Melbourne Observer - Wednesday, February 19, 2014 - Page 31
e urn lbo Me
ver N ser IO Ob T C SE 3
www.MelbourneObserver.com.au
Observer Showbiz Every Week in the Melbourne Observer
Radio: Dead air on Nova 100 .................................... Page 32 Ex clusiv e: Green Room Nominations ........................ Page 33 Exclusiv clusive: Country Music: Rick Price goes on tour ........................ Page 32 Jim and Aar on: Reviews, Top 10 lists .................................... Page 36 Aaron: Cheryl Threadgold: Local theatre shows, auditions ........... Page 37 PL US THE LLO OVATT”S MEGA CRO PLUS CROSS SWORD
BRANDENBURG’S 25 YEARS Fat Tony & Co. debuts
● Debra Byrne as Judy Moran ■ Highly anticipated drama series Fat Tony & Co, based on the story of Australia’s drug baron, Tony Mokbel, premieres this Sunday (Feb, 23), at 8.40pm on Channel 9. The new production from Screentime, tells the story of Australia’s most-wanted man, from the day he quit cooking pizza in favour of cooking drugs, to the heyday of his $140 million drug empire, all the way through to his arrest in an Athens café and his 22-year sentence in Victoria’s maximum security prison. Robert Mammone stars as Tony Mokbel with Vince Colosimo as Alphonse Gangitano, Gyton Grantley as Carl Williams, Les Hill as Jason Moran, Madeleine West as Danielle McGuire, Simon Westaway as Mick Gatto, Debra Byrne as Judy Moran, Hollie Andrew as Roberta Williams, Jake Ryan as Mark Moran, Gerard Kennedy as Graham Kinniburgh and Kevin Harrington as Lewis Moran. Fat Tony & Co. also features Shane Jacobson, Stephen Curry, Steve Bastoni, Richard Cawthorne, Simone Kessell and Nicholas Bishop. Already a key player on the Australian drug scene in his own right, Fat Tony becomes more deeply embroiled in the underworld as he joins forces with up-and-coming drug dealer Carl Williams. He strikes an uneasy truce with the Carlton Crew, the territorial and dangerous royalty of the Melbourne underworld, even doing business from time to time with the Moran family. With his three brothers and Carl Williams, Tony expands his drug empire into a multi-million dollar industry, all the while investing his profits in honest bricks and mortar, determined to leave a legacy for the family and the city that he loves. However, the burning tension between Carl and the Carlton Crew is quickly devolving into all-out war – the Melbourne gangland war that would eventually claim some 30 lives. Tony is losing control of his well-ordered operation, and is finding it harder and harder to remain a neutral businessman. But Tony isn’t like other underworld figures - he always has a plan and an eye to the future, even when it seems like the police have closed every door to him. The ambition and drive that it took for Tony Mokbel to rise from a suburban milk bar owner to Australia’s most wanted man was matched only by the sheer determination of the police in their 10year battle to shut Fat Tony down. The Victorian and Federal Police undertook a marathon attempt to bring him to justice, spanning countless arrests, legal battles and the downfall of more than one corrupt officer. Fat Tony & Co. is the story of Tony Mokbel; how he grew entangled with the country’s most notorious underworld figures, how he built his massive fortune, and how he became a fugitive on a yacht bound for Greece, desperate to escape mounting criminal law battles.
Todd tours Vic. ■ If you only know Todd McKenney from his persona as the grumpy judge on Dancing With The Stars, you owe it to yourself to see him in action as an all singing, all dancing performer. Long before his television exposure, Todd was building a solid music theatre career in shows like 42nd Street where he had to be both a fabulous singer and tap dancer. But it was being cast as Peter Allen in the original Australian production of The Boy From Oz where he really hit his straps. Having seen Todd in both the original and the revival Boy From Oz shows,it seems he was born to bring Peter Allen to life. So it seems appropriate that in April he starts a tour right around Victoria and New South Wales as Todd McKenney Sings Peter Allen, though he promises the show will also include songs from his earlier musical theatre performances, and he will tell stories and anecdotes about Peter …as well as sharing the goss from Dancing With the Stars! Todd is a born entertainer, and in a move that Peter Allen would have approved, he starts the tour on Friday April 4 in Bendigo, then heads north to Mildura and arrives for his Melbourne show on Friday April 11 at The Palms At Crown, before heading north. www.toddmckenney.com.au or www.ticketek,com.au - Julie Houghton
● Paul Dyer ■ Maintaining musical longevity in a country far removed from European musical roots isn't easy, but the Australian Brandenburg Orchestra has managed to do that for 25 years. Specialising in the early Western musical masters like Bach, the Brandenburgs, as they are fondly known, also dip their collective toe into the 21st century with a special work written for them by contemporary composer Elena Kats-Chernin. Artistic director of the Australian Brandenburg Orchestra, Paul Dyer, was a post-graduate piano student at the Sydney Conservatorium with Kats-Chernin, and is delighted she has written a piece especially for his orchestra. "Elena is in seriously high demand around the world for her concert pieces, opera and theatre music. “Elena has written and epic and triumphant piece that gather momentum becoming bigger and bigger as it builds in excitement - like the story of the Brandenburg's! “The past 25 years have been a thrilling ride, showing no signs of slowing down,” Dyer says. Kats-Chernin's creation is called Prelude and Cube, which is described as a vivacious homage to Bach with a feeling of 'celebratory grandness'. The special 25th anniversary concert will also feature Bach's flamboyant Magnificat, and his Suite No 4 in D Major. Named after Bach's famous Brandenburg Concertos, what marks the Brandenburgs out from other orchestras is its focus on being a period instrument orchestra with gut strings, wooden flutes and valve-less natural horns and trumpets. Over 25 years the Brandenburgs have generated a large following of music lo lovers around the country. The Melbourne concert is on Saturday February 22 at 7pm with a repeat concert on Sunday, February 23 at 5pm. www.brandenburg.com.au - Julie Houghton
● Todd McKenney
Playlist at Kinfolk Cafe ■ Red Stitch presents PLAYlist for one night only on Friday, March 14 at 7pm at the donkey wheel house/ Kinfolk Café, 673 Bourke St, Melbourne (opposite Southern Cross Station). Each writer selects a love song, each love song inspires a playlet and each playlet is only as long as the song. Written by Dean Bryant, Melissa Bubnic, Cat Commander, Duncan Graham, Mareike Hardy, Fleur Kilpatrick, Dan Lee, Michele Lee, Ian Meadows, Joanna Murray-Smith, Natasha Picus, Tim Potter and Tim Rogers, PLAYlist will be performed by Red Stitch and special guests. In the extraordinary setting of donkey wheel house, Red Stitch invites you to an evening of play. Drinks and delicious Kinfolk food available throughout the night. Tickets: Earlybird $30 (limited), $40 Full/$25 Conc Bookings: www.redstitch.net - Cheryl Threadgold