Melbourne Observer - Wednesday, August 15, 2012 - Page 41
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Radio Confidential: Commericial awards .... Page 42 Music: Vale Fred Thomas .............................. Page 43 Jim and Aaron: Best DVD-film selections ............. Page 54 Cheryl Threadgold: Community Theatre ................... Page 55 PLUS THE LOVATT”S MEGA CROSSWORD The TV Times 8-Page Lift-out starts on Page 17
WONDERFUL WONDRETTES Di Rolle’s column ● From Page 10 Jof also had14 years with Channel 9 where he was partly responsible for the Grand Prix, domestic Cricket and various studio based shows, and organised broadcasts in countries including Kuwait, Kazakhstan, Qatar, Brazil, Argentina, Europe, China, Nauru, Malaysia, India and Sri Lanka, Portugal, Austria and Germany. Jof Jof has accepted a role as Senior Venue Technical Manager on World Cup 2014. This will see him manage six of the 12 venues spread out all over the fifth biggest land mass in the world. He will get to know some of the 30 airlines in Brazil. What is exciting about this whole journey is that it will be business as usual for Flip She will set up an office in their new home and run the muesli business from there via the internet and Skype. Her production manager and brand ambassadors will continue their good work in Victoria and she will concentrate on expanding her empire interstate and internationally. For little Harvey there is a fabulous international school nearby where Harve will hopefully attend pre-school. There he will meet kids from all over the world and of course from Rio itself. For lovers of the World Cup, which includes me at the top of the list, I am most interested to know some interesting stats about Rio de Janiero Rio de Janiero is home to 6.3 million people (Flip should be able to find a friend or two) and Maracanã Stadium, the world's largest football stadiums and the head office for HBS, responsible for the World Cup 2014. Rio is the most visited city in the southern hemisphere and is known for its natural settings, carnival, samba, Bossa Nova and beaches such as Barra da Tijuca, Copacabana, Ipanema and Leblon. Some of the most famous landmarks include the giant statue of Christ the Redeemer ('Cristo Redentor') on Corcovado mountain, named one of the New Seven Wonders of the World and Sugarloaf mountain (Pão de Açúcar) with its cable car. The neighborhood of Barra de Jicuca is home to BarraShopping, the largest mall in South America with nearly 700 stores, restaurants including an ‘Australian’ restaurant (kangaroo, anyone?), cinemas and bowling. I am definitely going to visit Flip! If anyone recently saw the series on SBS, Bite Me hosted by UK virologist Dr Mike Leahy, Brazil is home to some not-so-friendly creatures. From fire ants (which when they walk on your body make you feel like your skin is on fire) invisible worms; vampire bats which give you rabies; the legendary candiru fish, piranhas, caiman (Brazilian Crocodiles); anacondas; the world’s largest rodent called the capybara (which look like tall wombats – 50 cm high; a metre in length and weighing in at 50kg); the Brazilian wandering spiders (called so as they like to wander around –eek) have just popped up in the Guinness World Records 2012 as the world's most venomous spider. And then there are mosquitoes with Malaria, animals with rabies, plus yellow fever, typhoid, cholera and dengue fever. Maybe I am not going to visit Flip! Flip and her family will be living in Barra, as it is called, is known for its beaches, lakes and rivers, and those that live there are called Barristas! It is believed to be the safest of Rio's upper class neighborhoods due to its lack of favelas. Instead there are large mansions and luxury condos, which are supposedly the home of celebrities and soccer stars … and Flip and her family! Ironically Barra da Jijuca translates as ‘swamp sandbank’ which doesn’t sound particularly upper class. Described as ‘tropical’ the winter average is 23 degrees and the summer average is 28 but days over 40 degrees are common. Flip informs me they will no doubt be eating loads of Brazil nuts, pine nuts and Acai – all harvested from the Amazon which sounds amazing but is probably doing nothing for the jungle and or child labour. - Di Rolle
Long Way To The Top
