Stage Whispers December 2022/January & February 2023 edition

In This Issue

A New Dream For Joseph 4 A new vision for the Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice favourite

A Tale Of Two Christmas Carols 10 Very different versions of Dickens’ classic in Sydney and Melbourne Theatre After COVID 19 13 Producers share their ongoing Box Office challenges Musical Theatre Dynasties 16 The show goes on for two multi generation theatre clans in Hairspray

Musicals In 2023 20 Lots of blockbuster revivals with a sprinkling of new shows

World Premiere Plays 30 New Australian plays debuting on our stages in 2023

Top Drama Comes Home 36 Australian Theatre Live introduces its new streaming service Cockatoo Carmen 38 Picturesque old prison and dockyard becomes Carmen’s new arena

Junior Theatre Festival 2022 42 School and youth musicals celebration in Newcastle Community Theatre In 2023 48 Seasons of plays and musicals across Australia in the coming year

Regular

Book Extract: Barracking For The Umpire The recent World Premiere play now available in print 40 Broadway Buzz 44 London Calling 45 Director’s Diary Tea Tree Players’ Arsenic And Old Lace 46

What’s On 60 Reviews 66

Musical Spice: The Wedding Show 76 apple.co/2FKh0cJ bit.ly/2NcB9r5

Editorial

Dear theatre goers and theatre doers, Community Theatre is in my blood, inherited from my grandmother, a stalwart of two Sydney musical societies in the 1920s and 1930s, first as a dancer and chorus member, then as a leading lady. That makes the Community Theatre Seasons feature my pet passion project for Stage Whispers each year. I hope you spot many shows there that you want to see, or, even better, be a part of.

Though theatre’s tribulations of the last few years aren’t totally behind us, an exciting year lies ahead on stage, with numerous Australian plays having their World Premiere seasons across the country. There are even two World Premiere Australian musicals, though our major commercial producers are mostly sticking to revivals of tried and true blockbusters in 2023, with just a sprinkling of new shows like Tina and & Juliet, as local and global box offices remain on tenuous ground.

Even behemoths like the Broadway production of The Phantom of the Opera have faltered, as we report in our Broadway column, with the record breaking Lloyd Webber musical closing in February after 35 years. Producers, from top impresarios to Community Theatre leaders, speak to David Spicer this edition about the challenges theatre at all levels still face.

So, entering the festive season, treat yourself, or your friends, to an evening or two of theatre, or gratuitous plug here a subscription to Stage Whispers!

Merry Christmas, and a happy and healthy New Year from all of us.

Yours in Theatre,

NeilLitchfield

Editor

GIVE THE GIFT OF STAGE WHISPERS THIS CHRISTMAS

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Cover image: Euan Fistrovic Doidge in Joseph And The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. Read David Spicer’s interview with Trevor Ashley (Pharoah in the Sydney production) and Paulini (The Narrator) on page 4. Photo: Daniel Boud.

stagewhispers.com.au Stage Whispers

Anna O’Byrne (The Mousetrap).

Ainsley Melham and Shubshri Kandiah (Cinderella).

Shane Jacobson (Hairspray).

Carmel Rodrigues and Rhonda Burchmore (Hairspray).

Cover Story

The new production of Joseph And The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat is a reinterpretation of the Andrew Lloyd Webber/Tim Rice musical through the eyes of children. David Spicer reports on how the influence of school musicals has shaped the production.

Euan Fistrovic Doidge, Paulini and the cast of Joseph And The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat

Photo: Daniel Boud.

If I close my eyes and draw back the curtain, I can still remember the moment I was on the stage in 1979 and about to sing ‘Close Every Door to Me’. I saw the school principal in one of the front rows close his eyes, preparing to enjoy my sweet pre puberty singing as Joseph in Epping West Public School’s annual musical. Alas, I struggled a little with one of the top notes and I still recall the principal opening his eyes abruptly at that very moment.

Kitted out in my coat of many colours, sewn lovingly from scraps of fabric my grandmother pulled together, I think that, overall, it was a fine effort for a twelve year old.

UK Director Laurence Connor now Andrew Lloyd Webber’s gun creative was inspired for his new production by children performing Joseph. That new version, produced at the London Palladium in 2021, is being replicated in Australia.

The set is a little bigger than what we used at our school. The epic design includes constellations of stars, a huge prison gate and the opulent court of

Pharaoh, King of Egypt. Props include a golden chariot, singing Egyptian statues and two camels.

A dazzling lighting design during the song ‘Joseph’s Coat’ sees colour changes that highlight different shades.

But it was a simpler production that inspired Connor.

“I saw a school production that made me laugh,” he told Michael Cathcart on the ABC’s Stage Show.

“The children were reluctant to play characters they did not want to play. Others struggled with their beards; this inspired me for this new production.

“Whilst my memory was of seeing a slick West End production, where everyone in the audience knew every song or sung it in primary school, I wanted to bring the child like quality of the music.”

The challenge for the director was how to make it both charming for children, yet also satisfying to an adult audience.

“I always thought it odd that whilst Joseph was the name of show, he seemed to be a character we observed,

rather than having the lion’s share of show.

“The Narrator sings the big tunes and a lot of the lyrics. So, when I cast it in London, I wanted The Narrator to have a big infectious personality and be the star of the show.

“In past productions The Narrator serves as a Sunday school teacher, reading the (biblical) story, whereas I wanted it to be a like a big sister or a fun character.”

The role of The Narrator in the Australian production is played by singer / actor Paulini. The Fijian born singer songwriter first rose to prominence on the inaugural series of Australian Idol

When I mentioned Laurence Connor’s concept of The Narrator as the star of the show, Paulini laughed. “Ha, ha! I wouldn’t say The Narrator is the star of the show, but I can understand why the others would draw this conclusion. The Narrator is obviously the storyteller and spends nearly every moment on stage. (Continued on page 6)

“I love that for the first time ever I’ve been able to express my personality, humour, and drama through this role.”

The vehicle for seeing the musical through new eyes is a children’s chorus.

“The Narrator leads and encourages the children to see it through their eyes. From that moment they become the eyes for the audience. It is very colourful. They play with toys such as camels,” said Connor.

The children’s chorus dip in and out of the musical, and occasionally become one of the characters.

“I think that without the children we wouldn’t have all the necessary elements to make it as educating, interesting and fun as it is,” said Paulini.

“This is the first time I have been a part of a musical that has some 32+ kids. These kids are always so excited to have been chosen and be a part of this musical. For some of them this is their first professional musical theatre appearance,” she said.

“I think because of this we all feel their energy. Every time they come out on stage they portray each individual character with such innocence, enthusiasm and colour. Let me tell you, they are like sponges; they take in absolutely everything and love to ask questions!”

Laurence Connor uses the device to smooth over some of the contrasting musical moments of the production.

First penned as a twenty minute concert for a posh London private school in 1968, Joseph has a pastiche of influences. They range from a French ballad, ‘Those Canaan Days’, to the country and western ‘One More Angel in Heaven’ and the calypso ‘Benjamin Calypso’.

“We can justify why suddenly Pharaoh breaks into rock n roll number,” he said, “because the children want it to be that way.”

Playing Pharoah in the Melbourne season is AFL personality Shane Crawford. Whilst Stage Whispers’ reviewer Jonathan Cox described Paulini’s performance as “a tour de force”, and Euan Fistrovic Doidge in the role of Joseph as “filled with joy and vivacity”, he described Crawford as “not a natural singer, [whilst] his acting and

Trevor Ashley will play Pharaoh in Sydney.

Shane Crawford as Pharaoh in Melbourne.

Photo: Daniel Boud.

dancing was up there with the rest of the cast.”

In late December Crawford’s place on the Melbourne stage will be taken for one week by the fabulous Trevor Ashley. He then takes 100% custody of the loin cloths during the season at Sydney’s Capitol Theatre from February.

“I grew up knowing all the words. I had the Jason Donovan recording from the 90s on cassette,” Ashley told Stage Whispers.

At the time he was disappointed that his school did not have a choir, as other choirs were invited to take part in

the professional season. Now he’s getting the chance to make up for that.

“In 2023 it is very important to celebrate people who are different. Joseph loved a rainbow coat. He interpreted dreams. It is about celebrating someone who is different.

“(As Pharoah) I get the rock’n’roll number. It is a very good cameo. I played Herod in J.C. Superstar. This is the Herod moment. And I get several encores.

“It is just so silly. I get to wear a gold frock. It is a pretty amazing entrance. The costumes are beautiful,“ said the excited Ashley, best known for his female impersonations in risqué adult pantomimes.

(Continued on page 8)

Online extras!

Take a walk down the rainbow carpet at the opening night of Joseph youtu.be/qc_L97HkSsI

Paulini plays The Narrator. Photo: Nguyen Dang.

Cover Story

(Continued from page 7)

He’s looking forward to a few on stage reunions.

“I met Paulini during the Schools Spectacular. She had just finished high school whilst I was the Assistant Musical Director. She was just a young girl called Paulini. She was 16. I was 19. Her song was so memorable.

“I also worked with Euan during 500 performances of Les Misérables.”

Paulini also has fond memories of the Schools Spectacular.

“Trevor Ashley is making me feel old! LOL! The thing I always remember about Trevor is that through his vibrant, flamboyant, and funny personality he was able to make every single person in a room feel comfortable in their own skin,” she said.

Her success since then has helped encourage others to participate in music theatre.

“If you love what you do every single day, success isn’t really at the forefront of your thoughts. Of course, I love that I can inspire not just people

from my background but everyone to participate and take every opportunity that arises.”

Trevor Ashley developed a love of good show tunes from his younger days and enthuses that Joseph is full of them.

“Most of the tunes are catchy. I don’t think there is a bad song. The musical started as a song cycle, then a university piece. It came prior to Jesus Christ Superstar that was so serious and epic.”

Ashley nominates ‘Close Every Door to Me’ and ‘Go, Go, Go Joseph’ as his favourite songs from the musical. He impressed me by being able to rattle off most of the colours listed in the song ‘Joseph’s Coat’

Laurence Connor has also worked with Andrew Lloyd Webber on his new musical Bad Cinderella.

“Recently I was working with Andrew on a new song. No one writes a melody like Andrew Lloyd Webber. You hear it once and will be humming it for hours. It glues itself to your senses.

“From his childhood he studied

theatre and musicals. He was a massive fan of Rodgers and Hammerstein.”

Whilst working with him, Connor realised that Lloyd Webber “is not writing a bunch of songs but building a musical construction from start to finish.

“When you suggest moving a song to a different place, he has to mechanically rethink everything, because he has written a composition, not just a bunch of pop songs.

“It is a journey. Some of the things he will suggest, I don’t always get but when you hear where he is going you think, wow, I did not like it at first now I love it.

“And Lloyd Webber chooses interesting subject matter, whether it is J.C. Superstar or Evita

“He would admit to some hits and misses but the hits are so massive they obliterate the misses.”

Indeed, Joseph very much fits the hit description. 20,000 schools and amateur theatres have staged the musical in front of 200 million people, including one particular Sydney primary school last century.

Joseph is on stage at Melbourne’s Regent Theatre until the end of January. It plays at the Capitol Theatre, Sydney from February 11. josephthemusical.com.au

Listen to more of Laurence Connor’s interview on The Stage Show. abc.net.au/radionational/programs/the stage show

Main image: Paulini and the cast of Joseph And The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat

Photo: Daniel Boud.

Inset below: David Spicer in costume (by Edith Weiss) as Joseph in 1979. Photo: Eve Spicer.

Charles Dickens relished the chance for public readings of A Christmas Carol, and thousands would flock to hear him. In the UK and US, he would perform staged readings, enthralling audiences with his accents, gestures and expressions. Pasting the pages of a copy of the novella into a scrap book, he left spaces in the margins for notes about stage directions, deleting and adding text along the way.

180 years later, new interpretations of A Christmas Carol are playing on stage at the Comedy Theatre in Melbourne and Sydney’s Ensemble Theatre. One is a remount of the Old Vic production and the other a fresh adaption by Hilary Bell.

The Old Vic company’s Artistic Director Matthew Warchus commissioned a new adaptation that has been revived six times, with its New York outing winning 5 Tony Awards.

Charles Dickens had a blank stage and a book to read from as his only prop for his live presentations of the story. By contrast, the director of the Melbourne season, Jamie Manton, describes the OId Vic production as literally having all the bells and whistles.

“The show is littered with Christmas carols and members of the company play handbells. It is a joyous production with snow falling, turkeys descending on bit lines and Brussel Sprouts on parachutes,” he said.

Each year the Old Vic Theatre in London is rearranged for the annual production that includes a catwalk built down the middle of venue, which has been replicated in Melbourne’s Comedy Theatre.

