love. It’s something money can’t buy. I fell in love with the charisma behind that. What a dude, what a guy.”

The TV series Not the Boy Next Door has other insights into Peter Allen which were not in the musical.

Olivia Newtown-John (played by Christie Whelan-Browne), Peter (Continued on page 12) www.stagewhispers.com.au Stage Whispers 11

(Continued from page 11)

Allen’s sister Lynn and his song-writing partner Carol Bayer Sager were trimmed from the book in the Nick Enright musical. The TV series has more time to explore their roles in his life and what happened behind the bright theatre moments. His early Bandstand days are also fleshed out, with Rob Mills playing his Allen Brothers partner.

“There is a lot of interesting stuff about his split with Liza Minnelli and how he tried to forge his own way after the breakup of the Allen brothers.”

Sigrid Thornton as Judy Garland brings acting class to the role, albeit without her own singing voice (which is dubbed).

“Sigrid did an amazing job of Judy, physically with her mannerisms and her voice. I had to be careful how much time I spent with her on set before and after (shooting scenes) because the magic would wear off. I needed to see her only in the scenery as Judy.”

Joel says mastering Peter Allen’s voice was a big challenge as he had different accents depending on where he was at the time because he was the

12 Stage Whispers September - October 2015

consummate entertainer.

With his partner Greg he sounded more Texan, when he was staging the Broadway musical Legs Diamond he sounded more “twangy” clipped Broadway, but on his visits back home his Australian accent returned.

“It was a challenge on set, going through three different accents for the same person in a day.

“I also lost about 8 or 10 kilos, and had my hair pushed back.”

Then came the songs.

“I taught myself how to sing listening to Pearl Jam, Jimmy Hendrix and those sorts of guys. My style is the pub-rock singer-song-writer, so I really worked on that Broadway twang, those power ballads and really going for that support and vibrato.

“To me Peter Allen sounds like Fats Waller. That fed into his timing. He was rhythmical with his lyrics. His timing and phrasing were beautiful. Then I found the shape of my mouth to fit his speaking voice, then sing to that and listen to his influences to where he got that sound from.”

Since filming finished Joel said he

has been inspired to pick up on his own song-writing, which he likens in style to Paul Kelly. He’s also keen now to see a stage production of The Boy From Oz and play Peter Allen “maybe in eight years”.

However, “for me there are so many songs in the musical that I would be jealous of other people singing. I would want to sing them all.”

Not the Boy Next Door premieres on the Seven Network on September 13 and 20 and is expected to be available for streaming on Plus 7 shortly thereafter.

To help Joel Jackson see The Boy From Oz, it is on in Melbourne, presented by the Babirra Music Theatre from October 9 to 17, and at Spotlight Theatre on the Gold Coast from October 23 to November 13.

It is also being staged by regional theatres in the United States including recent productions in Chicago, Tennessee, New York state and Dallas, with productions next year in Florida and Hollywood.

David Spicer is the agent for The Boy From Oz. www.davidspicer.com.au

www.stagewhispers.com.au Stage Whispers 13

Meet Matilda’s Terrible Parents

Totally consumed by self-interest, Matilda’s parents are the tawdriest of characters. Marika Aubrey plays the ballroom dancer Mrs Wormwood, while Daniel Frederiksen is shonky used car salesman Mr Wormwood in the musical, Matilda, now on stage in Sydney, ahead of Melbourne next year. David Spicer spoke to them, along with the writer of the musical’s book, Dennis Kelly.

Online extras!

Watch a performance by the Australian cast of Matilda. Scan the QR code or visit https://youtu.be/0yBTBSYEWZA 14 Stage Whispers September - October 2015

Marika Aubrey and Daniel Frederiksen as Mr and Mrs Wormwood in Matilda.

Photo: Lightbox Photography.

Marika: We are the villains and the bad parents in the show.

At the same time it is made clear I don’t think any children are truly scared by us.

They are so silly and stupid.

Daniel: You could not take them seriously; my father was a used car salesman. He’s coming to see it. He will be mortified, because they did put sawdust in gear-boxes and wind back the speedometers on cars.

Marika: I have the best mother in the world. She is glorious, she is everything Mrs Wormwood isn’t. I had to think about all the opposite qualities and go there. In my life I love kids. I am a maternal person.

Daniel: It is a weird thing, you just want to squish them but hug them straight after. I worked in childcare when I was much younger. Both of us love being around kids. It is a weird thing. Everyone one knows it is play-acting.

Marika: All four of them (the girls playing Matilda) are so mature and handle it with such grace.

Daniel: In the first week you are trying to be as nasty as you can. This feels terrible. It also feels kind of good.

Marika: We are quite the family.

The kids have gone to school with us.

So we have an in-house teacher. There was a period they were coming in at 8am and leaving at 8pm. They were eating breakfast, lunch and dinner at school. It is very much a happy family.

We all eat together. We are here all the time. It is organised with military precision because there are so many people involved.

Daniel: The kids have got a lot of chaperones. They are separate to us.

Marika: It minimises the seriousness of the melodrama off stage because we can’t carry on (in front of them). It makes us all step up and be more professional. You want to create a happy environment for them. We have all wilted. It is a big show.

Daniel: It is a massively big rehearsal process, because the kids need all the time.

Marika: So did we.

Daniel: But they are not in the industry. They are starting from scratch.

Marika: Every song is demanding. It is a very physical show. For me, my

character is a dancer. Every move is dance.

David Spicer: You are not a dancer if you are a used car salesman?

Daniel: No I have not been in a musical before. So singing in front of a big audience is new experience to me.

Marika: And what Dan has to do is quite extraordinary; his song is the only one with the 4th wall. He gets to sing to the audience. It is a tricky skill set to say hello to 2000 people.

Daniel: All of us have had to push ourselves to areas we have never had to go before. In every department this show asks a lot of people. There is camaraderie. We are all put under pressure. We get to know each other and support each other.

The man who adapted the book for the musical, Dennis King, agrees that the Wormwoods are ‘pretty disgusting’.

“There is the Disney version of the world that if we all work together, everything would be wonderful. That is not the real world. The real world is that some kids have terrible, terrible parents, and some kids are assholes.

That is the reality of the world,” he said.

“Matilda’s parents are pretty disgusting. There is a tiny moment of redemption for Mr Wormwood at the end of the musical. That isn’t there (in the book). “(Australian audiences) laugh in places we don’t even get in the UK. There is a moment when Matilda talks about breaking every bone in their body. Here you laugh. In the UK people don’t laugh.

“I think (Australians) are dark. I mean that as a compliment. It feels like a country where you are not too scared about what kids might be worried about.

“Roald Dahl’s characters are fantastic flights of imagination. James and the Giant Peach is populated by strange insects. In Matilda the Trunchbull and the Wormwoods are really extreme characters. Underneath there is a truth with what he is saying about the world. That life is difficult, but the weirdness and difficulty of the world is sort of funny. If you can see its funny then it hurts a bit less.”

www.stagewhispers.com.au Stage Whispers 15

Hanging Up His Boots

Online extras!

Check out a trailer for Lord Of The Dance: Dangerous Games. Scan or visit https://youtu.be/HwDq0GkQcIQ At the age of 57, international Irish dance superstar Michael Flatley has retired from active duty. This comes more than 20 years after his unique form of large-scale dance extravaganzas started touring the world. He told David Spicer that he is nursing a long list of injuries from his time on the stage. This is why he is leaving it to dancers mostly aged in their twenties to star in his new production Lord of the Dance: Dangerous Games, touring Australia during September and October. Also helping out will be virtual dancers and robots.

David Spicer: How do you feel about retiring?

Michael Flatley: It is bitter sweet to be honest. It is a sad day to leave something I am so much in love with doing. My passion in life is dancing and creating shows. But I am not leaving completely. The legs have finally given up and said we can’t take it anymore.

16 Stage Whispers September - October 2015

In one way it is a happy day. Every morning it takes me a few minutes to straighten my back and my legs when I get out of bed. This is part of life. It’s all good. I have been successful. In my own heart I am happy with what I have accomplished. My dream now is to bring all these young stars into the limelight for the world to see.

DS: Well you have had a much longer career than a footballer?

MF: I certainly have, especially when you consider when I started. Most footballers retire by the time they’re 30 or 35. I didn’t even start until I was 35.

I have been really blessed.

DS: Now Lord of the Dance Dangerous Game; should the audience be expecting what they are used to or something different?

MF: The audience is going to get something different. It is a reimagining of the original classic show. We’ve got new music, new sound, new lighting, new costumes, new choreography. It is a big bright new version of the Lord of the Dance show. I think people will be really moved by it.

Michael Flatley.

DS: You are using a lot more technology than the early days. Can you give me a sample of it?

MF: We have high definition screens and holograms - many things that we would have loved to have in the beginning. It will be a little bit shocking but in another way you will be moved that we kept all the really good bits of the original show.

DS: How do dancing robots or animated people dance compared to real people?

MF: It fits beautifully into the storyline. Kids absolutely love it. I don’t think you’ll be disappointed.

DS: Is it art or entertainment?

MF: Both.

DS: Do you have affinity with André Rieu?

MF: There are many things about that great man I admire. It is wonderful that he has made classical music accessible to a whole new audience.

DS: What sort of talent have you assembled?

MF: I think we have the most talented, hungry dancers in the world.

When you see 40 dancers cross the stage as fast as they can several times a second on stage, hitting the stage at the same time, it is an awesome sight.

I am very proud of them.

DS: You broke the world record for speed dancing. Do you still hold it?

MF: I broke it a long time ago and I never looked. If it stood for ten minutes that is great. If it stands forever, even better.

DS: What benefits are there for making dancing popular, particularly for young boys?

MF: When you see our guys they are ripped and cut out of stone. They

work out every day. All I can tell you is that when the lads come out on stage, the girls go crazy, hooting and hollering. It is a great thing for dancers to feel that and be admired. We now have a waiting list of boys wanting to get in.

DS: What style of dancing is the most physically demanding in your experience?

MF: I can’t answer that. There are so many styles I have not tried. All I can tell you is our style of dancing is gruesome and brutal at times.

Very few of our dancers would make it to 30 years old. Most retire by the time they are 25.

LORD OF THE DANCE: DANGEROUS GAMES www.lordofthedance.com Perth, Crown Theatre - 15 - 20 Sept Adelaide, Ent. Centre, Theatre Mode: 23 - 27 Sept Melbourne, Arts Centre, State Theatre: 29 Sept - 4 Oct Canberra, Canberra Theatre: 6 - 11 Oct Brisbane, Concert Hall, QPAC: 13 - 16 Oct Gold Coast, Jupiters Hotel & Casino: 17 - 18 Oct Sydney, Capitol Theatre: 20 - 25 Oct

DS: What sort of injuries have you had?

MF: My spinal column is in a bit of a mess from all the percussion over the years. My T1, T5, C3, L5, my Sacroiliac.

I have a really bad left knee - the right one is not much better. I have a terribly torn right calf muscle. I have a fractured rib and a broken bone in my right foot. The Achilles Tendons are in bad shape. It has been a long hard road. But other than that I feel great.

DS: Is there any place where Irish dancing took off that has surprised you?

MF: In the beginning every place surprised me that people would say it was so popular - as popular as pop music in some countries. Now nothing surprises me anymore. We have sold out all over the world - Tokyo to Texas and Mexico to Moscow. And we have had the same reaction from audiences world-wide. Sold out football arenas in Hungary and Taiwan. It’s been an incredible journey. We are really blessed.

www.stagewhispers.com.au Stage Whispers 17

Best Gags At The 2015 Helpmann Awards

The Incredible and Phenomenal Journey of the Giants to the Streets of Perth.

The winners were grinning at the 2015 “That’s what playing Jean Valjean Helpmann Awards - presented at does to you,” he muttered outside in the media room.

Sydney’s Capitol Theatre in late July The night was also painful for the even if it was painful. David Spicer reports.

Federal Arts Minister George Brandis, who bravely attended. Cuts to the Simon Gleeson couldn’t take the Australia Council prompted many to smile off his face after he collected the give him a metaphorical kick in the shins.

Helpmann for Best Male Actor in a NSW Arts Minister Troy Grant Musical. But why was he limping up the stairs to collect his award? began his speech by quipping that he

18 Stage Whispers September - October 2015

was glad to be attending as the Arts Minister who had not cut funding.

Andrew Kay, President of Live Performance Australia, delivered a passionate speech citing how important small-to-medium arts organisations are to the entire industry.

“18 million people attended a live performance in Australia last year … that is more than the AFL, NRL, Super Rugby and A League combined,” he noted.

Presenter Denise Scott said that she met her husband back in 1981 working for a clown performance company in Albury-Wodonga. She said that, miraculously, the entire company was government funded.

Another comedian, Judith Lucy, had the line of the night, “To my fellow nominees….sucked in. You are young, you will bounce back.”

Andrew Hallsworth, in accepting Best Choreography in a Musical, thanked his partner for giving him ideas for steps. Rafael Bonachela (Best Choreography in a Dance or Theatre Work) said, “My partner also suggests

Anna Starsuhkevych in Faramondo.

Photo: Darren Thomas.

Simon Gleeson.

Photo: Jim Lee.

Online extras!

Check out our full list of winners from the 2015 Helpmann Awards http://bit.ly/1MHFRcg steps but I don’t often use them. He tries.”

Another wag noted that seeing young energetic people on stage made him realise how out of shape he was.

One of the sweetest moments of the night was when Todd McKenney sang ‘I Am What I Am’ from La Cage aux Folles. As he changed from a suit into drag he reflected on his journey coming out. Onto the stage came his mother to greet him.

A sad moment was when Jands CEO, Eric Robinson, spoke of his battle with cancer whilst accepting the 2015 Sue Nattrass Award.

By now you will have heard that Les Misérables won five Helpmanns including Best Musical. Sydney’s main stage theatre companies blitzed Melbourne in the drama awards, but some Perth and Brisbane arts organisations punched above their weight.

The Nostradamus award went to Stage Whispers for having two Helpmann winners, Caroline O’Connor and Simon Gleeson, on the cover earlier in the year.

Giants In The Sky Some of the biggest winners at this year’s Helpmann Awards were outside of the high profile Sydney and Melbourne arts scene. The Perth International Arts Festival won a record nine awards. The Best Special Event award went to The Incredible and Phenomenal Journey of the Giants to the Streets of Perth. General Manager Julian Donaldson says the production from French producers Royal de Luxe attracted 1.4 million spectators.

“The giants come out by sea from France in half a dozen containers. Then they are put together here and rehearsed by a company of 100 people. It was a massive logistical challenge due to the road closure and changes to public infrastructure. We had hugely complicated risk assessments involving everybody from Police, ambulance, transport - virtually every Government department. Then came the delivery of the art and choosing the route and spaces. It was as big as a festival in its own right.

“There were two giants, the diver and the little girl. They walked for three days for about ten kilometres. They are

moved by people. There is a machine behind the giant which has a large arm that suspends the giant. The giant has these legs. They have got a hip and a knee. They are lifted up by people who jump off a running board and pull the rope down and that lifts the leg.

“It was incredibly physical. We had to recruit fit agile people to run them.

“The diver woke up outside the Perth railway station then he walked to another part of the city. The little girl started at a park and moved to another. It wasn’t until Saturday night when they came together which was a very emotional moment.

“People would arrive in the city hours before it started even though February is very hot in Perth and the sense of neighbourliness and community amongst the crowd was just a sight to behold. There was such a spirit of wanting to see their city in a new way through the eyes of a giant.”

Pulling Rabbits Out Of The Hat The Rabbits, a genre bending opera that is a joint production of the Perth Festival, Opera Australia and Barking (Continued on page 20) www.stagewhispers.com.au Stage Whispers 19

The Rabbits.

Photo: Toni Wilkinson.

(Continued from page 19)

Gecko, won all four awards it was nominated for including Best New Australian Work. The production will open in October in Melbourne and Sydney in January at those cities’ festivals. Julian Donaldson again.

“It was a big idea from a small book by John Marsden and Sean Tan. It brought to life the quirky illustrative style of Sean Tan that was astounding. The Rabbits is an allegory. It is set in a country which is inhabited by native animals and is occupied by rabbits. In the beginning they get on and after a while the natives suffer from the occupation. It is a contemporary opera. It appealed to families and sold out.”

The cast of Les Misérables on the red carpet.

Photo: Jim Lee.

20 Stage Whispers September - October 2015

Brisbane Baroque Upstages Opera Australia The Brisbane Baroque snared five Bobbys including Best Opera for its production of Faramondo. The executive director Jarrod Carland was especially thrilled to win the accolades in the first year after the festival transferred from Tasmania.

“The Tasmanian Government was not prepared to commit to us for three years. So we decided to move elsewhere and the Queensland Government was very receptive to our ideas.

“There has been a huge resurgence in Baroque music. In the mid 90’s there were very few counter tenors. Now there are counter tenors galore. It’s not until you reel off the composers Vivaldi, Bach and Handel that you realise how great the repertoire is. The operas tend to have smaller casts that later eras.

“Faramondo is actually a very complicated opera. It was in a period when Handel was moving from opera to oratorio.

“With baroque music it can be hard to piece together the story. The Director (Paul Curran) did a fantastic job of modernising it. He gave it a Mafioso twist about a feud between two warring families. It tied it together. We also had access to some of the world’s best singers available from festivals overseas.”

Fit New Cats On The Prowl

Andrew Lloyd Webber’s new West End version of Cats is now set to prowl stages across Australia. Two of the new cats in the alley, Josh Piterman (Bustopher Jones, Gus and Growltiger) and Holly Meegan (Jennyanydots) spoke to Neil Litchfield during rehearsals.

degree, the attention-seeking nature of a 16 - 17 year old boy being thrust centre stage. It was just so cool.

“I decided to put physiotherapy to one side, and pursue musical theatre. I was lucky enough to get into Ballarat (Arts Academy at Federation University). I was a fanatically hard worker. When I get into something I get very obsessed with it very quickly Cats marks Josh Piterman’s return and rid myself of any social to the commercial musical theatre stage, after establishing his Melbourne engagement so that I can just work fitness business, PITFIT, in St Kilda. meticulously on the craft. (Other students would) go out to the pub for What came first for Josh, I asked, drinks and I’d do scales, or practice fitness or performing? text, or a dance routine.

“From the age of eight or nine, “Coming out of uni I did an opera Aussie Rules, Tennis and Basketball played a huge part in my life,” Josh with Melbourne Opera, a year at Tokyo Disney as a Jazz Broadway singer, then reveals. “It wasn’t until Year 11 or 12 The Ten Tenors. In 2009, three years that I did a school musical and fell in after graduating I got my first musical, love with performing.

The Drowsy Chaperone, with the MTC “I wanted to study physiotherapy, had done work experience with the and Geoffrey Rush, then I was cast in North Melbourne Football Club, and West Side Story, playing Tony for a year. had a great passion for the way the “I was cast in An Officer and A body moves. Injury and injury Gentleman, and the tragedy of that prevention was a big part of my headspace. Musical theatre came into musical not becoming a commercial my life and I was immediately swept up success gave me the idea that Australia in the fun and passion, and to a wasn’t the only place to do this. I had

West End production of Cats.

a Polish Passport so I went over to the UK and did Hairspray. From 2006 until 2013 when I did Hairspray, I just didn’t stop for seven years.

“A part of me was a little burnt out, and I just wanted something different.

Through that time I’d done my Certificate 3 in Fitness online, and as soon as Hairspray finished I came back and did my Certificate 4 with the Australian Institute of Fitness.

“It became really apparent to me that this is my way of dealing with human body - anatomy, bio-mechanics and injury prevention - and that I could possibly create something unique to the Performing Arts sphere. I did some workshops with The Australian Ballet, worked with the Melbourne Football Club’s strength and conditioning department to see how athletes are trained; that combination of working with elite sporting athletes and ballet performers, really two parallels, combined well with my knowledge of being a performer.

“I created quite a unique fitness model which is all about how the body moves on 360 degrees of space, using (Continued on page 22) www.stagewhispers.com.au Stage Whispers 21

(Continued from page 21)

various modern tools like kettle bells and suspension training, to make performers, dancers especially, the best athletes they can be. At a fundamental level we’re all artists, but doing eight shows a week in a musical like West Side Story or Cats is so athletic, and requires so much of the body, doing things to enhance it’s athletic ability and mitigate the risk of injury is of the Holly Meegan highest importance.

“On both those shows we have a Physio, but what you do before getting into the show; what you do to get into the show; the sort of work you do in order to be great physical shape to do that show; when you are doing it eight times a week, what kind of recovery work you do; what kind of work you’re doing to keep up your fitness; then when you’re finished Cats you’ve got to be on to the next thing, so you need to have a body that has the capacity to be malleable, and to do multiple things.”

Josh established his business PITFIT in St Kilda.

“I did it by myself for about a year, but it became too big. It meant that I couldn’t perform in the way I wanted to, and after a year of not doing any performing, that flame inside you burns to get back out there. I was very eager, but knew that I’d have to wait a while if I was to go down the road of obtaining and setting up a studio, building a real business, and having staff, which I’ve done now, which has let me go back to doing musicals. So I’ve just done a short season of Blood 22 Stage Whispers September - October 2015

Brothers, and now Cats is happening, so it’s been a perfect situation.”

Cats is one of those musicals which Josh grew up loving, but he thought his chances to perform in it would have to wait another decade or so, given the conventional casting of the roles.

“Promoting the concept of happiness, wellness and fitness through PITFIT leaves me feeling pretty

WAAPA trained Holly Meegan joins the new Australian cast of Cats fresh from the Asian tour of the show, her first major musical.

“Cats has been the most phenomenal experience for me. It’s so unique, in that it’s an ensemble show and everyone really gets a moment to shine, but then also has to learn to work together as a team. There’s the beauty as a cast Josh Piterman in dancing together, moving together, being cats together, and being a family or tribe of cats together, where you all learn from each other.

“It takes away any of that sort of politics that can happen with casts in terms of youth, and chorus, and stuff, and it really West End production of Cats. unifies you as a cast and part of this incredible experience.

The Asian production of Cats was the old version of the show, familiar to Australian audiences, but there have been significant updates to this new West End version.

“For the new comfortable about the way my body version I’ll have to do a whole works, and being comfortable with revamped Broadway-style tap dance, myself, and being comfortable going so that’s been a challenge, but a really back into performing. Cats feels exciting one. It’s nice to have a change, awesome, rehearsals are lots of fun, because after you’ve done it for a year and I’m so glad to be back in a big and a half, it’s nice to take it up a level, commercial show - just that whole and have something new and exciting, energy of being in a cast and the team as well as all the old stuff that I’ve mentality of that - improvising being loved doing.” cats, and scratching and sniffing, and How are people who know the all sorts of silly things that you do in original version of Cats going to be order to become the cats. I probably surprised by the changes? haven’t done this sort of stuff since “In terms of what’s going to be uni, and it’s far less stressful than new and exciting, my number (The Old owning a business.”

Gumbie Cat) is probably brighter and

more fun, and it has a kind of really swing, fun jazz style. Then obviously there’s Rum Tum Tugger, which has been updated to include rap and appeal to newer generations.

“Then in the second act the whole Growltiger number has been changed and edited.”

What was special about doing the Asian tour?

“It was lovely being in an international setting. The cast was from all over the world - South Africa, Australia and the UK. It was lovely being with them, and also getting to learn from other artists from around the world, coming together and bonding through this show. I made some incredible friends.

“It was also getting to experience another wonderful country. Korean audiences are amazing. They love the show and they’re so supportive and excited.”

I asked about the part improvisation has played in rehearsals for Cats?

“The improvisation is so essential in terms of Cats, because you’re improvising constantly on stage, and it

has to be fresh and alive for us to be believable, real life cats. It’s interesting to come back to it, because the first time you do it, and you just pretend to be a cat, you have no idea what you’re doing. Joe, our director (in Korea), encouraged us to find it in our bodies ourselves - to investigate our own bodies and think about it, as opposed to directing us as to what a cat should do. I learnt so much about the physicality of a cat from the research that I did, and then exploring it myself in my own body, my own character and finding what works best for me.

There’s also working with other people and watching what they do.”

Has your cat changed much over the time you’ve been doing the show?

“When you’re doing a role for a long period of time, you learn to breathe in it more, and it becomes a bit more complex and detailed. As I’ve gone on, I think she’s got a little sassier, and while she’s an old lady, she’s got so much spunk, and now with the new tap number she’s got funkier, and even sassier.”

How is it working with Delta Goodrem (Grizabella)?

“Incredible. She’s so down to earth and lovely, so there, and so focused on the work. She just fits in with everyone else, but you look at her and she’s such a beautiful pop star, but she’s just a hardworking, talented individual, so it’s just been a pleasure watching the way that she works and her attitude.”

Having spoken to Josh about fitness for performers, I asked Holly about her regimen while performing in Cats.

“I’ve had the blessing of doing it for a long time. It takes a while for your body to adapt to the physicality of it. It took me a long time to build up the stamina that I have now. I’ve only had little breaks between tours, so doing the show has kept me fit, but I go to the gym, and you have to make sure you do your warm up classes and ballet class, and also health, nutrition and sleep. This show has taught me to get a good night’s sleep and to eat really well. If I don’t do these things, I can’t function and do the show to the level I want.”

www.stagewhispers.com.au Stage Whispers 23

Stage Heritage

Appeal Of The Bells The Making Of A Dynasty

John Bell’s direction of Bell Shakespeare’s The Tempest is a fitting farewell to just one part of his life, and the symbolism of a man who has created magic, abandoning his island for a new life in retirement is lost on no -one. Coral Drouyn looks at the extraordinary Bell legacy.

year is 1955, plus you have the handicap of an awful stutter, it does seem that John took the hardest route possible to a successful career in anything. In those years it was largely considered you had to be a bit of a “Nancy” or a “Flaming Galah gone crackers” to go on the stage…and yes, we did use that kind of language. The cultural cringe was upon us.

For 25 years Bell Shakespeare has Some, including John, would say it been John Bell and Anna Volska’s gift to the nation, and we owe them for that. still is. But John wasn’t deterred.

But we also owe it to this remarkable “I have always had a love of theatre. pair of actors to look beyond I adored pantomime as a child and it has been suggested that sometimes I Shakespeare, and how and why the embrace that style when I play character Bells can be credited with starting our parts. It’s probably a fair call for comic premiere stage drama dynasty. Anna roles, but I hope the pantomime never Volska is a stunning actor in her own right, Lucy Bell is likewise one of the becomes parody - it’s the delicious country’s finest actresses, and Hilary Bell vulgarity of it that won me as a child.”

Coming from a strict Catholic family, is one of our most prominent John was sent to a Marist Brothers playwrights, with a third generation College, and it was there that Brother now in training at performing arts school to take over the mantle.

Elgar introduced him to Shakespeare by John and Anna will no doubt get to performing the text out loud, playing all the parts, to the whole class. see their grandchildren on stage, but “It was an Epiphany,” John John Bell didn’t set out to be the remembers, “and I told classmates ‘I’m Patriarch of a Dynasty.

It’s not unusual for a boy of 15 going to be an actor’ right then and nowadays to decide he wants to be an there, and couldn’t be swayed from my actor, but when you’re 15 and living in conviction.” a country town like Maitland, and the 24 Stage Whispers September - October 2015

By the time John went to University he was alongside such luminaries as Clive James, Germaine Greer and Laurie Oakes, while Film Director Bruce Beresford was his closest friend. Did he think they would rule the world?

“With hindsight I’m sure we thought we WERE the world, and the Universe revolved around us.”

John’s first professional foray was at the Old Tote Theatre, so called because it was in a shed opposite Randwick Racecourse and housed the old, defunct Totalisator machine. This odd place for a theatre also housed the offices for NIDA. When 18-year-old Polish born Anna Volska joined the company to play opposite John as the juveniles in The Cherry Orchard, the future was sealed.

Anyone who saw the production (myself included) could see how connected the two were. It was breathtaking “Call it serendipity or fate…or love at first sight,” John says, “but we both knew even before Opening Night.”

Anna has had a laudable career of her own, in television as well as onstage. She won a Logie award for her portrayal of Helena Rubinstein and was the star of a TV series some will remember called The Godfathers. She’s

Photo: Woolfer Peters.

also proved herself to be a fine director and is currently one of a cast of six of our finest senior actors playing adolescents in Belvoir’s highly regarded production Seventeen (Belvoir previously housed the second incarnation of the Nimrod Theatre, founded by John and Anna, which only changed its name in 1988). Yet, as she grew from teenage years to adult, Anna was content to follow where John felt the need to go. After playing Ophelia to John’s “Too big, over-the-top” Hamlet, she agreed, with their contract over and nothing of interest facing them, to go with him to England to study on a scholarship at the Bristol Old Vic school.

That in turn was the door to his five years at the Royal Shakespeare Company, with Anna somehow managing to fit two daughters into a family already full with Shakespeare and theatre.

“I remember Hilary was born in the Digs we were staying in (at Stratford on Avon) and I had to rush back to the theatre for a performance.”

Later Anna would again be Ophelia to John’s Hamlet in 1972, and this time it was for their own theatre, the Nimrod in Sydney.

It was the longing for the kids to have a normal Aussie upbringing (“we really did think our childhood was totally normal….though in retrospect…” Hilary says without further explanation) that brought the family back to Australia and to Paddington, where the girls went to school.

“Dad was teaching at NIDA at first, and so I wasn’t really aware of the whole theatre thing,” Hilary recounts.

“But we were still very young when they started Nimrod, and I do remember them working ridiculously long hours.

We had a silver haired baby- sitter called Sylvia some of the time. But when there was no money, well they had no choice but to take us with them to the theatre.

We loved it….beds made up in the stalls or under the dressing table while the tech rehearsals sometimes took all night.”

The Nimrod, in an old stables in Nimrod Street at Kings Cross, started with a brief to present new and contemporary plays.

“It was just a shambles of a place, full of rubbish, smelly, no real ventilation. The seats were planks and there were steps missing. The audience had to bring cushions to sit on. It would never get past health and safety now,” says John.

“Did he tell you there was no toilet backstage?” Hilary quips. “The only outlet was a plastic cup to pee in. Even that seemed totally acceptable.”