● (From left) Angela Scundi, Karla Hillam, Erin Hermann, with (at front) Laruen Midgely as The Wonderettes - Cindy-Lou, Missy, Suzy and Betty-Jean, respectively. ■ Melbourne nostalgia fans will be tapping their feet and humming the songs of the 1950s and 60s, with show coming soon to Fortyfive Downstairs. The Marvellous Wonderettes is set at the 1958 Springfield High School Prom, and follows four girls with hopes and dreams as big as their petticoats. It shows off four of Melbourne's up-and-coming stars of the musical theatre scene, as Erin Hermann (Suzy), Karla Hillam (Missy), Lauren Midgely (Betty-Jean) and Angela Scundi (Cindy-Lou) sing their hearts out and invite the audience to their special prom night. The audience is also invited to get their prom photo taken for posterity. Created by Roger Bean and directed by Noah Sharwood, The Marvellous Wonderettes features iconic songs such as Lollipop, Dream Lover, Stupid Cupid, It's My Party and more of this genre. The show is being produced by new independent theatre company, Monster Media, which aims to produce high quality cutting edge theatre from Australia and around the world, and this Off-Broadway musical hit is an Australian premiere. The Marvellous Wonderettes is at Fortyfivedownstairs, 45 Flinders Lane from August 22 to September 1, Tuesday to Saturday at 8 pm and Sunday at 5pm. Bookings on 9662 9966 or www.fortyfivedownstairs.com - Julie Houghton
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Victorian College of the Arts (Collarts) students will present their ‘Collaboration’ showcase at the Bendigo Hotel, Collingwood, on Monday and Tuesday (Aug. 20-21). Tickets: $12. Doors open 7pm.
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Village Cinemas has announced that it has completed the installation of digital cinema projectors in each of its circuit’s 210 screens to become 100 per cent digital. This rollout represents one of the biggest changes and challenges to face cinema over the past 100 years, says publicist Helen Reizer.
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Jersey Boys is headed back to Melbourne for a strictly limited 14-week season this January 2013 . More details in the Observer over coming weeks.
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Today Show co-host Lisa Wilkinson made a number of stumbles when he was MC at an Olympic Garden Party in London, getting title designations wrong for Olympic oficials, and calling Australia ‘the yellow and gold’. Blame it on jetlag.
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Former school treacher Pat Hatherley, 82, nee Levy, planned to catch up with her former pupil Ernie Sigley when he performed at the Dorset Gardens last week.
■ One of the joys of my job is working with great people, talented and richly passionate people who love their craft. The cast rock legends of Long Way To The Top love their music and fit exactly what I have described perfectly. Much fun was had when shooting a story for Seven Network Sunday Night when the cast gathered at the Melbourne Fire Station to rehearse and set off on special truck to drive down the city streets of Melbourne. The story was to promote the show Long Way To The Top which will be on in Melbourne on Friday October 5 at Rod Laver Arena. Tickets available through Ticketmaster 132849. It’s going to be a big one! A re-broadcast of the original series is running on ABC2 on Sundays for the next five weeks. - Di Rolle
Twice As Nice ● From Page 9 Based on an episode from Cervante's well-known novel about Don Quixote, Victorian Opera teams with Black Hole Theatre to combine imaginative puppets and real opera singers to bring this opera to life. Spanish singer Carlos Barcenas takes on the role of Master Peter, with veteran Melbourne bass-baritone Ian Cousins as Don Quixote and recent RMP Aria winner Lotte Betts-Dean as The Boy. Elliott Carter's What Next? grabs the audience's atetnio immediately as a car crash, represented by a volley of percussion, starts the action. The story follows a group of people as they regain consciousness after an accidental, and they try to remember who they are and whether they think of themselves as survivors or victims. Impressive young soprano Jessica Aszodi leads the cast of Emily Bauer-Jones, Timothy Reynolds, Gary Rowley, Ireni Utley and youngsters Austin Haynes and Nicholas van Kerkhoven. Both operas are conducted by dynamic young conductor Daniel Carter and directed by highly respected director Nancy Black. Jessica is a graduate of Victorian Opera's Young Artist Program and is something of an expert when it comes to contemporary opera, and is passionate about performing new music. She has long been a fan of What Next? and is delighted to be performing in it. Jessica splits her time between performing in Australia and America, and after a series of Melbourne Symphony Orchestra concerts after What Next?, she will be returning to America for several singing engagements. Master Peter's Puppet Show and What Next? are at Elisabeth Murdoch Hall at Melbourne Recital Centre from tonight (Wed., Aug. 15) to Saturday (Aug. 22). Book at www.melbournerecital.com.au or call 9699 3333. - Julie Houghton