“The intention is to represent the crossroads in a man’s life, giving him the opportunity to change his path. Above the stage is a row of lanterns. This is all about darkness turning to light. We use about 500 lanterns.”

A hit when it was first published in 1843, Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol shows no sign of slowing down. Major productions are currently on stage in Melbourne and Sydney, starring David Wenham and John Bell as Scrooge. David Spicer speaks to the stars and creatives.

David Wenham in GWB

Entertainment’s A Christmas Carol Photo: Jeff Busby.

The writer of the adaptation playing in Sydney, Hilary Bell, has the compact Ensemble Theatre and a cast of five to work with, but is keeping the cast just as busy as Charles Dickens was at his recitals.

“Nobody gets a moment’s rest! John [Bell] as Scrooge never leaves the stage; the others play numerous characters as well as handling narration, singing, playing musical instruments, puppeteering, transforming the set and creating a sonic world, [with] an almost constant underscore [of music].”

Hilary Bell believes that classics need updating

“The point of theatre is to cut through to the truth of audiences’ experience, which in the case of adaptations means blowing away their expectations of the classic. As soon as they get too comfortable with it, they stop listening.

“They need to recognise themselves and their world in the story being told, so updates, whether in the language, the design, music, or any other element, can be helpful in achieving this.”

Hilary is using the Crummles Family Theatrical Troupe, which she has borrowed from Nicholas Nickleby, as a ‘framing device’ The audience is invited into their home for a Christmas entertainment, where they are part of Dickens’ world.

“Once we enter the play proper, we find Bob Cratchit on a laptop and Scrooge in a suit, yet the language remains Dickensian. Our aim is to cut through the layers of Disneyesque sentimentality that have accrued over time to make the characters and concerns urgent and immediate.

“Dickens tells the story in a fluid, almost cinematic way, and I’ve kept that we are swept across space and time in a twinkling via words, images, and music.”

Hilary wrote the adaption tailored for her father John Bell Australia’s foremost Shakespearean actor and director now aged 81.

“We wanted a Scrooge who is recognisable in 2022 Sydney, someone with a heart of stone and an endless font of self justification. There are plenty of role models just turn on Sky News. John brings so much to the role: his incredible acting chops, his fierce intelligence, his sense of humour and sense of play, his ability to make thoughts clear and words ring.”

John Bell finds the character of Scrooge relatable.

“I can relate to someone who, nearing the end of his life, looks back and tallies his mistakes and resolves that it’s never too late to change,” he said.

“I have met a lot of very generous people in my time, and also quite a few who could give a lot more to the

community but prefer to shut their eyes and ears to the needy around them.

“There is a growing inequality in many countries, including Australia, between those who have barely enough to survive and those who have more than they need … Dickens draws our attention to this and encourages generosity and compassion.

“Hilary’s adaptation is taut and witty and leans into Dickens’ social conscience. The music is original, avoids pastiche, but gives us a whiff of Victorian Music Hall.”

I could not resist the opportunity to ask John Bell what he thinks Dickens and Shakespeare have in common?

“They both cover the full spectrum of society are concerned about justice and morality. Shakespeare explores in greater depth man’s capacity for evil and is never sentimental, as Dickens can sometimes be, especially in his portrayal of women.”

As it happens, A Christmas Carol references Hamlet in the first few pages.

“Yes, Dickens was a huge fan of Shakespeare and was inspired by him to employ a large canvas as well as injecting comedy into tragic situations.”

And what does he think are the big differences between the two writers?

“If (Shakespeare) was writing a tragedy, Scrooge would have destroyed himself, but in his final plays, Shakespeare finds redemption for everyone.”

Jamie Manton agrees that adaptations of classics need to reflect the time in which they are seen.

“Everyone has a version they are fond of. It’s important to take a fresh look to make it feel current,” he said.

The Old Vic production was written by Jack Thorne.

“The intention was to create a pub theatre type production where we are looking at the actors on stage to reflect on the human story, rather than going for a twee pretty Victorian set and windows. Jack’s adaptation has Scrooge front and centre of the story, with the ensemble of actors playing the rest of characters and narration. You get this sense of company and community which is beautiful,” said Manton.

“It has an incredible story of a man’s journey to enlightenment and redemption. A great line is ‘there is hope on any trajectory’.”

In the Melbourne season Debra Lawrance plays The Ghost of Christmas Past. Her character is the first of three ghosts to haunt Ebenezer Scrooge, to shake him out of his miserable existence and ‘Bah Humbug’ scepticism about Christmas rituals.

The former Home and Away actress said she grew up reading and studying Dickens at school.

The

Victorian

“Dickens was obviously a compassionate man. In his time of the 19th century, he shone a light on (the plight of the) working class, child labour and kids being worked to death. Dickens’ serialised stories educated people without them knowing it,” she said.

She likens the three ghosts of Christmas to Scrooge’s subconscious.

“If Scrooge was having a dream and feeling guilty about his life, he would dream these things. I see a good part of Scrooge showing him what (good deeds) he has done and his first love. The entertainment is his reluctance to take this on board.”

The next visit, from The Ghost of Christmas Present, does not shake him either until a vision of The Ghost of Christmas Future, who paints a picture of a miserable death, spurs his transformation.

Lawrance said she loves the beautiful use of language in the adaptation and is relishing having to sing and dance on stage for first time since drama school, as well as learning to play handbells.

The seasons of both plays run a little past Christmas.

John Bell says of his daughter, “Hilary has always been kindness itself, and Christmas wouldn’t be Christmas without her.”

Hilary also reflects on what she loves about Christmas Day.

“We sometimes follow the Polish tradition from my mother’s side, of presents on Christmas Eve. Sometimes there’s a living room concert, where everyone performs flute, saxophone, ukulele, songs, jokes, creaky old vaudeville routines. A tree, a swim, and a big lunch for friends and family.”

Online extras!

Hilary

(Continued from page 11)

A Christmas Carol at the Ensemble Theatre is on stage until December 30. ensemble.com.au

A Christmas Carol plays at the Comedy Theatre Melbourne until December 29. christmascarolaustralia.com.au

Canberra Theatre is hosting shake & stir’s acclaimed production of A Christmas Carol from December 20 to 24. canberratheatrecentre.com.au

Opera presents an operatic version of A Christmas Carol by composer Graeme Koehne and writer Anna Goldsworthy at the Palais Theatre, St Kilda from December 14 to 17. victorianopera.com.au

Melbourne Theatre Company will stage A Very Jewish Christmas Carol from November 14, 2023. mtc.com.au

Bell discusses her adaptation of A Christmas Carol starring her father. youtu.be/hTjvYVoIIww

John Bell in Ensemble’s A Christmas Carol

Photo: Christian Trinder.

Theatre After COVID-19

The pandemic may be slowing, but the Performing Arts sector is still struggling. In a world wide trend, ticket sales are down by as much as 30 percent and audiences are booking later. David Spicer spoke to producers, large and small, about the many ways theatre has changed.

It’s a perfect storm of trouble says David Ian, the London based co executive producer from the conglomerate Crossroads Live. In Australia for the opening of the musical Cinderella, he rued that show business is “as hard as it has ever been”.

“There are not enough people coming, ticket prices are not being achieved, yet costs of putting on a show have gone through the roof,” he said. “I do not know of a theatre district in the world which is not suffering.”

On Broadway, aggregate ticket sales are well down on pre COVID 19 levels, with more than a dozen theatres dark.

The North American Co Executive Officer Daniel Miller shared the gloom.

“Historically, this is an industry, if you look at 20 years of audience figures on the West End or Broadway, even through 9/11, financial crises, recessions the box office in those markets ticked up every year.

“Right up to COVID 19 there was 20 years of line ups. This is an industry that is traditionally very resilient to difficult economic circumstances. This is unprecedented.”

Shows to announce that they are closing on Broadway within a few months include The Phantom of the Opera, Dear Evan Hansen, Come from Away, Beetlejuice and The Music Man.

The Australian leader of the company is John Frost, producer of touring productions including Hairspray, The Mousetrap, 9 to 5 and Cinderella

“The big problem is that not enough people are coming back, or they are coming back slower. But when they get here, they are having a good time.

“I’d love to produce more serious stuff, but the public doesn’t want gloom and doom more Hairspray and not [shows like] Jagged Little Pill.”

Overall, John Frost said sales are down up to thirty percent, with Sydney, normally the hardest place to sell tickets doing well, and Brisbane and Adelaide OK, but Melbourne a big struggle.

According to a study released by the Australia Council on ticket sales nationally, a greater proportion of

The cast, creatives and producers of Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Cinderella with visiting dignitaries

Online extras!

youtu.be/dVM5JQqVR0A

(Continued from page 13)

audiences are attending events, but they are doing so less frequently than before the pandemic.

The audience outlook report found that in October three quarters (75%) of people attended a cultural event (up from 70% in March). However, the frequency of attendance was lower (22%) than prior to the pandemic (39%).

David Ian believes there is a structural change to audience behaviour.

“People have got used to working from home, which means they are not coming into the city, especially during the mid week when they would go to theatre or a restaurant of an evening.”

Melbourne Theatre Company has also noted a move away from subscriptions to single purchase ticket sales.

Co CEO Virginia Lovett told Stage Whispers that audiences are “certainly returning but still probably 20% lower than pre COVID 19. We are hoping for continuing consumer confidence to return.”

Helping to make up for fewer subscriptions are last minute bookers which she says, “have increased by about 15%.”

The next challenge facing the Performing Arts is inflation and rising interest rates. The Australia Council report found that financial reasons are now the top barrier to attendance. Price sensitivities have increased for 4 in 10 audience members, up from 2 in 10 in August.

Ms Lovett said it is too early to tell what the impact of the rising cost of living will be.

“It will certainly present headwinds … maybe not an iceberg. Our data over years through other financial crises have shown people continue to stay connected with their favourite companies. It may pose more of a problem in the single ticket market.”

Another trend that has emerged is that audiences are buying their tickets later.

Daniel Miller says there are a “whole raft of new shows coming to Broadway on short advances. We would love to get people booking well in advance. That would make our jobs more comfortable.”

In some cases, theatre companies are choosing to cancel productions because of the late booking phenomenon.

On the Gold Coast during September three major community theatre productions in large venues were called off due to poor early ticket sales.

The administrator of CLOC Musical Theatre in Melbourne, Sandra Davies, said companies should hold their nerve.

“Our ticket sales are still strong, but the pattern has changed. We have a strong preferential mailing list. Previously we would sell the bulk of our tickets during this period. Now people are waiting for one or two weeks before the show starts to buy tickets,” she said. “People still want to see shows, but there’s a hangover of fear that they might get sick.”

CLOC’s Jersey Boys.

Photo: Ben Fon.

Join Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons in CLOC’s Jersey Boys. Scan or visit

The company addresses this by offering refunds and transfers to other performances if audience members fall ill.

Another Melbourne community theatre company producer, Marcus Cassidy Anderson, from the Williamstown Musical Theatre Company, noted that that after a tough few years, “he’d forgotten how to do a show.”

But he said that 2022 is getting easier.

“We did Mamma Mia! in May and were constantly having to make COVID 19 casting changes. We did not have a full cast until the second week of the production, whereas during our [end of year] season of Sweeney Todd we did not have one COVID 19 case.”

According to the Australia Council, the proportion of audience members staying away from theatre because of COVID 19 is slowly declining. In October 38% nominated the pandemic as a significant barrier compared to 52% in March.

However professional theatre companies are still having to wear the cost of employing extra cast.

MTC’s Virginia Lovett said that “now that we are operating to full capacity, we still maintain COVID 19 bubbles in the short term for cast, creatives, and production teams to mitigate risk and keep the shows on. We are also employing covers to ensure we can maintain seasons.”

But John Frost said, “we used to have to engage three or four cast members sitting in the dressing room waiting for someone to get COVID 19. It is not so bad anymore.”

One area of the industry which is now booming is technical support. Companies providing sound and light services are extremely busy.

John McKissock from Clearlight Shows imports theatre lighting into Australia.

“Our rental business went to zero within 10 days of the lockdown in March 2020 and remained that way for 18 months,” he said. “Demand has now returned, and we are busy in all areas of the company again, so that is great.”

He describes the business as a bit of a juggle.

“Staff shortage is a big issue. We have good quality products and have stock, so I am positive about 2023 but these are strange times we live in, and I am still being cautious not to over commit.”

John Frost is optimistic the industry will eventually recover to pre pandemic levels.

“We’ve seen this happen before. We’ll get through this,” he said.

But he expects to be conservative with the choice of musicals he produces for a while yet, even talking about bringing back Annie and Grease

“It’s like a new restaurant on the corner and thinking, maybe I won’t try that; I will go to the one I like, because I know the spaghetti is great and it makes me feel comfortable.