Nimrod gained some fame and suddenly the parents of Hilary and Lucy’s school friends were really interested in their parents.

“It was quite a Bohemian existence and money was very tight - we certainly never felt privileged - it was a different kind of notoriety,” Hilary says.

Lucy adds to the story, “I remember being fine with them being actors until my lovely mother had a part on telly in

The Restless Years and she had to kiss Dr Bruce. All the kids were teasing me about it the next day and I remember going home upset and angry and confronting poor mum with, ‘Why can’t you be like normal people? They’re laughing at me’. She was mortified.”

John worked so hard in those days making the theatre he started with Uni friend Ken Horler viable, that the two girls welcomed the chance to go to dress runs and performances as a way of seeing more of him.

“They were marvellous, if a little unorthodox, as parents,” Hilary says.

“They weren’t big at imposing their will on us. We were allowed, even encouraged, to explore who we were.

But our mother was the most organised person…someone had to be, and Dad’s hands were full trying to keep a roof over our, and the theatre’s, heads,” Lucy explains.

Lucy didn’t realise exactly what acting was until she was five or six.

“It was one of those nights when we didn’t have a sitter and so we went to the theatre with mum and dad. It was Chekhov again - The Seagull - and I was standing in the wings. Dad had exited OP and suddenly I heard 4 or 5 loud gunshots. I remember screaming hysterically,” she recalls.

Was she worried that her Dad was hurt?

“No….worse than that. I thought he’d killed someone and the police would come and drag him out of the theatre.”

(Continued on page 26) www.stagewhispers.com.au Stage Whispers 25

Stage Heritage

(Continued from page 25)

When Nimrod moved in 1974 to the old Cerebos Salt Factory it kept it’s name, and the girls remember amusing themselves behind the bar whilst the show or rehearsals were on.

“We weren’t big enough to reach the alcohol shelves,” Hilary remembers, “but we would make up ‘cocktails’ using cordials or flavouring and any soft drinks, then of course Lucy and I would have ‘tastings’ and sometimes insist our parents try the concoctions. It was a wonderfully bizarre time.”

And it was a time fraught with money troubles and John’s frustration at having to constantly pitch for funding to keep them afloat. Often it seemed they wouldn’t even make the following night’s performance.

John and Anna never encouraged their daughters to pursue normal careers, nor discouraged the theatre as a choice.

Anna Volska and John Bell in Hamlet, 1972.

John Bell in Hamlet, 1962.

“They really wanted us to do what we felt passionate about,” Hilary remembers.

“Though of course, with our background it wasn’t likely that we’d feel passionate about becoming accountants or working in a shop,” Lucy adds.

Hilary knew she couldn’t overcome her shyness to become an actress, especially since her obsession, her passion, was musical theatre.

“It still is,” she tells me. “I’m working on a musical right now.”

At first she thought she might try set designing, but she became involved with Shopfront Theatre in Sydney and that was the impetus for her attending 1985’s Interplay (an international conference for young playwrights).

From that point Hilary knew that she wanted to write. Lucy’s path was more secretive. She didn’t want to be labelled as John Bell’s daughter.

“I was very naïve,” she says. “I don’t know how I could have ‘snuck in” to NIDA, after doing a lot of drama at Uni, with no-one recognising me, when the admittance panel had on it friends of my parents who have known me since I was a toddler.” She laughs at the thought. And she actually turned down the chance to work with her father when she graduated in 1991.

“It was too soon,” she says. “I wasn’t ready.”

And by 1990, the senior Bells, only 50 and 45 respectively, weren’t ready to retire, even though John had sworn never to run a theatre company again.

When an old Uni friend, Tony Gilbert, said he had some money he’d like to invest in promoting Shakespeare, John was sucked back in.

“I never lost my wonder for Shakespeare; it’s as much a part of me as breathing. The girls were grown and Anna said, ‘yes, we must do this’,” John explains. “And she was with me every step, especially those first few years, when we were in a tent and every week could have been our last.”

The rest is history. Bell Shakespeare is 25, Hilary is an award winning playwright, Anna still a respected actress, Lucy graces our stages and television sets regularly…and John has even directed Lucy in a play by Hilary, and Hilary has written a play for Anna.

That’s what makes them a Dynasty, and why Australian theatre owes them so much.

Our writer Coral Drouyn is herself the 4th generation of a Theatrical Dynasty.

26 Stage Whispers September - October 2015

Comfortable Bums On Seats Her Majesty’s Theatre, Adelaide.

Thinking of new theatre seats? Roger M Pratt from Hadley Australia has some tips on keeping the posteriors of your audience members happy.

upholstery fabric. It is important to have this certification as for a major fire your insurance company may not pay out.

Check out the weight rating of the chair being offered, the higher weight capacity the more abuse it will take and the When the time has come to replace your old theatre seats longer the life expectancy. or to select seats for your new venue, it pays to take some time Can the PWD removable seating be handled by one staff to evaluate what is being offered. member?

Uncomfortable seating is what is remembered by your For a new build, always select your chair early so that the acoustic ratings can be given to the Acoustic Consultant to patrons and is a big factor in their future ticket buying decisions. incorporate into his calculations. This way you get the acoustic A theatre chair should be firm with good lumbar support results that you want. and hold you well. A chair that has squishy foam seems on a Remember the cost of the chair will quickly fade; the quick try to be the most comfortable, but is not for the comfort enjoyment remains long after. So choose well. duration of a performance.

Also a soft foam doesn’t last (think airline seats !) and has to be replaced frequently.

Often when a chair is being selected, a number of them will be presented to a selection committee who only sit for a few seconds in each one. Narrow the choice down, take these home and watch a couple of hours TV before you decide.

Obviously look for a long guarantee on both the chair and the fabric.

Also check the chair envelope (front to back measurement with the seat up) as the smaller the envelope the more egress there is in the row.

The seat cushion should be quickly changeable by the usher without tools.

The cushions should have zip off covers so they can be quickly changed if soiled/vandalized.

The strongest chairs have inner metal frames (not plastic) encased in moulded foam with no voids.

Tipping should be silent and by gravity, not springs. Springs squeak and break over time.

Timber arms look more upmarket than upholstered arms and maintain their look much longer - no fabric to wear out.

LED aisle lighting is preferred - they give a long life without heat and are dimmable.

The building code has now changed in most states so that the foam has to be fire rated to AS 1530 pt 111 as does the For more advice contact Roger M Pratt from Hadley/Series Australia Pty Ltd on 0412 435 089 or www.hadleyaustralia.com.au www.stagewhispers.com.au Stage Whispers 27

Stage On Disc

By Peter Pinne

Gigi (Alan Jay Lerner/Frederick Loewe) (DMI 2-549397). The new Broadway cast recording of Gigi is like a glass of vintage Dom Perignon - vibrant, vigorous and totally exhilarating. With an outstanding cast and new orchestrations by August Eriksmoen, Lerner and Loewe’s enchanting score has never sounded better. High School Musical alumni Vanessa Hudgens brings charm and heart to the title role, as does Corey Cott (Newsies) as Gaston.

Hudgens belts “The Night They Invented Champagne” into a showstopper and with Cott manages a frisson of emotion in their “In This Wide, Wide World” finale. Cott shines on “It’s A Bore” and “She Is Not Thinking of Me”, but it’s the tender title song that masterfully shows off his delicate tenor. All of the songs from the film have been retained in this adaptation, unlike the first Broadway outing in 1973, with some repositioned, notably “Thank Heaven For Little Girls”, which is now sung by Dee Hoty (Aunt Alicia) and Victoria Clark (Mamita). Clark is also a delight duetting with Howard McGillin (Honore) on “I Remember It Well” and “I’m Glad I’m Not Young Anymore”, and in this version gets to sing “Say A Prayer For Me Tonight”. It’s no surprise she won a Tony for her role because she’s excellent. The songs from the original 1958 movie are the best, but “Paris Is Paris Again”, written for the 1973 Broadway production, is a more than worthy addition to the score.  Miracle City (Max Lambert/Nick Enright) (MC001). If you like gospel music then you’re going to love this album. Lambert and Enright’s score for this show about evangelical preachers in America’s deep-south is part country, part blues and a whole lot of gospel. A live recording, it springs from the 2014 revival at the Hayes Theatre, Sydney, which was universally hailed by the critics. A terrific cast, headed by Mike McLeish, Blazey Best, Marika Aubrey and Josie Lane, heartily embrace the big open-voiced sounds of gospel in “Raise the Roof” and “Open Up Today”, and bring the fervour down a notch or two for “Lay Your Burden Down” and “I’m In Your Hands”. The nearest thing the score has to an internalised character number is “I’ll Hold On”, and as sung by Esther Hannaford it’s a winner and the best song in the show. Peter Kowitz, as the bigoted and oily Pastor Millard Sizemore, brings fire to the anthemic “To Arms”, a much too-close second-cousin to “Do You Hear the People Sing” from Les Mis. When the album was released it debuted at No. 8 on Australian iTunes which made it the 28 Stage Whispers September - October 2015

No. 1 charting theatre soundtrack and the most successful Australian cast album of recent times.  An American in Paris (George Gershwin/Ira Gershwin) (Masterworks Broadway 88875091142). I found this cast recording a bit of a disappointment. Unlike the MGM movie on which it is based, set in 1951, the story now takes place at the end of the Second World War when American GI Jerry decides to stay in Paris to pursue his passion for painting. The problem is that the orchestrations of Christopher Austin sound as if they belong in the thirties. It just doesn’t gel. The Gershwin sound is there, with the piano dominating throughout, but the forties swing sound is missing. It’s also a heavy dance show, so the leads, Robert Fairchild (Jerry) and his love, Leanne Cope (Lise), are both dancers who sing, resulting in their vocals too often falling into the passable category.

With emphasis on dance, Gershwin’s orchestral score dominates; “Concerto in F”, “Second Rhapsody”, “Cuban Overture”, and the title ballet. We’re so used to hearing these works with a symphony orchestra that it’s a bit of a let down to hear them played by a 28-piece orchestra, which is big by Broadway standards these days, but definitely not symphonic. Best voice in the show is Max von Essen, who does well on “I’ll Build a Stairway to Paradise”, with Jill Paice scoring on two duets with Fairchild, “Shall We Dance?” and “But Not For Me”.  Finding Neverland - The Album (Gary Barlow/Eliot Kennedy) (Republic B0022917-2). The concept of this album harks back to an earlier time on Broadway when it was de rigueur to release pop albums of Broadway scores.

Composers Gary Barlow (Take That) and Eliot Kennedy (Celine Dion) have gathered together a host of pop idols, including Christina Aguilera, Nick Jonas, Jennifer Lopez and John Legend, to give a Top 40 spin to the songs from their musical version of the 2004 movie about J.M. Barrie, his attraction to Sylvia Llewelyn Davies and her four sons, and the creation of Peter Pan. Ellie Goulding’s “When Your Feet Don’t Touch the Ground”, Paloma Faith’s “Circus of Your Mind” and Christina Perri’s “All That Matters” register strongly, but it’s Gary Barlow’s “Something About This Night”, sung by Barrie at the opening of the first stage version of Peter Pan, that resonates.  Jeanne - The Musical (Shirlie Roden) (Stage Door STAGE 9040). Dark and serious themes are at the heart of Shirlie Roden’s rock-opera version of the story of Joan of Arc. The show opened at Birmingham Repertory Theatre in 1985 and transferred to Sadlers Wells in London the following year. Roden, along with a studio cast that included Richard

Barnes, Peter Straker and Carl Robert Brown’s The Bridges of Madison County. It’s worth Wayne, recorded a concept album buying the album for this track alone.  prior to the first production and it is this that Stage Door have now Simon Gleeson (Various) released. The first three tracks are (SG24601). Les Misérables star almost three-act plays unto Simon Gleeson has also released themselves, encompassing many his first solo album, a collection of different musical styles within each songs of loss, love and longing track, but the musical themes are from the world of musical theatre memorable and catchy. The composer sings the role of and pop. “A Bit of Earth” (The Jeanne and is particularly effective on “Silver Lining” and Secret Garden), “Being the ballad “Shine On”.  Alive” (Company) and “Stay with Me” (Into the Woods), rub shoulders with Billy Joel’s “She’s Alex Rathgeber (Various) Got a Way”, George Harrison’s “Something” and Matt (AWR2891). The last decade has Alber’s “End of the World”. It’s a good choice of material seen Alex Rathgeber’s musical with intelligent arrangements and exemplary grand piano theatre career soar both here and accompaniment by David Cameron. Gleeson brings his Jean abroad, and Easy To Love, his first Valjean performance to disc with an impassioned “Bring solo album, features a collection Him Home”, thrills with “Anthem” (Chess), and duets with “leading man” songs he’s his wife, Natalie O’Donnell, on Elton John’s classic “Sorry performed on stage. Rathgeber Seems To Be the Hardest Word”. One of the most has everything that’s required in a interesting tracks is “When the Rain Keeps Falling Down” leading man - good looks, solid acting chops and a voice from Elegies for Angels, Punks and Raging Queens. There’s that simply drips with honey. He’s the perfect leading man almost a ‘live’ feel to the album, which is beautifully and very ‘easy to love’ on this album. Accompanied by an 8 recorded. Accompaniment on some tracks also includes -piece group led by Stephen Amos on piano, he breathes acoustic guitar and cello.  new life into Irving Berlin’s “There’s No Business Like Show Business” from Annie Get You Gun, and with his Anything Correction: In the last issue’s Stage to Disc the title of Goes co-star Caroline O’Connor, nails the hokey charm of Tania de Jong’s new album was incorrectly titled as “A “Anything You Can Do” from the same show. He sings the Musical Heart” when it should have been “Heaven on heart out of the title song from Sunset Boulevard, is Earth” (Creative Universe 001). tenderly sweet on “I Honestly Love You” (The Boy from Oz) and fearlessly romantic duetting with Claire Lyon on “All I Rating  Only for the enthusiast  Borderline Ask of You” (The Phantom of the Opera). Best of all though  Worth buying  Must have  Kill for it is a powerful reading of “It All Fades Away” from Jason

www.stagewhispers.com.au Stage Whispers 29

London Calling

By Peter Pinne Gurinder Chadha’s 2002 feel-good movie Bend it like Beckham has been turned into a feel-good musical which has hit stamped all over it. According to The Independent, Chadha and Paul Mayeda Berges’ script “reinvents rather than recycles the material.” Variety thought it “actually works a lot better on stage than on screen.” With other reviews just as euphoric, “catchy music, fantastic design and great performances, the ebullient musical looks sure to be a hit” and “the most irresistibly joyous musical-theatre make-over of a much-loved movie since Billy Elliot,” the tale of the soccerobsessed Anglo-Indian girl Jess, whose traditionally-minded parents forbid her to play for the Hounslow Harriers, looks set for a very long run. Composer Howard Goodall (The Hired Man) and lyricist Charles Hart’s (The Phantom of the Opera) score has been called “gorgeous” and “emotionally rich,” with Natalie Drew’s performance as Jess being described as “wonderfully winning”. Also noticed was Lauren Samuels as the tomboyish Jules, the part that was a breakout role for Kiera Knightley in the movie, and Sophie-Louise Dann (Gay’s the Word) as her mother.

The UK’s only full-time professional LGBT theatre, Above the Stag, has unveiled their upcoming autumn season which includes David Stevens’ The Sum of Us, a gay spin on Noël Coward’s Brief Encounter, and an adult pantomime Tinderella: Cinders Slips it In. The Sum of Us originally premiered Off-Broadway in 1990, winning the Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding Off-Broadway Play 1990-1991.

The plot revolves around a widower not only having trouble finding a soul mate, but also coming to terms with the fact his son is gay. Directed by Gene David, it plays from 9 September to 4 October. The play became an Australian movie in 1994 with Jack Thompson and Russell Crowe as the father and son. A Gay Brief Encounter is based on the 1945 movie which in turn was based on Coward’s play Still Life; a chance encounter at a railway station in 1945 leads two men to consider how much they must sacrifice in order to be together. Written and directed by Phil Wilmot, it runs from 14 October to 15 November. The final offering, Tinderella: Cinders Slips it In, is scripted by Jon Bradfield and Martin Hooper, and is set in a landlocked kingdom which has been banned from Eurovision, and features a cast of characters who include a slave boy Cinders, a murderous stepmother, and a Prince whose balls are the envy of the world. It plays 26 November to 16 January 2016.

Since Patrick Marber (Closer) returned from a self-imposed ten-year exile from the West End, he’s virtually become the National Theatre’s playwright-in-residence, with his new play The Red Lion in repertory at the Dorfman, his riotous reimagining of The Beaux Stratagem at the Olivier, and his latest Three Days in the Country at the Lyttleton. Adapted from Ivan Turgenev’s A Month in the Country, and set in Russia in the mid-nineteenth century, Marber has condensed 30 Stage Whispers September - October 2015

the plot to span three days in which a handsome new tutor Belyaev, wreaks romantic havoc on an eccentric household.

Royce Pierreson is the tutor with Amanda Drew as the dissatisfied wife who flirts with him. Critics have embraced the “exquisitely inhabited performances”, but felt Marber’s version “tilts too far in the direction of a satire on a group of social parasites.”

Hot on the heels of his guest performances as the narrator in Melbourne, Australia, Richard O’Brien is to play the same role in a new production of The Rocky Horror Show which will have a limited West End season 11-19 September at the Playhouse Theatre, before touring the UK. He will be joined

by Diana Vickers (X-Factor) as Janet and Ben Freeman (Emmerdale) as Brad. Former member of the 90s pop band ‘S Club 7’, Paul Cattermole with star as Eddie/Dr Scott. O’Brien wrote book, music and lyrics for the cult musical which originally opened in 1973 in the Upstairs Theatre at the Royal Court. In the forty-two years since the musical premiered it has toured the UK eight times.

August 3rd saw father and son James and Jack Fox premiering their two-hander touring hit Dear Lupin at the Apollo Theatre. Based on journalist Roger Mortimer’s 2012 award-winning book Dear Lupin: Letters to a Wayward Son, the play, adapted by Michael Simkins, is a collection of letters written over a twenty-five year period that forms a memoir of the relationship between a father and his hedonistic son, Charlie. London critics were reserved but did recognise Jack’s performance of the son Charlie as “touching”. James Fox’s most recent credit was as Lord Aysgarth in Downton Abbey, whilst Jack’s was Jeremy in Mr Selfridge.

Currently trying out at the Theatre Royal, Bath, is the musical version of Mrs Henderson Presents. Starring Judi Dench and Bob Hoskins, the 2005 movie was already half-amusical, following the real-life story of widow, Laura Henderson, who bought London’s Windmill Theatre and engaged Vivian Van Damm to produce the legendary nonstop variety with nudes that became the theatre’s calling card. The musical stars Tracie Bennett (End of the Rainbow) as Mrs Henderson, with Ian Bartholomew (Radio Times) as Van Damm. Book and direction are by Terry Johnson, with music

by George Fenton and Simon Chamberlain, who scored the movie, lyrics by Don Black, and choreography by Andrew Wright. It closes 5 September.

B

roadway uzz

By Peter Pinne

Six-time Tony Award winner Audra McDonald is to reunite for the first time with her Ragtime co-star Brian Stokes Mitchell in the upcoming Shuffle Along, or, The Making of the Musical Sensation of 1921 and All That Follows. The production presents a behind-the-scenes look at how the first successful musical written, directed and performed by African-American artists came together, the songwriters Noble Sissle and Eubie Blake and librettists F.E. Miller and Aubrey Lyles responsible for it, juxtaposed with a recreation of the 1921 show. Shuffle Along was groundbreaking theatre at the time, giving several black performers their first Broadway credits, and launched the careers of Josephine Baker and Paul Robeson amongst others. Its biggest hit was “I’m Just Wild About Harry”. McDonald will play Lottie Gee, the 1920s performer who appeared in the original cast, with Mitchell as Miller and Billy Porter (Kinky Boots) as Lyles. The Scottsboro Boys luminaries Brandon Victor Dixon and Joshua Henry will play the songwriters. A new book has been written by George C. Wolfe, who will also direct, with choreography by Savion Glover. Both won Tony Awards for their 1996 hit Bring in the Noise, Bring in the Funk. Shuffle Along begins previews 14 March at the Music Box Theatre, and opens 21 April.

NBC have announced that this year’s “live” Thanksgiving musical will be the 1975 seven Tony Award winning African American retelling of The Wizard of Oz, The Wiz. The starry cast includes Queen Latifah (Chicago/Hairspray) as The Wiz, Uzo Aduba (Orange is the New Black/Godspell) as Glinda, Amber Riley (Glee) as Addaperle, David Alan Grier (Porgy and Bess) as the Cowardly Lion, Mary J. Bilge (Rock of Ages) as Evilene, and newcomer 18-year-old Shanice Williams as Dorothy. The cast also features Stephanie Mills, Broadway’s original Dorothy, as Aunt Em. Harvey Fierstein is adapting William F. Brown’s original book which will be staged by Kenny Leon, and choreographed by Fatima Robinson (Dreamgirls - Movie). Craig Zadan and Neil Meron, who previously executive produced The Sound of Music Live! and Peter Pan Live! are on hand again for The Wiz Live! which is being co-produced by Universal Television and Cirque du Soleil’s new stage theatrical division. The production will air December 3 with a projected Broadway revival 2016-2017. A 1978 movie version starred Diana Ross as Dorothy and Michael Jackson as the Scarecrow.

After 14 years and 5,718 performances, Mamma

Online extras!

Check out Audra McDonald at last year’s Tony Awards. https://youtu.be/PokKUddC5Kk

Mia’s Donna is finally packing away her infamous hair dryer and departing her Greek island. Broadway’s longest running jukebox musical is closing 12 September 2015. A phenomenon, the musical about a daughter’s search for her real father on the eve of her wedding, with a score of ABBA hits, has grossed more than $600 million in New York, and last December became the eighth longestrunning show in Broadway history. For most of its run it played the Winter Garden Theatre, one of Broadway’s largest houses, but in the last few years it has struggled at the box-office so moved to the much smaller Broadhurst Theatre where it has been ever since. Mamma Mia originally opened in London in 1999 and has played more than 400 cities in 16 languages with a worldwide gross of over $2 billion. The 2008 movie, which starred Meryl Streep as Donna and Amanda Seyfried as Sophie, is one of the highest grossing movie musicals of all time.

One week before Mamma Mia calls it quits, On The Town will be shipping out too. The John Rando production of Leonard Bernstein, Betty Comden, Adolph Green and Jerome Robbins’ 1944 hit about three sailors on 24-hour leave in New York City in the forties has been the most successful revival of the musical since the original. At 373 performances, it had certainly done better than productions of the show in 1971, which closed after 73 performances, and 1998, which ran even less at 65 performances. The dance-heavy musical came to Broadway after an acclaimed run at Barrington Stage Company in the summer of 2013.

The Broadway production received four Tony Award nominations including Best Revival of a Musical.

The talk of Broadway has been the sensational success of Off-Broadway’s Hamilton, Lin-Manuel Miranda’s hip-hop tribute to founding father Alexander Hamilton, in its uptown transfer to the Richard Rodgers Theatre. A critical darling when it opened at the Public Theater earlier in the year, the musical had generated a whopping advance of $27.6 million prior to its opening, making it one of the biggest pre-opening totals in Broadway history. The New York Times called it “a show that aims impossibly high and hits its target”, whilst Variety said it was “ground-breaking” and made a “thrilling contribution to the American musical with its amazing score.” It’s based on a 2004 biography, Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow, which tells how Hamilton, an orphaned immigrant, played a key role in both the American Revolution and in the nation’s foundational years, only to stumble with a sex-scandal and to die in a duel. Cameron Mackintosh is already looking at a London version to open in 2017.

Broadway’s Arthur Miller revival frenzy continues unabated with The Crucible slated to open 7 April 2016 for a limited 20-week engagement at an as yet unnamed theatre. Based on the notorious witchcraft trials in Salem, Massachusetts in 1692, it will star Ben Whishaw (Skyfall) as John Proctor, Sophie Okonedo (A Raisin in the Sun) as his wife Elizabeth, Saoirse Ronan (Atonement) as Abigail Williams, and Ciaran Hinds (Game of Thrones) as Deputy Governor Danforth.

Direction is by Ivo van Hove (A Raisin in the Sun), with an original music score by Philip Glass. www.stagewhispers.com.au Stage Whispers 31

Stage on Page

By Peter Pinne WEST END BROADWAY - The Golden Age of the American Musical In London by Adrian Wright (Boydell Press US$45.00).

Life in post-war Britain was austere - rationing was still in place, newspapers were restricted to a maximum of four pages, foreign holidays were illegal, and in an effort to save coal the government cut train services by 10%.

But the theatre, and in particular the musical theatre, was thriving thanks to a “fresh breeze” blowing across the Atlantic from America.

This is the historical background that informs Adrian Wright’s portrait of the impact the iconic Broadway musicals had on London theatre of the period. From Oklahoma! and Annie Get Your Gun, through West Side Story and Funny Girl, to Promises, Promises and Company, Wright discusses, dissects, and re-evaluates every Broadway, and some Off-Broadway, musicals that opened in London between 1945 and 1972. It’s authoritative, comprehensive, and not selective.

It was a period when important works by Leonard Bernstein, Comden and Green, Lerner and Loewe, Frank Loesser, Harold Rome and Sondheim were introduced to the West End, and also saw the importation of many American actors, some who were already stars; Barbra Streisand, Lauren Bacall, Mary Martin and Chita Rivera, and some who became stars in Britain; Howard Keel, Dolores Gray and Julie Wilson. It also saw the rise of many British artists to above-the-title status; Pat Kirkwood, Jean Carson, Edmund Hockridge and Millicent Martin to name a few.

Australian names abound; June Bronhill, Maggie Fitzgibbon, Joy Nichols, Keith Michell and Lewis Fiander.

Not all of the Broadway successes translated into West End hits, and in some cases a Broadway also-ran like Paint Your Wagon did much better in its London outing, as did Sail Away, West Side Story and The Sound of Music. The flops, like the 1960s obscurity The Dancing Heiress are just as interesting as the hits.

Wright’s prose is clear and elegant, and the book comes with a more-than-useful appendix, which lists casts, songs and creative personnel for every show, plus an index and photos.

biographies. By concentrating on his career, with scant details of his private life except his late-in-life marriage, Propst documents the turbulent ups and downs of Coleman’s Broadway musical history from Wildcat in 1960 to The Life in 1997. An almost 40year fertile period saw him create Little Me, Seesaw, Barnum, On The Twentieth Century, I Love My Wife, City of Angels, The Will Rogers Follies, and the musical he’s most remembered for Sweet Charity.

Progressing from child prodigy giving recitals at five in the thirties, to jazz pianist in the forties, and to writing hits for Frank Sinatra in the fifties (“Witchcraft”), Coleman’s jazz background influenced his scores from the beginning, bringing something fresh to the Broadway palette. He worked with many lyricists, but had his greatest successes with Carolyn Leigh and Dorothy Fields, whose smart wordplay seemed the perfect fit for Coleman’s intricate tunes.

It’s a first-ever biography of the composer, which uncovers details about projects that never got off the ground, and those that lasted only a few performances.

Coleman was already a TV and cabaret-room celebrity when he began writing for Off-Broadway intimate revue in the 50s (John Murray Anderson’s Almanac/Demi-Dozen), and he frequently returned to play cabaret boites throughout his career.

At 983 performances 1991s The Will Rogers Follies was his longest running Broadway show. With eleven produced musicals to his credit, Coleman was one of the greats of Broadway and Propst’s book lovingly salutes his achievements. The book comes with a detailed index and professional and private photos, plus sheet music and record covers.

DOUBLE ACT - The remarkable lives and careers of Googie Withers and John McCallum by Brian McFarlane (Monash University Publishing $39.95).

Googie Withers and John McCallum were Australian theatre royalty. During the 50s and 60s their partnership on stage guaranteed full-houses for J.C. Williamson in every play they appeared in. Brian McFarlane documents their enduring partnership and marriage of 62 years, and how they ascended to their star status in English movies.

Withers was born in India and spent her early career making second-feature movies with occasional appearances on stage. McCallum was born in Australia to theatrical parents and after AIF duty in the Second World War played YOU FASCINATE ME SO - The Life and Times of Cy Coleman opposite Gladys Moncrieff in musical revivals of Maid of the

by Andy Propst (Applause US$32.99).

Mountains and Rio Rita. They met in 1947 when they were Clear and elegant prose is what sets Andy Propst’s starred together in the movie The Loves of Joanna Godden, biography of Cy Coleman’s life apart from other composer 32 Stage Whispers September - October 2015

and followed it with an even bigger success It Always Rains on Sundays the same year.

Both were incredibly active on the West End stage in the 50s in Shakespeare, Shaw, Odets and Rattigan, but drawingroom comedy was their forte.

They first toured Australia in Alan Melville’s Simon and Laura romp and from then on their coupling was assured with local audiences.

They settled permanently in Australia in 1958 when McCallum became Joint Managing Director of J.C. Williamson’s, a position he held for a decade; a decade which saw far-reaching changes in Australian theatre. Later McCallum became a pioneer of Australian television creating, amongst others, the iconic series Skippy.

McFarlane, a noted authority on early British cinema, is on safe ground when discussing their early film work but when it comes to theatre his footprint is a bit shaky. He misses entirely the ground-breaking influence McCallum had when he cast Australian leads in imported American musicals in the 60s.

As far as their private life goes we learn that McCallum liked tinkering with vintage cars and playing golf, whilst Withers’ liked decorating houses and wearing hats. “Does anyone still wear a hat?” Apparently Withers’ did. All of this inconsequential stuff is gleaned from publicity puff-pieces written for (mostly) the Australian Women’s Weekly. The editing of the manuscript also appears to have been a bit

hasty with facts established in one chapter repeated in later chapters as new information.

It’s a non-critical valentine to these two enormously influential actors and their body of work. The photographic research nicely illuminates the text and whilst there’s an index, the book would have benefited by a listing of their film, TV and stage credits.

NOT MY FATHER’S SON - A Family Memoir by Alan Cumming (Cannongate US$15.99).

The only way to describe Alan Cumming’s autobiographical book Not My Father’s Son is that it’s compulsively readable. A page-turner if ever there was one and something you will want to read in one sitting.

Cumming uses his appearance on the BBC TV series Who Do You Think You Are? to tell the story of his childhood experiences growing up in Scotland with a violent father and his search to find out the true story of his maternal grandfather who disappeared to the Far East after the Second World War. The book is divided into chapters of “then” and “now”, with the “then” sequences of the brutality of his childhood being particularly harrowing, and the “now” sequences moving from Scotland to Malaysia to solve the mystery of his ancestors. It’s an honest and open well-written account of his family that evokes passion, rage and respect. Highly recommended!

Stage Whispers Books Visit our on-line book shop for back issues and stage craft books www.stagewhispers.com.au/books www.stagewhispers.com.au Stage Whispers 33

Online extras!

Check out a trailer for Charlie And The Chocolate Factory. Scan or visit https://youtu.be/nSMYKlWa__o

West End Gems Hide Grim Backstages Michael Sutton was as excited as a child in a chocolate factory when he discovered that many West End theatres offer back stage tours. His favourite was London’s oldest, the Theatre Royal Drury Lane - home to Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

through China Town, passing Cameron Mackintosh’s offices, then a procession of theatres: The Palace, The Prince Edward, The Phoenix, The Ambassadors and St. Martins, pausing at The Ivy Restaurant, favourite haunt of famous stars, before moving on to even more theatres: The Harold Pinter, The London’s West End is truly intoxicating for us theatrical types, with Cambridge, The Noël Coward, The Duke of York and The Garrick, then forty odd theatres crammed into “Theatreland”. back to Leicester Square.

I would happily live in the dumpster Behind-the-scenes tours of behind the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, if individual theatres reveal the only the owner Andrew Lloyd Webber technology behind new and old theatre magic, the legends and the would let me.

First up, make a bee-line for ghosts.

Leicester Square, in the West End’s Tours of the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, Shakespeare’s Globe and The heart. Nestled behind a statue of National Theatre Complex provide a William Shakespeare you’ll find the TKTS Ticket Booth, where you can pick great cross section of theatre styles and eras. up discounted tickets, a handy West End map and guided walking tour My favourite was the Theatre Royal tickets.

Drury Lane, an address continuously home to theatres since the 1660s, Starting at the Leicester Square when the comedies associated with the Theatre, our walking tour ventured 34 Stage Whispers September - October 2015

Restoration of the Stuart Monarchy swept away the puritanical sobriety of the Cromwell era.

The first ‘West End’ theatre, built on the current location in 1663, burnt down nine years later. Nell Gwyn, later the mistress of Charles II and mother of his bastard sons, rose from the dubious ranks of ‘orange sellers’ to become one of the theatre’s leading actresses.

The current theatre, the fourth on the site (built 1812), underwent a multi -million Pound, four-year renovation back to its original Regency Style to celebrate the 350th Birthday.

We went from the grand foyers, through the entire front of house sections, all of the VIP areas, then up into the Royal Boxes and private Royal rooms.

The views from the Royal Box are amazing, not only for the perfect views of the auditorium and stage, but also for a good old look at the technology - the lighting and audio equipment neatly tucked in and amongst the most beautiful décor.

One especially fascinating item is found in one of the private VIP areas. Way back in the Blitz a big old German bomb fell through the theatre roof, in fact right through the building down into the basement, but didn’t explode. They dug it out, removed the explosives, cleaned it up a bit and it now has pride of place in the VIP bar area.

The trek backstage was incredible…stepping from the splendours of what resembled the grand rooms and foyers of a stately home into our backstage version of the stately home’s “downstairs” areas; hard utilitarian and functional areas designed for purpose rather than aesthetics.

It is a myriad of corridors and passage-ways, some looking more or less as they have for the past 350 years with the additions of a few contemporary items such as cable trays, pipes and light fittings. Show business is indeed not all glamour.

The current show, Charlie and The Chocolate Factory - the Musical is one seriously big, colourful and technological production. The tour works best if your see the show first.

These tours are designed to give you an insight to how these beautiful theatres function, not necessarily backstage tours of the resident productions. Producers are very protective of their copyright. It was very clear that although they were happy for us to take pictures of the building and bits of technology, creative items identifiable with the show were off-limits.

It includes a stunning floating glass elevator which required the cutting of a hole into the stage floor and a substantial base bolted to the masses of steel that are the foundations that hold up the stage, and the building.

This was one of the best backstage tours I have ever been on. Of course, the stories of past productions, the Stars, the mishaps, even … murder, all add to the charm of the tour.

In keeping with its antiquity, many phantoms are known to lurk in the wings at Drury Lane.

There is the ghost of Joseph Grimaldi (1778-1837), who in the course of a long and distinctive theatrical career almost single-handedly laid the foundations of the pantomime tradition. Although he died in 1837, his ghost has returned many times to the Theatre Royal and is renowned for administering a mischievous kick, and actors, cleaners, usherettes have all been on the receiving end of his spectral boot as they go about their everyday duties.

Our guide, a charming young lady, who at first glance could have been a “junior” from the office, was, like our walking tour guide, so well-rehearsed and knowledgeable, it was as if she had been there since the place opened.

Information on everything from how they discovered the colours of the original paint on the walls, the tunnels under the theatre back to the River Thames docks for the sailors working as Johnny Evans-Hutchinson in the original stage crews to enter Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. by, the shows, the performers, Photo: Matt Crockett. the sheer history of the place is Seeing how every available space worthy of a book. gets adapted to suit the production’s For anyone interested in the history needs was quite an eye opener. From of theatre, entertainment technology the Number 1 Dressing room, the and the actual workings of larger largest in the West End, right down to theatres, you will not be disappointed the dirt underneath the stage, to have in any of the tours I have mentioned. a look at the heavy engineering that All were incredibly well planned, needed to be installed for Charlie and fantastically presented, and thoroughly the Chocolate Factory. entertaining. www.stagewhispers.com.au Stage Whispers 35

Andrew Upton.

Photo: Lisa Tomasetti.

Why Drama Matters Without culture we would be no more sophisticated than a lovable pet dog.

That was the analogy used by Andrew Upton to inspire Australia and New Zealand’s drama teachers at their annual conference. The Sydney Theatre Company Artistic Director and playwright also urged them to encourage disobedience (within limits).

36 Stage Whispers September - October 2015

I have a dog, which my eldest son named Fletcher. He is a two year old black Labrador. He eats about two cupfulls of dry food in the morning and two in the evening and anything else he can get hold of in the intervening hours. When we anthropomorphise him as a family we say he is loyal and loving and enthusiastic. His commitment to the family is almost comic, or is it tragic? … Fabulously, he runs in his sleep … runs and runs and yelps occasionally.

Like most of us in this concrete jungle Fletcher runs more in his dreams than he does in reality. He wakes exhausted - and wanders to another spot in the house where he falls asleep again and dreams of running and running. We had him desexed and he lives as a eunuch among us. He eats and sleeps, will never reproduce, and then will die, to be buried perhaps under the jacaranda in our backyard.

To the best of my knowledge Fletcher has no idea of any of the things I just said. He has a sense of separation from us, which he seems to know is different from his separation

from other human beings. He has a sense that he is not a cat. He is not a bird or a tree. Definitively. He has an identity therefore that serves the purpose of distinguishing himself from the rest of the world.

What he does not seem to have is any kind of fabric that he shares with other dogs. They bark, they sniff each others’ butts, they run around a bit.

Some days it seems to me that he must be so lonely. Not unloved, not uncared for, not single and lonely but … isolated. And it seems to me that this isolation is the source of his silence, his muteness, his lack of history, his lack of investigation into his him-ness. It seems to me that as welcomed and involved in our family’s cultural fabric as we make him it does not, it cannot, span the vastness of his isolation. It seems to me that, unlike dogs and indeed all other life forms, as a human it is the fabric into which we are born that comes first. That we are all ready, pre-tuned to the twinges and shivers along this fabric as spiders on a web.

That culture, language, meaning, history are the web humanity has and

continues to spin - they are an so is the responsibility. And one of the adaptation we have made as a species, most important places that these they are our way of trapping choices are manifested is the knowledge, understanding and the schoolroom. sense of our life. Without culture we To that end, School Drama™ is a would exist in the same profound project that (my wife) Cate and I began unbridgeable isolation and silence as in the second year of our Artistic Fletcher.

Directorship. We met with Robyn Could it be that language and the Ewing about how to refine and define cultural fabric have evolved to be part Sydney Theatre Company’s of us? Not a tool we may or may not commitment to education. We all felt choose to employ. Not an option but - that there was quite a bit of stuff out like walking upright and, not being there for secondary schools but the covered in fur - a fact of our Andrew Upton and Cate Blanchett. being?

Photo: Brett Boardman.

If culture has shaped our brains, our abilities and our capabilities; if it is as fundamental as our heart, like our lungs an organ that keeps us alive; if, like our skin, it does more than just hold our organs in place, we breathe through it and sweat through it and sense the world around us with it. If it is so vital to our survival, then surely it must be prioritized in our education. We have government intervention in our health and safety all over the place but seemingly none as it relates to the health of our cultural organ.

And if it is an ‘organ’ distinct to the human animal - then it is also inevitable. It will happen with or without government support and consent, with or without careful planning and rigorous investigation. So we can, by Live character projection during The relegating it to a secondary Game at Melbourne Gang Show 2011. position allow it to grow wild and primary children were being under weedy and unkempt and choked over. served and demanded something else.

Or we can maintain it. We can, with Not only did they demand something poorly considered educational other but more importantly where the strategies strip farm ourselves into children are at educationally? They massive mono-cultures or we can offered something other. A chance to develop deep and detailed highly learn through drama, not about it. sustainable cultural environments. If it Basically, the program teaches the is an organ, part of our bodies, our teachers how to use drama and drama embodiment onto and inside this exercises to bring texts alive for the planet how do we keep it healthy? children. The results are increases in How do we teach children how to use comprehension of core texts but more their natural connection to the cultural importantly increased focus, increased fabric to go deeper, engage deeper, interest and increased confidence. work better and think and feel more We decided to pilot this very simple richly? The choice in all this is ours and program over three years. We put an

actor into - I think it was six schools originally, increasing that to … I can’t remember … twelve? in the second year, then even more in the third year.

We also tied a lot of research up with it through the department of Education and Social Work at the University of Sydney to find measures for the anecdotal increases in engagement that we were witnessing. Those pilot three years came to an end and we took the learnings and have made a model that we can impart directly to teachers. We are working out how to roll the project out through other state theatre companies into primary schools around the country and into the regions.

This is not just nice, happy, cute kittens. This is how we will keep art alive in the dialogue for children’s lives.

Education is becoming an increasing slab of monoculture mania. Pressure is on teachers to deliver ever more distilled and unified curricula.

Art is awkward, apparently pointless and does not deliver KPI’s in the short term. We are on a path towards a sort of mass identity. Is this good?

What can this mean? A bit of disobedience might come in handy; tricky KPI’s might be our best bet. But how will we keep alive the awkward dream of the human on this planet? ART. Cultural control of the fabric. And so, School Drama is a way - a small little way - of keeping the dialogue alive, real, active and interesting in the class room. It is a way that teachers can re-invigorate their practice and students can honestly say they know what character means, what an improvisation is and that the creation of theatre is a collaborative dialogue that involves text and visuals and more than anything else, Chutzpah. That the naughtiest kid was finally the best at something. That the quietest kid was hilarious because she saw everything and understood everyone. That every story only makes sense when you (Continued on page 38) www.stagewhispers.com.au Stage Whispers 37

Andrew Upton.

Photo: James Green.

world a better place. The aesthetic is very Do It Yourself and has resulted in lots of very naive art and resultant lo-fi sensibilities. The vital thing here for us to grab hold of is disobedience. Punk rock was all about disobedience. It lured me as a thirteen year old and has held me for the last 36 years.

Consequently I value disobedience.

Highly.

Disobedience is central to the act of creation in the punk rock rule book and the engine of many of its greatest legacies. In fact, I would take this even further and say Disobedience IS vital to all art and art as we know - apart from breaking up the blank space on our living room walls - is one of the keys to defining, engaging with and most importantly utilising effectively the cultural fabric that holds us all together. As a parent? Raising children and believing in the cultural need for disobedience is a complete fucking nightmare. My guess is, it is just as difficult for all the teachers out there.

So? How do we enshrine disobedience? How do we reward disobedience? We need a discourse and some seminars on disobedience.

Types of disobedience and how to constructively maintain disobedience whilst also maintaining order and stability for the classroom (and or family). History is one way of helping children to see that disobedience can be constructive and indeed can lead to a better world. But how do you teach a classroom about revolution and not find yourself first against the wall?

School is so important because (Continued from page 37) pistols’. This is a pop cultural product children are like oysters. Vulnerable bother to think about it. Engage with associated with a type of music called and useless against the onslaught of it. Give it a bit of your self. ‘punk rock’. I could probably recite the universe without their shell. And The other day my two older sons every lyric to every song on the album that shell is School and Home and is were playing basketball at home. if not accurately at least passionately. made up of a Past and a Future which Suddenly they went upstairs and came Punk rock carried inside it historical they will learn about but which cups down each with two team-based connections to Da-Da, and to them in the hands of the whole human basketball singlets on. One named for Modernism generally, to a kind of race while they make their own little some Chicago player and one for some Historical Materialism, to a pearl. And like all oysters they need grit Los Angeles player. They then took on destabilizing use of cultural product to make a pearl. Disobedience cannot these roles and played more basketball. towards social change and to a (slightly exist without rules and boundaries.

Unless I am imagining things, they misguided) Romanticism that every act played better with the singlets on: of destruction was an act of creation.

This is an edited extract from a speech There is something liberating, At its core was the idea that any delivered by Andrew Upton at the something sacred and illuminating cultural act was valid and seizing Drama Australia & Drama New Zealand about pretending to be someone else. control of the cultural conversation International Conference, Game When I was 13 I bought ‘never was an act of rebellion or in some Changer, hosted by Drama New South mind the bollocks here’s the sex hands revolution that would make the Wales.

38 Stage Whispers September - October 2015

Songs For The Fallen.

www.stagewhispers.com.au Stage Whispers 39

WAAPA Costumes On The International Stage

Australian Hybrids.

Incandescent Flight.

Held in Prague once every fourth year since 1967, the Prague Quadrennial of Performance Design and Space or Prague Quadrennial is the world’s largest event in the field of scenography.

It consists of a competitive presentation of contemporary performance designs including costume, stage, lighting, sound design, and theatre architecture for dance, opera, drama, multi-media and performance art.

Twenty-two students from the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts attended the event in June this year.

In 2014 design and costume students submitted concepts to the Quadrennial and were thrilled when five of them were accepted.

The theme was Tribes.

One was called Incandescent Flight, modeled on the wrath of Mother Nature in the form of fires, flood and cyclones. Another, Core Beings, represented what unites the tribe of human beings.

Anhydrous involved Druid-like hooded figures drawn from the cracked and dehydrated earth.

The students walked the streets of Prague in costume in a striking procession against the city’s historic buildings.

Cloaked figures left a chalk trail of ancient geomancy symbols, articulating the equations and signs of an ailing land.

Trailing the nomads’ gowns was a mesh veil, concealing the waters and resources drained from the cracks of the earth.

Audience members were ‘invited’ to gradually draw the waters (translucent/ holographic fabric) from the tribe as they proceed along the designated route through Prague.

See the full list of exhibitors at http://bit.ly/1PF6RXu

40 Stage Whispers September - October 2015

Top Tips for Stage Make Up

Costumes & Make up

Opera Australia’s expert Make Up Artist Carla D’Annunzio explained her top tips for applying stage makeup to Emma Squires.

1. Invest in the right instruments. If you’re using the correct product and brushes it will make your job so much easier and quicker, so stop wasting time trying to apply your eye shadow with a Q-tip.

2. Always use damp sponges when applying your base work (primer, foundation etc.). This makes the product go on a lot smoother without pulling, giving a good finish.

3. Always set your foundation with translucent powder. This ensures longevity, especially when you’re singing and dancing under the stage lights. Make sure you complete this step before applying eye shadow and blush, otherwise it will stick to your un-set foundation and create a big clump of colour.

4. Stay true to the character and period of the show. If you’re a peasant, don’t apply your glamorous make up look and then rub a bit of dirt on. Try and make it as natural as possible.

5. Girls, use false lashes. They will make your eyes pop on stage.

What products do the professionals use?

They also use a product called ‘barrier cream’ which is applied before the makeup to, you guessed it, create a barrier between the makeup and skin. This prevents it from sinking into the pores and aids in the removal process.

You can achieve this yourself by simply applying moisturiser or primer before your makeup.

Carla believes this is an essential step as it also plumps up the skin so that when you apply makeup it doesn’t sink into all of the fine lines or make it appear cracked.

And you don’t need to be fancy about your makeup removal process. According to Carla, most professionals just use baby wipes or wash it off in the shower with cleanser.

The only thing you might not be able to model off the professionals is the timing, as it only takes them a mere 20 minutes to apply a performer’s makeup before a show! I’d suggest heading to the dressing room a little earlier than that, just to be safe.

www.stagewhispers.com.au Stage Whispers 41

The Crucible.

Costumes & Make up

Centrestage Costumes Mary Gurry was singing for her supper but decided sewing was more her style. Whilst performing over 2500 singing telegrams around Melbourne, she turned her talents to making the outfits. Centrestage costumes began with a stock of gold and silver jump suits, various animals, Valentine Hearts and the like.

Now, as well as having thousands of costumes, hats, wigs, personal props like pipes, swords, glasses, Mary makes costumes to order for theatre productions, special events, movies, music videos - large and small.

She also provides advice and lessons in Priscilla.

42 Stage Whispers September - October 2015

special effects and stage make up.

Some of the productions Mary is especially proud of are:  An order for a school production of The Crucible where she completed 28 Pilgrim costumes in 28 days.

 50 Bell Hop costumes for the 2014 Emporium Melbourne launch.  Dressing 450 people in Egyptian theme. www.centrestagecostumes.com

Costumes That Sizzle

Emma Squires visits the Opera Australia Wardrobe Department, speaking to Costume Designers Dale Ferguson (Anything Goes, on stage in Sydney during September) and Mark Thompson (Aida on Sydney Harbour, being broadcast across Australia by Cinema Live).

Character: The Angels When it’s worn: In the song ‘Blow Gabriel Blow’ Materials: “I went with the look of glued on rhinestones rather than flat sequins. I looked towards old 1930’s movies for inspiration, the time of the showgirl. This scene is often costumed devil-like as if Photo: Jeff Busby. they’ve descended to hell, but we had a different approach as we wanted to keep them as Angels. Instead, the transition would be from choir girls to high kicking showgirls. We maintained the symbol of the cross to demonstrate where they’ve come from.”

Character: Hope Harcourt Photo: Jeff Busby.

When it’s worn: In her first song Materials: Pink satin. “I tried to keep a colour theme going for each character and I wanted Hope to have some sort of transition. I used baby pink to give the feeling of innocence and being a debutante, and as we enter the second act where she’s a little more worldly she wears pink with a red velvet sash.”

“For this production of Aida we threw out the rules,” said Mark Thompson. “It was a broad-brush approach and didn’t look anything like you would expect. We wanted the audience to obviously recognise that there were people in power and people who were slaves. But we also wanted to make the slaves look like part of the world the victors also might have lived in. Every costume is handmade and fitted for each performer.”

Character: Aida (played by Latonia Moore) Materials: There are five different printed fabrics in the skirt and all of those fabrics were especially printed for this one design. Underneath are layers and layers and layers of ballet netted tulle to give the really wide base.

“All of the slaves’ costumes were based on existing contemporary African fashion. I looked towards current runway collections and also archival images from the turn of the century when printed fabrics first became available. But then I made the skirts and turbans even bigger and even more colourful.”

Photo: Prudence Upton.

Online extras!

See more Opera Australia costumes by scanning the QR code or visiting https://youtu.be/9i8fnSS_0V4

Photo: Prudence Upton.

Character: High Priestess (played by Eva Kong) Materials: “It’s made up of really cheap materials that we found at a fabric remnants shop in Cabramatta. It’s the kind of glitter material that mums use to make up dance class costumes. But if you get 10 or 12 meters of it and put it all in one skirt, suddenly it doesn’t look like that anymore, under the lights it looks a million dollars. If you shake the skirt, all this glitter falls everywhere.

“This costume and character never usually appears on stage in any other production as it’s supposed to be sung offstage. But we decided it was such a good song so it had to feature. There’s no kind of design history as to what that performer would ever wear so I just though let’s go all out to make this amazing costume that appears on stage for five minutes. The wings are being held up by four ladies from behind and we had to design those costumes so they looked like they fit in as part of her followers.” www.stagewhispers.com.au Stage Whispers 43

Phantom Of The Opera.

Costumes & Make up

Gosford Musical Society The Gosford Musical Society has a dedicated group of sewing ladies who are pursuing their love of dressmaking. Together with the Costume Designers they are producing good quality costumes that not only endure their show but also numerous hires. So GMS is hiring whole shows to other musical societies, drama groups and schools who don’t have the storage space or resources to make their own show costumes.

Shows like Spamalot, Beauty and the Beast and Cats have very iconic costumes, and large pieces, that make them very popular to hire.

A rental of a large set of costumes typically costs in the vicinity of $3000 plus laundry costs.

GMS is currently producing costumes for Mary Poppins and The Little Mermaid. The website features up to 100 photos from each of the last 40 shows performed by GMS. Contact (02) 4324 1305 or gosfordmusical@bigpond.com

A Costumes Maker’s Diary Lisa Mimmocchi designed the costumes for Songs For The Fallen a decadent musical-party charting the life of Marie Duplessis, the inspiration behind Verdi’s tale La Traviata. It’s on stage at the Melbourne Arts Centre in September ahead of a regional tour. This is her story.

I did a Graduate Diploma in set and costumes at the VCA in 2003. It encourages you to create your own work, which is great training for not relying on approaches from other companies and instead doing independent collaborations with other artists.

Songs For The Fallen is about a Parisian courtesan from the 1800’s who lived for 23 years. It is a mix between MTV and baroque cabaret.

It is a really fast paced show. All the changes are done on stage. I did not want a break where the performer was struggling to put a costume on. I story boarded every single change. That informed what style of garment was used.

I used a wrap dress, layers and things to step in and out of quickly. I thought of a paper doll with garments stuck on top of another.

When I design costumes part of my process is deciding what to leave out.

Sometimes there is overkill in costume design, throwing the palate into the one costume to make a massive statement. I see that all the time and would rather use essential elements to create some clarity.

The final death scene was our high costume moment. I was trying to get the character to blend in with her surroundings. The whole action happens on the bedspread. It was a metaphor of going from life to an image of death.

44 Stage Whispers September - October 2015

Songs For The Fallen.

Mackay Musical Comedy Players Over Mackay Musical Comedy Players’ 50 year history, attention to detail and authenticity have been part of its philosophy. This has been evident from 1965 when their founders staged The Boyfriend up until their recent production of Beauty And The Beast. Over the years their award winning team have had the unenviable task of creating costumes on the inevitable tight budget that goes hand in hand with community theatre.

This has ranged from 1920’s bathers, to 1930’s Dick Tracey style men’s suits, to armour for Camelot, to the “Ascot” scene from My Fair Lady to beautiful ball gowns for the “Dames” scene from 42nd Street.

All manner of materials are used to make them as evidenced by their clock with an opening door, candelabra with functioning candles and wardrobe with functioning drawers on display in their latest production of Beauty And The Beast. Mackay Musical Comedy Players hire whole sets of costumes to a range of theatre groups. www.facebook.com/pages/Mackay-Musical-Comedy-PlayersInc/459527327518152 Hairspray.

Beauty & The Beast.

Masks And Puppets Plus…Sculptures Tessa Wallis is known around theatre and school circles for her beautiful Commedia dell’arte masks. What is not so well known is her talent in bronze.

A bronze statue is one of the best ways to ensure a person’s legacy will

never be forgotten. Roslyn Lindsay decided such a statue would be a fitting tribute to her husband Reg the wellknown country music star.

“Making a likeness of a person in bronze is a demanding task,” said Tessa.

“Roslyn gave me a poster and asked me

Reg Lindsay Standing Tall by Tessa Wallis.

Photo: Ric Wallis.

46 Stage Whispers September - October 2015

to make a likeness. It was only when the sculpture was just about complete that I managed to get the facial likeness convincingly.

“It is physically difficult to create a larger than life model of a person wearing a suit and hat and playing a guitar.”

As she honed her sculptural skills making masks, Tessa gradually taught herself the art of sculpture on a larger scale.

The “Plus” in her business, Masks & Puppets Plus, refers to the extension of mask making skills which rely heavily on sculpture and mould making.

“I was confident I could do the job as I already have a couple of major works in bronze installed at the State Library of Victoria,” said Tessa. “I am delighted that Roslyn is happy with the sculpture. It is certainly a lasting tribute to Reg Lindsay and his country music.”

The bronze statue of Reg Lindsay “Standing Tall” was unveiled at the East Cessnock Bowling Club in March this year.

Aladdin.

The Mystery of Edwin Drood.

Costumes & Make up

The Mystery of Edwin Drood.

Jerry’s Girls.

Bankstown Theatre Company

who can source the most obscure item in a blink. I am a tailor, usually at the cutting table or driving a sewing machine while Betty Cairncross is the best finisher in the business,” said Arthur.

“Currently,” said Betty,” we are Teamwork can be fun!

What makes Bankstown Theatre focussed on Bankstown’s next production, All Shook Up. And we are Company’s wardrobe department so making a new set of 1950s outfits,” special? “Teamwork, and fun!” says Lynne joined in. “This show has a team member Arthur Pickering. “ We special set of needs and we are looking work at the Bankstown Arts Centre, and can be found there, having a great at the designs and colour palette to time, whenever we are needed. It’s an ensure we do it justice.’

Over the years we have developed amazing creative environment and one quite a collection,” added Tony. “If you of our favourite social outlets,” he are looking for something special or added. different, why not email or give us a “We all do a bit of everything but each has a special skill. Tony Attard has call?” www.bankstowntheatrecompany.com/ an encyclopaedic knowledge of our hire.html stock. Lynne Beach is an admin wiz www.stagewhispers.com.au Stage Whispers 47

Stage Briefs

48 Stage Whispers September - October 2015

 A Tender Thing Stage Whispers’ own Lesley Reed, and Lindsay Dunn, appear in the SA Premiere of Ben Power’s A Tender Thing, which reimagines Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet for two more mature actors. Star Theatres, Hilton, from September 8 to 12. http://bit.ly/1JxpA2G  Legally Blonde Elle Woods and some of the girls of Delta Nu from Willoughby Theatre Company’s forthcoming October production of Legally Blonde shop up a storm in the exclusive Alannah Hill boutique in Chatswood. Laura Sheldon (Elle Woods, front), with (L-R) Erin Carlton (Pilar), Cassandra Smith (Serena) and Skye Roberts (Kate).  Footloose OCPAC will stage Footloose The Musical at Carey Baptist Grammar School, Kew (Vic) from September 13 to 20. http://bit.ly/1JxpyHW  13 Sydney independent musical theatre company Birdie Productions presents 13 - A New Musical at Bryan Brown Theatre, Bankstown from September 25 to October 3. http://bit.ly/1JxpDLL

www.stagewhispers.com.au Stage Whispers 49

Stage Briefs

 Forbidden Broadway Forbidden Broadway hits the Javeenbah Theatre stage on the Gold Coast September 4 to 19, spoofing popular show tunes, characters and plots of Broadway musicals. http://bit.ly/1Kmifbp  The Drowsy Chaperone CLOC Music Theatre presents The Drowsy Chaperone at the National Theatre, St Kilda, from October 2 to 17.

Pictured (L-R): Blair Salmon (Robert), Michelle Hunt (Janet), Tony Burge (Man in Chair), Pam Christie Birkett (The Drowsy Chaperone) and Tim Minturn (Aldolpho). http://bit.ly/1KmiiUs  The Gondoliers Guiseppe and Marco Palmieri (“the pink and flower of all the gondolieri”) played by Tristan Entwistle and Spencer Darby in Gilbert & Sullivan Opera Sydney’s production of The Gondoliers, with their adoring Venetian flower girls Lynda Sanders, Sophie Almada, Ella Arendelle, Minh Huynh and Kassie Carroll. These gondoliers are to be envied greatly...

From September 25 to October 3 at Smith Auditorium Lyric Theatre, Shore School, North Sydney. http://bit.ly/1KmimDO 50 Stage Whispers September - October 2015

www.stagewhispers.com.au Stage Whispers 51

On Stage A.C.T. Arsenic and Old Lace by Joseph Kesselring. Tempo Theatre Inc. Sep 4 - 12. Belconnen Theatre, Swanston St, Belconnen, ACT. www.canberraticketing.com.au Much Ado About Nothing by William Shakespeare. Canberra Repertory Society. Sep 17 - Oct 3. Theatre 3, Acton, Canberra.

(02) 6257 1950 The Wharf Revue by Jonathan Biggins, Drew Forsythe and Phillip Scott. Sydney Theatre Company. Sep 15 - 26. The Playhouse, Canberra Theatre Centre. (02) 6275 2700.

Canberra Playback presents an original improvised performance. Sept 18. QL2 Theatre, Gormon House, Ainslie (ACT). Tickets at door.

Enquiries: playbacktheatrecanberra@gmail.com The Confidence Man by Zoe Pepper and Adrianne Daff. The

52 Stage Whispers

A.C.T. & New South Wales

Street, in association with Side Pony Productions. Sep 20 - 23.

The Street Theatre. (02) 6247 1223.

Circus Oz - But Wait … There’s More. Sep 23 - 26. Canberra Theatre. (02) 6275 2700.

Soul Of Fire by Maxi Blaha. Oct 2 - 4. The Street Theatre. (02) 6247 1223.

Michael Flatley’s Lord of the Dance: Dangerous Games.

Canberra Theatre. Oct 6 - 11.

(02) 6275 2700.

Hamlet by William Shakespeare.

Bell Shakespeare. Oct 13 - 24.