“New shows will come out of New York and London, and hopefully we will part of it. I don’t think it will happen in the next 12 months. We have hard work to get through first.”

John McKissock (left) from Clearlight Shows at Entech Roadshow.

Musical Theatre Dynasties

Coral Drouyn looks at two great Australian theatre families, proving that ‘the show must go on’ across the generations. Current members of both dynasties have been brought together in the touring production of Hairspray.

Theatre creates memories for all of us, and they stay with us for years, often decades. But sometimes those memories don’t take place on stage, but rather backstage. Many of mine are to do with my family and being a child in dressing rooms right back to the late 1940s, but two such memories happened in Australia and will stay with me forever.

Mid 1965. The buzz was all about Hello, Dolly!, playing at Her Majesty’s Theatre (long gone) in Sydney. It was a time when the “leads” were automatically imported to star in local productions. It was inconceivable to American producers that an audience would want to see local actors. We just weren’t that good in their eyes.

The few stars we did have were forced to go overseas, make their mark (usually in the West End) and then be imported back into Australia. The sad thing is that not only did we accept that, but we were also resigned to it. And so, we hoped for the great Carol Channing herself to play the role she had created. After all, Australia was only the second production of the musical anywhere, straight from Broadway. Instead, we got a Carole with an ‘e’ Carole Cook (Carole who?) whose great claim to fame was that she was only the second woman to play Dolly Levi. It was a stunning production, but it wasn’t the imported stars we remembered, it was the local cast headed by the

luminous Jill Perryman as Irene Molloy. As Carole Cook’s understudy she often deputised as Dolly, going on to become the undisputed queen of musical theatre for two decades, alternating with the astonishing Nancye Hayes, who was actually understudy to Jill’s role of Irene Molloy.

I remember being backstage in Jill’s dressing room after the show. It was late in the run and word was out that Jill would star in Funny Girl the following year, the show that had made Barbra Streisand a household name. Jill was taking her makeup off and I said naively that this would surely make her a big international star.

I clearly remember her reflection in the mirror, mascara and Leichner smeared on her face, as she answered. “There are no stars in Australia. The best we can hope for is to keep working.” She had

Mackenzie Dunn and Donna Lee in Hairspray

Photo: Jeff Busby.

no idea of the profound effect that moment would have on me.

Flash forward 57 years, and Hairspray is the huge hit for 2022, a musical set in the 1960s when Miss Perryman’s star ascended. There is the amazing Shane Jacobson, in drag as Edna Turnblad, wearing the same necklace that Jill wore when she finally got her turn to play Dolly Levi and bring the house down! And in the cast is Jill’s grand daughter, Mackenzie Dunn, as Penny Pingleton. It’s not Mackenzie’s first major role. Graduating from WAAPA, she immediately joined the cast of Jersey Boys and swiftly added a slew of major roles in shows like Ragtime, A Chorus Line and Thoroughly Modern Millie. She even got to create the lead role of Sophie Parker in the workshop of a new Australian musical, WAGS. And though Mackenzie never got to see her grandmother on stage, Jill Perryman did get to see her, as well as her mother, actress Trudy Dunn, ‘tread the boards’.

The second memory I have is of another theatre icon the late, great

Gloria Dawn. It’s hard to describe Gloria Dawn to anyone who hasn’t seen her. She started as a variety and revue performer, and only had to set foot on a stage to own it completely. She was fourth generation Show Biz and there was absolutely nothing she didn’t know about timing or connecting with an audience. It’s an understatement to say she was awe inspiring, and yet, before she even turned fifty, she was gone, leaving a legacy of great performances.

Gloria was what we now call an old school pro’. There was no ego and she lived by the adage that ‘the show must go on’. Even when she was terminally ill, she still owned the stage as Mama Rose in Gypsy, receiving a standing ovation every performance. I was in awe of her talent when I first saw her in a Phillip Street Revue, A Cup of Tea, A Bex,

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Online extras!

Donna Lee guest stars on her mother Gloria Dawn’s TV special Gloria youtu.be/75jPDsuwZhQ

Gloria Dawn.

and a Good Lie Down, in Sydney just a few short weeks after my encounter with Jill. She had blown me away with a song called ‘The 51st State’, about the Americanisation of Australia, and yet here she was, in the dressing room, in fluffy mule slippers, knitting between the matinee and the night show.

She was down to earth and embracing; not a star, just a pro’ doing her job. It reminded me so much of my grandmother, who terrorised English stage managers into letting her have a cooking ring in the dressing room so she could cook ‘tea’ for my grandad on matinee days (breakfast was always at lunch time).

Jill and Gloria were two megastars who never understood their power but recognised the greatness in each other. Jill used to call them a “mutual admiration society” and yet it seems they only appeared together once on the ABC’s Jill Perryman Show

Though they never appeared in a musical together (what a meal they would have made of Chicago if the timing had been right), they shared upbringings that were similar. Both came from Show Business

backgrounds. Jill’s father was an actor, her mother a singer and a stage mother who pushed both Jill and her sister Diana (a noted actress) to go after the success she herself never quite managed. In truth, the two girls didn’t take much pushing; neither wanted to do anything else.

Gloria’s grandparents were travelling carnival people known as Carny People adjusting their act to the different states and territories they toured working with elephants, camels and whatever else was thrown in their path.

Her parents were vaudeville or, as we called them, variety performers. And while Jill started performing as a child, at the age of 3 Gloria was already touring with her parents’ act, and, by the age of 12, she was a child star at the Tivoli theatres. Both married fellow performers and had children who went into show business. And that brings us back to Hairspray again.

Gloria’s daughter, award winning musical performer and cabaret artist Donna Lee, is also part of the cast of Hairspray and, in a curious quirk of fate, she actually plays Mackenzie Dunn’s mother in the show and it gets more bizarre. Donna has played

on stage opposite Mackenzie’s mother Jill’s daughter Trudy. Show biz really is a small world.

But while Mackenzie’s childhood was stable, mostly normal, and travelled a path through a prestigious performing arts academy, Donna’s was the stuff of fairy tales, or perhaps nightmares. Between major shows, Gloria would revert to her carny roots. Tent shows were a part of show biz tradition in the first half of last century. Even when they were replaced by RSLs and Mechanics Institutes, Gloria and her juggler husband would hook up the caravan, pile the kids inside and go touring town to town, state by state.

“I never went to a regular school,” Donna tells me. “Mum and Dad would enrol me in a different school every week usually just for the week. I was either a genius or a complete dunce, depending on what state we were in at the time. People don’t believe it. It sounds too crazy.”

I believe her because my childhood mirrors hers, except that touring in a caravan in English winters wasn’t half as much fun as touring the outback there were times we almost froze.

It was inevitable that Donna would follow her Mum into the

Jill Perryman. Jill Perryman performing songs from Funny Girl

‘Business’.

“I really didn’t know anything else, and it was just assumed I would follow. Learning acrobatics and dance steps were part of everyday fun, especially since we didn’t have television,” Donna explains.

“I remember the very first time I saw mum on stage. I knew that’s what she and dad did, but it didn’t make much impression. Then I saw her in panto I think it was Babes in the Wood at the Tivoli. I was standing in the wings, and suddenly she wasn’t my mum. She was this golden creature in tights with lights shining on her and people laughing and clapping, and I thought, I want to do THAT!”

Later Donna feels she was perhaps held back because of being Gloria’s daughter. There was always that comparison that she was Gloria’s …

but she wasn’t Gloria, despite winning multiple awards in her own right.

Mackenzie never had to endure the comparisons.

“I knew my Gran had been famous,” she says, “and I’d heard recordings of her, but I wish I could have seen her on stage, just once. I’m told that when I was born, she came straight from the theatre and playing Dolly, still in full makeup and with her wig on. I hate that I’m too young to remember that. What I do remember is how she encouraged me. I think I’m more ambitious than she was. Like you said, she was happy to be working, and didn’t have huge expectations. But to me she is legendary for how she loved her family. That’s always been the most important thing I remember from my childhood. But I do google and chase

every snippet I can find of her performing live.”

Hairspray has brought two dynasties together and, much like the Redgraves and the Foxes in Britain, the talent is what keeps the legends of the past relevant in the present, even though the names are forgotten by most.

Donna tells me that every night on stage, two of the kids from the ensemble help her down the stairs for her applause in the finale.

One night, after the curtain, they asked her if she was aware of what she said each night. Donna assumed that she said ‘thankyou’.

But instead they corrected her, “No, every night as you go to take your call you say to us ‘Aren’t we lucky?’ ”

And yes, indeed we are.

Donna Lee (right), with the cast of Hairspray Donna Lee.

Mackenzie Dunn.

Musicals In 2023

Blockbuster revivals are set to dominate in 2023 as producers play it safe with popular titles. We survey the year ahead.

Tina is a celebration of an unstoppable woman the queen of rock ‘n’ roll. youtu.be/qcMON_2NRr8

Aisha Jawando in the West End production of Tina The Tina Turner Musical.

Photo: Manuel Harlan.

Nationwide

Joseph And The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat

Way way back, many decades ago, young Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice teamed up for a pop cantata for a prep school. Between 1968 and 1984 the musical was expanded and developed.

The latest production from the London Palladium, which opened in Melbourne during November, celebrates the mix of musical styles including jazz, pop, rockabilly and even the Can Can.

Expect lots of colours, from red and yellow to green and brown etc., with sets ranging from the desert hues of Canaan to the blingy modern surfaces of the Pharaoh’s palace in Egypt.

The energetic dancing is led by triple threat Euan Fistrovic Doidge as Joseph, alongside Paulini as The Narrator. Trevor Ashley is set to steal

the show in his cameo as Pharoah when the show lands in Sydney.

Playing at the Regent Theatre, Melbourne during December and January, then the Capitol Theatre, Sydney from February 11. josephthemusical.com.au

Tina The Tina Turner Musical

When Tina Turner was first asked for permission to use her songs for a musical, she said no. Thankfully she warmed to the idea because not only does she have a spectacular back catalogue of songs, but her life story is remarkable.

As per the lyrics to Nutbush City Limits, she was raised in a backwater town in Tennessee on Highway Number Nineteen, which did not have much more than a church house, gin house, schoolhouse, and an outhouse.

Tina Turner defied age, gender and race to become a global success. On Broadway, Tina ran either side of the pandemic for just over a year, getting the thumbs up from critics for

its experience as simply the best rock concert.

Opening at the Theatre Royal, Sydney in May. tinathemusical.com.au

& Juliet

This new jukebox musical features songs penned by writer Max Martin, the wizard behind glittering chartbusters performed by Britney Spears, Backstreet Boys, Katy Perry and more.

The musical poses the question, what if Juliet’s end was actually a new beginning? Shakespeare is persuaded by his wife Anne Hathaway to change Romeo and Juliet’s ending.

Juliet goes on a wild trip from Verona to Paris with Anne, May and Nurse.

An unlikely love triangle unfurls and (spoiler alert) Romeo miraculously comes back to life.

Time Out said, “The plot is fun provided you refuse to take any of

Euan Fistrovic Doidge and the cast of Joseph And The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat

Photo: Daniel Boud.

what happens seriously. It’s basically Romeo & Juliet rewritten into a sort of woke panto.”

At the Regent Theatre, Melbourne from February. marrinergroup.com.au

Beauty And The Beast

Shubshri Kandiah has grabbed the mantle of Australia’s leading lady by scoring the role of Belle in the new production of Disney’s Beauty and the Beast, hot on the heels of her leads in Cinderella and Aladdin. In the hit musical she will attempt to tame the Beast, played by Brendan Xavier.

Beauty and the Beast was the first Disney venture onto Broadway, where it ran for 13 years.

Famous for its beautiful sets and props, the production has been given a digital refresh with 3D sets and a tunnel of night blossoming pink roses.

Broadway World described it as “a cinematic experience with a colossal wow factor in its visual aspects. Projections, shadow play, a mechanically impressive set, and gorgeous dance numbers deliver a stunning show where delicate music box moments sit alongside large musical ones.”

Playing at the Capitol Theatre Sydney from June. beautyandthebeastmusical.com.au

Lady Day At Emerson’s Bar & Grill

Zahra Newman plays Billie Holiday. It’s 1959, in a bar in South Philadelphia. The production is crafted as a woozy late night concert in a rundown venue, which is one of Billie Holiday’s legendary last performances.

As she sings her set (’Tain’t Nobody’s Biz ness If I Do’, ‘Strange Fruit’, ‘What A Little Moonlight Can Do’, ‘Easy Livin’’, ‘God Bless The Child’, and more) she shares the story of her life a bit risqué, humorous, political, ecstatic, tragic.