The Playhouse, Canberra Theatre Centre. (02) 6275 2700.

The Pirates of Penzance by Gilbert and Sullivan. Canberra Philharmonic Society. Oct 22 Nov 7. Erindale Theatre. (02) 6257 1950.

New South Wales

The Present. After Anton Chekhov’s Platonov, by Andrew Les Misérables. Music by Claude Upton. Until Sep 19. Sydney -Michel Schönberg. Lyrics by Theatre. (02) 9250 1777.

Herbert Kretzmer. Original French text by Alain Boublil and Moonlight and Magnolias by Jean-Marc Natel. Cameron Ron Hutchinson. Guild Theatre, Mackintosh. Ongoing. Capitol Rockdale. Until Sep 5. (02) Theatre, Sydney. Ticketmaster.

9521 6358.

Matilda. Music and lyrics by Tim Minchin. Book by Dennis Kelly.

Royal Shakespeare Company, Louise Withers, Michael Coppel & Michael Watt. Ongoing. Lyric Theatre, Sydney. Ticketmaster.

Perfect Wedding by Robin Hawdon. Arts Theatre Cronulla.

Until Sep 5. Arts Theatre, 6 Surf Road, Cronulla. Phone (02) 9523 2779 on 11 and 18 July between 9am and 12pm and from 7:30pm - 8pm on any night a performance is scheduled.

The Women by Clare Boothe Luce. New Theatre. Until Sept 12.

Black Coffee by Agatha Christie.

Theatre on Brunker. Aug 21 Sep 12. St Stephen’s Church Hall, Adamstown (Newcastle).

(02) 4956 1263.

Noises Off by Michael Frayn.

Nowra Players. Until Sep 5.

Players Theatre, Meroo St, Bomaderry. 1300662808 (Shoalhaven Visitors Information Centre).

La Traviata by Sisters Grimm Seventeen by Matthew Whittet.

(Declan Greene and Ash Belvoir. Until Sep 13. Upstairs Flanders). Belvoir / Sisters Theatre. 02 9699 3444.

Grimm. Until Sep 20.

Just $40 a month to reach thousands of theatre goers. Contact Stage Whispers for details.

On Stage Downstairs Theatre. (02) 9699 3444

Productions. Until Sep 19. Old Fitz Theatre. 0422 198 955.

Allo, Allo by Jeremy Lloyd and The Women by Clare Booth David Croft. Tamworth Luce. New Theatre. Until Sep Dramatic Society. Until Sep 9.

12. newtheatre.org.au Capitol Theatre, Tamworth. (02) Sydney Fringe 6767 5300.

September 1 - 30 Spamalot by Eric Idle. Music by www.sydneyfringe.com John Du Prez and Eric Idle.

Dark Vanilla Jungle by Philip Campbelltown Theatre Group Ridley. Sydney Fringe. Sep 1-12.

Inc. Until Sep 12. Town Hall Old 505 Theatre, Surry Hills.

Theatre, Campbelltown. www.sydneyfringe.com www.trybooking.com.au Country Song by Reg Cribb.

Death and the Maiden by Ariel Queensland Theatre Company Dorfman. Sydney Theatre and Queensland Performing Company and Melbourne Arts co-production. Sep 2 - 5.

Theatre Company. Until Oct 10.

IMB Theatre. (02) 4224 5999.

Wharf 1. (02) 9250 1777.

A Streetcar Named Desire by The Tempest by William Tennessee Williams. Roo Shakespeare. Bell Shakespeare.

Theatre Company. Sep 4 - 12.

Until Sep 18. Sydney Opera Roo Theatre, Shellharbour. (02) House. (02) 9250 7777.

4297 2891 The Aliens by Annie Baker.

Little Shop of Horrors by Alan Outhouse Theatre Company in Menken and Howard Ashman association with Red Line (Musical). Pigs Fly Productions.

Sep 4 - 19. Mittagong

New South Wales Playhouse, Cnr Old Hume Highway & Bowral Rd. 0423 985 945.

Moondance. De Quincey Co / Sydney Fringe. Sep 4-19. Holy Trinity Church, Erskineville. www.sydneyfringe.com Sydney Comedy Festival Showcase. Cessnock Performing Arts Centre. Sep 4. (02) 4990 7134. Civic Theatre, Newcastle.

Sep 5. (02) 4929 1977.

Wait Until Dark by Frederick Knott. Lismore Theatre Co. Sep 4 - 20. Rochdale Theatre, Goonellabah, Lismore. (02) 6621 8169.

Charley’s Aunt by Brandon Thomas. The Popular Theatre Company. Sep 4 - 12. Civic Playhouse, Newcastle. (02) 4929 1977.

High Society. Music and lyrics

by Cole Porter, book by Arthur Kopit. Power Arts. Sep 4 - Oct

Advertise your show on the front page of www.stagewhispers.com.au

3. Hayes Theatre Company. (02) 8065 7337.

Female of the Species by Joanna Murray-Smith.

Newcastle Theatre Company.

Sep 5 - 19. Newcastle Theatre Company, 90 De Vitre St, Lambton. (02) 4952 4958.

Cranky Bear adapted from Nick Bland’s children’s book. Patch Theatre Company. Sep 8. Civic Theatre, Newcastle. (02) 4929 1977.

Evita by Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber. Miranda Musical Society. Sep 9 - 13. Sutherland Entertainment Centre, Sutherland. (02) 8814 5827.

The Wharf Revue by Jonathan Biggins, Drew Forsythe and Phillip Scott. Sydney Theatre Company. Sep 9 to 12.

Riverside Theatres Parramatta.

(02) 8839 3399.

Workshorts - 6 plays chosen from potential playwrights.

Stage Whispers 53

On Stage

New South Wales

Wollongong Workshop Theatre Co. Sep 11-26. Gipps Rd, Gwynneville.

Sydney Fringe. Sep 15 - 20.

Kings Cross Theatre. www.sydneyfringe.com

Dial M For Murder by Frederick Knott. Henry Lawson Theatre, Werrington. Sep 11 - Oct 2. www.hltheatre.com.au

Absinthe. Spiegelworld. From Sep 15. Spiegeltent, St Mary’s Cathedral Square, opposite Hyde Park. Ticketek.

Swan Lake. Imperial Russian Ballet Company. Sep 12. Civic Theatre, Newcastle. (02) 4929 1977.

Dr. McCarb’s Independent Surgical Hospital on the Hill.

Book by Michael Heming. Music and lyrics by Maria Alfonsine.

Ostribian Theatre / Sydney Pearl: The Janis Joplin Story. Sep Fringe. Sep 16 - 25. New 12. Riverside Theatres Theatre.

Parramatta. (02) 8839 3399. www.sydneyfringe.com Under Milkwood by Dylan Jamestown. Jamestown Thomas. Tiny Horse Theatre / Collective / Sydney Fringe. Sep Sydney Fringe. Sep 14 - 20.

17 - 20. New Theatre.

New Theatre. www.sydneyfringe.com www.sydneyfringe.com William Punch - A Goulburn Shakespeare Tonight by Paul War Story by Jennifer Lamb.

Wilson and Tim Ferguson.

Lieder Theatre Company Sydney Fringe. Sep 15 - 19. presents a World Premiere. Sep New Theatre.

16 - 26. Lieder Theatre, 52 www.sydneyfringe.com Goldsmith Str Goulburn.

The Shape of Things by Neil www.liedertheatre.com LaBute. JST Productions /

54 Stage Whispers

A Sri Lankan Tamil Asylum Seeker’s Story as Performed by Australian Actors Under the Guidance of a Sinhalese Director by Dhananjaya Karunarathne. Merrigong Theatre Co. Sep 16 - 26. Bruce Gordon Theatre, Illawarra Performing Arts Centre, Wollongong. (02) 4224 5999.

Navigating by Katherine Thomson. Maitland Repertory Theatre. Sep 16 - Oct 3. (02) 4931 2800.

Eight by Ella Hickson. Edgeware Forum / Sydney Fringe. Sep 16 20. Erskinville Town Hall - The Village Theatre. www.sydneyfringe.com No One Cares About Your Cat

by Tantrum Youth Arts, James Chapman, Lucy Shepherd, Tamara Gazzard, Zoe Anderson, Sarah Coffee, Samuel De Lyall, Jemima Webber and Jocelyne Lamarche. Tantrum Youth Arts and the Paper Cut Collective.

Sep 16 - 19, Civic Playhouse, Newcastle, (02) 4929 1977 and Sep 30 - Oct 3, Australian Theatre for Young People, Sydney, (02) 9270 2400.

Kinski And I by CJ Johnson.

Sydney Fringe. Sep 16 - 27. 505 @ 5 Eliza Street, Newtown. www.sydneyfringe.com But Wait... There’s More. Circus Oz. IMB Theatre, IPAC, Wollongong. Sep 17 - 19. 4224 5999.

Ljubičica - Wild Violet by Melita Rowston. Sydney Fringe & Josipa Draisma. Sep 17 - 19.

Seymour Centre. (02) 9351 7940.

Beyond. Circa. Sep 18 - 19.

Civic Theatre, Newcastle. (02) 4929 1977.

Rhonda Burchmore: Vinyl Viagra. Lizotte’s Newcastle, Lambton. Sep 18. (02) 4956 2066.

Just $40 a month to reach thousands of theatre goers. Contact Stage Whispers for details.

On Stage Snap! Arcadians Children’s Theatre. Sep 18 - 20. The Arcadians’ Miners Lamp Theatre (02) 4284 8348

David Wood. Epicentre Theatre Company. Sept 22 - Oct 3. King Street Theatre, Newtown. 0415 123 169.

La Cage Aux Folles by Jerry Herman and Harvey Fierstein.

Phoenix Theatre, Coniston. Sep 18 - Oct 3.

A Steady Rain by Keith Huff.

Justin Stewart Cotta and Nick Barkla in association with Red Line Productions. Sep 22 - Oct 17. Old Fitz Theatre. 0422 198 955.

Carnival of the Animals. Circa.

Sep 19 - Oct 4. Sydney Opera House, Studio.

I Might Take My Shirt Off by Dash Kruck. Sep 20 - Oct 8 (Sundays). Hayes Theatre Co. (02) 8065 7337.

Annie. Music by Charles Strouse, lyrics by Martin Charnin, book by Thomas Meehan. Young People’s Theatre. Sep 21 - Nov 14.

Young People’s Theatre, Hamilton (Newcastle). (02) 4961 4895.

George’s Marvellous Medicine.

Australian Premiere. Adapted from Roald Dahl’s novel by

Britannia Waves the Rules by Gareth Farr. New Theatre / Sydney Fringe. Sep 22 - 26.

New Theatre. www.sydneyfringe.com Slut by Patricia Cornelius. New Theatre / Sydney Fringe. Sep 22 - 26. New Theatre. www.sydneyfringe.com

New South Wales Gosford; Sep 30 & Oct 1, Memorial Entertainment Centre, Bathurst; Oct 2 - 4, The Concourse, Chatswood; Oct 5, Sutherland Entertainment Centre; Oct 6, The Seymour Centre; Oct 7 & 8, The EVAN Theatre, Penrith; Oct 9 - 11, State Theatre, Sydney; Oct 13, Lismore City Hall; Oct 23 & 24, Civic Theatre, Newcastle; Oct 25, The Glasshouse Theatre, Port Macquarie; Oct 26, The Enmore Theatre; Oct 27 & 28, The Big Top, Milson’s Point; Oct 29, Queanbeyan Performing Arts Centre; Oct 30 - Nov 1, Orange Civic Theatre.

Peter Pan. Adapted by director Callan Purcell and composer Christopher Harley from J. M. Barrie’s novel and play.

Hunter Drama. Sep 23 - 27.

Pacific Park, Newcastle East.

(02) 4929 1977.

Swan Lake and The Sleeping Beauty. Russian National Ballet Theatre. Sep 22 - 25, Cessnock Performing Arts Centre, (02) 4990 7134; Shoalhaven Entertainment Centre, Sep 26 & Robinson Crusoe by James 27, 1300 788 503; Sep 28 & Barry. Grainery Theatre 29, Laycock Street Theatre,

Advertise your show on the front page of www.stagewhispers.com.au

Company. Sep 23 - 25. Lizotte’s Newcastle. (02) 4056 2066.

Slumberland by Sarah Gaul.

Sydney Fringe. Sep 24 - 26.

Seymour Centre, Sound Lounge. www.sydneyfringe.com Popstars! The 90’s Musical by Neil Gooding and Nicholas Christo. Holroyd Musical and Dramatic Society Inc. Sept 24 27. The Redgum Centre, 2 Lane Street, Wentworthville. www.hmds.org.au The Gondoliers by Gilbert and Sullivan. Gilbert and Sullivan Opera Sydney. Sept 25 - Oct 3.

Smith Auditorium, Shore School, William St, North Sydney. www.gsosydney.com.au 13 - A New Musical. Music and lyrics by Jason Robert Brown.

Book by Dan Elish and Robert Horn. Birdie Productions. Sep 25 - Oct 3. Bryan Brown

Stage Whispers 55

On Stage

New South Wales Theatre, Bankstown. 9731 1620.

Inspired by the absinthe-drenched cabarets of late 19th century Europe, Absinthe is an adult-themed cocktail of circus, comedy, burlesque and vaudeville for a 21st century audience, playing in a spiegeltent on St Mary’s Cathedral Square, opposite Hyde Park, Sydney from September 15.

The Cunning Little Vixen by Leos Janacek. Pacific Opera. Oct 2 & 3. New Hall, Sydney Grammar School, Darlinghurst.

(02) 8256 2222.

Of Thee I Sing by George and Ira Gershwin. Sydney Philharmonia Choirs and Squabbalogic. Sep 26 & 27.

Gypsy by Arthur Laurents, Jule Sydney Opera House. (02) 9251 Styne and Stephen Sondheim.

3115.

(Musical). Shire Music Theatre.

Oct 2-11. Sutherland Memorial The Culture by Laura Jackson.

School of Arts, 25 East Parade Sydney Fringe. Sep 25 - 27.

Sutherland. (02) 8091 0768.

Erskineville Town Hall. www.sydneyfringe.com The Real Thing by Tom Stoppard. New Theatre. Oct 6 Just The Ticket by Peter Quilter.

Nov 7.

Elanora Players. Sept 25 - Oct 03. 49A Kalang Road, Elanora Playhouse Creatures by April de Heights. (02) 9982 7364.

Angelis. Pymble Players. Oct 7 31. Cnr Bromley Ave & Mona Seussical The Musical by Lynn Vale Rd, Pymble. 1300 306 Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty, 776. adapted from the works of Dr Seuss. Maitland Musical Birthright by David Williamson.

Society. Sep 25 -27. St John the CHATS Productions Inc., Coffs Baptist School, Maitland.

Harbour. Oct 8 - 18. Jetty trybooking.com. Oct 3. St Memorial Theatre, Harbour Philip’s Christian College, Drive, Coffs Harbour. (02) 6652 Waratah (Newcastle).

8088. moshtix.com.au. Oct 10 - 11.

Rent by Jonathan Larson.

James Theatre, Dungog.

Highway Run Productions. Oct trybooking.com.

8 - Nov 1. Hayes Theatre The Fall of the House of Usher. Company. (02) 8065 7337.

Adapted from Edgar Allen Poe, Othello by William Shakespeare. written by Jack Neary. Castle Roo Theatre Company. Oct 9 Hill Players. Sept 25 - Oct 17.

17. Roo Theatre, Shellharbour.

Pavilion Theatre, Showground (02) 4297 2891.

Road, Castle Hill. (02) 9634 The Very Hungry Caterpillar.

2929.

Stage adaptation of Eric Carle’s Anything Goes. Music and lyrics children’s book. Michael Sieders

by Cole Porter. Book by Guy and JWR Productions. Oct 9 Bolton and P.G. Wodehouse, 10. Civic Theatre, Newcastle. revised Howard Lindsay and (02) 4929 1977.

Russel Crouse. (Musical). Players Plaza Suite by Neil Simon.

Theatre Inc., Port Macquarie.

Sept 25 - Oct 18. Lord St, Port DAPA. Oct 9 - 10. DAPA Macquarie.

Theatre, Hamilton (Newcastle). www.playerstheatre.org.au (02) 4962 3270.

Clegg Festival. Regional Institute of Performing Arts. Sep 28 Oct 11. Civic Playhouse, Newcastle. (02) 4929 1977.

Hairspray. Music by Marc Shaiman, lyrics by Scott Wittman and Marc Shaiman and book by Mark O’Donnell and Thomas Meehan. The Señor Rabbit by Lillian Regals. Oct 9 - 17. Rockdale Rodrigues-Pang. Sep 29 - Oct 1.

Town Hall, Cnr Princes Highway IPAC - Bruce Gordon Theatre. & Bryant St, Rockdale.

(02) 4224 5999. www.theregals.com.au But Wait There’s More. Circus The Wiz by Charlie Smalls and Oz. Oct 1 to 3. Riverside William F Brown. Canterbury Theatres, Parramatta. (02) 8839 Theatre Guild. Oct 9 - 18.

3399.

56 Stage Whispers

Just $40 a month to reach thousands of theatre goers. Contact Stage Whispers for details.

On Stage Bexley RSL. A Few Good Men by Aaron www.canterburytheatreguild.com Sorkin. Campbelltown Theatre Group Inc. Oct 16 - 31. Town The Phantom of the Opera by Hall Theatre, Campbelltown.

Andrew Lloyd Webber, Charles www.trybooking.com.au Hart and Richard Stilgoe. Blue Mountains Musical Society. Oct The Diary of Anne Frank.

10 - 25. Blue Mountains Adaptated by Wendy Theatre, Macquarie St, Kesselman, from the original Springwood. play by Goodrich and Hackett.

Arts Theatre Cronulla. Oct 16 www.bmms.org.au Nov 28. Arts Theatre, Cronulla.

Ruff 1 - New Works in Progress. www.artstheatrecronulla.com.au Bruce Gordon Theatre, Wollongong. Make It @ Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Merrigong. Oct 10. (02) 4224 Zoo by Rajiv Joseph.

5999.

Wollongong Workshop Theatre.

Oct 16 - 31.

Monkey.. Journey to the West.

Kim Carpenter’s Theatre of Snow White & the Seven Image. Oct 14 - 17. IMB Dwarfs. Dural Musical Society.

Theatre, Wollongong. (02) Oct 16 - 31. Dural Soldiers 4224 5999.

Memorial Hall. www.duralmusicalsociety.org The Confidence Man by Zoe Pepper and Adriane Daff. Side Gaslight by Patrick Hamilton.

Pony Productions. Oct 15 - 17. Newcastle Theatre Company.

Wollongong Town Hall. (02) Oct 17 - 31. Newcastle Theatre 4224 5999.

Company, 90 De Vitre St, Lambton. (02) 4952 4958 (Mon Songs for the Fallen. Devised - Fri 3pm - 6pm). and performed by Sheridan Harbridge. Critical Stages. Oct Dead Centre by Tom Holloway 14. Cessnock Performing Arts and Sea Wall by Simon Stephens. Red Stitch Actors Centre. (02) 4990 7134. Oct 15. Civic Theatre, Newcastle.

Theatre and Red Line (02) 4929 1977.

Productions. Oct 20 - Nov 14.

Old Fitz Theatre. 0422 198 955.

Monty Python’s Spamalot by Eric Idle, John Du Prez & Neil Michael Flatley’s Lord of the Innes. Orange Theatre Dance: Dangerous Games. Oct Company. Oct 16 - 24. Orange 20 - 25. Capitol Theatre, Civic Theatre. (02) 6393 8111. Sydney. 136 100.

Between Two Waves by Ian Meadows. Stooged Theatre.

Oct 16 - 24. Civic Playhouse, Newcastle. (02) 4929 1977.

Disney My Son Pinocchio Geppetto’s Musical Tale. Book

by David I. Stern, Music & Lyrics

by Stephen Schwartz. Engadine Musical Society Inc. Oct 16 25. Engadine Community Centre, 1040 Old Princes Hwy, Engadine. 1300 616 063.

Legally Blonde. Music and Lyrics

by Laurence O’Keefe and Nell Benjamin. Book by Heather Hach. Willoughby Theatre Company Inc. Oct 16 - 25. The Concourse Theatre, Chatswood.

1300 795 012.

The Wharf Revue 2015 Celebrating 15 Years by Jonathan Biggins, Drew Forsythe and Phillip Scott. Oct 21 - Dec 19. Wharf 1, Sydney Theatre Company. (02) 9250 1777.

Gypsy by Jule Styne, Stephen Sondheim and Arthur Laurents.

Hornsby Musical Society. Oct 23 - 31. Hornsby RSL. (02) 9477 7777.

All Shook Up. Book by Joe DiPietro. Bankstown Theatre Company. Oct 23 - Nov 1.

Bankstown Arts Centre. (02) 9676 1191.

New South Wales & Queensland Hamlet by William Shakespeare. Prize Fighter by Future D. Fidel.

Bell Shakespeare. Oct 27 - Dec La Boite. Roundhouse Theatre.

6. Sydney Opera House.

Sep 5-26. 3007 8600.

Swan Lake. The Imperial Russian Ballet Company. Oct 29 & 31. IPAC - IMB Theatre. (02) 4224 5999.

Shakespeare Under the Stars.

Griffith & Regional Association of the Performing Arts (GRAPA).

Oct 30 - Nov 7. Bidgee Gallery, Bridge Road, Griffith. Tickets purchased on walkup basis on performance nights.

Renée Fleming - In Recital for One Night Only. Brisbane Festival, QPAC and Opera Queensland. Sep 7. Concert Hall, QPAC. 136 246 Strictly Ballroom by Baz Luhrmann & Craig Pearce.

Global Creatures. Lyrics Theatre, QPAC. From Sep 9. 136246.

Il Retorno. Circa. Brisbane Powerhouse. Sep 9-12. 3358 8600.

Private Lives by Noël Coward.

Guild Theatre, Rockdale. Oct 30 Quartet by Ronald Harwood.

- Nov 8. Guild Theatre, cnr Walz Noosa Arts Theatre. Sep 11-19. and Railway Streets, Rockdale.

5449 9343.

(02) 9521 6358.

Dirk by James Goss & Arvind Mary Poppins. Music & Lyrics: Ethan David. Centenary Theatre Richard M. Sherman, Robert B. Group. Chelmer Community Sherman, George Stiles, Centre. Sep 12 - Oct 3.

Anthony Drewe. Book: Julian 0435591720.

Fellowes. Gosford Musical The Cowgirl and the Showgirl Society. Oct 30 - Nov 14. with Beccy Cole & Libby Laycock Street Community Theatre, North Gosford. (02) 43 Donovan. Gardens Theatre. Sep 12. 3138 4455.

233 233.

Hay Fever by Noël Coward (Farce/Comedy). Woy Woy Little Theatre. Oct 30 - Nov 15.

Peninsula Theatre, 93 McMasters Road, Woy Woy. (02) 4344 4737.

Queensland A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum by Stephen Sondheim, Burt Shevelove and Larry Gelbart.

Phoenix Ensemble, Beenleigh.

Until Sep 5. 3103 1546.

The Seagull by Anton Chekhov.

QTC. Bille Brown Studio. Until Sep 26. 1 800 355 528.

Mary Poppins. Music & Lyrics: Richard M. Sherman, Robert B. Sherman, George Stiles and Anthony Drewe. Book: Julian Fellowes. Ipswich Musical Theatre. Ipswich Cultural Centre. Sep 12-20. 3810 6100.

Dial “M” For Murder by Frederick Knott. Nash Theatre.

Merthyr Road Uniting Church, New Farm. Sep 12 - Oct 3.

3379 4775.

All My Love by Anne Brooksbank - Christine Harris & Hit Productions. Gardens Theatre. Sep 14-15. 3138 4455.

Jack & The Beanstalk by Peter A Musical Theatre Concert.

Pinne & Don Battye. Arts Griffith Musical Theatre.

Theatre, Brisbane. Until Nov 14.

Brisbane Town Hall. Sep 15.

3369 2344.

Free Admission.

Desirelines. Collusion. Judith Velvet. Cabaret. Brisbane Wright Performing Arts Centre.

Festival and Organised Sep 2-5. 3872 9000 Pandemonium. Brisbane Forbidden Broadway by Gerard Powerhouse. Sep 16-26. 3358 Alessandrini. Javeenbah Theatre 8600.

Co. Sep 4-19. 5596 0300.

Advertise your show on the front page of www.stagewhispers.com.au

Stage Whispers 57

On Stage

Queensland

Sheridan Harbridge in Songs for the Fallen, at the Fairfax Studio, Arts Centre Melbourne, from September 28 to October 3, Cessnock Performing Arts Centre on October 14, Newcastle Civic Theatre on October 25 and Byron Bay Theatre on October 17.

Hot Brown Honey. Brisbane Festival and Briefs Factory.

Judith Wright Performing Arts Centre. Sep 16-26. 3872 9000.

Singing Concert. Griffith Musical Theatre 2nd Year Students. Burke Street Studio Theatre. Sep 17-19. 3735 3224.

Book: Nick Enright. Spotlight Theatre Co, Gold Coast. Oct 23 - Nov 14. 5539 4255.

Lah-Lah Live in Concert. QPAC. Sep 30 - Oct 2. Cremorne Theatre, QPAC. 136 246.

Away by Michael Gow. Cairns Little Players. Oct 16-24.

1300855835.

Singing Concert. Griffith Musical Theatre 3rd Year Students. Burke Street Studio Theatre. Sep 21-25. 3735 3224.

Into The Woods. Music and Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim.

Book by James Lapine. Harvest Rain. Concert Hall, QPAC. Oct 1 -4. 136 246.

The Odd Couple by Neil Simon.

QTC. Playhouse, QPAC. Oct 17 Nov 8. 1800 355 528.

How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying by Frank Loesser, Abe Burrows, Jack Weinstock and Willie Gilbert.

Savoyards. Iona Performing Arts Centre. Sep 26 - Oct 10. 3893 Keeping Down with the Joneses 4321.

by John Chapman & Jeremy Lloyd. Lind Lane Theatre, The Gruffalo’s Child. Based on Nambour. Sep 18-26. 5441 the award-winning picture book by Julia Donaldson & Axel 1814.

Scheffler. QPAC and CDP. Sep Festival of One Act Plays.

29 - Oct 3. Playhouse, QPAC. Toowoomba Repertory Theatre.

136 246.

Sep 22-26. 4632 8058.

Evita by Andrew Lloyd Webber & Tim Rice. SQUIDS Theatre Co. Redcliffe Cultural Centre. Sep 18-26. 3213 0400.

The Boy From Oz. Music & Lyrics: Peter Allen & others.

58 Stage Whispers

Michael Flatley’s Lord of the Dance: Dangerous Games. Oct 13 - 16, Concert Hall, QPAC, 136 246 & Oct 17 & 18, Jupiters Hotel & Casino, Gold Coast, 132 849.

Sunnytown by Krystal Sweedman. La Boite Indie.

Roundhouse Theatre. Oct 1431. 3007 8600.

Avenue Q by Jeff Whitty, Robert Lopez & Jeff Marx. Arts Theatre, Brisbane. Oct 17 - Dec 19.

3369 2344.

Our Turn! Griffith Musical Theatre. Burke Street Studio Theatre. Oct 20-24. 3735 3224.

Guilty Pleasures by Hugo Chiarella & Robert Tripolino.

Blue Saint Productions. Brisbane Powerhouse. Oct 21-25. 3358 8600.

Women in Voice. Judith Wright Queensland Conservatorium Performing Arts Centre. Oct 15Gala. Conservatorium, Brisbane.

24. 3872 9000.

Oct 30. conevents.com.au

Just $40 a month to reach thousands of theatre goers. Contact Stage Whispers for details.

On Stage Victoria The Lion King. Music & Lyrics: Elton John & Tim Rice.

Additional Music & Lyrics: Lebo M, Mark Mancina, Jay Rifkin, Julie Taymor, Hans Zimmer.

Until Nov 1. Regent Theatre, Melbourne. Ticketmaster

Centre Melbourne. 1300 182 183.

84 Charing Cross Road by James Roose Evans. Mordialloc Theatre Co. Inc. Until Sep 12.

Shirley Burke Theatre, Parkdale.

(03) 9587 5141.

Victoria Buffalo Gal by A. R. Gurney.

Williamstown Little Theatre Inc. Sep 10 - 26. 9885 9678 An Inspector Calls by JB Priestley. Geelong Repertory Theatre Co. Sep 11 - 26.

Woodbin Theatre, Geelong West. 5225 1200

The Boardwalk Republic.

AfterDark Theatre / Gasworks Arts Park / Melbourne Fringe.

Sep 15 - Oct 4. Gasworks Arts Park, Albert Park. 03 8606 4200.

The Sleeping Beauty. Directed

by David McAllister, Lost In Yonkers by Neil Simon.

Choreography by Marius Petipa, The Weir by Conor McPherson. Eltham Little Theatre Inc. Until Quartet by Ronald Harwood.

Music by Piotr Ilyich Melbourne Theatre Company.

Sep 12. Eltham Performing Arts Heidelberg Theatre Co. Sep 11 Tchaikovsky. The Australian Until Sep 26. Arts Centre Centre, Research. 0411 713 26. 03 9457 4117.

Ballet. Sep 15 - 26. Arts Centre Melbourne, Fairfax Studio.

095.

Footloose. By Dean Pitchford Melbourne, State Theatre. 1300 1300 182 183.

Summer of the Aliens by Louis and Walter Bobbie, based on 369 741.

Antigone by Sophocles, Nowra. Off The Leash Theatre the screenplay by Dean Company by Stephen Sondheim adapted by Adena Jacobs.

Inc. Until Sep 12. West Pitchford. Music by Tom Snow and George Furth. Watch This.

Malthouse. Until Sep 13.

Gippsland Arts Centre, (and others), lyrics by Dean Sep 16 - 27.

Pitchford. OCPAC (Old Carey Merlyn Theatre. (03) 9685 5111 Warragul. 5624 2456. fortyfivedownstairs. (03) 9662 Performing Arts Club). Sep 13 Daddy’s Dyin ... Who’s Got The An Inspector Calls by J. B. 9966.

20. MGH, Carey Baptist Will? by Del Shores. Lilydale Priestly. The Mount Players.

Grammar School, Kew. Semi Charmed by Sarah Clarke.

Athenaeum Theatre Co.Inc. Until Sep 19. 5426 1892. www.ocpac.com.au Melbourne Fringe. Sep 16 - 20.

Until Sep 5. (03) 9735 1777.

Masterclass by Terrence The Butterfly Club. 9660 9666.

They Saw a Thylacine by Sarah Glory Box La Revoluciόn.

McNally. Left Bauer Hamilton and Justine Campbell. 42nd Street. Book by Michael Finucane and Smith. Until Sep Productions. Sep 1 - 13.

Performing Lines and Human Stewart and Mark Bramble.

13. Melba Spiegeltent, Fortyfivedownstairs. (03) 9662 Animal Exchange. Sep 15 - Oct Lyrics by Al Dubin. Music by Collingwood.

9966.

4. Malthouse. (03) 9685 5111. Harry Warren. VCA - the Music Time Stands Still by Donald Exit the King by Eugène Theatre Company 15 and Margulies. Brighton Theatre Co. Ionesco. Melbourne French Until Sep 5. Brighton Arts & Theatre Inc. Sep 1 - 12. Pop-up Cultural Centre. 1300 752 126. theatre space, La Maison de Maitre Building, Carlton. (03) Sweeney Todd - The Demon 9349 2250 Barber of Fleet Street by Christopher Bond. Beaumaris Mary Stuart (Maria Stuarda) by Theatre Inc. Until Sep 5. (03) Gaetano Donizetti. Melbourne 9583 6896.

Opera. Sep 2 - 12, The Athenaeum Theatre Melbourne, The Mystery of Edwin Drood.

(03) 9650 1500 & Sep 19, Book, Music and Lyrics by Alexander Theatre, Monash Rupert Holmes. Malvern Theatre University, (03) 9905 1111.

Company Inc. Until Sep 5. 1300 131 552.

Kindly Keep It Covered by Dave Freeman. Moartz. Sep 4 - 12.

Detroit by Lisa D’Amour.

Yallourn North Hall. 5127 6514 Victorian Premiere. Red Stitch. or 0438 579 987 Until Sep 26. 03 9533 8083.

Rumpelstiltskin by Ed Bailey.

Betrayal by Harold Pinter.

Track Youth Theatre. Sep 4 & 5.

Melbourne Theatre Company.

Renaissance Theatre, Kew High Southbank Theatre, The School. 0439818381.

Sumner. Until Oct 3. 03 8688 0800.

Mother, Wife and the Complicated Life by Amity Dry. Bad Jews by Joshua Harmon.

Sep 8 - 15. Chapel off Chapel.

Aleksandar Vass & Vass Theatre 03 8290 7000.

Group. Until Sep 13. Alex Big Enough and Ugly Enough Theatre, St Kilda.

by James McLean. Sep 8 - 13.

20: 21. The Australian Balet.

The Butterfly Club.

Until Sep 5. State Theatre, Arts

Advertise your show on the front page of www.stagewhispers.com.au

Stage Whispers 59

On Stage

Victoria

Melbourne Opera presents Gaetano Donizetti’s Mary Stuart (Maria Stuarda), starring Elena Xanthoudakis and Rosamund Illing, at The Athenaeum Theatre Melbourne from September 2 – 12 and at Monash University’s Alexander Theatre on September 19. production students. Sep 17 27. Space 28, 28 Dodds St, Southbank. http://vca-mcm.unimelb.edu.au/events A L P H A. By Sebastian Robinson. Melbourne Fringe.

Sep 17 - 27. La Mama Theatre.

(03) 9347 6142.

FAG/STAG by Jeffrey Jay Fowler and Chris Isaacs. The Last Great Hunt / Melbourne Fringe. Sep 18 - Oct 3. North Melbourne Town Hall (Rehearsal Room).

(03) 9660 9600.

Minnie & Mona Play Dead by Jeffrey Jay Fowler. Melbourne Fringe. Sep 18 - Oct 3. North The Intelligent Design of Jenny Melbourne Town Hall Chow by Rolin Jones. Boutique (Rehearsal Room). (03) 9660 Theatre / Melbourne Fringe. Sep 9600.

17 - Oct 3. Brunswick Art Space. (03) 9660 9600.

La Petite Mort, a film noir radio play. Sep 22 - 27. The Butterfly Aladdin by Michael Bentley.

Club.

Essendon Theatre Co. Sep 18 www.thebutterflyclub.com 27. Bradshaw Street Community Hall, West The Boy at the Edge of Essendon. 0422 029 483.

Everything by Finegan Kruckemeyer. Melbourne Jon & Jen by Andrew Lippa and Theatre Company. Southbank Tom Greenwald. Pursued By Theatre, The Lawler. Sep 23 Bear. Sep 18 - 27. Chapel off Oct 9. Australian Premiere. (03) Chapel. (03) 8290 7000.

8688 0800 60 Stage Whispers

Stella by G.W.L. Marshall-Hall.

Lyric Opera of Melbourne. Sep 25 - 30. David Williamson Theatre, Prahran.

Simon Godfrey: Sauce.

Melbourne Fringe. Sep 26 - Oct 3. Fringe Hub - Son of Loft, Lithuanian Club, North Melbourne. (03) 9660 9666.

Songs for the Fallen by Sheridan Harbridge. Sep 29 Oct 3. Fairfax Studio, Arts Centre Melbourne. 1300 182 183.

Yana Alana Covered.

Melbourne Fringe. Sep 29 - Oct 3. Fringe Hub, Main Theatre, Lithuanian Club, North Melbourne. (03) 9660 9666.

Children Are Stinky by Malia Walsh and Chris Carlos.

Double D: The Dolly Parton Melbourne Fringe. Sep 26 - Oct Cabaret. Melbourne Fringe. Sep 4. La Mama Theatre. (03) 9347 30 - Oct 4. The Butterfly Club.

6142.

Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare. Dionysus theatre.

Carnival of the Animals. Circa.

Oct 2 - 10. McClelland College Sep 28 - Oct 4. Arts Centre Performing Arts Centre, Melbourne, Playhouse.

Alexander Crescent, Karingal Michael Flatley’s Lord of the (entry off Karingal Drive).

Dance: Dangerous Games. Sep 29 - Oct 4. Arts Centre The Drowsy Chaperone by Bob Melbourne, State Theatre. 1300 Martin, Don McKellar, Lisa Lambert and Greg Morrison.

182 183 CLOC Musical Theatre. Oct 2-

Just $40 a month to reach thousands of theatre goers. Contact Stage Whispers for details.

On Stage 17. National Theatre, St Kilda.

1300 362 547.

Victoria, Tasmania, South Australia

Fly Away Peter by Elliott Gyger and Pierce Wilcox, based on David Malouf’s novel. Arts Jurassica by Dan Giovannoni.

Centre Melbourne, Sydney World Premiere. Red Stitch. Oct Chamber Opera and Melbourne 6 - Nov 7. (03) 9533 8083.

Festival. Oct 21 - 24. Arts A Different Way Home by Centre Melbourne, Fairfax Jimmie Chinn. Oct 6 - 11.

Studio. 1300 182 183.

Chapel off Chapel. (03) 8290 Muffins at the Death Café by 7000.

Dina Ross. Larrikin Ensemble Melbourne Festival Theatre. Oct 21 - Nov 1.

October 8 - 25 Metanoia Theatre - Mechanics www.festival.melbourne Institute Brunswick. www.metanoiatheatre.com Bronx Gothic by Okwui Okpokwasili. Melbourne Masquerade by Kate Mulvany, Festival. Oct 8 - 12. Arts Space, from the book by Kit Williams.

North Melbourne Town Hall.

Griffin Theatre Company, State (03) 9322 3713.

Theate Company of South Australia and Melbourne The Bacchae by Adena Jacobs Festival. Oct 22 - 25. Southbank and Aaron Orzech. Theatre Theatre, The Sumner. 136100.

Works, St Martins and Melbourne Festival. Oct 8 - 25. Grease by Jim Jacobs and Theatre Works, St Kilda. 9534 Warren Casey. NOVA. Oct 24 3388.

Nov 8. The Whitehorse Centre, Nunawading. 9262 6555.

The Rabbits by Kate MillerHeidke and Lally Katz. Opera The Peppercorn Tree by Alison Australia, Barking Gecko, West Campbell Rate. Foster Music & Australian Opera and Dramatic Association (FAMDA).

Melbourne Festival. Oct 9 - 13. Oct 23 - 31. Foster War Arts Centre Melbourne, Memorial Arts Centre. 0435 Playhouse. 1300 182 183.

535 867 or 5682 2077.

Glengarry Glen Ross by David Mamet. Players Playhouse Inc. Oct 9 - 18. Richmond Theatrette. 03 8759 4821 Little Gem by Elaine Murphy.

Wyndham Theatre Co. Oct 9 24.

1984. By George Orwell, created by Robert Icke & Duncan Macmillan. Melbourne Festival / Headlong. Oct 16 25. Arts Centre Melbourne Playhouse.

Desdemona by Toni Morrison and Rokia Traoré. Melbourne Festival / UnionPay International. Oct 16 - 19.

Southbank Theatre, The Sumner. 136 100.

Last Work. Choreographer: Ohad Naharin. Batsheva Dance Company (Israel) / Melbourne Festival. Oct 17 & 18. Arts Centre Melbourne, State Theatre. 136 100

Inheritance by Hannie Rayson.

The Colac Players Inc. Oct 28 31. COPACC. (03) 5232 2077.

Dracula. Created by Little Ones Theatre after Bram Stoker.

Theatre Works and Little Ones Theatre. Oct 29 - Nov 15.

Theatre Works, St Kilda. 9534 3388.

Buyer and Cellar by Jonathan Tolins. Melbourne Theatre Company. Arts Centre Melbourne, Fairfax Studio. Oct 30 - Dec 12. Australian Premiere

Tasmania Guys and Dolls. Music and Lyrics by Frank Loesser. Book by Jo Swerling and Abe Burrows.

Musical Theatre Crew. Sep 10 26. Playhouse Theatre, Hobart.

(03) 6234 5998 The State of the Tasmanian Economy by Jonathan Biggins.

Blue Cow Theatre. Sep 10 - 12.

Theatre Royal, Hobart. (03) 6233 2299.

Forbidden Broadway Greatest Hits Volume 1 by Gerard Alessandrini. Hobart Rep. Oct 23 - Nov 7. Playhouse Theatre, Hobart. (03) 6234 5998.

The Wind in the Willows.

Adapted by Stephen Beckett, from the novel by Kenneth Grahame. Stephen Beckett Productions. Oct 23 - 25. Earl Arts Centre, Launceston. (03) 6323 3666.

Mary Poppins. Music & Lyrics: Richard M. Sherman, Robert B. Sherman, George Stiles, Anthony Drewe. Book: Julian Fellowes. Encore Theatre Company. Oct 29 - Nov 7.

Hamlet by William Shakespeare. Princess Theatre, Launceston.

Bell Shakespeare. Sep 22, (03) 6323 3666.

Princess Theatre, Launceston, South Australia 03 6323 3666. Sep 24 - 26, Theatre Royal, Hobart, (03) The Cripple of Inishman by Martin McDonagh. Adelaide 6233 2299.

Repertory Theatre. Sep 3-12.

Red Racing Hood by Sean Arts Theatre.

Monro. Terrapin Puppet www.adelaiderep.com Theatre. Sep 25 - Oct 3, Theatre Royal Backspace, Hobart. (03) The Great Gatsby by F Scott 6233 2299.

Fitzgerald. Independent Theatre Company. Sep 3-12. Space Legends of Revue 2. Presented Theatre. BASS 13 246.

by John X, Graeme Paine & Andrew Casey. Sep 30 - Oct 10. A Tender Thing by Ben Power.

Playhouse Theatre, Hobart. (03) Growling Grin Productions. Sep 6234 5998.

8-12. Star Theatres. 8234 1800.

Sex With Strangers by Laura Eason. Tasmanian Theatre Co. & Straightjacket Productions.

Sep 16 - 22. Peacock Theatre.

(03) 6234 5998.

The Weir by Conor McPherson.

Melbourne Theatre Company.

Sep 30 - Oct 3. Theatre Royal, Hobart. (03) 6233 2299.

The Audition by James Johnson.

Sep 19-Oct 3. Bakehouse Theatre. www.bakehousetheatre.com

Flak by Michael Veitch. Elis Productions. Oct 7, Devonport Entertainment Centre, (03) 6420 2900. Oct 8 - 10. Theatre Royal Backspace, Hobart. (03) 6233 2299.

Michael Flatley’s Lord of the Dance: Dangerous Games. Sep 23 - 27. Adelaide Entertainment Centre. 132 849.

Affinity. Choreographers: Graeme Murphy AO and Stephanie Lake. Tasdance / The Man Who Came To Dinner Australian Ballet. Oct 9 & 10,

by George S. Kaufman and Theatre Royal, Hobart, (03) Moss Hart. Malvern Theatre Co 6233 2299. Oct 17, Princess Inc. Oct 30 - Nov 14. 1300 131 Theatre, Launceston, (03) 6323 552 3666.

An Evening With Audra And Then, We Learnt Nothing.

McDonald. Oct 31. Arts Centre Blue Cow. Oct 15 - 24. Theatre Melbourne, Hamer Hall. 1300 Royal Backspace, Hobart. (03) 182 183.

6233 2299.

Advertise your show on the front page of www.stagewhispers.com.au

Zigzag Street by Philip Dean, adapted from novel by Nick Earls. The Stirling Players. Sep 25-Oct 10. Stirling Community Theatre. 0414 075 413.

5 Women by Natasha Martin.

Star Theatres. Sep 26-27. Star Theatres. 0430 018 724.

The Wild One by Greg Hart.

Greg Hart Entertainment. Sep 26. The Arts Theatre. 8264 3225.

Stage Whispers 61

On Stage Bush Concert With The ASO. Music by Mark Ferguson. Sep 28. Star Theatres. 8234 1800.

South Australia & Western Australia

Evita by Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber. Metropolitan Musical Theatre Company of SA. Oct 15-24. Arts Theatre. www.metmusicals.com.au or BASS or call 8264 3225.

Not Now Darling by John Chapman and Ray Cooney. Tea Tree Players. Sep 30-Oct 10. Tea Mortido by Angela Betzien.

Tree Players Theatre. 8289 State Theatre Company of SA. 5266.

Oct 16-31. Dunstan Playhouse.

Mother, Wife And The BASS 131 246.

Complicated Life by Amity Dry. Popjam Productions. Oct 2-11. With Love From The Trenches Star Theatres.

by Vicky Horwood. Cabaret www.motherwifemusical.com Under The Star. Oct 23-Nov 1.

Star Theatres. 8234 1800.

Shakespeare for Kids: A Midsummer Night’s Dream by Western Australia William Shakespeare. Star Steel Magnolias by Robert Theatres. Oct 6. Star Theatres.

Harling. Kooliny Arts Centre.

Trybooking or Until Sep 5. Koorliny Arts mightygood.com.au Centre. 9467 7118.

Big The Musical. Book by John An Anzac Trio by John Weidman, music/lyrics by David Lewington, Noel O’Neil and Shire/Richard Maltby Jnr. Yvette Wall. Old Mill Theatre.

Northern Light Theatre Sep 2-5. Short plays with an Company. Oct 9-24. Shedley Anzac theme. Old Mill Theatre, Theatre. 8281 0526.

South Perth. 9367 8719.

Love, Loss and What I Wore by Nora and Delia Ephron. Melville Theatre. Sep 4-9. Directed by Vanessa Jensen, Melville Theatre, Palmyra. 9330 4565.

Festival. Melville Theatre, Palmyra. www.ita.org.au/Dramafest2015

Zombie Prom. Music by Dana P. Rowe, book and lyrics by John Dempsey. Dark Psychic Productions. Sep 10-26.

Musical. Phoenix Theatre, Hamilton Hill. 9255 3336.

Dirty Beasts by Roald Dahl. The Midnite Youth Theatre Company. Sep 21-23. based on Roald Dahl poems. Drama Centre, Christchurch Grammar School. www.trybooking.com/GPVU

Extinction by Hannie Rayson.

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The 39 Steps by Patrick Barlow and John Buchan. Wanneroo Repertory Club. Oct 1-17. Fast paced, mystery comedy.

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Stage Whispers 63

Reviews: Premieres

Matilda.

Photo: James Morgan

Matilda Book by Dennis Kelly. Music and lyrics by Tim Minchin.

Based on the novel by Roald Dahl. Lyric Theatre, Sydney.

Opening Night, Aug 20.

BREATHLESS anticipation for the opening of Matilda raised the question as to whether it would live up to the hype.

The answer was 100 percent yes.

Roald Dahl’s larger-than-life twisted characters blend seamlessly with the quirky, rule breaking, sweet and sour music of Tim Minchin.

Fancy the chutzpah of ending the first act not with a big song and dance number, but a chord. But there are still a few hummable tunes in there, including ‘When I Grow Old’, ‘Quiet’ and ‘Revolting Children’.

Dennis Kelly’s book adds a nice bit of humanity to one of Dahl’s sour characters - the used car salesman, male chauvinist pig father of Matilda - Mr Wormwood. And he fleshed out a sub plot in the novel to give Matilda’s imagination even more scope to run wild.

The children and choreography are revoltingly dazzling.

They twist, turn and cavort with a discipline that would challenge adult dancers.

Bella Thomas - aged 11 - commanded the stage.

Tightly under wraps in the advance publicity was the larger than life villain Miss Trunchbull, amply fleshed out in the role of his lifetime by James Millar. How they will fight and scratch to play this role in amateur theatre land when 64 Stage Whispers

the rights are released (in a very long time). James looked so ridiculously funny that you could not be genuinely terrified of him. He was more pantomime dame than wicked witch of the west.

Elise McCann was sweetness personified as Miss Honey, conquering the almost unsingable song Tim Minchin penned for the role.

She was a foil for the Matilda’s ghastly parents, played

by Marika Aubrey and Daniel Fredereksen.

As you’d expect there are a few magic tricks thrown into the mix in a night of zany fun.

Matilda will thrill the young and young-at-heart.

David Spicer Peter Pan Ballet by Trey McIntyre. Music: Edward Elgar and Neil DePonte. Queensland Ballet. Playhouse, QPAC. Jun 26 - Jul 11.

PETER Pan flew into Brisbane in a captivating and witty production of J.M. Barrie’s eternally youthful character.

Using shadow dance, Asian puppetry, flying, and swordfights coupled with comic-book fantasy, this was a version of Barrie’s story that has never been seen before. In fact the Darling home had a surrealist quality not unlike a Tim Burton movie, and with the mother and father wearing masks the allusion was magnified.

Rian Thompson’s Peter Pan was a muscular young man who captured the boyishness of the character and danced

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with vigour. His aerial spins and body flips were spectacular and memorable. Laura Hidalgo brought a delicacy to Wendy, giving a beautiful portrait of a girl on the cusp of womanhood, and was particularly poignant in her final scenes when she had matured and held her own child.

Shane Wuerthner’s father and Katherine Rooke’s mother were the perfect parents in the Darling home scenario, austere and rigid, yet distraught when they find their children missing. Their dancing was exquisitely expressive.

Hao Bin’s Captain Hook was a delightful piece of roguish villainy, whose menace was cartoonish and fun. As his son James, Charles Riddiford successfully transitioned from wimpy under-his-father’s-thumb to full-throated member of the tribe. Sophie Zoricic spent most of the performance en-pointe as Tinkerbell, creating a wispy and magical sprite, Camilo Ramos’s John was boisterous, while Teri Crilly’s Michael had a mischievous twinkle that was a total audience pleaser.

The corps de ballet were in their element as pirates, redskins, fairies and shadows, while the Lost Boys added a level of humour to the whole that was reckless, rough and noisy.

Peter Pinne

Chamberlain, aka Pianosaurus, chimes in for his share of the fun.

Movement-wise it’s a bit like Cats, but with dinosaurs, with the cast nailing stance, gait and claws, constantly adding to the fun.

This slight, silly musical spoof is diverting entertainment.

Neil Litchfield

A Social Service

By Nicola Gunn and David Woods. Beckett Theatre, Malthouse (VIC). Aug 11 - 29.

NICOLA is installed as ‘artist in residence’ at a high rise housing estate. She naturally wants to ‘involve the community’ (on her terms) and she has the armour and endorsement of government funding. It would never occur to her that she is being used, a stalking horse for a scam.

A Social Service is beautifully structured and concise.

While it is unmistakeably politically engaged, it dramatises a character ‘arc’ or journey for its central character. It is also very funny - driven by anger at developer scams and government collusion.

Nicola Gunn, as ‘Nicola’, creates a beautifully modulated character, stripping layers from her initial arrogant confidence down to an uncomprehending humility. Ms Triassic Parq Gunn’s co-creator of the show, David Woods, is equally

By Marshall Pailet, Bryce Norbitz and Stephen Wargo. wonderful in a quite different way. He plays four characters Squabbalogic. Reginald Theatre, Seymour Centre, Sydney.

- each one distinct and detailed - the boldest of which is Jun 17 - Jul 4. possibly the liaison man for the developers. Rather than a TRIPLE threat dinosaurs roam an attractive moveable smoothie in a suit or a vulgarian in white shoes, this guy is potted-palm-populated set design by Neil Shotter, very artistically eccentric, weaving webs of beguiling, softmuch in on this Jurassic Park send-up, aided and abetted by spoken reassurance around naïve Nicola - until she is clever lighting and atmospherics from Mikey Rice. trapped.

Squabbalogic are at it again, introducing another quirky In a very bold move, the role of the Community Resident musical, the Off-Broadway send-up Triassic Parq, low is played by a real community resident, the role rotating budget musical alter-ego of the blockbuster movie among Abira De Oliveria, Angelo Duot, Shaan Djuma, franchise.

Isabelle Mure and Elisabeth Wot. Shaan Djuma, on opening What is the true story of the dinosaurs in Jurassic Park? night, maintained a quiet, steady and common sense Well it’s pretty silly stuff really, centred on the ramifications opposition to Nicola’s solipsistic flummery. of a female T-Rex growing a penis, thanks to Michael Brindley experimentation with frog genes. Played way over-the-top by a particularly talented cast, silliness doesn’t really matter, Dining (Uns)-table in a diverting, non-stop production.

By Cloé Fournier. PACT Centre for Emerging Artists, Director Jay James-Moody and choreographer Dean Erskineville. Produced by Travis De Vries. Jun 24 - 27.

Vince have created a bright, playful production, helped WELL, look who’s coming to dinner? It could well be along by a cast who clearly approach ‘cult’ musicals with you. This interesting and affecting piece of performance art the same committed professionalism as classics. defied categorisation; incorporating audience-participation, Leading man (lady) Rob Johnson’s Velociraptor of multi-media, improvisation, absurdism, dance-movement Innocence is appropriately sweet and engaging. Blake and mime.

Erickson anchors the production as the Velociraptor of The setting is a dinner table. Cloé - the convener/guest Faith, with wit, while deliciously nailing his Morgan of honour at this unusual little shindig - appears to be in Freeman impression. Delightful are BFF T-Rexs, Monique the midst of a psychotic episode, and selected audience Sallé, fierce as T-Rex 1, and Adéle Parkinson’s gentler T-Rex members are invited to be the warm props around which 2, transformed deliciously by her frog genes into a randy she pings her physical and psychological angst. The beauty creature, with mock-masculine traits. Their duet provides of this style of work is that while the over-arching theme perhaps the brightest vocal fireworks. Keira Daley’s comical was obvious and universal (the fractured relationship no-nonsense Velociraptor of Science is another treat, while between Cloé and that evening’s randomly-selected ‘Papa’) Crystal Hegedis’ Marcel Marceau-esque white-face her interaction with her guest ‘cast members’ seemed Mimeosaurus is cute fun throughout. Musical Director Mark designed to eke a subjective emotion within each participant. Painstakingly executed movements and Longer versions of many reviews can now be found at www.stagewhispers.com.au

Stage Whispers 65

parodies of some classic ‘acting-out’ behaviours had a delightfully visceral effect.

As one of the ‘lucky’ audience members selected (only to be later rejected) I found the experience both amusing and confronting. That said, audience involvement still seemed to lack any genuine feeling of risk-taking to fully justify its inclusion, making some moments seem uncomfortably clunky. The deceptively structured narrative also involved some elaborate set-ups which seemed only to chew time. However, sharp lighting and sound FX, teamed with nostalgically-filmed sequences gave the required depth to make this piece truly involving. Cloé’s undoubtedly compelling enfant terrible represents the vulnerable, damaged child within us all.

Rose Cooper Saltwater and Letters Home

By Jamie Lewis and Joe Lui respectively. TheatreWorks, 14 Acland Street, St. Kilda. July 1-12.

EXPERIMENTAL works by two young Singaporean performance artists, two independent pieces tied together by strong thematic connections, make up this double bill.

Jamie Lewis employs a completely novel approach to sharing her experience as a new bride living thousands of miles away from the benefit of her mother’s conventional wisdoms. Entering her performance space is much more akin to arriving at a family gathering, but it houses the same potential for spectacle. Her stories of a firm upbringing have both warmth and candour. Lewis gently leads her spectators through this innovative theatrical event which can leave you feeling bemused whilst also being pampered by her hospitality.

Writer, director and performer Joe Lui confronts the audience as he reminisces about his difficult choice to escape a benevolent yet suffocating culture.

No matter what physical or metaphorical distance Lewis or Lui put between themselves and their families, the strength of their bond is unmistakable. Lui makes his parents incredibly present through their absence. His dynamic and inventive use of the stage conjures up a life of colourful contrasts and contradictions; a life where, evidently, separation from family rarely seems to equate with real freedom.

Patricia Di Risio Blonde Poison

By Gail Louw. Old Fitzroy Theatre, Cathedral Street, Woolloomooloo. Jul 28 - Aug 15, A BEAUTIFUL blonde-haired, blue-eyed Jewish woman gets the opportunity mid-WWII to save herself and her beloved parents from extermination. The catch? Send fellow Jews to the concentration camps in her place. Stella Goldschlag was called Blonde Poison because she had the kiss of death. She stalked the streets of Germany to rat on her friends, colleagues and neighbours.

This chilling real-life theatrical adaptation of journalist Peter Wyden’s memoirs packs a moral dilemma punch.

Must we save ourselves at all costs? Are hundreds of Jewish lives worth our own? Can such morality be applied in war 66 Stage Whispers

when the real enemy is the army giving ultimatums of life or death?

Gail Louw’s play is gentle but firm in its enquiry. The audience get unlimited access into Goldschlag’s haunted mind as she sifts through her life’s memories. We see a youth with unbridled adoration for her parents, a young woman passionately in love with her colleague, and a lady forced into unthinkable conundrums by a hate-filled war.

The 90 minute show lags only slightly and could benefit from a trim to keep the play chugging along, but this Old Fitz production is a fine piece of art. Belinda Giblin, under the direction of Jennifer Hagan, presents a detailed, stylised and engaging portrait of Stella Goldschlag.

Maryann Wright Seventeen

By Matthew Whittet. Upstairs Theatre, Belvoir. Directed by Anne-Louise Sarks. Aug 1 - Sep 13.

A GREAT idea, beautifully acted and staged, this production left the audience captivated. The idea was to cast stage legends, aged over seventy, as seventeen year olds on the night of their last day of school.

They drink to excess, jump freely onto play equipment in a park, make a mess with their junk food in no time at all, play truth or dare and confront their demons.

Set today of course they take selfies and dance awkwardly to a Taylor Swift song, that the company got the rights to after a social media campaign.

The joy of escaping school is mirrored in the joy of the actors in being able to cut loose. Tom (Peter Carroll) and Mike (John Gaden) are mates who make light work of a carton of beer, Anna Volska (Edwina) is the bright one who is going to miss the inter school debating, Maggie Dence (Sue) has a sense of fun but also a maturity beyond her years and Genevive Lemon (Lizzy) plays the cheeky younger sister with aplomb.

Barry Otto (Ronny) has the most fascinating role. He is an awkward school boy with dark secrets, living on the edge a bit like Holden Caulfield in The Catcher in the Rye. The body language was a hoot. Barry Otto squirms and fidgets across the stage, whilst others ‘perve’, ‘pash’ or ‘spew’ as the drama dictates.

This cross-generational play entertained those in the audience who were around 17 and those many years past that.

Seventeen will surely have a life well beyond Belvoir.

David Spicer Heathers The Musical

By Laurence O’Keefe and Kevin Murphy. Showqueen Productions and Working Management. Hayes Theatre Co. Jul 16 - Aug 9.

HEATHERS deliciously turns the high school musical genre on its head, with a new, darker sub-genre.

The plot stays very true to the 1988 ‘cult’ movie. The Heathers reign as the school’s three viciously nasty cool girls, while Ram and Kurt are the equally nasty meat-head footy jocks. Veronica is included in the Heathers ‘in’ circle, but that gets complicated when she falls for the handsome,

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Heathers The Musical.

Photo: Kurt Sneddon.

brooding newcomer J.D., while also retaining loyalties to her outcast friend Martha.

Black musical comedy ensues with a mostly catchy rockmusical score, vibrantly pumped out by a splendid young triple threat cast.

Director Trevor Ashley ensures the entire evening is a tongue-in-cheek, inventive and, of course, regularly highcamp celebration, where the balance between light and dark feels perfect, while Cameron Mitchel’s snappy, witty choreography blends in seamlessly.

Lucy Maunder’s brutally charismatic performance as cruel, cool crowd leader Heather Chandler matches splendid comic timing with wonderful vocals. Jaz Flowers teams with her to drive this production, playing the heroine, Veronica, with zest, complementing the blend of comedy, humanity, darkness and pathos of the role, with her dynamic musical theatre voice. Steven Madsen nails the brooding new-boy outsider J.D. perfectly.

As brutally bullied, overweight outcast Martha and deliciously comedic alternate teacher Ms Fleming, Lauren McKenna shines in contrasting roles.