The Hollywood Reporter described the production as having “salty humour, joy, bitterness and plummeting despair, that sense of suffering as a constant companion permeates and elevates Lanie Robertson's slender yet affecting bio play with music.”

A co production between State Theatre Company South Australia (August), Belvoir Street Theatre, Sydney (September) and Melbourne Theatre Company (October). statetheatrecompany.com.au

Come From Away

“From the moment the strongly Celtic influenced music starts and the cast take the stage, singing ‘Welcome To The Rock’, with appropriate Irish foot stomping, you know you are in for something special,” wrote Stage Whispers’ reviewer Coral Drouyn.

“It is impossible not to be moved by the extraordinary story of the 38 planes that had to be diverted from Mainland USA to Gander in Newfoundland on Sept 11th when the Twin Towers were attacked.

“You may have gathered that I loved this production and put this in my list of top three shows of all time.”

Come From Away continues at Sydney’s Theatre Royal during December and January, before touring to Newcastle, Adelaide, Perth, Canberra and New Zealand. comefromaway.com.au

Wicked

One of the cutest songs in Wicked goes “Popular! You're gonna be Popular!” That’s the experience of producers on Broadway, where it has

Brendan Xaiver and Shubshri Kandiah will star in Beauty And The Beast. Photo: Julie Adams.

been flying high whilst other long running musicals are closing.

Stars of the original Australian season of Wicked Rob Mills (Fiyero) and Lucy Durack (Glinda) are ambassadors for the professional return season.

Durack said securing the role of Glinda was “life changing”, whilst Mills still marks the anniversary of his successful audition because he was “dancing through life until he found my real purpose” in musical theatre.

Lucy Durack lauds Wicked for being “a story of female friendship. How women can support women and make each other better?”

Wicked opens at Sydney Lyric Theatre in August.

wickedthemusical.com.au

Midnight

Midnight The Fairytale Begins, a new Australian musical loosely inspired by the Cinderella story, is a World Premiere romantic comedy from John Foreman and Anthony

(Continued on page 24)

Meet the cast of Midnight The Fairytale Begins. Scan or visit youtu.be/2SDJWyh d9Q

Seasons 2023

The cast of Midnight The Fairytale Begins Photo: Wayne Taylor.

Costanzo, featuring an additional song by Kate Miller Heidke. Ella, a feisty, funny and passionate young heroine doesn't want or need a so called Prince Charming. The Prince, enchanted by this alluring stranger, suddenly finds himself in uncharted territory and quickly learns that Ella is like no other. Can he prove his worth before the magical stroke of midnight?

(Continued from page 23)

Seasons 2023

Madagascar The Musical

Adapted from the DreamWorks animated movie, this family musical with an international cast is brought to life by colourful sets, and new songs that the producers say will inspire everyone to “move it move it” in the aisles.

The story commences in the Central Park Zoo, where Marty, a Kim Kardashian shaped zebra breaks free of the bars and tedium of captivity. His lion, giraffe and hippo mates follow him on a cargo ship back to Africa.

A rogue band of puppet penguins hijack the ship with the up ended crate washed up on Madagascar.

Theatre Scenes New Zealand wrote that “The puppets underpin the narrative their characters’ tone and humour are fantastically and delightfully peppered throughout.”

Madagascar The Musical opens in Sydney in December, followed by January seasons at Comedy Theatre Melbourne and Crown in Perth. madagascarthemusical.com.au

Mary Poppins

Family entertainment with some jaw dropping special effects.

Brisbane’s Streetscene wrote about the opening night at QPAC, “Mary Poppins is almost outrageous in its extravagance and splendour. There are sprinkles of that classic Disney 'how did that happen?!' stage magic throughout the entire show, huge musical numbers, towering set pieces, and an unmistakeable charm.

“The iconic Cherry Tree Lane house, perhaps the most impressive set piece in the show, folds open and closed like a gigantic dollhouse, providing a sense of childlike whimsy throughout.”

On stage at the Lyric Theatre QPAC until January 15. Opening at Her Majesty’s Theatre, Melbourne on January 29, then playing Adelaide (July) and Perth (September). marypoppinsmusical.com.au

Hairspray

The new production starring Shane Jacobson, Todd McKenney, Rhonda Burchmore, Asabi Goodman and Bobby Fox is to set to shake and shimmy its way around Australia.

Stage Whispers’ reviewer Michael Brindley wrote, “It’s not often that you find yourself part of an audience that is so totally into a show as the audience for Hairspray. It’s immersive.

It’s their show and they seem to know it backwards. Almost every song and every artist are greeted with applause and roars of anticipatory approval.

“Music theatre and American music theatre in particular may not be your thing, but with this much talent, oomph and pizzaz on stage, you may be converted.

“Jacobson’s interactions with Todd McKenny’s Wilbur, especially their dance number, ‘You’re Timeless to Me’, are both funny and touching.”

Following its Melbourne season, Hairspray plays in Adelaide during December and January, then Sydney from February. hairspraymusical.com.au

Mamma Mia!

Mamma Mia! returns to the Sydney Lyric from May for a limited season, featuring 22 of ABBA’s greatest hits, including ‘Dancing Queen’, ‘Voulez Vous’, ‘S.O.S.’ and ‘Take a Chance on Me’.

This 2023 production is a re staging of the 2017 production, which featured the original work of an Australian creative team. sydneylyric.com.au/mamma mia

(Continued on page 26)

stagewhispers.com.au Stage Whispers 25

Mary Poppins.

Photo: Daniel Boud.

Online extras!

(Continued from page 25)

Rolling Thunder Vietnam Stage Whispers’ Peter Pinne wrote that “Rolling Thunder Vietnam is an explosive, raw and visceral experience a look at the Vietnam War using a collection of rock‘n’roll songs of the era and a narrative culled from personal stories and letters from the front.

“It follows the enlistment experiences of Johnny, a young man from a drought stricken farm in Queensland, his love for his sweetheart Sarah, and his friendship with his American marine buddy, Thomas.”

The show’s extensive 2023 tour will include the Gold Coast, Brisbane, Toowoomba, Caloundra, Newcastle, Sydney, Wollongong, Perth, Adelaide, Frankston and Melbourne. rollingthundervietnam.com

The Rocky Horror Show

A brand new Australian tour will kick off global celebrations in honour of iconic Rock ‘N’ Roll musical The Rocky Horror Show as it marks its

50thAnniversary in 2023, starring Jason Donovan as Frank N Furter and Myf Warhurst as The Narrator.

Richard O’Brien says, “Back in the 1970’s when someone asked me to entertain the Christmas staff party at the EMI Film Studios and I turned up with a song called ‘Science Fiction Double Feature’, who would have known this was the germ of the idea to turn into today what is The Rocky Horror Show.”

“To be celebrating 50 years is beyond my wildest expectations from the humble beginnings back in 1973 at the Royal Court Theatre in London. There is no better fitting place in the world than Australia to launch this 50th Anniversary Tour with over 14 productions since its very first production in 1975.”

At the Theatre Royal, Sydney from February. rockyhorror.com.au

Hamilton

The revolutionary musical which fuses hip hop and musical theatre styles, based on the real life story of American Founding Father Alexander

Hamilton, continues its Melbourne season until January 15, then transfers to QPAC in Brisbane from January 27.

It is high art and high entertainment, featuring a dynamic young cast with many first timers in lead roles.

Be warned though, it moves at a cracking pace, so a little homework before you arrive by listening to the album, reading a biography, or watching the streamed version on Disney will make the experience more satisfying, hamiltonmusical.com.au

Moulin Rouge! The Musical

A dazzling jewel and spectacle of lavish staging and music.

Stage Whispers’ Patricia Di Risio wrote: “Truth, beauty, freedom and love are the mantras of the characters in the original film and each of these elements is echoed in the stage version. The show is incredibly truthful in its adaptation of the spirit of film by replicating and enhancing its colour and vibrancy.

“The transition to the stage is truly remarkable and demonstrates an

Jason Donovan prepares to do the time warp at Theatre Royal Sydney in 2023. youtu.be/hFmuvFpjuyA

The Rocky Horror Show. Photo: Richard Davenport.

enormous commitment to the beauty that runs through the story and its setting. The staging is nothing short of breathtaking.”

Continues at the Capitol Theatre Sydney until January 28, then plays Perth in February, and Brisbane in May, before returning to Melbourne’s Regent Theatre from August 23. moulinrougemusical.com

Into The Woods

Belvoir will present a brand new production of Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine’s Into the Woods, 35 years on from its Broadway premiere.

Directed by Eamon Flack, the production will feature a cast of 12 including Tamsin Carroll, Esther Hannaford and Justin Smith.

This musical masterpiece begins, of course, with “Once upon a time…” By the end of the opening number not one, but six, fairytale plots have

intertwined, as Cinderella, the Baker and his Wife, Little Red Riding Hood and Jack of beanstalk fame all head into the woods in search of love, happiness and wisdom.

A co production between Hayes Theatre Company and Belvoir Street Theatre, Into the Woods plays from March 18 April 23. belvoir.com.au

Moulin Rouge! The Musical. Photo: Daniel Boud.

tick, tick...BOOM!

(Continued from page 27)

tick, tick…BOOM!

Hugh Sheridan will star as Jonathan Larson in tick, tick… BOOM!, the autobiographical off Broadway rock musical by the Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award winning composer of Rent, Jonathan Larson.

Just prior to the opening night of Rent, creator and composer Jonathan Larson tragically passed away before the first public performance. But, before Rent, Larson had created another musical tick, tick…BOOM!

Opening at Melbourne’s Comedy Theatre from February 1, before a limited season at QPAC’s Playhouse in Brisbane.

ticktickboomthemusical.com.au

Hayes Theatre, Sydney

Urinetown

Urinetown is a musical satire of the legal system, capitalism, social irresponsibility, populism, corporate mismanagement, bureaucracy, municipal politics and musical theatre itself.

Urinetown was nominated for 10 Tony Awards, winning three, including Best Book and Best Original Score.

Playing from January 11 hayestheatre.com.au

Gentleman Prefer Blondes

Gentleman Prefer Blondes tells the raucous and subversive story of Lorelei Lee and Dorothy Shaw two smart young single women with a burning desire for experiences that aren’t supposed to be available to them within the laws and conventions of the 1920s. Starring Emily Havea and Georgina Hopson.

Playing from February 16. hayestheatre.com.au

Join Stage Whispers TV at the Wicked return season announcement in Sydney. youtu.be/hXZ0_tkCz2w

Rob Mills and Lucy Durack celebrate the return of Wicked.

Seasons 2023

Photo: Benny Capp.

The Lucky Country

A chamber musical (music and lyrics by Vidya Makan in collaboration with Sonya Suares) that digs deep into the idea of Australia, identity and belonging.

Joseph, a 13 year old Thitharr Warra boy, clashes with his teacher about Australian history and goes on a journey led by his totem bird a sea eagle. The five piece band features a didgeridoo.

Starring Joseph Althouse and Vidya Makan.

Playing from May 26 hayestheatre.com.au

Closing Soon

The Phantom Of The Opera

A stunning set and beautiful singing of one of the most successful musicals of all time.

Stage Whispers’ Carol Wimmer wrote, “It has always had the feel of an opera. The macabre theme. The evocative music. The operatic characters. The little bits of comedy. The sad ending. Paul Brown’s new set and Maria Bjornson’s original and still exquisite costumes add the ‘opera’ that is promised in the title.

“This is a production that anyone who hasn’t been to the opera before will love and those who have loved The Phantom will love just as much.”

Playing at the State Theatre, Arts Centre Melbourne until February 5. opera.org.au

Rodgers + Hammerstein’s Cinderella

In this production, the fairy tale is turned on its head, with Cinderella choosing to save the Prince from a corrupt Rasputin like advisor.

“This is a sparkling production which will delight children and engage adults.

“Cinderella (Shubshri Kandiah) and Topher (Ainsley Melham) both sing with tight vibrato and have a natural on stage chemistry reviving their theatrical romance from Aladdin. They also lead the gorgeous choreography including a showstopper at the ball when all the ladies are held aloft.”

David Spicer

Playing at Sydney Lyric Theatre until January 29. cinderellamusical.com.au

An American in Paris

“This is a dance musical like no other (West Side Story take a back seat), requiring not only triple threat musical theatre performers but performers who are skilled in classical ballet, and this company comes through in spades, providing an evening filled with the most marvellous joie de vivre.” Peter Pinne.

At Her Majesty’s Theatre Adelaide from January 24 until February 12. americaninparis.com.au

Zahra Newman in Lady Day At Emerson’s Bar & Grill

Photo: Daniel Boud.