Erin Clare and Libby Asciak ensure that all three in-girls have their own brands and degrees of nastiness. Vincent Hooper’s Ram Sweeney and Jakob Ambrose’s Kurt Kelly land their comic-malicious meathead jock stereotypes splendidly.

Exceptional ensemble members provide further proof of the deep pool of musical theatre talent in this country.

Bright, vibrant costuming and hair for the girls are eyecatching against the fairly basic settings, with extra eye-

candy aplenty for audience members of various persuasions when the boys got down to their bulging BVDs. No playground was ever this much fun!

Neil Litchfield The Bleeding Tree

By Angus Cerini. Griffin Theatre Company. Director: Lee Lewis. SBW Stables Theatre, Kings Cross. Jul 31 - Sep 5.

IN a small rural Australian town, a shot disturbs the still of the night. Was this an act of cold-blooded murder or self defence? Angus Cerini’s The Bleeding Tree brings into question the potentially harmful nature of our increasingly private society; should we really ignore the violence that goes on behind closed doors if we possess the power to stop it?

The entire world of the play is carried through Cerini’s beautifully descriptive, poetic dialogue. He perfectly captures the fear and remorse of a family long suffering from domestic violence who’ve finally taken a stand. The rich dialogue allows for minimal props and a cast of only three actors, although many characters are present within the story.

Cerini’s words were brought to life by a stellar cast of three strong female actors, Paula Arundell, Airlie Dodds and Shari Sebbens. They shared a strong family dynamic with comical banter clearly grounded in affection for one another. Arundell portrayed the bitter anger and simultaneous grief towards her deceased husband or “sick bundle of shit” particularly well.

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Stage Whispers 67

Richard Roxburgh and Cate Blanchett in Sydney Theatre Company’s The Present.

Photo: Lisa Tomasetti.

The staging was seamless and fluid, set up on a high sloping stage covered with earth toned floral wallpaper.

The added height of the stage served its purpose well within the Stables, placing the actors either above or on the same level as the audience dependant on where you sit, allowing the women to reclaim their power.

The Bleeding Tree is thrilling and thought-provoking theatre which offers hope to women in situations where they desperately need it.

Emma Squires The Present

By Andrew Upton, after Anton Chekhov’s Platonov. Sydney Theatre Company. Directed by John Crowley. Roslyn Packer Theatre, Walsh Bay, Sydney. Aug 4 - Sep 19.

THE Present was more like a symphony than a play.

Think 1812 Overture without the music. There were fireworks, guns, passion and huge helpings of full-throated Russian drama.

The leading soloists were Richard Roxburgh (Mikhail) and Cate Blanchett (Anna). The play is set at her explosive 40th birthday party, in Russia 1995 in a modern home, more than a century after Chekhov first penned the play.

The original four-hour drama languished for decades after the playwright’s death. It did not have a title and was discovered by a relative who spirited it into a safe deposit box.

Andrew Upton’s update shines perhaps as his best adaptation, including some of his favourite punk rock music songs.

68 Stage Whispers

He did not hold back on the stage directions, even when there was hanky panky between his wife and the leading man.

Upton says all adaptations of this work are written to suit the production. This one felt like an episode of Rake on heat.

Mikhail is a lothario on the grandest scale, yet the audience could not help but like him.

The first act went for one hour and forty minutes. Plenty of time to get to know the thirteen characters at the dinner party. The funniest moment was the extraordinary transition when the birthday girl evolves from being crushingly bored to raging party animal in chief.

There were many other contrasting characters at the dinner party. Toby Schmitz (Nicholai) and Chris Ryan (Sergei) react with venom and pathos when their relationships are threatened.

The set design from Alice Babidge is spectacular, seamlessly spinning from inside to outside the house, then opening up to expose a dark and foggy Russian night.

David Spicer Nice Work If You Can Get Music and Lyrics by George and Ira Gershwin. Book by Joe DiPietro. Director: Roger Hodgeman. The Production Company. State Theatre, Arts Centre Melbourne. Aug 1523.

A NEW musical by composers who have long since left this mortal coil might seem like an oxymoron, but writer Joe DiPietro has done a marvellous job in crafting a new book

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and choosing from the Gershwins’ extensive catalogue.

Thus we have songs we all know… ‘‘S Wonderful’, ‘Someone to Watch Over Me’, ‘Nice Work if You Can get it’, ‘By Strauss’, ‘Let’s Call The Whole Thing Off’, ‘Fascinating Rhythm’…coupled with some we may have never heard before.

The story of a high society playboy who falls for a female bootlegger is lightweight, but it has enough wit to ground it and a little quirkiness to stop it feeling like one long cliché.

Added to this is a dream cast and delightful direction from Roger Hodgman, who really is an expert at making these limited runs ZING. Rohan Browne (Jimmy) is the quintessential leading man. In the style of the 1920s, where the show is set, he’s wildly theatrical and mugs like crazy - but that’s all just right. The superb Esther Hannaford’s style is very different, more rooted in realism, edgy, slightly geeky. It’s perfect for the tomboy Billie Bendix, and Hannaford’s fabulous voice absolutely nails the Gershwin numbers. Christie Whelan Browne proves she has a slapstick comic style we never suspected, as Jimmy’s ditsy fiancé Eileen Evergreen - the self proclaimed world’s greatest exponent of Interpretive Dance.

She is simply hilarious, drawing applause on every exit, and totally owning the bathtub scene where she sings “Delishious” to herself in two mirrors while chorines in bubbles dance around her. The supporting cast are all excellent and it’s lovely to see John Wood again, and the lovely Nicki Wendt, who steals the last ten minutes of the show.

But the night belongs to Gina Riley and George Kapiniaris as the society prohibitionist and the street-wise bootlegger. They bring a wealth of comic experience which is no surprise….but Kapiniaris also shows Music Theatre chops and Riley’s voice is just sensational….and watch out for the chandelier!

This is the perfect show for this stressful world….it won’t make you think, test your emotions, tax your brain or lose sleep. But it WILL make you smile from ear to ear. It’s called Entertainment.

Coral Drouyn

Roberts who lead us through the story of how our festival develops and what we must consider in its creation.

Part of the fun is not knowing exactly how the festival might turn out - could it be wonderful or a disaster? Will the headline act be amazing? What will the weather be like? Nothing is set in stone. All I can say is that one should come with an open mind and a willingness to participate, and do stay for a drink and a brief talk afterwards by a guest speaker. On the night we attended, Nicky Griff from CSIRO spoke to us and answered questions. It was particularly engaging.

Boho Interactive is a science-theatre ensemble from Canberra, Australia. Boho produces interactive performances based on sciences including Game Theory, Complex Systems science and Network Theory, working in collaboration with research scientists from Australia’s Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation and University College London. For this project, Boho was joined by members of Sydney collective, Applespiel.

Rachel McGrath-Kerr

Detroit

By Lisa D’Amour. Darlinghurst Theatre Company. Eternity Playhouse. Jul 17 -Aug 16.

THE neighbourhood may end up in flames but Lisa D’Amour’s award winning 2010 play is disappointingly half -baked. Detroit promises to be about the post-GFC collapse of suburban dreams and opportunities in America, as jobs fall away and cities like Detroit slip into bankruptcy.

Two refugees from rehab begin squatting next door to a recently retrenched bank officer and his employed but alcoholic wife. Conventional and quietly desperate, Ben and Mary welcome this hopeless but engaging young couple into their lives.

Over backyard BBQs and banalities, some home truths and sad needs are revealed. As the hippie-wise provocateurs, both naive and manipulative, Claire Lovering and James O’Connell are especially strong. Ed Wightman and Lisa Chappell are also fine but have the challenge of communicating through a repression and classconsciousness perhaps not familiar to Australian audiences.

Best Festival Ever: How to Manage a Disaster A small revolve spins us well through backyard settings Presented by Boho Interactive and Applespiel. The Street from designer Tobhiyah Stone Feller with Benjamin Theatre, Acton, Canberra. Aug 12 - 22.

Blackburn’s dusk-time lighting suggesting change is in the THIS fascinating work of interactive theatre allows air. Ross McGregor’s production gives chatty life to our attendees to participate as much as they feel comfortable struggling foursome which climaxes in one of the most doing so. It’s part theatre, part board game, and even authentic scenes of boozy party madness I’ve ever seen. partly a lecture. Come with a friend, or make new friends It ends in tragedy although, glibly, D’Amour makes that on the evening as you work together while sitting around a an opportunity for human transformation, sliding into very long table to create what could well be the Best American sentimentality. Any critique of a world which Festival Ever. While working together, playing games with delivers this sort of suburban displacement, loneliness and consequences for your festival, and interacting with the human miscommunication is left to Ronald Faulk. He narrative, you are incidentally learning more about things appears late as an elderly American voice remembering like systems science, game theory and more. While some (perhaps inaccurately) the good old days. might wonder at the artificiality of the set-up, I found it to Martin Portus be interesting, fast-paced, and fun. The facilitators from Applespiel are Nathan Harrison, Nikki Kennedy and Rachel Longer versions of many reviews can now be found at www.stagewhispers.com.au

Stage Whispers 69

Reviews: Musicals

Mary Poppins Music and Lyrics by Richard M. Sherman and Robert B Sherman. Book by Julian Fellows. New Songs by George Stiles and Anthony Drewe. Packemin Productions. Directed

by Neil Gooding. Riverside Theatre, Parramatta. Jul 26 - Aug 8.

THERE were many stars in this production but one was not able to take a bow. This was because they were hundreds of kilometres away in Melbourne.

The set and costume team at CLOC put together a chocolate box of delights. First the double storey foyer of the Banks home, which comprised a box that rolled onto the stage, could spin around and opened up. It included a hydraulic lift, used only once, to elevate Mary up the stairs to the first floor.

Just as clever was the single storey box that was used as the children’s nursery and kitchen. Lots of bits of stage magic were built in, allowing cast to disappear when needed and leap out of toy cupboards.

Packemin Productions’ cast did justice to the spectacle.

Visiting professionals, Penny McNamee as Mary Poppins and Shaun Rennie as Bert, were charming. Sam Moran was very solid as George Banks (perhaps the less flamboyant roles suit him more). Kate Maree Hoolihan showed plenty of heart as Winifred Banks.

Young Stella Barahona was a knock out as Jane Banks, ably assisted by Brendan Godwin as Michael. Jessica Kelly as Mrs Brill and Michael Curtain as Robertson Ay gave us plenty to laugh at downstairs in the servants’ quarters, whilst 17-year-old Joe Howe as Neuleus (the dancing statue) stamped himself as a star of the future.

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Mary Poppins.

Photo: Grant Leslie.

When Mary Poppins first toured Australia I had the good fortune to interview Richard M Sherman (original composer) and George Stiles and Anthony Drewe.

They spoke about blending the classic tunes from the original Walt Disney movie with some fresh material.

Of the new songs, ‘Practically Perfect’ feels practically perfect for the show but the expanded spelling out of Supercalifragisticexpialidocious (did I spell that right) into a cheer squad extravaganza feels contrived.

But the punters loved it and as Mr Mackintosh knows the audience is always right.

David Spicer Candide Music: Leonard Bernstein. Book: Hugh Wheeler after Voltaire. Lyrics: Richard Wilbur. Additional Lyrics: John La Touche, Lillian Hellman, Dorothy Parker, Leonard Bernstein, Stephen Sondheim. Director: Lindy Hume. Conductor: Paul Kildea. Opera Q. Playhouse Theatre, QPAC. Jul 23 - Aug 1.

LEONARD Bernstein’s brilliant score for his comicoperetta came vividly alive last night in a satiric and dazzling production by Opera Q. Lindy Hume’s directorial flair was everywhere from the cascading coloured sands of Eldorado to an emotional tree-planting finale. It was thrilling musical theatre.

David Hobson is really twenty-years too old to play the youthful Candide and it’s not the first time Hobson has sung the role, so maybe that accounts for his performance that had little ‘wow’ factor. He was good, but the vocal thrills were missing, unlike his co-star Amelia Farrugia as Cunegonde who was at the top of her game embellishing the score’s coloratura trills to perfection. Gaily swinging

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backwards and forwards on a swing adorned in jewels, her performance of the score’s most famous song, the mockaria “Glitter and be Gay” was the undoubted highlight of Act 1.

Christine Johnston, taking time out from her appearances with The Kransky Sisters and making her first appearance with Opera Q, was delightful as the Old Lady, bringing out the humour and irony of the part. Finally we come to the wonderful Bryan Probets who skilfully handled a number of roles, but in particular Dr Pangloss and the Narrator, keeping the whole plot on track.

Peter Pinne Merrily We Roll Along

By Stephen Sondheim and George Furth. Riverside Lyric Ensemble. Riverside Theatres, Parramatta. Jul 10 - 18.

PRECISION-paced, this production is a fine example of what community theatre can achieve. The direction is as creative and tight as the score itself and shows respect for the special rhythms and juxtapositions that make Sondheim’s works that little bit different.

Director Craig Stewart and musical director Bernie Lagana have cast an ensemble of performers and musicians who have worked with obvious enthusiasm and commitment and Sarah Friedrich’s striking choreography gives the production strength and polish.

The minimalism of the set (a black grand piano on a large revolve) and the fact that the costumes are monochromatic (black, white and shades of grey with some symbolic white lilies and a bunch of red roses), concentrates the action centre stage.

Peter Meredith finds real empathy in the role of Franklin Shepard, and Tim Green is lovably engaging as his long time friend and lyricist, Charley Kringas.

There is longing and lost love in Denise Devlin’s depiction of Mary. Jessica Zamprogno plays Gussie Carnegie and Christopher Hamilton brings wide experience to the role of producer Joe Josephson.

Melody Beck, as Beth Shepard, has the wonderful opportunity to sing ‘Not a Day Goes By’ as well as finding the contrasts of joy and anguish in the role.

Very well directed, this production rolls very merrily and movingly - along.

Carol Wimmer

like a dream. Partnered with Claire Lyon as Hope, their sweet vocals of the Porter standards “All Through the Night” and “It’s De-Lovely” continually hit the mark.

The other joys of the production are Wayne Scott Kermond as the gangster Moonface Martin, and Gerry Connolly as the Captain. Burlesque and vaudeville aren’t dead, they’ve just been in hibernation as these two prove time and time again. Todd McKenney is appropriately goofy as the silly-ass Lord Evelyn Oakleigh and does a flashy routine that accompanies “The Gypsy in Me” that’s a crowd -pleaser.

Two people deserve five gold stars, Dean Bryant for his direction which was buoyant and fizzy, and Andrew Hallsworth for his choreography, with the exuberant and exhilarating first act finale of the title tune the pinnacle of the night.

Peter Pinne

Legally Blonde The Musical Music and lyrics by Laurence O’Keefe and Neil Benjamin.

Book by Heather Hach. Directed by Danny Ginsberg. PLOS. Frankston Arts Centre. Jul 24 - Aug 1.

OMIGOD you guys, I adored it.

Director Danny Ginsberg had a vision; to take the rather dated musical and rocket-launch it into 2015 and beyond.

He and PLOS colleague, Mike Fletcher, have created a show that zings with energy and is technologically brilliant. The main set consists of some 50 screens, including 4 iPhones different images are projected on them all….including selfies and live tweets during the show.

It’s hard to believe this is Tayla Thomas’s first lead role but she absolutely nails it. She’s Legally Perfect. Daragh Wills, as the nerdy and studious Emmett, is a STAR at 18.

He has warmth, intimacy, and a voice beyond his years.

Elise Stevens makes Paulette a complete show stopping role. James Terry has real class as Warner and is super talented. As Vivienne, Emily Hall has vocal chops to die for (OMG!) but is also a self-assured actress. Ashlee Robinson is quite brilliant as Enid - I just wish I’d seen her play Tracey in Hairspray. Mario Moharko is impressive and in great voice as Professor Callahan; Genya Mets shines as Brooke; Aiden Niarros is a delight as Sundeep Padaman and even better as Nikos in “Gay or European”; while Taylor Sansom (Serena) Rebecca Bull (Pilar) and Becky Hawkins (Margot) are an awesome trio as Elle’s best friends and the Greek chorus.

Anything Goes Even the two dogs are fabulous.

And what everyone at PLOS brings is energy and 100% Music & Lyrics: Cole Porter. Book: Timothy Crouse and John Weidman based on the original by P.G. Wodehouse, Guy commitment. This sets the bar very high indeed. I loved Bolton, Howard Lindsay & Russell Crouse. Opera Australia & every minute!

John Frost. Choreography: Andrew Hallsworth. Lyric Coral Drouyn Theatre, QPAC. Jul 25 - Aug 16.

ANYTHING Goes is the most glorious musical-comedy Grease package we’ve had in years. Caroline O’Connor is not only a By Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey. Presented by The Q, star but a blazing meteorite that lights up every part of the Queanbeyan Arts Centre. Directed by Stephen Pike. The Q, stage. It’s a show-stopping performance. She’s broad, Queanbeyan. Jul 29 - Aug 15 brassy, and belts every number to the stratosphere.

TO sum it up, fabulous! The costumes, the singing, the A revelation of this production is how good Alex choreography, the set design, the great use of LED lighting Rathgeber is as Billy. He tap dances with the best of them, panels, and use of a largely young, enthusiastic cast all adds handles the vintage comedy schtick with aplomb, and sings up to a vibrant experience.

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Stage Whispers 71

Director Pike keeps the musical, costuming and characters strictly faithful to the original, while letting designers go to town with the look of the set and lighting.

Not only that, there seem to be allusions to other nostalgic set pieces.

Marcus Hurley isn’t just John Travolta’s Danny, he’s got the odd gesture borrowed from Arthur Fonzarelli and Vinnie Barbarino. There’s a touch of American Graffiti neon in the colours and set, and poor old butt of all jokes, nerd Eugene (Hayden Crosweller) channels Horshack from Welcome Back Kotter. Not sure whether I was imagining it, but Sandy (Rosanna Boyd) in her pre-transformation phase even seemed to shuffle a bit like Saffron from Absolutely Fabulous.

The music had the audience itching to get up and dance. Ms Boyd looks the image of The Neutron Bomb herself, and she nails Olivia’s vibrato and that slight country twang. That final duet with Marcus Hurley, ‘You’re the One That I Want’, was every bit as brilliant as the original.

Emerging talents Dave Collins, Risa Craig, Sophie Hopkins, Amelia Juniper-Grey and Tristan Davies all shine in their solos. Liam Downing’s ‘Greased Lightning’ was vibrant and exciting, accompanied by the fabulous dance ensemble. The dance was energetic and engaging, as you would expect, having been choreographed by the wonderful Jordan Kelly. But for me the absolute stand-out performance was Vanessa de Jager, unrecognisable under the cute short wig, as Rizzo. Her sarcastic ‘Look at Me, I’m Sandra Dee’ was hilarious and her version of ‘There Are Worse Things I Could Do’ was deeply and surprisingly moving, full of regret and pride.

Just don’t think too much about what it means - it’s peer pressure, the musical - but instead go along and enjoy the memories.

Cathy Bannister

although it was difficult to hear vocals at times.

Choreography, which included the nicely executed performance of Fat Sam’s Dancers, was by Mikaela Innes.

Set changes weren’t always smooth (or indeed necessary) and sometimes stage technique is yet to develop, but this is a likeable show.

Congratulations to Phoenix Theatre for supporting young performers in a fabulous way. Bugsy Malone is a delight.

Kimberley Shaw

Bugsy Malone

By Paul Williams and Alan Parker. Directed by Jodie Innes, Musical Direction by Krispin Maesalu. Phoenix Theatre, Memorial Hall, Spearwood, WA. July 11-18.

BUGSY Malone features an enthusiastic cast of kids whose joy of performing is contagious.

Shining in the title role is Connor Gosatti who has the skills to carry a show, a perfect Bronx accent and more charm than a young Scott Baio.

Ashley Garner, a little slim for Fat Sam, handles the gangster role beautifully and is a standout performer.

Sarah-Rose Kelly is a sweet performer and creates Blousey nicely, while Abigail Banister-Jones captures the sass of speakeasy singer Tallulah, well.

The cast of thirty-three bright young things work well as a team with a strong ensemble feel and a great sense of fun. Particularly memorable performances include Mmoloki Hartill’s lovely double stint as showgirl Loretta and an (uncredited) boxer Leroy, Saoirse Gerrish’s bold, brassy and bossy Lena Morelli, Adeson Oyasope’s sweet-faced Fizzy and Julian Menek’s smooth Dandy Dan. The actors were well supported by a six-piece band led

by Krispin Maesulu with the assistance of Josh Haines,

Sweeney Todd Book, Music & Lyrics: Brian J. Burton. Director: Sandra Harman. Musical Direction: David Bentley. Nash Theatre Inc., New Farm, Brisbane. Jul 11 - Aug 1.

BRIAN J. Burton’s version of Sweeney Todd is based on George Dibdin Pitt’s play The String of Pearls or the Fiend of Fleet Street. While most of the familiar plot points are covered in his play, it’s verbose and the songs don’t help.

Melodrama requires a certain acting style and director Sandra Harman was fortunate to have Nash regular Dan Lane on hand to bring the right type of villainy to the pivotal role of the grizzly barber. His Sweeney, which elicited boos from the mainly senior audience, was a villain to juicily hiss. Gleefully dispatching victims to his cellar from his infamous chair, his performance was the nearest thing to genuine melodrama in the production.

Holly Gilbert’s turn as heroine Johanna was fine except for some pitchy vocals, while James Meggitt, who was outstanding in Nash’s Never the Sinner, proved once again what an acting asset he is to the company giving a solid performance of Jarvis Williams.

Sweeney Todd wouldn’t be Sweeney Todd without the blood and gore, which this production delivered at the

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Legally Blonde

By Laurence O’Keefe, Neil Benjamin and Heather Hach.

Spotlight Theatre, Benowa, Gold Coast. Jul 31 - Aug 22.

DIRECTOR Morgan Garrity and Musical Director Julie Whiting have put together a fabulous rendition of Legally Blonde the Musical at Spotlight Theatrical Company. So many of the performers stood out with their original characterization, including standout performances from Heidi Enchelmaier (as Elle Woods), Jamie Watt, Josh Lovell, Jessica Papst and Jacquelyn Pointing to name a few.

The set designers have done a fabulous job accommodating for the many set changes which included the stage transforming between Alpha Gamma Delta, Harvard Law, the Courtroom, the restaurant and the department store. The transformation is amazing as it happens right before your eyes.

During the “UPS Delivery” scene, the delivery man (played by Brock Dunstan) came through the audience and, without giving too much away, he certainly entertained the ladies in the front row.

Legally Blonde also starred Pepper the Chihuahua as “Bruiser” and Rufus the bulldog as “Rufus”, who definitely stole the hearts of the audience.

Rianna Hartney-Smith

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Oliver!

finale when Sweeney slit his throat and the blood poured out. It was a fitting end to the tale and finally gave the audience their horror fix.

Peter Pinne

I enjoyed the original Australian professional production, but this was an even better staging, with Metropolitan Players making excellent use of the large Civic Theatre stage. The set, costumes, lighting and orchestral accompaniment in the literally foot-tapping Step in Time, Mary Poppins when Mary and the children joined Bert and chimney Metropolitan Players. Civic Theatre, Newcastle. Aug 5 to 15. sweeps in a roof top dance, for example, had the THIS Mary Poppins, to quote the title of one of its many appropriate sense of time and place. colourful and lively songs, was Ken Longworth supercalifragilisticexpialidocious.

Director Julie Black and the large cast and production Oliver! team made the tale engaging from the opening moments.. Book, Music and Lyrics by Lionel Bart. Ballina Players (NSW).

The first of the big numbers, Jolly Holiday, in which Players Theatre. Director: Clem Halpin. Jun 11 to Jul 4.

Mary Poppins (an always bright Alana Silcock) brought the PLAYING to full houses, Ballina Players has another hit statues in a park alive while taking the children on their first on their hands with Clem Halpin’s production of Oliver! excursion and meeting jack-of-all-trades Bert (a vibrant Using the limitations of the stage area to advantage, Daniel Stoddart), established the beautiful staging of the Clem’s clever set took the audience back to the London of large ensemble numbers, with choreographers Kirby-Leigh Victorian England with all its unsavoury characters plus a Coker and James Tolhurst using the movements to show smattering of gentile folk thrown in for good measure. the nature of the represented figures, including Queen Landon Broadley, in his first major production, gave a Victoria and an ancient Greek hero. great performance as Oliver Twist and was ably supported The variety of the numbers also kept audience members by Sam Green as The Artful Dodger and the gang of Fagin’s of all ages thoroughly engaged through a three-hour juvenile pickpockets and thieves - all performing way above running time, with a lovely reflection on the place birds their tender ages. have in our lives by a woman (Michelle Burnitt) selling Graeme Speed’s Fagin was a likeable villain and Jaime birdseed in Feed the Birds on the place birds have in our Sheehan’s Nancy was full of punch. lives being in marked contrast to the darkly comic Dylan Wheeler gave a menacing portrayal as Bill Sykes Brimstone and Treacle of a fierce nanny known as “the holy with ghoulish performances from Mike Sheehan and terror” (Rachelle Schmidt Adnum).

Belinda Toth as Mr and Mrs Sowerberry.

But those watching were just as attentive in the scenes Shelly Halpin’s costumes, Warwick Binney’s musical where Andrew Black and Ann Hartsuyker-Accardi movingly direction and choreography by Shani McKay all contributed brought out the concerns of the children’s parents, George to the success of the production. and Winifred Banks.

Roger McKenzie Longer versions of many reviews can now be found at www.stagewhispers.com.au

Stage Whispers 73

Into The Woods.

Into The Woods Music and Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim. Book by James Lapine. Fab Nobs Theatre. Bayswater (Vic). Jul 10 - 25.

INTO the Woods is a difficult show, but innovative direction and excellent casting make this new production from Fab Nobs an absolute triumph.

Nick Kong, himself a skilled performer, is growing in stature as a director with every new show. He has also designed the multi-levelled set. Innovative touches like the shadow screen for the talking birds, the green rope and plank ladder for the bean stalk, the swing gate part flat to denote Rapunzel’s tower, the milky white cow on castors with a suitcase handle, the flash cans for magic, the coloured lighting panels on the scrim for scene changes - all of these creative choices dictated by lack of money to throw at the production, only served to make it more satisfying.

Elizabeth Matjacic was born to play the Witch and is quite marvellous, certainly the best I have seen in Australia.

That glorious voice soars in “The Last Midnight” and reduced me to tears in “Children will Listen”. Stephanie James is just fabulous as Red Riding Hood. She’s a true triple threat with a great voice and a marvellous sense of comic timing. She is perfectly matched by Owen James (Jack). This young performer has a cheeky personality and loads of energy. The two princes (Douglas Costello and Curtis Mason) also double as the ugly sisters and Cinderella’s Prince (Costello) also plays the Wolf. They are wonderfully over the top and have a great sense of Burlesque. The show stopping “Agony” loses nothing from 74 Stage Whispers

being in a confined space and their steel jawed melodramatic posturing is hysterical.

The rest of the cast are all excellent and Musical Director Sally Mackenzie handled her orchestra with aplomb.

Vanessa Burke’s lighting design was excellent. This is a highly ambitious production that makes delightful entertainment thanks to the commitment and passion of all at Fab Nobs.

Coral Drouyn The Little Mermaid Jr

By Doug Wright, Howard Ashman, Alan Menken and Glenn Slater. Eltham Little Theatre. Director: John Leahy. Musical Director: Nicola Ramsay. Choreographer: Amanda Byron. Jul 3 - 12.

ELTHAM Little Theatre’s annual junior musical The Little Mermaid Jr was another resounding success. The youngest cast they had featured in some time, with no one over sixteen, was very good.

Maxine O’Hara made her debut with the company in the title role and displayed a beautiful singing voice. She worked well with her Prince, Oliver Strauss. As Sebastian, the crab who was supposed to keep the little mermaid under control, Olivia Sproule was very funny, as was Gabriella Hardy as the flounder. Kess Huggins was suitably evil as Ursula.

However, I was even more impressed with the ensemble’s harmony singing, not something I was expecting from such a young cast. I also loved the direction.

There would be a scene in front of the curtains, then they

Longer versions of many reviews can now be found at www.stagewhispers.com.au

would open to a new scene. It worked very well and the action flowed. In spite of the small stage the sets were very effective. Having bubbles spraying across the stage at various times also added to the atmosphere. The lighting was effective.

The enthusiasm and precision of the large cast won the day.

Graham Ford

cast, with the costume designs by Chloe Perrett and Tolhurst colourfully recreating the early 1980s period.

The teachers likewise were interesting characters, with the growth of understanding between the dyslexic Tyrone (Erik Mackintosh) and the initially critical Miss Sherman (Isabel Kelly) moving from friction to amusing warmth. And the dissent between teachers came through in the sharply amusing “The Teachers’ Argument” involving Ms Sherman and Jordan Warner’s Ms Bell.

Keating! The Musical The focus was mainly on the students, and they were a Music and lyrics by Casey Bennetto. Birdie Productions. delight.

Bryan Brown Theatre, Bankstown. July 15 - 19, 2015 Serena (Maisie Owens) revealed her complicated feelings SOME of the older Bankstown ‘true believers’ may have for Nick (Thomas Rodgers) in the wistful “Let’s Play a Love Scene” after they argued, and Mabel (Kacie Bourke), a been surprised by the raunchy depiction of Hewson and Keating in ‘On The Floor/I Wanna Do You Slowly’ but the student with an over-eating problem, engagingly showed young members of the audience loved it. As well as being her concern in “Mabel’s Prayer”. The duets included a true to its political satire, this production (directed by breezy “Bring on Tomorrow”, as Carmen Diaz (Sofia Nolan) Jordan Shea) gives the musical the ‘oomph’ it needs to take revealed to pianist Schlomo (William Parker) that she had written lyrics for a tune he frequently played. it beyond its political punch.

The band and musical director Philip Eames are set at The ensemble numbers, including “Hard Work”, “Fame” the back of the open stage. Lighting designer Liam O’Keefe and the songs linking each of the school years, had the uses multiple moving spots to highlight the hectic pace of actors and dancers playing the students exuberantly the production, and Alexandra Lewtas matches this with showing dedication to their craft. fast, fairly demanding choreography.