Zahra Newman discusses portraying Billie Holiday. Scan the QR code or visit youtu.be/JlpFjgMQwjQ

World Premiere Plays

Mainstage theatre companies are offering a smorgasbord of World Premiere Australian plays in 2023, with forbidden love among the many themes of the productions. Adaptations of novels and films feature in the heady mix. David Spicer surveys the dramas and comedies.

Riverside's National Theatre of Parramatta’s Girls In Boys' Cars

Photo: Kathy Luu.

Girls In Boys’ Cars

Felicity Castagna’s novel about a complicated friendship and a road trip through NSW in a stolen car is adapted for the stage by Priscilla Jackman.

Asheeka and Rosa are two funny, sharp, adventurous young women who refuse to be held back any longer.

When they end up on a Thelma and Louise esque road trip in Western Sydney, a series of escalating events land Rosa in juvenile jail, living her life through books and wondering about her best mate, who has disappeared.

Riverside’s National Theatre of Parramatta October riversideparramatta.com.au

My Sister Jill

Patricia Cornelius adapts her own novel, set in 1950s and 60s suburban Melbourne in the wake of the Second World War, for the stage.

The youngest of Jack and Martha’s five children, Christine idolises her father, especially his stories of wartime heroics. She cannot understand why her siblings don’t share her love for their dad and one by one start to rebel against the tumultuous environment they are growing up in.

Once fascinated by her father’s war stories, they slowly start to lose their shine as the conflict in Vietnam intensifies and war once again becomes front of mind for the family.

MTC September mtc.com.au

On The Beach

In 1957, Nevil Shute’s classic novel On the Beach introduced the world to a post apocalyptic vision that sees Australia as one of the last surviving outposts of civilisation on a planet destroyed by nuclear fallout. It later became a classic film starring Gregory Peck, Ava Gardner and Fred Astaire.

A small group of friends in Melbourne some local, some survivors from the US Navy are living out their lives and loves in the wake of World War III. But when a mysterious distress call rings out across the Pacific Ocean, the characters are called to choose between duty to the ones they love and duty to the human race.

Adapted for the stage by Tommy Murphy, Director Kip Williams promises a production of “sumptuous innovation”.

Sydney Theatre Company July sydneytheatre.com.au (Continued on page 32)

stagewhispers.com.au Stage Whispers 31

MTC’s My Sister Jill. Photo: Victoria Zschommler.

Drizzle Boy

Playwright Ryan Ennis tells the story of a young autistic man navigating misunderstandings, blending satire and magic realism with a Kafkaesque journey of self discovery.

Drizzle Boy is poked, prodded, and diagnosed by a world that wants to change him and a family who doesn’t understand him.

Then he meets Juliet his very own star crossed love. Could she be a safe space for a man who just wants a calm centre to his universe?

Queensland Theatre March. queenslandtheatre.com.au

Nosferatu

Keziah Warner’s gothic drama is based on the iconic 1922 silent film Nosfertatu: A Symphony of Horror,

but moves the story to a mining town called Bluewater in Tasmania.

Desperate to restore the place to its glory days, the locals put their faith in a mysterious investor with a green thumb and an appetite for blood. Vineyards are planted and money flows for the first time in years so when people start disappearing, no one dares to ask why.

An ensemble of mouth watering townspeople become wary of who they let in their door.

Malthouse February malthousetheatre.com.au

The Poison of Polygamy

An epic gold rush drama sprawls across Qing Dynasty China, to Victoria’s nineteenth century goldfields, and the laneways of Melbourne’s Chinatown, traversing love, sex and adventure.

Anchuli Felicia King adapts the first Chinese Australian novel, written by

Wong Shee Ping and originally published in 1910, for the stage.

It tells the story of Sleep sick an opportunistic young man from Guangdong who has his sights set on amassing a fortune in Australia’s goldfields. He leaves behind his faithful but long suffering wife Ma and sets out to try his luck.

He charms and cheats an eccentric cast of characters until he’s challenged by the temptation of beautiful women and opium.

La Boite May. Sydney Theatre Company June/July. laboite.com.au sydneytheatre.com.au

Sunday Sunday Reed and her husband John were famous for founding Melbourne’s idyllic utopia which became the Heide Museum of

Queensland Theatre’s Drizzle Boy

Theatre with Ryan Enniss.

Seasons 2023

stagewhispers.com.au Stage Whispers

Above: Malthouse Theatre’s Nosferatu

Photo: Kristian Gehradte.

STC’s The Poison Of Polygamy

Photo: Rene Vaile.

(Continued from page

32) Seasons

Modern Art, and for their love entanglements.

Playwright Anthony Weigh explores the stories and myths of the menages a trois that evolved between them and a circle of young painters.

The play focusses on the arrival of struggling artist Sidney Nolan at Heide in the 1940s, and his prevarication over whether to leave his wife for Sunday.

MTC January/February mtc.com.au

Dirty Birds

The creative minds of the multi award winning McElhinney sisters Mandy (Wakefield) and Hayley (Mystery Road: Origins) have come up with a comedy about two other sisters, Mart and Martha, who are forced to leave their home.

Food is scarce, bills haven’t been paid, and nature is giving them an ultimatum. But there’s a problem: they can’t seem to get it together to do what needs to be done and they are not even sure who they are.

They search through memories,

familiar rituals and endless cups of tea, looking for something that will shake them from their predicament before it’s too late.

Black Swan November. blackswantheatre.com.au

The Weekend

A new adaptation by Sue Smith of Charlotte Wood’s bestselling novel of friendship and the wisdom of age.

Adele (a once well known actress), Wendy (a high profile academic), and Jude (a celebrated restauranteur) meet for a weekend to pack up the beach house of their recently departed friend.

Fraying tempers, an elderly dog, unwelcome guests and too much wine collide in a storm that brings long buried hurts to the surface and threatens to sweep away their friendship for good.

Belvoir August belvoir.com.au

A Broadcast Coup

Cut throat journalist Jez Connell is out for her next sting. It’s been a year since she brought down one of TV’s most lauded stars for behaving badly.

Now she’s got Michael King, the top rated darling of public radio, in her sights. This time, it’s personal.

With the loyalty of his longstanding producer wavering, and a hip up and coming podcaster eager to take the mic off Mike, has the plug been pulled on Michael King’s career?

This new comedy from Melanie Tait, the writer of The Appleton Ladies’ Potato Race, uses her own experience as a broadcaster to provide a unique insight on the media.

Ensemble Theatre January ensemble.com.au

Wittenoom

Dot and Pearl live in Wittenoom; the blue asbestos mining town in WA’s Pilbara. So begin glorious days, when the Pilbara’s stunning landscapes, magnificent wildlife and close knit community shaped an idyllic lifestyle. Wild natured Dot makes the most of every second, while teenager Pearl tries to make sense of what her own life might be.

Photo: Frances Andrijich.

Butler weaves their journey into the frame of the Wittenoom tragedy, asking questions about accountability in an era where the health and cultural impacts of mining ricochet as heavily in 2022 as they did in 1962. Red Stitch February redstitch.net

The Dictionary of Lost Words Adapted by Verity Laughton from the novel by Pip Williams.

It’s 1886 and the very first edition of the Oxford English Dictionary is being compiled. Four year old Esme Nicoll is hiding under the sorting table.

As her father and his male colleagues decide which words stay and which go, Esme collects the discarded (often gendered) scraps to compile her own far more radical, far more magical dictionary.

A sweeping historical tale, The Dictionary of Lost Words follows Esme from her childhood in the 1880s, into adulthood at the height of the women’s suffrage movement and the beginning of the First World War State Theatre Company South Australia September. Sydney Theatre Company November. statetheatrecompany.com.au sydneytheatre.com.au

Sex Magick

By Nicholas Brown

After a workplace indiscretion shatters his elite physiotherapy career, Ard Panicker ends up working at a metaphysical health spa, giving Ayurvedic rubdowns to yummy mummies in Bondi.

When his estranged father dies, Ard begins to shake and shudder with mysterious full body seizures accompanied with waking visions of a terrifying, all powerful deity.

Desperate to find a cure for his phantasmagorical condition, Ard travels back home to South India, where he finds an enlightened tantric guru who cracks open his sense of identity, sexuality and his grip on reality.

Griffin Theatre Company January/ February. griffintheatre.com.au

Griffin Theatre’s Sex Magick

Top Drama Comes Home

Frank Hatherley has sampled the newest streaming service Australian Theatre Live On Demand which now offers a wide variety of locally staged plays, revue, music acrobatics and opera.

Television streaming services are coming at us from every corner: Foxtel, Netflix, Disney, Paramount, Apple, Stan, etc. You don’t have to travel one step beyond your TV set to experience every available filmed or videotaped happening.

And live theatres are getting in on the act, too. Broadway titles and Britain’s National Theatre are available in your home.

Now Australian theatres (and music and acrobatics) are joining in. Australian Theatre Live, from a small building in Sydney’s Rozelle, has launched its own subscription platform.

Forget ticket prices, or hearing difficulties, or physical disabilities, or

COVID 19. Regardless of geographical or economic barriers you can now see these shows as they were originally produced without leaving your living room.

Grant Dodwell, the Creative Director of Australian Theatre Live says, “People often have this perception that recorded theatre is not as enjoyable as the live thing. However, due to the beautiful camera angles and crisp sound quality, our films offer a level of intimacy beyond that of the usual audience member’s experience. Watching an Australian Theatre Live film is like watching a play from on the stage.”

For $7.99 per month (and a first week free) you can gain access to titles from the Sydney Theatre Company, Griffin Theatre Company, Sydney Festival, Kings Cross Theatre, the Old Fitz and more.

For instance:

This Much is True by Louis Nowra, at The Old Fitzroy Theatre, 2017. A writer (Lewis Septimus) comes to The Rising Sun, a rundown Sydney pub, and finds a group of Sydneysiders waiting to be discovered, including drag queen Venus (Justin Stewart Cotta). Enthralling. Director Toby Schmitz gets full value from a fabulous script.

The Gospel According to Paul by (and featuring) Jonathan Biggins, at the Playhouse Theatre, Sydney Opera House, 2019, directed by Aarne Neeme. Biggins rises to the challenge of presenting Paul Keating in all his

Orontea.

Photo: Brett Boardman.

incendiary brilliance. Singing as Tom Jones, affectionate and irreverent, he emerges as a 3 dimensional bloke. ‘Right,’ he concludes, ‘now you can all bugger off!’

Norm and Ahmed by Alex Buzo, at the Riverside Theatre, Parramatta, 2021. A 55 year old Australian study in racism, this brilliant play shows us what happens when an older Aussie bloke meets a bright Pakistani Arts student late at night. It all boils down to the final two words.

Diving for Pearls by Katherine Thomson, at the Griffin Theatre, Sydney, 2017. Directed by Darren Yap, this is an excellent production of a play that highlights the death of mining activity in Wollongong. Great performances all round, especially from Steve Rodgers and Ursula Yovich.

Taming of the Shrew by William Shakespeare, from Queensland Theatre, directed by Damien Ryan in 2021. Rousing, all action version of this play, directed in Ryan’s Sport for Jove manner.

Away by Michael Gow at Sydney Opera House, 2017. Directed by Matthew Lutton, it opens with a school play version of A Midsummer Night’s Dream that sets the scene for what follows. Brilliant performance from Heather Mitchell, ‘henpecking at a million miles an hour’.

Online extras!

Watch the launch video for Australian Theatre Live On Demand. Scan or visit youtu.be/Jy39OOjcLyI

The Dapto Chaser by Mary Rachel Brown, at the Griffin Theatre, 2015. Directed by Glynn Nicholas, about a family of greyhound lovers at their home in Dapto, south of Sydney. Winner of Most Outstanding Independent Production of its year, with perfect performances from Danny Adcock and company.

Liberty, Equality, Fraternity by Geoffrey Atherden, at the Ensemble Theatre, 2013, with just a few in the audience. Caroline Brazier stands out

in this excellent 3 hander, directed by Shannon Murphy. What happens when you’re asked to answer a ‘few simple questions’?

Emerald City by David Williamson, at the Griffin Theatre, Sydney, 2014. Directed by Lee Lewis, this production of Williamson’s 1987 play is fresh, bright and cutting, with wonderful Sydney sets by Ken Done.

Plus two versions of The Wharf Revue, from 2015 and 2021, with full original Sydney casts.

And acrobatics and music combine in The Pulse. 26 black clad female singers warble away while 22 acrobats fling themselves about playing ‘stacks on the mill’, at the Roslyn Packer Theatre for the Sydney Festival, 2022.

Or there’s Italian Baroque with Circa, also from Sydney Festival 2022, mixing music from the Australian Brandenburg Orchestra and acrobatics from a richly versatile mob of gymnasts.

Not to mention Platée, an opera by Jan Philippe Rameau, directed by Neil Armfield, performed by Pinchgut Opera in December 2021 for only 5 performances. Luckily they taped it and now it’s available to us all!

Australian Theatre Live On Demand To

Away.

Photo: Pia Johnson.

Taming Of The Shrew. Photo: Brett Boardman.

Cockatoo Carmen

Opera Australia is moving Bizet’s famous opera to an island in Sydney Harbour, using its industrial backdrop as inspiration for the set, costumes and choreography. David Spicer speaks to Set Designer Mark Thompson.

Carmen On Cockatoo Island Presented by Opera Australia, playing until December 18. opera.org.au

Stage Whispers TV visited Cockatoo Island during Carmen rehearsals. youtu.be/gFxyCENBxEw

Carmen On Cockatoo Island

Photo: Hamilton Lund.

Three years ago, a team of creatives from Opera Australia went on an excursion to Cockatoo Island west of the Sydney Harbour Bridge and surveyed the industrial moonscape.

“We passed old Victorian and Edwardian buildings, a five storey iron shed and a corrugated thing leaning towards the Harbour Bridge. Someone threw their hand towards a huge carpark area that had broken concrete flooring, bits of gravel and lots of nesting seagulls,” recalls designer Mark Thompson.

The island did not look like a place to put on an opera.

“It would also have been riddled with asbestos and diesel, but all that has been remediated so that it is safer than your own backyard.”

Cockatoo Island, originally known as Wareamah to local Aboriginal people, became a penal establishment in 1839 and later a reform school for girls.

Becoming a large dry dock from 1857, by World War II it was the main ship repairing facility for the Royal Australian Navy, until the shipyard closed in 1991.

When it came time to make the island suitable for a large production, Mark Thompson wanted to accentuate the industrial history of the island.

“We needed scaffolding to build a big stage,” he said. “So, I suggested we put even more scaffolding up and add more industrial things to it.”

Car bodies were sourced.

“We put lights in those so the cast can clamber over them.

“Then I wondered, how do we close off the front of stage? Several hundred 44 gallon oil drums have been brought in, to which we add fire, light and smoke.

“The whole design has a Mad Max raffish unexpected air to it.”

The costumes have a similar urban grunge look, the choreography has a punk flavour and the lighting is influenced by film noir.

“This has nothing to the do with Seville or a bullfighting arena. There are none of the traditional flamboyant Carmen costumes or castanets.”

Instead, there will be dirt bikes and motorcycles doing stunts.

But although it will look different,

the opera will have a traditional large orchestra and there are no alterations to the music or text.

“We are not changing the ending, or having Carmen kill anyone,” he said. “So, it rises and falls on the musicality, and the physical environment is a punctuation point or a carrier for the story itself.”

Getting there will be part of the fun, as access to Cockatoo Island is only by boat and patrons can camp overnight.

“Who doesn’t love a sea trip? When you get off the ferry there is a delightful restaurant, a bar and gardens.”

Opera Australia is hoping to attract new younger audiences who are first timers to the art form.

Carmen On Cockatoo Island

Photo: Prudence Upton.

Online extras!

Barracking For The Umpire

Black Swan State Theatre Company of WA staged the World Premiere of Barracking for the Umpire by Andrea Gibbs at Subiaco Arts Centre in 2022. It’s now been published by Playlab Theatre, and is available for purchase at Book Nook.

Described as ‘The Castle meets The Club’, the play is about a former footballer, Doug Williams, who becomes an umpire after struggling with the impact of head injuries. In this excerpt he’s receiving a life time achievement award. The characters include Tom, the presenter, Doug and his former coach (who is not visible to others).

TOM: As hard as flint, he would push aside defenders as if they were made of cardboard. He was unstoppable so unstoppable that most players just gave up on trying to take him on. Put his head in positions that most players wouldn’t. In full cry he was as magnificent a sight as you could

ever hope to see playing our game.

Receiving The Honour Club award for his dedication to the Donnybrook Football Club Doug. Sir. I have to say I’m moved. Truly moved to be presenting you with this honour…

[TOM fights back tears. Clapping starts again.]

TOM: Give it up, one and all for The GREAT Doug Williams. Get on up here Dougie!

[Whoops and cheers from the club members. COACH appears and is slow clapping.]

TOM: You wanna get up here big fella?! Say a few words.

[TOM gestures to DOUG to come up on stage.]

COACH: Glass of water in ya face Doug. Switch on. Ya here to do a job.

TOM: Get up here!

COACH: Listen to that crowd!

TOM/COACH: Here he comes.

TOM: What an honour. Up ya get.

COACH: Up ya get.

TOM: Up here Dougie. Help him through you lot.

COACH: Oop. He’s drifting into the back pocket.

TOM: Great courage when you know there’s traffic coming the other way.

COACH: Williams keepin’ it alive.

TOM: Let him through.

COACH: That ability to just run at the ball.

BSSTC’s Barracking For The Umpire (2022).

Photo: Daniel J Grant.

Watch a preview of Barracking For The Umpire as presented by BSSTC. youtu.be/3uQRIpBO3_o

TOM: A fair bit of weight coming through here.

COACH: Let’s see what he can manufacture.

TOM: Push that table outta the way.

COACH: Clever move.

TOM: Oop, bit of a stumble.

COACH: Oh no.

TOM/COACH: Awww!

TOM: Ya right mate.

COACH: He has been collected.

TOM: Ya right?!

COACH: He’s all sorts of trouble now.

TOM: You’re alright

COACH: Knocked his mouth guard clean out.

TOM: can clean that up later. Get up here!

COACH: His head just whiplashed into the ground.

TOM: He’s good.

COACH: He is not good.

TOM: He’s OK. Yeah, you are. A great effort.

COACH: A horrible feeling as a player…

TOM: It takes a lot more than that to knock Doug Williams out!

COACH: …tryin’ to get yourself back up when ya can’t.

TOM: Football is about self belief. Of which Doug has plenty. Come here.

[TOM helps DOUG up on stage. A bit shaken, a bit dazed, but holding it together.]

TOM: Doug Williams for life! Hip, hip, hooray! Hip, hip hooray!

[Claps and cheers. TOM hugs DOUG and gives him award.]

TOM: The floor is yours, maestro.

[TOM exits. The lights are bright. DOUG out to the audience, confused. Video montage of AFL biggest, hardest, knocks plays in background.]

DOUG: That situation… where you can’t get your hands down quick enough to protect yourself.

COACH: Arms pinned.

[DOUG pulls a piece of paper out of his pocket. He is shaking.]

DOUG: Yeah.

COACH: Arms pinned. And head driven into the ground.

DOUG: Yeah… thanks, I…

COACH: Elbow to the temple.

DOUG: I…

[DOUG stops fumbling with the piece of paper and stares towards COACH.]

COACH: You saw the stretcher as an insult. Great courage, Williams.

[COACH moves a step closer to DOUG.]

COACH: That tackle was so hard it probably hurt his family, they said.

[COACH moves another step closer.]

COACH: Don’t touch him. If you lift him up, you’ll snap his neck. Oooh. There’s blood in the mouth there.

[Video stops. DOUG checks mouth. Stands still confused.]

DELVEEN: [Off stage] He’s OK.

COACH: He has not moved. He has not moved. He has not moved at all. Fears for Williams here.

[It becomes excruciating, DELVEEN is there.]

DELVEEN: He is very moved. Just a bit of stage fright. He never was one for public speaking, were you Doug?

[DOUG is still quiet. COACH turns and leaves. DOUG nods.]

DELVEEN: I do know though; he has been looking forward to this. Very much. So, thank you. The kids are even home to see it. Doug could have never gotten to where he did without the support of this club, this great club. And he hopes he’s done you all proud. Eh, Doug? Thank you.

Published by Playlab Theatre. Purchase your copy for $25.95 from booknook.com.au/product/barracking for the umpire

BSSTC’s Barracking For The Umpire (2022).

Photo: Daniel J Grant.

Junior Theatre Festival 2022

More than 1200 students and teachers from all over Australia and New Zealand have attended the first in person Junior Theatre Festival in three years.

The ‘jazz hands’ have been in hibernation since 2019, but burst back into action as sunshine drenched the Civic Theatre Newcastle in late October.

Students from schools and drama academies performed highlights from their Broadway JR. musicals for panels of industry clinicians and received feedback on how they can improve their skills and enhance their musical theatre programs.

New musicals were workshopped and developed, with the team from iTheatrics (New York) testing the new materials during week long workshops and rehearsals.

9 to 5 JR. and Beetlejuice JR. were rehearsed and tested on 100 of Australia’s most outstanding young performers.

The works were presented in front of the festival audience to rapturous screams of joy and enthusiastic applause.

The festival concluded with the Junior Theatre Festival 2022 Award Ceremony and New Works Showcase, where students were acknowledged in key areas of dance, music and acting.

Three groups were awarded Most Outstanding Performance Hunter Drama (Newcastle, NSW) for their production of Seussical JR., Adelaide Youth Theatre (Adelaide, SA) for their production of Into the Woods JR., and Pelican Productions (Adelaide, SA) for their production of Frozen JR.

Brand new musicals Dot and the Kangaroo JR., Disney’s Finding Nemo JR. and Godspell JR. were also showcased. Dot and the Kangaroo JR the first Australian Broadway JR. title has been created by Daniel Stoddart (Book Writer), Dan Mertzlufft (Composer) and Kate Leonard (Lyricist).

The festival highlight was the on stage event Sing That Song: LIVE!

hosted by event Producer Daniel Stoddart, with panel guests Paulini (Joseph And The Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat), Sofia Nolan (Channel 7’s Home and Away), Kate Leonard (Lyricist, Dot and the Kangaroo JR.) and Shane Bransdon (Producer, JTF Australia). The event culminated in a memorable performance from Paulini of ‘Pharaoh's Story’ from Joseph And The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat

This year's title sponsors were Music Theatre International Australasia (MTIA), City of Newcastle, Stage Whispers Magazine, iTheatrics and Travel Gang.

To register your school or academy for the Junior Theatre Festival Australia in 2023, please email jazzhands@oztheatrics.com oztheatrics.com/jtfaustralia

Disney’s Finding Nemo JR.

Dot And The Kangaroo JR.

Frozen.

Godspell JR.

Broadway Buzz Online extras!

After a 35 year run, Phantom Of The Opera on Broadway closes in 2023. youtu.be/7oNhf_NiyQE

the Broadhurst Theatre, while the musical adaptation of the Billy Wilder film Some Like it Hot (score by Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman (Hairspray), book by Mark López and Amber Ruffin) opens at the Shubert Theatre on the 11th.

When The Phantom of the Opera takes its final bow at the Majestic Theatre on February 18, 2023, following its 35th Broadway anniversary, it will have played a staggering 13,925 performances. Broadway’s long running hits rely heavily on tourists, so despite an initially strong rebound from COVID 19, by September Phantom, with its large cast and orchestra, was losing more than a million dollars a month, with New York tourism still in a slump. Local New York audiences tend to support new work, rather than long running blockbusters.

Baron Lloyd Webber’s name, though, will still be emblazoned on a Broadway marquee, his latest melodies ringing out from another Broadway stage. One night before Phantom closes, his latest musical Bad Cinderella begins previews at the Imperial Theatre, ahead of a March 23 opening, with Linedy Genao in the title role. The musical played for 12 months in London under the title Cinderella in 2021/22, following COVID 19 plagued previews. It features a book by Emerald Fennell, and lyrics by David Zippell, with choreography by Joann M. Hunter and direction by Laurence Connor (the original London creatives). The show has been re named, re designed, and will feature some new songs.

An Andrew Lloyd Webber musical has played on Broadway every single night since September 1979, apart from the recent COVID 19 hiatus.

With the passing of Angela Lansbury, it seems fitting that two of her five Tony Award winning characters will return to the Broadway early in 2023. The third Broadway revival of Sweeney Todd, for which she won 1979 Tony and Drama Desk awards, previews from February 26 at the Lunt Fontanne Theatre, ahead of a March 26 opening. Annaleigh Ashford (herself a Tony winner) takes on the role of Mrs Lovett, opposite Josh Groban as Sweeney. For the first time since the original production, Stephen Sondheim’s Tony Award winning score will heard with Jonathan Tunick’s original 26 player orchestrations. Tony Award winning director Thomas Kail (Hamilton) helms the production.

Angela Lansbury won her second Tony for the role of Countess Aurelia in the ill fated 1969 Jerry Herman musical Dear World, based on The Madwoman of Chaillot, which played 132 performances and 45 previews at Mark Hellinger Theatre. It returns as part of the New York City Center Encores series from March 15 to 19, starring dual Tony winner Donna Murphy as Countess Aurelia.