Ken Longworth Andy Leonard is impressive as ‘the man’. He finds the various dimensions of the character with his powerful voice The Last Five Queers and total command of the stage.

Music & lyrics by Jason Robert Brown, adapted and with a Doron Chester uses caricature to play the double roles of new story by Adam Noviello & Madi Lee. Butterfly Club, Bob Hawke and John Howard.

Melbourne. Jul 28 - Aug 9.

FIVE performers and a pianist present a radically Alexander Downer’s ‘fish net stocking’ moment is done in style by Jonathon Holmes. He also plays John Hewson in reimagined version of Jason Robert Brown’s original music a less suggestive costume but a similarly spicy performance. theatre show, The Last Five Years. Adam Noviello and Madi Richard Woodhouse performs foreign affairs minister Lee take the music, adapt some of the lyrics and ‘repurpose’ Gareth Evans with introspective flair. His ‘pas de deux’ with others, rope in a song or two from elsewhere and create a Cheryl Kernot (Sean Curran) is one of the directorial very different scenario: the interwoven stories of five highlights of the production. characters, three men and two women. The confident, This Keating! loses none of Bennetto’s clever historical talented cast traverses emotions and dilemmas that anyone, satire whilst ensuring plenty of contemporary, fast-paced gay or straight, can recognise and they are well up to the appeal. demands of the songs’ fast and intricate lyrics. They key us Carol Wimmer quickly into situations that are by turns sweet, touching, funny, sentimental, uplifting, whiney and powerful.

Performers and director Leanne Marsland make clever use Fame Jr: The Musical Music by Steve Margoshes, lyrics by Jacques Levy, book by of the club’s bare and tiny stage; the only props are five Jose Fernandez. Hunter Drama. Civic Playhouse, Newcastle. stools.

July 1 - 5.

In the second week, the show’s co-writer Adam Noviello IN an early scene in Fame Jr a newly enrolled student in replaces Jack O’Reilly (who projects a brash confidence very well). Rebecca Moore came down with something, so a New York performing arts school shows his passion for learning his craft in the song “I Want to Make Magic”. He, Keagan Vaskess heroically stepped in and is touchingly and all the other actors, singers and dancers in this awkward and funny. Co-writer Madi Lee is the straight girl production, certainly did that. or is she? - who’s just a little bit desperate. Tim Carney is Their success was all the more notable given that this the slightly older guy in a state of confusion - straight, gay or bi? And Henry Brett stands out for some lovely singing version of Fame for actors aged 18 and under runs a tight 60 minutes as it follows the young show business hopefuls and acting - vulnerable, embarrassed, broken-hearted and through their four years of training. finally jubilant. But in the end, it’s all about the songs and The development of the relationships between the the singing and it’s a very entertaining hour or so. I’m not students on the verge of adulthood was engaging, thanks sure if Barnaby Reiter, who did the arrangements, is also to the work of director Shane Bransdon, music director the pianist, but - in keeping with Butterfly Club tradition Annie Devine, choreographer James Tolhurst and the large he’s too loud.

Michael Brindley Longer versions of many reviews can now be found at www.stagewhispers.com.au

Stage Whispers 75

West Side Story.

Photo: Jeff Busby.

West Side Story Music by Leonard Bernstein. Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim.

Book by Arthur Laurents. Conceived by Jerome Robbins.

Directed by Gale Edwards. State Theatre, Arts Centre Melbourne. July 11 - 19.

THE Production Company’s 50th production is testament to the iconic qualities of West Side Story. And that is really all I need to say in this review except…

How can I NOT say thankyou to Guy Simpson and the 31 dazzling members of Orchestra Victoria, aided by the marvellous sound by System Sound. Plus, it would be a travesty if I didn’t applaud Michael Ralph’s masterful recreation of Robbins’ original choreography. The dancing is simply stunning. I must acknowledge Gale Edwards’ stunning overall vision and Trudy Dalgleish’s breathtaking lighting design, which transports Maria and Tony to a fantasy world of Love engulfed in turquoise and purple.

Shaun Gorton’s set is all you could ever wish for in a production with limited preparation time… a huge intimidating urban landscape of cyclone wire.

I defy anyone not to have fallen totally in love with Anna O’Byrne (Maria) and Gareth Keegan (Tony) long before they get to “One Hand, One Heart”, which reduced this tough old bird to tears. Both are superb - beautiful singers, truthful actors and charismatic stage presences. It’s unfair to even review Deone Zanotto since she was ill with laryngitis - Amanda Harrison sang the role brilliantly considering she had only one day with the score. I was disappointed in the overall stiffness of Adam Fiorentino as Bernardo, but I’m a George Chakiris worshipper. Sean Mulligan was an admirable Riff and Jared Bryan was electric as Action -Rob Tripolino impressed with his subtlety as Chino and Bianca Baykara was perfect as Rosalia. The gang members all danced superbly.

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Senior cast members Neil Melville (Schrank) and Tony Rickards (Doc) brought a different level of expertise and energy to their performances and Glaston Toft (Glad Hand) and Dean Vince (Krupke) are always valuable additions to any production. The entire cast, orchestra and crew deserve huge bouquets.

Coral Drouyn Love Off The Shelf Book: Roger Hall, Lyrics: AK Grant, Music: Phillip Norman.

Supa North Ballina RSL. Director and Musical Director: Paul Belsham. Aug 7 to 15.

SUPA North’s decision to revive Love Off The Shelf has, once again, proven to be the right decision. Billed as “The Mills & Boon” musical, the flimsy storyline follows the ‘successful’ formula for writing a Romance novel.

Recreating their roles were Dean Doyle, Lee Millward, Liz van Eck and the multi-talented Brian Pamphilon (bringing back memories of Kenneth Williams from the “Carry On” films) revelling in his comic antics as nine decidedly different characters.

Newcomers to the show were Di and Alan Ennew, Carly Hibbard, Tim Roberts and Graeme Speed as the ‘onstage’ and backstage props master.

The 3-piece band complemented the cast’s vocal capabilities and the ‘frothy’ songs included “The Thinking Woman’s Crumpet”, “The Virgin Slopes Of Love” and You’d Think It Was Fine To Be Virile”. Tim Roberts’ choreography was well suited to the various romantic situations.

The set was simple and appropriate and the costumes added lots of colour.

Roger McKenzie

Longer versions of many reviews can now be found at www.stagewhispers.com.au

genius of Arial and his kind, and Bell’s ability to make real joy from the “funny characters.” Here he’s well-blessed with Arky Michael and especially Hazem Shammas.

Bell assembles all his forces to create, Prospero-like, a bright, enchanting world, and he uses the sort of simple Doubt - A Parable

By John Patrick Shanley. Director: Stephen Wheat. RL and convincing stagecraft which Shakespeare would have Productions. Chapel off Chapel. Aug 13 - 22. recognised.

SHANLEY’S play explores what happens when you give a Martin Portus voice to doubt or suspicion - Sister Aloysius is the Principal Casanova of a Catholic school with mostly Irish and Italian students.

When she becomes suspicious that the parish priest, Father By Russell T. Davies, adapted for the stage by Mark Flynn, is grooming the only black boy in the school for an Kilmurry. Canberra Repertory. Directed by Jarrad West. illicit relationship, she sets out to systematically destroy Theatre 3, Acton. Jun 18 - Jul 4. him…and ends up having doubts of her own.

THIS stage adaption of a television romp treats the story Penny Larkins is a tour de force as the brittle Nun, Sister of Casanova with a complexity - rapidly alternating among Aloysius. She seeks and finds all the complexities of the the moving, the romantic, and slapstick - that must be an repressed woman who is, on one hand, a cold and enormous challenge to director and actors, apparently compassionless martinet, and, on the other, a woman truly obtaining from Davies’s television series its approach of concerned for her students. Daniel Humphris is terrifically embedding sexual farce in an essentially romantic tale.

To take this somewhat difficult play and give it an cast as Father Flynn, full of charm and genuine care for his charges, yet always managing to fan the flame of suspicion additional layer of humour referring to the play’s within us. Krista Thompson is totally convincing as the performance itself is a challenge that director Jarrad West young nun, Sister James, who finds herself questioning her met very well; and production manager Marya Glyn-Daniel’s superiors but is afraid to speak up for what she believes. dab hand was evident in creating the superb stage magic Tariro Mavondo gives a strong performance as the mother that seamlessly transformed one genre into another and each scene into the next, complex lighting and astute of the negro boy.

Jacob Battista is finally hitting his straps as a set staging signalling subtlety and audience sympathy designer. His rostrum stage and monochrome set work a surpassing the play’s intent. Costuming was superb, and treat. Christian Horoszczak has created a subtle yet sixties and seventies songs as soundtrack proved amusing stunning lighting plot and Dan Nixon’s soundscape is spot and uplifting.

The interactions between characters (including between on throughout This is a small but perfectly formed production which the older and younger Casanova, Tony Turner and Ben clearly has loving commitment from everyone involved.

Russell respectively) were particularly believable. The Coral Drouyn relationship between the older Casanova and the maid Edith (Steph Roberts) was as captivating as that between the younger and his lifelong love Henriette (Amy Dunham).

The Tempest Both Russell and Turner brought true pathos to their shared

By William Shakespeare. Bell Shakespeare. Sydney Opera House. Aug 19 - Sep 18. role; Casanova’s helpmate Rocco (Riley Bell) grounded WITH this light and magical version of The Tempest, scenes in believability; and Bojana Kos’s consummate after 25 years at the helm, John Bell delivers an impressive performance as his lover Bellino equally made Casanova’s fictional life trajectory understandable. swan song in this his last production for the Bell John P. Harvey Shakespeare Company.

Everyone - and notably set and costume designer Julie Lynch, lighting designer Damien Cooper and composer Alan Antony & Cleopatra John - has together created a transportive, ethereal island

By William Shakespeare. The Little Fish (SA). Directed by world where Prospero reigns but the spirits have good Linda Edwards. Aug 13 - 29. lessons for humanity. Centerstage is the refreshingly natural THERE’S much to admire about The Little Fish’s latest Brian Lipson. His Prospero is most convincing as the ageing effort, which brings the emotional conflict at the heart of academic longing for his books, perhaps less so as the the play to life with chillingly intelligent precision. deposed Duke controlling his island and intent on revenge Russell Slater has the required rakish swagger to portray when his usurpers are storm-wrecked upon it.

Antony, the burnt-out hedonist, but invests enough nuance Eloise Winestock is perfect as his rebellious and adoring into his performance that the audience can clearly see the tomboy daughter, but the play hangs on Matthew Backer’s wounded nobility beneath his debauched macho posturing.

He’s well matched with Amelia Lorien Dembowski’s exceptionally beautiful movement and song as the incredulous spirit Ariel. John Bell inventively navigates Cleopatra, whose performance is equal parts brazen through The Tempest’s many traps - its lengthy exposition sensuality, haughty snobbery, childish neediness and pitiful at the start, its plodding wrap up and its often heavy myopia. The two have a disturbingly intense chemistry, the neurotically co-dependent and emotionally manipulative handed mix of tomfoolery, twee sentiment and nature of their relationship coming across without melodramatic jealousies. His compass point is the tender

Reviews: Plays

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Stage Whispers 77

Australia Day.

undermining the visceral, raw physical attraction that exists between the two characters.

The supporting cast also hit the right emotional notes.

Christopher Searle makes for a cold, calculating Caesar, whose intellectual acumen is as intimidating, in its own way, as Antony’s hyper-masculine physicality. Roan Redelinghuys has a consistently amusing aptitude for deadpan snark as Antony’s cynical lieutenant, Enobarbus, but is also convincingly tortured in later scenes which call upon the character to wrestle with his compromised loyalty and self-doubt. Ian Seymour-White is also a standout in the dual role of fiery, hot-headed soldier, Scarus and ineffectual political operator, Lepidus.

A few tables and chairs are the only sets to speak of, but they get the job done well enough. The costumes are suggestive of the period, rather than being strictly historically accurate, but are nonetheless striking in their use of colour.

Benjamin Orchard Australia Day

By Jonathan Biggins. Director: Jonathan Biggins. Christine Harris & Hit Productions. Gardens Theatre, Brisbane. Jun 25 - 26 and touring nationally.

CHRISTINE Harris’s touring production of Australia Day is explosively funny. A terrific ensemble cast bring Jonathan Biggin’s satirical-swipe at our national day institution gloriously to life. It’s a better production than the one QTC mounted last year, and with the added advantage of having the writer at the helm, tighter and sharper.

78 Stage Whispers

In the small country town of Coriole a disparate group of people gather to organise the festivities for the Australia Day celebrations. Geoff Kelso imbued Brian, the mayor, with all the self-serving traits of those in local office without being sleazy. David James’ Robert was spot-on.

Unambitious and happy to be a second-stringer. James played the part in the original Melbourne and Sydney production so he certainly knows where the laughs are buried. Dennis Coard had a field-day as “ocker” Wally dropping “F” bombs and calling a spade a spade, while Robyn Arthur’s CWA lady, Marie, was a hoot as she tried to understand Twitter and Facebook and negotiate a walkietalkie.

But the lynchpin in this whole scenario was Sharon Davis as the ball-busting Helen. Outwardly fierce, yet inwardly tender, her performance had passion and pathos. Ken Moraleda as Chester, the Australian-born Vietnamese had enormous fun sending-up Asian stereotypes and looked appropriately daggy in his Australian flag shirt.

I’ve no doubt regional audiences will embrace this satiric bit of nonsense with open arms.

Peter Pinne Noises Off

By Michael Frayn. Director: Alex Lanham. Arts Theatre, Brisbane. Jul 4 - Aug 15.

ARTS Theatre couldn’t have chosen a better play than Noises Off to celebrate their 1000th production. Ever since it premiered in 1982, Michael Frayn’s comedy has been called the “funniest play ever written” and this production goes a long way to proving that point.

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Director Alex Lanham’s ensemble cast were at the top of their game. Split-second timing, pratfalls, and multiple door -slamming, all on cue, as they searched for lost contact lenses and misplaced sardines was farce at its finest.

Victoria Costa’s hilarious turn as the harassed maid Mrs Clackett reached its zenith when she began dropping sardines from under her skirt. It really was funny-funny!

Hayley Fielding, who spent most of the night in sexy underwear, was appropriately vacuous and vague as Brooke, and a riot losing her contact lenses, whilst Jon Darbro as Lloyd the frustrated director and Brooke’s paramour displayed acute comic acting chops. Riley McNamara as Philip was adept at losing-his-pants and trying to stem nosebleeds with tissues, Jessica Moore nicely ad-libbed infinitum as Flavia, while Michael Stent turned frenzy into an art as the hapless ASM, Tim. Rounding out this group of more-than-competent farceurs was Damien Campagnolo’s opinionated and selfimportant Gary, Shaun King’s always missing cues alcoholic Selsdon, and Gabby Carbon’s pregnant stage manager, Poppy. It was community theatre at its best.

Peter Pinne The Lion In Winter

By James Goldman. The Therry Dramatic Society. Directed

by Megan Dansie. The Arts Theatre, Adelaide. Aug 20-29.

A HEADY mix of explosive family melodrama, convoluted political intrigue and snarky screwball comedy, James Goldman’s 60s play has lost none of its bite over time, and is treated to a gloriously spirited production.

Matthew Randell (as Henry) and Celine O’Leary (as Eleanor) have a shockingly intense chemistry, both as adversaries in political debate and as partners in a toxic, masochistic romance. The supporting cast are no slouches either; Aaron McDonald’s Geoffrey has moments of devastatingly scathing sarcasm, and Jonathan Pheasant’s is an imposing figure when called upon to demonstrate Richard’s ruthless brutality. Robert Bell’s Philip at first comes across as something of a prissy fop, but it turns out these mannerisms are an affectation designed to mask a cunningly devious mind, and the actor plausibly conveys the character’s dual nature. Nick Duddy and Ellie McPhee try hard to add some nuance to the underwritten roles of John and Alais.

The attention to period detail in Nick Spottiswoode’s sets and Megan Dansie’s costumes is quite impressive, as are the subtle fluctuations in Richard Parkhill’s lighting, which ensure scene transitions are smooth and poignantly accentuate the drama of the play’s more intimate scenes.

Benjamin Orchard Jane Eyre

By Charlotte Bronte, adapted by Polly Teale. Hobart Repertory Theatre Society. Playhouse Theatre, Hobart.

Director: Ingrid Ganley. Jun 19 - Jul 4.

JANE Eyre is believed to be the second most-read book in the English language (after the Bible). Director Ingrid Ganley worked to the Polly Teale script with intelligence and sympathy.

Olivia Durst played Jane Eyre as a strong, brave but vulnerable young woman, as self-determining as anyone could be in her circumstances. Her alter-ego Bessie, played beautifully by Samantha Lush, was conscience and confidante to sad, lonely, longing Jane. Jeff Keogh earned far more sympathy for the conflicted Mr Rochester than I ever felt for the character - he was almost too nice.

William Dowd’s wonderfully designed two-level set showed, throughout the play, the threatening presence and gradual deterioration of mad Bertha, Mrs Rochester, in the attic. Ellen Roe was outstanding in this pivotal role.

Beautifully designed and constructed costumes by William Dowd, Jenny Jacobs, Nicole Ottrey and Rosny College Costume Class were a highlight.

Atmospheric lighting, sound and smoke effects added to the sombre mood. With several actors playing multiple roles, all performers displayed their range and adaptability, especially Steven Jones, playing Mr Brocklehurst, Mr Ingram and St John Rivers. Adele (Tess Hatfield) and Mrs Fairfax (Kathy Spencer) were important characters consistently played.

A clever, warm empathetic, satisfying production, worth seeing - and an excuse to re-read Jane Eyre.

Merlene Abbott Savage in Limbo

By John Patrick Shanley. Directed by Gabriella Rose-Carter.

Q44 Theatre, Richmond (Vic). Aug 18 - Sep 6.

QUESTION: How far can Q44 continue to raise the bar at an exponential rate. Though small in stature and financial support, this little company is already the equal of ANY other theatre company in Melbourne.

The driving force is director Gabriella Rose-Carter, whose commitment and passion elicits astonishing performances from her actors.

Five superb actors breathe life into the characters, 30somethings whose lives have stalled, brilliantly conceived by John Patrick Shanley, and the setting of the bar, complete with pool table, with the audience sitting at tables and on an old couch, is perfect.

Kostas Ilias (Murk) is totally credible as the bar owner, dour and cynical, but with genuine feelings for April, whom Andrea McCannon makes into a heart-breaking loser; it’s a fine performance. Sarah Nicolazzo (Linda) is fabulous as the sexpot who is shattered that she might be replaced by “Ugly” women. Her lack of self worth is palpable, and her Bronx accent is most impressive. Anthony Scundi (Tony) is making quantum leaps as an actor and really fires in this role. But the performance of the play is without question Samantha Mesh as Denise the Virgin. She lays her emotions bare and rips our hearts out. Rebecca Fortuna’s lighting design works a treat. The direction is simply perfect.

I can’t speak highly enough of this little company, and I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the fabulous supper that the amazing Lilly Jones provided for us all.

Q44 deserves every success.

Coral Drouyn

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Stage Whispers 79

The Perfectionist

By David Williamson. Adapt Enterprises Pty Ltd. Director: Ross Vosvotekas. Assistant Director: Mark Milton.

Bakehouse Theatre, Adelaide. Jul 24 - Aug 8.

ADAPT Enterprises have demonstrated David Williamson’s The Perfectionist to be a work of enduring strength and intrinsic interest, more than thirty years after its premiere production.

Cheryl Douglas portrays Barbara, the principal female protagonist (and narrator) while director Ross Vosvotekas performs opposite her as Stuart, the other half of the central marriage. While Douglas delivers a sympathetic, nuanced, realistic portrayal, Vosvotekas’ own performance is more problematic. One is too often aware here of the mechanics of acting that are taking place; of a character being impersonated rather than inhabited.

Danish babysitter Erik - laidback and lazily idealistic - is played by Chris Knight as a sometimes interesting contrast to Stuart (the ostensible ‘perfectionist’ of the title), but one cannot help feeling at times that Barbara might well be better off without either of them as a partner. Kim York and Rick Mills are cast in the crucial supporting roles of Stuart’s mother and father; both actors do a superbly professional job, and provide much of the play’s quota of sharp black comedy.

The Perfectionist is perhaps not one of David Williamson’s best-known pieces, but on the basis of this generally very successful re-staging, it deserves a greater level of recognition. Ross Vosvotekas has directed this production with a sharp pace and equally sharp perception, achieving a most satisfying, engaging mixture of credible drama and tangy humour.

Anthony Vawser L’Amante Anglaise

By Marguerite Duras, translated by Barbara Bray. La Mama Theatre. Jul 15 - 26.

IN 1949, parts of a dismembered female body were discovered on various trains that had all passed under a viaduct in rural France. From this macabre event, Marguerite Duras built an exploration of the inner life of those involved: the murderer, her husband and perhaps the victim herself.

There are no lighting changes, no sound design, and no set beyond two hardback chairs in a brightly lit, black painted space. Two actors sit a few metres apart. But what we get is acting of the highest order from Jillian Murray and Rob Meldrum.

In Part One, Ms Murray interrogates Pierre (Mr Meldrum), the husband. Mr Meldrum controls the tone precisely: he is cold, matter of fact and so straightforward and cooperative that one can’t believe a word he says.

In Part Two, Mr Meldrum becomes the interrogator and Ms Murray is Claire, the murderer. Ms Murray’s lovely face becomes guarded and pinched and obtuse and joyous.

Claire killed her deaf and dumb, overweight cousin Marie and confessed to it in a café full of people. Was she jealous of Marie’s relationship with Alfonso, the Portuguese handyman? Was it simply that Marie was so… silent and 80 Stage Whispers

fat? We don’t know. Each time we think there is an ‘answer’, it slips away, or dissolves.

Lawrence Strangio’s direction displays all the subtlety and attention to detail and nuance that the piece requires.

Ms Murray and Mr Meldrum give us two characters from whom one can’t take one’s eyes as they fascinate in their implacably guarded interior beings.

Michael Brindley On Our Selection Adapted by Rod Anderson from the play by Bert Bailey.

Hobart Repertory Theatre Society. Playhouse Theatre Hobart. Director: Rod Anderson. Aug 14 -29.

THINK On Our Selection and the work of Steele Rudd comes to mind, with remembered and loved characters of the Rudd family - Dad, Mother, Dave, Kate, Joe & Sarah.

Director Rod Anderson has adapted the Bert Bailey play for this Hobart Repertory Theatre Society production.

The funny, folksy, melodrama/comedy is the perfect vehicle for Director Rod Anderson to bring us this wonderful Australian classic. It will tickle your funny bone for days as you recall the antics of these quintessentially “Australian bush” characters, aided by bush band, the Cherry Gully Tunesmiths.

A high quality cast of Hobart’s best-known actors includes Robert Jarman as Dad, Noreen Le Mottee as Mother, Andrew Casey as Dave and Nicole Simms-Farrow as Kate. Jarman’s droll Dad and Casey’s knockabout slapstick Dave work beautifully together.

Musical interludes featuring songs of the time gave the audience a chance for a sing-along. Nicole Simms-Farrow’s beautiful voice set the standard, with energetic performances of other songs by Luke Visentin, Ivano Del Pio, Andrew Casey and Kate Choroziak, Noreen Le Mottee and Robert Jarman. Strong support came from Steven Smith as Cranky Jack and Ivano Del Pio as Maloney, with a feisty Tara Carroll as Sarah. Trevor Gallagher played the baddies, the two Carey characters, Jim and Mr Carey, suitably different but equally unlikeable. An excellent night at the theatre.

Merlene Abbott The Long Red Road

By Brett C Leonard. Human Sacrifice Theatre Company.

Fortyfivedownstairs, Melbourne. Jul 30 - Aug 9.

SOMEWHERE in Kansas, Bob (Lee Mason) has a fractious relationship with Sandra (Marissa O’Reilly), a woman crippled in both her legs. Her daughter, Tasha (Angelica Angwin) tells Bob she hates him. Seven hundred miles away, Sam (Mark Diaco) drinks himself into oblivion in a bar run by Clifton (Red Horse), a taciturn Lakota chief, and lives with absurdly patient, loving and hopeful school teacher, Annie (Liza Meagher). Two thirds of the way through Act One things click into connection with a revelation - or the confirmation of a growing suspicion.

Lee Mason’s portrait of a good man simmering with anger is moving, then frightening when the anger erupts.

Marissa O’Reilly exudes all the ambivalence of a woman who still loves the man who crippled her. Liza Meagher

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Twelve Angry Men.

gives her Annie a kind of vulnerable sweetness from her very first line. Angelica Angwin is a mix of smarts and poignant naiveté. In the second Act, her scenes with Mark Diaco get you by the throat. Mr Diaco’s Sam is a fabulous performance in which you simply have to feel for a character in such pain. Red Horse brings a quiet dignity to Clifton - Sam’s confidant and mentor. It is from him that Sam learns of the ‘long red road’ - the Sioux term for ‘the journey towards redemption and inner peace’. Director David Myles has elicited fabulous performances from his wonderful cast and it is they who make this sad tale live.

Michael Brindley Twelve Angry Men

By Reginald Rose, adapted by Sherman L. Sergel. Pymble Players (NSW). July 22 - Aug 15.

NANETTE Frew directs this classic play with messages about prejudice and social class which still resonate.

Jennifer Willison’s set creates the depressing dinginess of a mid-twentieth century courthouse jury room.

The jurors, dressed in tones of brown and fawn, appear at first as nondescript as the numbers with which they are introduced. It is not until the door is locked, and their opinions sought, that their true personalities are revealed.

Jim Burns plays the Foreman. The character he creates is necessarily strong considering the difficult discussions that he has to control.

Fiery Juror #3 is played by Chris Clark, who is disturbingly convincing as this outspoken and intimidating

character. Clark uses his height and voice to impose his biased views on the less confident jurors.

Juror #8 is the voice of reason in this hot, crowded room. Peter Gizariotis plays him with quiet perseverance and respect - a perfect balance to the loud, blustering of Clark and the unreasoned support he is receiving from most of the other jurors.

The other nine performers are always in the moment, listening, watching and reacting. As the hot summer day drags on, opinions and accusations begin to fly.

Frew’s direction - and the commitment of her cast makes the sweltering heat of the room and the build of tension depressingly believable.

Carol Wimmer Gaslight

By Patrick Hamilton. Directed by Barb Barnett. Canberra REP. Theatre 3, Acton, Canberra ACT. Jul 30 - Aug 15.

GASLIGHT is a thriller set in Victorian times. The set (designed by Ian Croker) is a living room in a gloomy part of London in the latter part of the nineteenth century.

Similarly, the costume design by Helen Drum lends authenticity to the production. This would be one of the standouts of the year thus far.

Kate Blackhurst plays the part of Bella Manningham very well, making the audience understand how Bella can be brought to question her sanity by strange things happening in her own house. Peter Holland plays Jack Manningham, bringing out the character’s apparent reasonableness and kindness, and hinting at shadows. Pat Gallagher is

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Stage Whispers 81

Head Full Of Love.

extremely good as Inspector Rough and steals the scenes in which he appears. Natalie Waldron is charming and cheeky as the maid Nancy and her colourful character and smiling face are a counterpoint to Bella’s paleness and worry.

The play is rather wordy and is repetitive in parts, which is more to do with the era in which it was written. This creates a bit of a dragging effect at times.

The sound and lighting design (Jon Pearson and Chris Ellyard) enhances the play’s mood and is never overdone nor neglected. The music written for the movie soundtrack

by Bernard Herrmann is used sparingly but most effectively Rachel McGrath-Kerr

moments which will have many in the audience wincing with recognition.

Director Wesley Enoch, a Noonuccal Nuugi man, has ensured Tilly is well-rounded and deep, not the least thanks to Beth Sometimes’ language tutoring which has given the Pitjantjara veracity. Tilly’s character is vital, but getting Nessa absolutely right is important too. White audiences need to recognise the Nessa in themselves in order to perhaps avoid the same mistakes.

Cathy Bannister

Lady Windermere’s Fan

By Oscar Wilde. Newcastle Theatre Company. NTC Theatre, Head Full of Love Lambton. Jun 13 - 27.

By Alana Valentine. Directed by Wesley Enoch. Queensland OSCAR Wilde’s social comedy is an amusing read, but Theatre Company / Performing Lines. The Street Theatre, the laughter comes out loudly when the play is as wellCanberra, Jul 3-4, and touring regional Australia. staged as in this production.

A WARM hug on a chilly winter’s night, with a backdrop Lady Windermere’s Fan was the writer’s first audience of the wonderfully idiosyncratic Alice Springs Beanie and critical success when premiered in London in 1892, Festival, Head Full of Love is about the unlikely friendship with people appreciating its sharp digs at the behaviour of between a traditional Aboriginal woman living with renal the upper classes. failure in the absolute poverty of an Alice Springs town More than a century on, very little has changed in the camp, and an older white woman running away from words, attitudes and actions of those who see themselves Sydney and her family. as being elite.

Tilly, played with sensitivity by Paula Delaney Nazarski, is The title character is the young wife of an older titled industrious, intelligent, brave, proud, humorous and crafty. aristocrat, with the action starting on the afternoon of her Outwardly resigned to her life which includes many hours 21st birthday. Lord Windermere has given her an elegant of dialysis, she quietly holds within her a red hot anger at fan to mark the occasion, and a celebratory ball is being having to live every day with the consequences of held at their palatial home that night. compounded injustices. Although kind-hearted, Annie However, visitors to the house let Lady Windermere Byron’s Nessa is initially prone to appalling, unintentionally know that her husband has been seeing another woman racist assumptions. This leads to much hilarity and 82 Stage Whispers

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for six months, and when he tells her he wants to invite that woman to the evening’s celebration she is furious.

But events of that night and the following morning lead to revelations that the woman is not the ruthless extortionist she initially seems to be.

Director Michael Blaxland and the large cast brought out the humour of the characters and situations, with a sequence set in a hall leading to the ballroom showing the insincerity of many of the guests. When greeting passersby, they were effusive in their salutations, but made cutting remarks once the people had gone.