Dame Angela Lansbury (1925 2022), also won Tony Awards for Mame (1966), Gypsy (1975) and Blithe Spirit (2009), while she was honoured earlier in 2022 with a Lifetime Achievement Tony Award.

After beginning previews during November, two musicals have their official Broadway openings during December. A Beautiful Noise: The Neil Diamond Musical opens on the 4th at

A new musical based on the SE Hinton novel The Outsiders, and its Francis Ford Coppola movie version, has its World Premiere at La Jolla Playhouse in San Diego, California from February 19. The musical has a book by Adam Rapp, with music and lyrics by Jamestown Revival (Jonathan Clay & Zach Chance) and Justin Levine. Choreography is by Rick Kuperman & Jeff Kuperman, with direction by Danya Taymor.

Revivals of Camelot and Bob Fosse revue Dancin’ are among the shows beginning Broadway previews during March. Fresh from Utah, there’s also the new musical Shucked, with a book by Robert Horn and a score by Nashville based song writing team Brandy Clark and Shane McAnally. Loosely based on the 1977 Martin Scorsese movie, the aptly named stage musical New York, New York, featuring John Kander & Fred Ebb songs, and some new songs by Kander & Lin Manuel Miranda, also begins Broadway previews, while Lolita Chakrabarti’s Olivier Award winning adaptation of Yann Martel’s best selling novel Life Of Pi transfers from London's West End.

Hits! The Musical, with a cast of 30 performers aged between 10 and 22, hits the road for a national tour of approximately 50 US cities from March 1 to May 8. The promos promise ‘a high energy musical production featuring America's best young superstars’ in a show that will ‘take audiences on a musical journey through the decades; highlighting the biggest hits of all time in Pop, Rock and Broadway and the most iconic songs from the 1960's to present day’.

Broadway’s The Majestic Theatre

Photo: Angela Weiss / Getty Images.

London Calling

Online extras!

Savour every bit of The Great British Bake Off Musical. Scan or visit youtu.be/YP9dRG 9OYs

Welcome to the Bake Off tent! Elimination TV cooking show The Great British Bake Off, now in its 13th season, is about to become a West End musical, not pitching its marquee in the gardens of Britain, but stamping its name on the marquee of London’s Noël Coward Theatre for 10 weeks from February 25, following its premiere at Cheltenham’s Everyman Theatre in July. In The Great British Bake Off Musical, directed by Rachel Kavanagh, contestants, including a policeman, a carer, a sixth form student, a retired dinner lady, an environmentalist vegan, and an Italian fashionista, will sing their way through a score of 16 songs by Jake Brunger (book and lyrics) and Pippa Cleary (music and lyrics).

Beverley Knight stars in Kate Prince’s hip hop suffragette musical Sylvia at the Old Vic from 27 January. This revolutionary story celebrates the life of Sylvia Pankhurst feminist, activist, pacifist, socialist, rebel the lesser known Pankhurst at the heart of the Suffragette movement. Sylvia unites dance, hip hop, funk and soul, with original music by Josh Cohen and DJ Walde.

Jukebox musical Ain't Too Proud The Life and Times of The Temptations, with a book by Dominique Morisseau, plays at the Prince Edward Theatre from 31 March. Ain't Too Proud commenced its COVID 19 disrupted Broadway run at the Imperial Theatre in March 2019, closing in January 2022. Sergio Trujillo won the 2019 Tony Award for Best Choreography.

Two classic ‘Golden Age’ musicals will get new spins in West End productions during February. Guys and Dolls arrives at the Bridge Theatre on 27 February, while Oklahoma! commences performances at Wyndham's Theatre on February 16. Director Daniel Fish’s reimagined Oklahoma! winner of the 2019

Tony Award for Best Musical Revival which played London’s Young Vic Theatre in 2022 for a limited, sold out season, is moving to the West End. Oklahoma! features orchestration and arrangements by Daniel Kluger, choreography by John Heginbotham, scenic design by Lael Jellinek & Grace Laubacher, costumes by Terese Wadden and lighting by Scott Zielinski.

Guys and Dolls will be given a new immersive production at the Bridge Theatre by director Nicholas Hytner. Seating will be wrapped around the action, transporting audiences to the streets of Manhattan and the bars of Havana. The show will feature designs by Bunny Christie, choreography by Arlene Phillips, lighting design by Paule Constable, and sound design by Paul Arditti.

Following a concert production at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane and a sold out run at the Arts Theatre, Bonnie and Clyde The Musical, with music by Frank Wildhorn, lyrics by Don Black, a book by Ivan Menchell, and direction by Nick Winston, will play a West End season from 4 March at the Garrick Theatre. Frances Mayli McCann and Jordan Luke Gage will star.

Steven Moffat's debut play The Unfriend, which follows a married couple whose holiday friend invites themself into their life, plays at the Criterion Theatre from 15 January.

Jenna Coleman and Aidan Turner star in the West End premiere of Sam Steiner’s Lemons Lemons Lemons Lemons Lemons, directed by Josie Rourke, playing from 18 January at the Harold Pinter Theatre. You’re going to speak more than 123 million words in your lifetime. What will you do when they run out? Lemons Lemons Lemons Lemons Lemons is a romantic comedy about what we say, how we say it, and what happens when we can’t say anything anymore.

Sophie Okonedo will star in Medea at @sohoplace theatre from 11 February. Directed by Dominic Cooke, the production will also star Ben Daniels.

Michael Frayn’s backstage comedy Noises Off returns to the West End at the Phoenix Theatre from 19 January, starring Felicity Kendal. Noises Off follows the on and offstage antics of a touring theatre company as they stumble their way through the fictional farce, Nothing On Shakespeare’s The Winter’s Tale is set to transform the intimate, indoor Sam Wanamaker Playhouse and the outdoor Globe Theatre in a production that takes place across both stages from 9 February, marking the start of the year long Folio 400th Anniversary celebrations. The audience will journey from the aristocratic luxury of Sicilia in the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse to the pastoral playground of Bohemia in the Globe Theatre.

The Great British Bake Off Musical.

Arsenic And Old Lace

When Adelaide Director Barry Hall staged the

comedy Arsenic and Old Lace with the Tea Tree Players, his challenges included finding a large cast, fitting the set onto a small stage, interruptions from COVID 19 and locating some curious props.

I fell in love with Arsenic and Old Lace when I watched the 1944 film starring Cary Grant, who, incidentally, loathed and detested his performance calling it ‘low comedy’.

Written by Joseph Kesselring in 1939, the play concerns Mortimer Brewster who is living a happy life he has a steady job at a prominent New York newspaper, he’s just become engaged, and he visits his sweet spinster aunts to announce the engagement.

Mortimer always knew that his family had a bit of a mad gene his brother believes himself to be Teddy Roosevelt and his great grandfather used to scalp Indians for pleasure but his world is turned upside down when he realizes that his dear aunts have been poisoning lonely old men for years.

When Mortimer’s maniacal brother, Jonathan, who strangely now resembles Boris Karloff, returns on the night that the aunts were planning to bury the newest victim, Mortimer must rally to help his aunts and protect his fiancé all while trying to keep his own sanity.

Who could not love this black comedy? It has comedy, mystery and murder, all laced with a little elderberry wine to send the old men on their way to heavenly portals.

The Tea Tree Players has been one of the gems of Adelaide Community Theatre for over forty years. Their theatre seats 120, and they present mainly comedy and farce and well as having a thriving youth theatre program.

Arsenic and Old Lace is a three act play which I do not believe works well with today’s audiences. So, my first task was to reconfigure the play to two acts, a laborious job as I needed to find an appropriate climax for the end of act one and make some time of day changes. After some judicious edits, I

was satisfied the script was ready. The next challenge was casting.

Arsenic and Old Lace has a large cast of three females and eleven males, whilst the Tea Tree Players theatre has a small stage. Add to this the fact the men are a scarcity in amateur theatre.

I decided to combine the two policemen and have one actor play the two small roles of Mr Gibbs and Mr Witherspoon.

Whilst I could find the three female actors, the nine male actors were more problematic. Luckily after some ringing around and deciding to play the cop as a female (there were female police in the 1940s) it was cast. I had an abundance of younger actors, so I decided to play the three brothers as younger, which worked well.

Next the set. The Tea Tree Players mounts five adult productions, one or two junior productions and a pantomime each year, so there are sets coming and going all the time. I knew mine needed to feature a large staircase, a window seat to hide a body in and a cellar. When I directed this play previously, I had featured stairs to an upper landing, but this was not possible on a smallish community theatre stage.

The Tea Tree Players are lucky to have a genius set construction manager who can make anything work on a small stage, so we designed a reduced staircase going to a small landing.

The colour choice for the set was a no brainer. The play is about two dear old ladies who murder single men and bury them in their cellar so lavender wallpaper with mahogany trim suited the bill to a tee.

Anyone that has worked with me will tell you I am a very organised director; I set a rehearsal schedule and stick to it. Not this time! COVID 19 hadn’t reared its ugly head until now, but then decided to wipe out a few of my actors each week at the beginning

of rehearsals consequently I must have played every role and attempted to block with actors standing in.

But the show must go on and we did, each rehearsal getting closer to the goal, but at times it felt like two steps forward and one back. Add to this the accompanying loss of time to practice ‘business’ and perfect lines with cast missing and you have a rehearsal period that seemed long at times, but in terms of realising a script, quite short.

I usually like to run a show for three weeks to iron out any problems, to give the actors a sense of continuity and to ‘pace’ themselves for performance. Unfortunately, with COVID 19 undermining the rehearsal process that wasn’t possible. In fact, the leading man still did not have the last scene memorised until the last week.

But, miracle of miracles, it worked, and the production gradually developed pace but not precision. The absenteeism due to COVID 19 meant that some of the sequences were not line perfect, but with experienced actors who can ad lib, we got through.

Arsenic and Old Lace is a fabulous old play, which was well received, but it

black

Arsenic And Old Lace.

did not come without added obstacles. My props lady was given the task of finding period surgical instruments, baking a Lady Baltimore cake and making a convincing dead body that could be passed through a window, hidden in a window seat and dragged downstairs into the cellar. Also, the actor playing Teddy Roosevelt had a face that no moustache would stick to, no matter what adhesive I used!

Beth, the props lady, managed the first two obstacles with ease. But the dead body was another story, so we decided to play this piece of the production for laughs and virtually folded the body to put it into the window seat. In dim dramatic lighting, the audience loved it. They never knew that the one corpse played two roles in quick succession thanks to some clever backstage handling. Needless to say, the actor playing Teddy Roosevelt went on without a moustache.

Was Arsenic and Old Lace worth the blood, sweat and tears we put into it? One only had to listen to the audience to have the answer. This was backed up by the results of the Lamerton Awards (named after one of the founders of Tea Tree Players). At each adult production, voting slips are given to the audience to rank the actors, set and play itself against other plays that year. We have finalists in three categories!

Next year I will be directing Tea Tree Players’ first melodrama, Only an Orphan Girl. I hope it will be as much fun and less stress than Arsenic!

Arsenic And Old Lace.

Community Theatre In 2023

Community Theatre across Australia bounced back strongly from its pandemic blues in 2022, though, like the course of true love, it didn’t always run smoothly. Despite all manner of precautions, our reviews this year tell a story of shows courageously saved by last minute stand in performers carrying scripts, occasional opening nights or weekends postponed, and performances, sometimes even entire productions, cancelled.

On the other hand, we’ve also heard of several productions where audience hunger for local entertainment has been so strong that additional performances have had to be added to seasons. So, obviously audiences out there are keen to enjoy productions by their local theatre companies.

The coming year promises a great diversity of plays and musicals.

We’ve compiled a listing of Community Theatre seasons for 2023 across the next few pages, along with images from 2022 productions. While we know that some companies are yet to announce their full seasons as we go to print, we look forward to including their shows in the updated online version of this feature, set to go live on stagewhispers.com.au in January 2023. If your show or season is missing, please contact Neil at neil@stagewhispers.com.au with the details.

Shakespeare (Abridged) [Revised] (Nov/Dec).

Canberra Philharmonic Society (Philo): Cats (Mar).

New South Wales Packemin Productions: Les Misérables (Jul).

Willoughby Theatre Company: The Sound of Music (May), Cats (Oct).

Miranda Musical Society: Rent (Mar).

Engadine Musical Society: Shrek The Musical (May), Merrily We Roll Along (Oct).

A.C.T.

Queanbeyan Players: Downtown The Mod Musical (Feb/Mar), Footloose (Jun/Jul).