Katie Wright was a spirited Lady Windermere. Jan Hunt’s Mrs Erlynne, elegantly dressed when she arrived at the ball and ignored by the women but attracting male admirers, kept watchers on the edge of their seats as her true situation was gradually revealed.

Ken Longworth

planning of the production had to overcome many obstacles, the end result being a flowing, well-paced performance.

Roger McKenzie

Einstein And The Polar Bear

By Tom Griffin. St Jude’s Players. St Jude’s Hall Brighton, SA. Aug 6 - 15.

YOU don’t have to be Einstein to realise audiences are enjoying St Jude’s Players’ Einstein And The Polar Bear. It is another success for this Adelaide theatre company.

Following the death of his wife and to isolate himself from the world, a famous novelist hunkers down with his stroke-affected father in a remote New England farmhouse.

Outside, a mystery stranger approaches the house in the midst of a blizzard.

Einstein And The Polar Bear is tricky to produce. It is light-on in lines that help actors develop the inner depths of Gruesome Playground Injuries the key characters’ emotions.

By Rajiv Joseph. Playlovers. Directed by Kristen TwynamDirector Dave Simms and his fine cast avoid the pitfalls Perkins. Hackett Hall, Floreat, WA. Jul 10- 25 in Tom Griffin’s wordy play. Simms has deliberately infused PLAYLOVERS’ Gruesome Playground Injuries is billed as a quirky Northern Exposure feel into the ‘local’ characters, “an unsentimental non-linear ant romance”. This shortish while the two lead actors perform skillfully and naturally. two-hander was beautifully presented.

The overall result is a bittersweet mix of humour, poignancy Director Kristen Twynam-Perkins took a Brechtian and hope. approach to the production, and between scenes we saw Adam Tuominen’s training and experience shine actors transform their characters as they appeared at through in his fine performance as author Bill Allenson. various ages between 8 and 38.

Allison Scharber is terrific as Diane Ashe, a feisty, strong Sam Barnett created a believable and sympathetic Doug, woman with a good heart, but one burdened with a secret. with a multi-layered performance and excellent rapport Scharber portrays her with a skill that matches Tuominen’s. with his co-star.

Norm Caddick, Peter Davies, Shelley Hampton and Kayleen was beautifully played by Kimberley Harris and it Andrew Horwood are excellent support, creating a strong is difficult to believe that she was a last minute ensemble. replacement, as her character was so fully realised.

This show is worth venturing away from the roar of your Gruesome Playground Injuries was a well directed and cosy home fire. You’ll be met by the roar of a rampaging interesting play, extremely well acted, with an unusual polar bear instead…and a whole lot more besides. production style. It was well worth seeing.

Lesley Reed Kimberley Shaw Funny Money Hotel Sorrento

By Ray Cooney. Cairns Little Theatre. Director: Wayne Rees.

By Hannie Rayson. Javeenbah Theatre Co, Nerang, Gold Jun 26 to Jul 4.

Coast. Director: Joan Stalker-Brown. Jul 11 - 25.

FUNNY Money is a classic Ray Cooney farce of confused WHEN three sisters are reunited after a number of years, identities, similar briefcases and two detectives: one turmoil and family chagrin arise due to a novel, written by straight, one corrupt. one of them, Meg, based on their dysfunctional family, Boring, mild-mannered Henry returns to his home in which is short-listed for the prestigious Booker Prize.

Fulham, London with a briefcase packed with £50 notes.

Norm Strambini’s three level, five acting area set, lit by He picked it up by mistake on the Underground but doesn’t Colin Crow, caught the mood of the show completely and want to hand it in. Instead he wants to fly off to sunny Joan Stalker-Brown’s direction conveyed the Moynihan Spain. But soon the real owners, and two detectives, are Family’s problems in coming to terms with the deep seated hot on his trail. animosity that bubbles away not far from the surface.

Paul Hynes, who looks a lot like a young Woody Allen, As the three sisters; Pippa - Naomi Thompson, Hilary did a great job as the embattled Henry. Somehow, Hynes Janet Thwaites and Meg - Libby Bancroft lead the small cast got through all the mayhem, though playing the role must with style, well supported by seasoned performers Virginia have been exhausting. Paul Carey, as friend Vic, looked the Leaver, Tony Hall, Peter Kennedy and Craig Smith. Tayib part as a dry-witted northerner, while Kevin Woodward was Seaton-Browne showed great potential as Hilary’s teenage brilliant as the frustrated cockney taxi driver, with his son Troy. accent, energy and body language. Newcomer Theresa It took me a while to come to grips with the script, Denzin as Henry’s wife Jean was slightly over the top at written in “movie” style with many scene changes, and the times, but acted with energy and pace. Michael Gleed was Longer versions of many reviews can now be found at www.stagewhispers.com.au

Stage Whispers 83

on top of his game as the corrupt detective. He was sleazy, but oh-so-friendly and reassuring. Nader Sallam, as the honest detective, did a brilliant job, kept a serious face as the straight man. Finally, the experienced Judy Gittings, as Vic’s wife, had the right measure of panic and pace to keep the comedy rolling.

Farce is not easy to perform. Actors need to have timing, energy and believability in their characters to make it work.

All the actors in Funny Money had this. My only gripe was that the play was a little long. There is only so much ‘confusion’ that an audience can take.

Ken Cotterill

Ginger Mick at Gallipoli

By Stuart Morritt from the poetry of C.J. Dennis. Director: Leo Bradley. Villanova Players. State High School, Yeronga, Brisbane. Jul 17 - Aug 2.

C.J. DENNIS’ book, The Moods of Ginger Mick, was the springboard for this piece of Australiana incorporating his original prose, songs of the period and images from the battlefront, using a bare stage, boxes, armchair, and props.

Young newcomer Travis Holmes was a perfect Ginger Mick - gauche and innocent yet displaying an innate inner strength. He could also sing and sing very well indeed. His first act closer “It’s a long way to Australia, it’s a long way to home” sung to the tune of “It’s a Long Way to Tipperary” had genuine and affecting pathos. It was a More Female Parts

By Sara Hardy. Directed by Lois Ellis. The Fairfax Studio, Arts portrayal of the character that resonated with a Centre Melbourne. Jun 30 - Jul 4. contemporary audience.

EVELYN Krape is an astoundingly fit, energetic and Gary McEwan as Bill was used almost as a narrator who generous performer with impeccable comic timing. More sat stage-left in an armchair and read Mick’s letters from Female Parts offers a wonderful opportunity to watch a real the front while the ensemble acted out the various scenarios with images on a screen behind the action. He tour de force performer who is well over sixty wow an audience. brought life to the laconic Bill and was moving reading Female Parts by Dario Fo and Franca Rame, as Mick’s final letter from the front. performed by Evelyn Krape from 1982, was one of those Ensemble player Michelle Malawkin did well as a nurse, amazing works of theatre that was highly regarded in its soldier and Rose, Mick’s better half, whilst chorus member era. More Female Parts is comprised of three stories of, and Amelia Burton prettily sang Sigmund Romberg’s “Will You Remember” (“Sweetheart”) from Maytime. perhaps for, women in their sixties.

Peter Pinne Krape does not disappoint she exudes energy and humour and her characterization and the way she conveys descriptive passages as events is fabulous. She is continually Wheeler’s Luck moving, always in the moment and reaching out to her

By Nigel Collins, Toby Leach and Damon Andrews. The audience.

Southside Players. Theatre Royal Backspace, Hobart. Aug 7 14.

After interval comes the real treat of the show, a fabulous fairy-tale where the gnome-like male has his day THE Southside Players’ Hobart version of Wheeler’s Luck and the heroine, unable to adequately make her mark in was a demonstration of good fun theatre showcasing the male dominated world of business, still manages to talented energetic actors, with an excellent script. Wheeler’s avoid the single sister’s dodgy fate of taking care of the Luck, written by Nigel Collins, Toby Leach and Damon aging parent. This narrative is delivered with great aplomb Andrews is a hilarious romp, with three actors, playing fifty and much style. characters, set in one town. Originally that town was called Particularly recommended for VCE students, most Bell End in New Zealand but the script has been reworked, particularly, for its beautifully integrated transformation of with permission from the writers, as Bell End in Tasmania. character and place and Krape’s superb physical theatre Director Gus Powers had fun with the universal theme: skills. And this work would surely be very popular with change and economic development, versus retaining a regional audiences. lifestyle based around the unique qualities and histories Suzanne Sandow valued in a community. With an almost non-existent set, and a bell and one prop, the three actors used their skill with character and accent changes to create a complex story. Craig Irons, Karissa Lane and Antony Talia successfully accomplished this, due to the narrative carried in the dialogue, and the actors’ ability to convey, with tiny nuances or big action, a character or scene change.

Hurray for actors with good voice projection - Karissa Lane can belt it out. Craig Irons does a nice line of miming a man on a motorbike, and Antony Talia had fun as the villain “mainlander”. The bareback horse race was sidesplittingly funny. Hurray for actors with energy, a sense of fun, terrific timing and teamwork. Hurray for the Get noticed on the Stage Whispers production team, especially sound and lighting. A website with a premium listing hilariously fun night of entertainment!

Merlene Abbott www.stagewhispers.com.au/directory-central

Stage Whispers Directory Premium listing: $20

84 Stage Whispers

Longer versions of many reviews can now be found at www.stagewhispers.com.au

Jesus Christ Superstar.

Schools On Stage

Jesus Christ Superstar

By Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice. Scotch College, Adelaide. Jul 29 - Aug 1.

MODERN and edgy, the Scotch College version of Jesus Christ Superstar references Rome and Jerusalem but is set in a place that has a distinctly ‘cold war’ feel. This is reflected in the military uniforms and the KGB-style actions and appearance of media mogul Caiaphus and his cohorts from media corporation, F.E.A.R. Under the guidance of Director Adam Goodburn, Choreographer Linda Williams and Musical Director Antony Hubmayer, the talented student performers and musicians create a seamless, dramatic, often funny yet ultimately poignant spectacle.

Ben Francis is becoming well-known in Adelaide as a fine young actor and singer and is brilliant in his role as Jesus. At least a match for Ben Francis is AFI awardnominated teen Tom Russell, who plays Judas Iscariot. His performance is insightful, mature and nuanced and his singing voice is very fine.

Some roles are double cast. Hannah Hamilton shares the role of Mary Magdalene, but on opening night it was Paris Anderson who was given the opportunity to shine as Mary.

The remaining Principals in the cast are excellent and the additional cast, all too many to name, form a perfect ensemble.

Unseen behind the video screen another excellent ensemble, this one of musicians, accompanies the cast in the iconic numbers that stamp Jesus Christ Superstar as an enduring rock opera.

Lesley Reed

My Fair Lady

By Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe. St Philip’s Christian College Newcastle. Civic Theatre, Newcastle. June 25 - 27.

PRODUCER-director Michael Cooper’s musicals at Newcastle’s 1500-seat Civic Theatre are always impressively staged, no small achievement given that they have cast members who are in their mid-teens.

Cooper is the drama teacher and theatre manager at Newcastle’s St Philip’s Christian College and stages at least one musical a year there.

The Civic Theatre productions are a once-in-two-years event and are invariably musicals that work best in large venues, with big casts, hundreds of costumes, and multiple sets.

This production was a gem, with the actors bringing to engaging life characters with a wide range of ages.

Brothers Lachlan Pickering, who was phonetics expert Professor Henry Higgins, and Hamish Pickering, as the older Colonel Pickering, made the two men delightfully competitive, and delivered a memorable The Rain in Spain with Hannah King’s Eliza in one of her tuition sessions.

The large-scale scenes, such as the ball which is the first social function the well-spoken Eliza attends, and the Covent Garden street-market sequences were colourfully full of life.

The orchestra, again comprising young musicians, likewise made a superb contribution, so that the definitive answer to the question in the song title Wouldn’t It Be Loverly? was, yes, indeed.

Ken Longworth

Longer versions of many reviews can now be found at www.stagewhispers.com.au

Stage Whispers 85

Choosing A Show: New Releases Hal Leonard Australia www.halleonard.com.au Harry Connick Jr.’s The Happy Elf Eubie the Elf is on a musical mission to bring Christmas cheer to a town on Santa’s naughty list.

The Happy Elf is a new musical comedy by Grammy Awardwinning and TONY Awardnominated composer and lyricist, Harry Connick, Jr. It tells the tale of Eubie the Elf, a lovable fellow who wants to spread Christmas joy throughout the town of Bluesville. Hoping to introduce a new generation of children to the joys of jazz, Connick has crafted a musical landscape against which Eubie’s story unfolds. Families will love this festive tale of overcoming adversity, friendship, the power of positivity and believing in yourself. http://bit.ly/1Ep0Wpe

ORiGiN™ Theatrical www.origintheatrical.com.au One Hour Young Performers’ Editions Wizard of Oz - Young Performers’ Edition.

By L. Frank Baum. Music and Lyrics by Harold Arlen and E.Y. Harburg.

The Young Performers’ Edition of The Wizard of Oz is specifically tailored for primary school and junior secondary school aged children.

Cast: 3F 4M. http://bit.ly/1Ep1R9a Crazy for You - Young Performers’ Edition.

Music and Lyrics by George Gershwin and Ira Gershwin Book by Ken Ludwig It’s a high-energy comedy which includes mistaken identity, plot twists, fabulous dance numbers and classic Gershwin music.

Cast: 5F 4M. http://bit.ly/1Ep1X0x

86 Stage Whispers September - October 2015

Anything Goes - Young Performers’ Edition... COMING SOON For all of the above.

Royalty: Flat fee of only A$180.00 per performance for schools and small youth group productions with a seating capacity of up to 300 seats.

New Plays Ladies in Lavender Adapted for the stage by Shaun McKenna; Based on the film written and directed by Charles Dance, from a short story by William J. Locke.

Cast: 2M 4F. Full Length Play, Drama.

Currently playing at The Ensemble in Sydney.

An evocative, heart-warming story of unfulfilled dreams and unrequited love.

When a handsome and talented young Polish violinist bound for America is washed ashore, the Widdington sisters take him under their wing and nurse him back to health.

New to ORiGiN from Playscripts Game Of Tiaras

By Don Zolidis Cast: 10M, 9F (or 15M or F). Full Length Play, Comedy.

Combining the gut-wrenching plot twists of Game of Thrones and the soul-numbing despair of Shakespearean tragedy, this adaptation of King Lear will leave you dying with laughter as the body count mounts. http://bit.ly/1Ep2eR9 Selfie

By Bradley Hayward Cast: 1M, 3F (or 4M or F). Short Play, Dramatic Comedy, Contemporary.

It’s senior year and problems are mounting for a group of high school students as they prepare for the future.

Facing bullies, parents, pressure, sickness, and their own self-judgement, the characters search for ways to stand out. http://bit.ly/1Ep2j7f

Superheroes

By Ian McWethy Choosing A Show Cast: 11M, 12F, 10M or F. Short Play, Comedy, Present Day, Contemporary.

Superheroes is a funny, fast-paced www.dominie.com.au/drama series of vignettes that explores Nick Hern Books how the caped crusaders deal with life in street clothes.

Feed The Beast http://bit.ly/1Ep1KKW

By Steve Thompson Cast: 5F 7M doubling (large cast possible) Set: can be simply staged Feed the Beast is a fiercely funny look at the rocky relations between our press and politicians in a world of spin doctors and Leveson www.davidspicer.com.au Inquiries. Michael is moving into 10 Motherhood the Musical Downing Street and there will be no

By Sue Fabisch charm offensives with this Prime Minister, not with a country to run.

Cast: 4F and chorus.

“Swung on to the Everest Theatre stage with all the love and laughter that one would expect from Sue Fabisch’s Remote insightful, tongue-in-cheek lyrics and foot-tapping

By Stef Smith rhythms.” Carol Wimmer Stage Whispers.

Cast: 4F 2M, 1F or M, non-speaking Having a baby is just the beginning…motherhood is for life. extras Set: Set in a park, with a tree you Four women share their insights, challenges and pleasures at a baby shower. You’ll get a peek into the powerful can climb friendship of Amy, a soon-to-be first-time mom; Brooke, a Over the course of one autumnal hard-working lawyer; Barb, a stressed-out mother of five; evening, seven teenagers’ lives and Tasha, a single mom seeking to balance work, her intertwine as they make their way through the park. And everything family and her divorce. that seemed normal becomes extraordinary.

A play about protest, power and protecting yourself, Remote was commissioned as part of the 2015 National Theatre Connections Festival and proved enormously popular.

Dominie Drama

David Spicer Productions

Australia Day

By Jonathan Biggins.

Cast: 4M 2F. “A charming comedy...full of up to date gags and finger on the pulse problems.” Sydney Morning Herald.

After several tours of duty as an Australia Day Ambassador in regional NSW Jonathan Biggins’ initial scepticism about celebrating the national day melted like a Lamington in the mid-day sun. It showed him the warmth, dedication and quiet patriotic pride of the organisers and the towns they served.

Currently touring Australia with HIT Productions.

The Veil

By Conor McPherson Cast: 5F 3M Set: Single built interior Set around a haunted house hemmed in by a restive, starving populace, The Veil weaves Ireland’s troubled colonial history into a transfixing story about the search for love, the transcendental and the circularity of time.

Comedies for Charity 100% ROYALTIES DONATED TO M.S. RESEARCH Raymond Hopkins lives in Oxfordshire, United Kingdom.

Following his daughter’s diagnosis with Multiple Sclerosis, in 1998 he started writing farcical popular comedies and donating his royalties to M S Research.

(Continued on page 88) www.stagewhispers.com.au Stage Whispers 87

(Continued from page 87)

Nine full length, farcical comedies including: Love Begins at Fifty, Looking for Love, The Love Nest, Love and Money, Love and Perfect Harmony, Love and Mistletoe, Make Time for Love.

Visit www.raymondhopkins.com for more information or Contact Dominie Drama for a free perusal script.

Judith Prior www.judithprior.com Cinderella Meets The Mother-in-law The Kempsey Singers have just completed the world premiere of Judith Prior’s new comedy Cinderella meets the Mother-in-law.

It’s about what happens when Prince Charming and Cinderella arrive back at the palace after their fairy-tale wedding.

The Mid Coast Observer wrote: “The audience left the theatre with huge grins etched onto their faces which surely would of lasted until the next morning.”

“A very entertaining night of light, feel-good comedy. The corny jokes and boom-tish one liners flowed freely.” http://bit.ly/1Ep2S0W

Maverick Musicals and Plays www.maverickmusicals.com Something’s going down - down in CREEPYTOWN!” Want to creep out your audiences? Here’s a new musical crawling with vampires, witches, zombies, werewolves -

great leads and plenty of chorus groups. When a shy, vegetarian vampire meets an adventurous, outgoing human, she sees a chance to realise her dreams of escaping her crazy vampire world and her monstrous parents.

Meeting at the dental clinic recently opened by Jane’s square and well-meaning parents, the two make plans to escape Creepytown forever!

With an 11-track original musical soundtrack, and great chorus opportunities, Creepytown is a fun and action packed show which is sure to bring the house down - not to mention sending your make-up department into a frenzy of creepy creativity! Visit the website for rights, online ordering, and free song, music and script samples.

Devon Williamson www.plays.co.nz ‘Twas the Fight Before Christmas Cast: 4F 2M Length: 2 Acts (110 minutes) Genre: Comedy Think your family is complicated?

Meet the most dysfunctional family you can imagine as they try to navigate Christmas. Peace on earth and good will to all men?

Not likely!

Ever since her husband died, Mary’s horrible adult children have been ruining Christmas. This year, with the help of a suicidal French psychiatrist, Mary is determined to take Christmas back.

JOIN THE CONVERSATION! Follow us on Twitter: www.twitter.com/stage_whispers Like us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/stagewhispers 88 Stage Whispers September - October 2015

Director’s Diary: The Who’s Tommy

Director’s Diary

The Who’s Tommy.

Jessica Lovelace directed Tommy for the Blue Mountains Musical Society inside the mega Leagues Club Panthers in western Sydney. She merged the best of music theatre with rock concert pizazz and stunning audio visuals to please any Pinball Wizard.

on texts that were controversial over a century ago), but performing a musical that deals with common issues that are experienced by families everywhere is suddenly off-limits. I realised quickly it was a hard show to get people excited about, from potential cast members to potential audiences. You see, Tommy features a 90 When my husband and partner in music theatre second song called ‘Fiddle About’ between a 10 year old crime and I looked around the EVAN Theatre, we knew a Tommy and his uncle. Spoiler alert: it’s not about the rock show suited this quintessential touring cover band uncle’s love of violins. venue.

Central to the somewhat convoluted plot of Tommy is We wanted to project close-ups of the performers on a mirror. It is the mirror through which Tommy witnesses massive screens, incorporate live tweeting, and light the the murder of his mother’s lover, and the main physical place up like a Christmas tree. The show to do that with representation of his trauma. In order to reflect (pun very was The Who’s Tommy. The poor reception meant tweet much intended) the themes of the show, our ‘mirror’ would be the screen. What better way to represent the seats were not worth the hassle, but aside from that technicality, the Tommy we imagined opened at YouTube generation?

Panthers.

His mother and lover would leave the camera I didn’t think twice about directing Tommy. I loved recording during their love-making session, but then his father would walk in. The camera would then catch the the music, the surreal plot, and the inherent aesthetic beauty in the writing. I’d listened to the music once and ensuing fight and murder, and Tommy would see this projected on the stage-sized screen. After many different the visuals had just fallen into place; it’s music that needs to be on a stage. But I soon found out it’s a show attempts at curing Tommy, his mother then discovers people are afraid of. the answer lies in smashing the mirror he has been bound to for so many years. In our production, she I would talk to potential cast members and they simply pulls the plug on the camera and the screen goes would say, “I read the Wikipedia page and it sounds a black for the first time. bit… you know…” As someone who came from the theatre world, I had forgotten the music theatre’s The decision to make ‘Smash The Mirror’ the first penchant for Disney and petticoats. Of course you can moment of blank screen meant we had forced ourselves be ‘edgy’ and do RENT or Spring Awakening (both based (Continued on page 90) www.stagewhispers.com.au Stage Whispers 89

Main and inset: The Who’s Tommy.

Director’s Diary

(Continued from page 89)

into having wall-to-wall AV content either side of it. The decision to introduce the onstage camera in ‘Twenty-One’ meant we had to have content other than live feed for the first few scenes which are packed full of exposition. And we were on a community theatre budget.

My husband Matt set out to teach himself how to make click tracks, and I set out to teach myself how to use Final Cut Pro beyond cross-fades.

With the help of our Technical Manager, Aubtin Namdar, we filmed the cast for eight hours one weekend. I edited this footage to sync up with the onstage action and at particular points, to intentionally NOT sync up (such as when Tommy is losing his sight and hearing).

I trawled YouTube for found footage that could be used to provide context for the story during the establishing scenes. I created social media accounts for all the lead characters and online newspaper pages so I could screenshot them and use them to flesh out the story of Tommy as a ‘Sensation’.

I enlisted the help of a graphic designer friend, Brad Roddy, to create the view of the pinball screens we would see when Tommy was playing Pinball on his smart phone, and other more graphic elements of the AV. 90 Stage Whispers September - October 2015

We set up three GoPros on the band (Drums, Keys, and Guitar), to highlight and star the band. And our poor camera operator, Adrian Hastings, had to come in at the very last minute and choreograph himself into the show to catch all of the moments that needed to be live.

We also made the decision to pre-record some dialogue and singing (particularly of the children because we didn’t know if we would be able to cast 4 Year Old and 10 Year Old Tommys who were both cute AND could hold a tune, and to play on the motif of the senses that is so clearly running through the show.

These tracks had to be manually triggered at times, and set to click track at other times. In hindsight, I have

no idea what I was taking that made me think we’d be able to pull any of this off. But we did.

When I was studying theatre, we could spend up to four hours teaching for each half hour of show time.

Every cue was precise and everyone knew what they needed to do during any minute of the show. But when you arrive at a venue on a Sunday, your closing night is the following Sunday and everyone involved works 9 to 5, the reality is often a 2.5 hour tech rehearsal for a 2.5 hour show.

And the director or stage manager meets the sound engineer and lighting operator for the first or second time on that Sunday. With all of the technical elements in Tommy, certainly more than I had experienced in a community show before, we were incredibly apprehensive going into production week. We were able to secure two three-hour technical rehearsals, so that we could spend a night on each act, which is a great luxury.

With a great deal of preparation, and the right people to work with, it can be done. When the cast have been drilled to work as a unit, to know their entrances and exits and their costume changes back to front, you’ve eliminated one technical element. Any special effects have already been drilled and handed over to the stage crew to manage. You have all of your paperwork prepared before production week - you’ve passed the mic plot and sound effects plot onto the sound engineer, you’ve got marked up scripts and cue sheets ready to go. If you, as a community theatre production team, have done every single piece of preparation that can be done, then you are creating an environment in which the contractors (whether their payment is insignificant or half your budget) can provide you with their best work. Like so many things in the theatre, in order to get that beautiful sense of improvisation and immediacy the audience craves, a huge amount of preparation is required.

Too often I see the comment that the ‘professionals’ are the ones letting the show down, but I seldom see this being an accurate reflection of the process. They’re coming in at the last minute. You have to hand them the show you have put your blood, sweat and tears into for months in a way that is clear, and achievable. We suffered two technical issues in the run. The first, we still don’t know what happened. A pre-recorded interview that the onstage Tommy was to lip-sync to played, but without sound. We checked everything, and I don’t think we’ll ever know what went wrong that day.

And the second was closing night. The show had started and there was nothing on the screen. No one had turned the projector on. And that’s just one of those things you have to laugh about. It was turned on 30 seconds into the show at an appropriate time and no audience member would be any wiser. Except for the director in the back row with steam coming out of her ears.

PERFORMING ARTS MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2015. VOLUME 24, NUMBER 5 ABN 71 129 358 710 ISSN 1321 5965

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LIMITED BACK COPIES AVAILABLE ADVERTISERS We accept no responsibility for material submitted that does not comply with the Trade Practices Act. CAST & CREW Editor: Neil Litchfield 0438 938 064 Sub-editor: David Spicer Advertising: Angela Thompson 03 9758 4522 Digital production: Phillip Tyson 0414 781 008 Contributors: Merlene Abbott, Brian Adamson, Sally AlrichSmythe, Joel Beskin, Cathy Bannister, Michael Brindley, Stephen Carnell, Rose Cooper, Kerry Cooper, Ken Cotterill, Coral Drouyn, Whitney Fitzsimmons, Graham Ford, Peter Gotting, Frank Hatherley, John P. Harvey, Shirley Jensen, Neil Litchfield, Ken Longworth, Rachel McGrath-Kerr, Roger McKenzie, Laney McLean, Benjamin Orchard, Alex Paige, Peter Pinne, Martin Portus, Lesley Reed, Suzanne Sandow, Kimberley Shaw, David Spicer, Emma Squires, Anthony Vawser, Carol Wimmer, Steve Wimmer and Maryann Wright. www.stagewhispers.com.au Stage Whispers 91

Musical Spice

Not Quite The Moment

David Spicer looks at why Jekyll and Hyde was “postponed”.

In April I had the pleasure of meeting composer Frank Wildhorn as he was auditioning hopefuls in Sydney for the planned Australian production of Jekyll and Hyde.

As I was waiting, I thumbed through a piano vocal score and had a sing along under my breath.

This is the moment!

This is the day, When I send all my doubts and demons On their way!

Every endeavor, I have made - ever Is coming into play, Is here and now - today!

Inside the rehearsal room I did a lovely interview, where Frank explained what inspired the song that has been recorded by many of the world’s greatest artists including Anthony Warlow, The Moody Blues and Sammy Davis Jr to name a few.

“The man is about to do something no one else has done in the world… and out of that discussion came the song,” he said.

“It was his inner passion. Telling you how you get to that moment. In musicals we sing because we can’t talk anymore.”

It was going to be a terrific article for our November December edition, coinciding with the opening of a sparkling new production in Melbourne.

Then came the shock announcement in July from the Gordon Frost Organisation and Opera Australia.

“With building interest from international co-producers and the incredible scale of the production now evident, the producers have made the decision to delay the Australian season to ensure that this most magnificent reimagining of Jekyll and Hyde is given the time required for both its 92 Stage Whispers September - October 2015

Australian Premiere and future international exposure.”

When producers announce that a production has been delayed or postponed it usually means that it is off.

The underlying reason more often than not is the same: that it has not sold enough tickets.

Stage Whispers can reveal that ticket sales were indeed disappointing for the opening planned for the Princess Theatre.

This came after considerable expense and preparation for a spectacular set by Gabriela Tylesova.

This was the third time a professional season had been called off in Australia. The piece remains very popular in other parts of the world, particularly Asia, and has done the rounds in community theatre in Australia.

There still is some hope that Jekyll and Hyde’s moment will come.

Opera Australia’s Lyndon Terracini told me in an exclusive interview that he loves the musical, but 25 years after it was first written it is still a work in progress.

“I think one of the reasons why it struggled in the past was because the book wasn’t really compatible with the music,” he said.

“Often the productions were half cooked. We certainly didn’t want to make that mistake again. So I think it was the right decision to re -gather and see how we go.

“It has been around for a long time but no one really did a lot of work on the book.

We have done that. I still think it needs more work before we put it out there. You only get one shot at these things.”

The launch featured Teddy Tahu Rhodes in the lead. He attracted some flack on social media for singing “This is the Moment” in a lower key.

Lyndon Terracini dismissed the critics as silly. He said apart from Anthony Warlow the song “has always been transposed”.

“Even though Teddy’s voice is very dark, he has a very wide range. We had one session on it. It was really fantastic.

If he sings it in that fashion, he will sing it better than anyone has ever sung it.”

Frank Wildhorn told me he is very disappointed, especially for the cast.

But there is hope. John Frost attended Frank’s wedding in Hawaii in July, which was crowded with producers, especially from Asia.

The talk is that the production might kick off the Opera House theatre when it re-opens after renovations in 2017.

So I have been instructed to keep my interview with Frank on ice until then.

Read scripts, listen to music and order free catalogue at:

www.davidspicer.com.au david@davidspicer.com (02) 9371 8458

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