Canberra Rep: Agnes of God (Feb/ Mar), Crimes of the Heart (Apr/May), Home, I’m Darling (Jun/Jul), Amadeus (Jun/Jul), Mr Bennet’s Bride (Sep), The Complete Works Of William

Noteable Theatre Company: Kinky Boots (Mar).

Bankstown Theatre Company: The Pirates of Penzance (Apr), Into the Woods (Nov).

Hornsby Musical Society: Green Day’s American Idiot (Apr), Jersey Boys (Nov).

CLOC’s Chicago. Photo: Ben Fon.

North Shore Theatre Company: Disney Aladdin Jr (Mar), Be More Chill (May), The Addams Family (Sep).

The Regals: Newsies Jr. (Mar).

EUCMS: The Sound of Music (May/ Jun), The Pirates of Penzance (Sep).

Genesian Theatre Company: Love From a Stranger (Jan/Feb).

Holroyd Musical and Dramatic Society: The Producers (May).

Rockdale Musical Society: South Pacific (May), Heathers The Musical (Dec).

The Guild Theatre, Rockdale: Look Look (Feb/Mar), Mr Bailey’s Minder (May Jun), Wait Until Dark (Aug/Sep), Love Letters (Nov/Dec).

Rockdale Opera Company: The Elixir of Love (Jul), La Bohème (Nov).

Hills Musical Theatre Company: Peter Pan (May/Jun).

Blackout Theatre Company (Castle Hill): The Hunchback of Notre Dame (May).

Sydney Youth Musical Theatre: Big Fish (Jan), The Little Mermaid (Sep).

Seasons 2023

Arts Theatre Cronulla’s The Book Of Everything. Photo: Rod Foulcher.

Pymble Players: Rapture (Feb/Mar), Things I Know to be True (May/Jun), Table Manners (Aug/Sep), Gaslight (Nov).

Campbelltown Theatre Group: Heathers The Musical (Mar), Frozen Jr (Jul), Les Misérables (Oct).

Penrith Musical Comedy Company: Little Shop of Horrors (May), The Wizard of Oz (Oct).

Castle Hill Players: A Few Good Men (Feb), Funny Money (Mar/Apr), 33 Variations (Jun), In the Next Room, or The Vibrator Play (Jul/Aug), Cactus Flower (Sep/Oct), Ken Ludwig’s Baskerville (Nov/Dec).

The Theatre On Chester (Epping): Blithe Spirit (Apr/May), The Peach Season (Jul/Aug), Clue (Nov).

Hunters Hill Theatre: The Dog Logs (Mar/Apr), When Dad Married Fury (Jun/Jul), Pope2Pope (Aug/Sep), The Appleton Ladies’ Potato Race (Nov/ Dec).

Arts Theatre Cronulla: Dead White Males (Feb/Mar), The Appleton Ladies’ Potato Race (May/Jun), Things I Know

To Be True (Aug/Sep), The Fox on The Fairway (Oct Dec).

Lane Cove Theatre Company: The Farndale Avenue Housing Estate Townswomen’s Guild Dramatic Society’s Production of Macbeth (Feb), Assassins (May), Cloudstreet (Aug), The Little Mermaid (Nov).

Glenbrook Players Inc: Ada and the Engine (May), The Comedy of Errors (Nov).

Cumberland Gang Show (Scouts and Guides): Ignite! (Jul).

Newcastle and Hunter Region

Metropolitan Players: 12 Angry Men (Mar), Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (Jul), Jerry’s Girls (Sep).

Newcastle Theatre Company: Merrily We Roll Along (Feb), Dial M For Murder (Mar/Apr), The Government Inspector (May), Mother of the Maid (Jul), One Man, two Guvnors (Aug/ Sep), Don’t Mention Casablanca (Oct), The Appleton Ladies’ Potato Race (Nov/Dec).

Maitland Repertory Theatre: And Then There Were None (Feb/Mar), Rumors (Apr/May), All My Sons (Jul), Calendar Girls (Nov/Dec).

NSW Central Coast Wyong Drama Group: To Kill a Mockingbird (Feb), Ladies Day (Apr), Two Weeks With the Queen (August), The Full Monty (Nov).

Gosford Musical Society: Spongebob Squarepants the Musical (Jan), Rent (Mar) Junior Musical (Jul), Catch Me if You Can (Jul/Aug), Kinky Boots (Oct/ Nov).

Woy Woy Little Theatre: Party Piece (Feb/Mar), Agatha Christie’s The Hollow (May/Jun), The Perfect Murder (Aug), Don’t Dress for Dinner (Oct/ Nov).

NSW North Coast Ballina Players: Disney Moana Jr (Jan), Play On (Mar/Apr), Priscilla: Queen of the Desert (Jun/Jul), Avenue Q (Aug / Sep), Beautiful (Nov/Dec).

Seasons 2023

Rockdale Opera Company’s H.M.S. Pinafore

Photo: Mark Padina.

Coffs Harbour Musical Comedy Company: School of Rock (May/Jun), Atomic (Nov).

Murwillumbah Theatre Company: Macbeth (Mar/Apr), The Maltese Falcon (May/Jun), Puss in Thongs (Oct).

Players Theatre, Port Macquarie: Get Smart (Feb/Mar), Chicago (May), One Act Play Festival (Jun), A Doll’s House (Aug), Me and My Girl (Oct/Nov).

CHATS Productions Inc (Coffs Harbour): Avenue Q.

NSW South Coast and Southern Highlands

So Popera (Wollongong): Strictly Ballroom.

Roo Theatre Co (Shellharbour): Pinocchio (Jan).

Arcadians Theatre Group (Corrimal, Wollongong): Footloose (Feb), Frozen Jr (May), Stephen Schwartz’s Snapshots (Jun).

Highlands Theatre Group, Mittagong: The Pirates of Penzance (Jul).

Wollongong Workshop Theatre: Cosi (Feb/Mar).

Albatross Musical Theatre, Nowra: The Sound of Music (Jul), Disney Frozen Jr (Oct), Footloose (Nov).

Nowra Players: The Diary of Anne Frank (Mar/Ap).

Regional NSW Orange Theatre Company: School of Rock (May).

Tamworth Musical Society: Rent (May).

Tamworth Dramatic Society: Alice in Wonderland (Mar).

Armidale Drama and Musical Society: There’s No Business Like Show Business (Feb), Transparency (May), Into the Woods (Jun/Jul), Black Comedy (Sep/Oct), Brokenville (Nov).

Albury Wodonga Theatre Company: Beautiful (May).

Seasons 2023

GSOV’s The Yeoman Of The Guard

Photo: Robin J Halls.

Sydney Youth Musical Theatre’s Into The Woods.

Photo: Grant Leslie.

Queensland

Savoyards: The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee (Mar), 42nd St (Jun/Jul), The Music Man (Sep/Oct).

Empire Theatre, Toowoomba: The Boy From Oz (Mar).

Toowoomba Repertory Theatre: Mother and Son (Feb/Mar).

Ipswich Little Theatre: The Ladies Foursome (Mar), From Here to Eternity one act plays (May), 12 Angry Jurors (Sep), My Fair Empire (Nov/Dec).

Nash Theatre: The Thin Man Lux Radio Play (Feb/Mar), Arsenic and Old Lace (May/Jun), The Cemetery Club (Aug), A Murder is Announced (Nov/ Dec).

Phoenix Ensemble, Beenleigh: Anything Goes (Mar).

Spotlight Theatrical Company, Benowa: Chicago (Feb/Mar), Exit (Apr), Cinderella The Pantomime (Jun/Jul), Monty Python’s Spamalot (Jul/Aug), Dogfight (Sep), Xanadu (Nov/Dec).

Tweed Heads Theatre Co: Jukebox (Mar), Armed N Dangerous (Jun/Jul), Hansel and Gretel (Sep).

Brisbane Arts Theatre: One Man, Two Guvnors (Jan), The Little Mermaid (Jan).

Villanova Players: The Sweet Delilah Swim Club (Mar), Very Still & Hard to See (Apr), The Last of the De Mullins (Jun), Daylight Savings (Aug/Sep), My Family & Other Animals (Nov).

Tugun Theatre Company: Forget Me Knot (Feb), California Suite (May), Proof (Aug), Girls’ Night Out (Nov).

Gold Coast Little Theatre: The Last Five Years (Jan/Feb), Guys and Dolls (Apr/May), Blackrock (Jul), Still Standing (Sep), 45 Seconds from Broadway (Nov/Dec).

Javeenbah Theatre: The Brothers Grimm Spectacularthon (Jan), Cinderella (Mar), Apologia (May/Jun), One Act Wonders (July/Aug), Sherwood: The Adventures of Robin Hood (Sep/Oct), Falsettos (Nov/Dec).

Burdekin Singers and Theatre Company: Shrek (Feb).

North Queensland Opera & Music Theatre: Chess (Mar), Chicago (Oct).

Noosa Arts Theatre: Mother Goose (Jan), Shorts on Stage (Feb), The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (Apr), 46th One Act Play Festival (May), The Pirates of Penzance (Jul/Aug), The Pied Piper (Sep), Summer of the Seventeenth Doll (Nov).

Victoria

CLOC: Catch Me If You Can (May).

BATS Theatre Company: ‘Allo ‘Allo (Jul), Mystery Musical Mayhem! (Sep).

PLOS Musical Productions: The Boy From Oz (Jan).

Theatrical: Green Day’s American Idiot (Mar), The Wizard of Oz (Jun/Jul).

Babirra Music Theatre: All Shook Up (Jun), Gypsy (Oct).

Gilbert and Sullivan Opera Victoria: Only Make Believe (Feb), My Fair Lady (Mar), The Pirates of Penzance (Aug), Ages Ago (Nov).

Williamstown Musical Theatre Company: The Boy From Oz (May), Spring Awakening (Nov).

Noosa Arts Theatres’ The Boy From Oz. Photo: Travis Macfarlane.

MLOC: Fiddler on the Roof (Aug), A Chorus Line Teen Edition (Oct).

Fab Nobs Theatre: Tom Foolery and the Fun Crusade Pantomime (Jan), Bright Star (Mar/Apr), Disney High School Musical 2 (Jun/Jul).

Diamond Valley Singers: Seussical Jr (Mar/Apr), Monty Python’s Spamalot (Jun/Jul).

Windmill Theatre Company: Seussical (Jun).

Heidelberg Theatre Co: The Ladykillers (Feb/Mar), Molly Sweeney (Apr/May), My Old Lady (Jul/Aug), Cosi (Sep), Ladies in Black (Nov/Dec).

CPAC Musical Theatre: Jersey Boys (Feb/Mar), Anything Goes (Aug/Sep).

The Mount Players: The 39 Steps (Feb/ Mar).

NOVA: Ladies in Black (Mar).

Altona City Theatre: 50 Years Anniversary Concert (Jan).

Lilydale Athenaeum Theatre: Family Values (Feb), Barefoot in the Park (Apr/May).

Williamstown Little Theatre: All My Sons (Feb).

Pymble Players’ Bloody Murder. Photo: Dan Ferris.

Castle Hill Players’ Picasso At The Lapin Agile. Photo: Chris Lundie.

Aspect Inc: Stage Door (Jul).

SLAMS: A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder (Mar).

MDMS: The Sound of Music (May/ Jun).

Babirra Music Theatre: All Shook Up (Jun).

Brighton Theatre Company: The Revlon Girl (Feb/Mar).

Mordialloc Theatre Company Inc: The Effect (Feb/Mar), It’s Only a Play (Apr/ May), Summer of the Seventeenth Doll (Jun/Jul), Consent (Sep), Four Flat Whites in Italy (Nov).

Frankston Theatre Group: Things I Know to be True (Mar/Apr).

Strathmore Theatrical Arts Group (STAG): Fortune’s Fool (Feb/Mar).

Malvern Theatre Company Inc: Ladies’ Day (Feb/Mar), Deathtrap (Apr/May), The Whales of August (Jun/Jul), The Third Act (Aug/Sep), Absurd Person Singular (Oct/Nov).

Peridot Theatre Inc: Night Must Fall (Feb).

Encore Theatre Company Inc: The Wicked Witches of Oz (Jan), Spring at

Marino (Mar), The Popular Mechanicals (Jul), Cul De Sac (Oct).

The 1812 Theatre: Confusions (Feb/ Mar), Shoe Horn Sonata (Mar/Apr), Picnic at Hanging Rock (Aug). Beaumaris Theatre Group: Puffs (Mar). The Basin Theatre Group: Two and Two Together (Feb/Mar). Essendon Theatre Company: Puffs (Mar/Apr).

Smile Theatre Company: Murder A New Beginning (Jan).

CPP Community Theatre: Sense and Sensibility (Apr), Oliver! (Oct).

Regional Victoria

Ballarat Lyric Theatre: The Sound of Music (Jun/Jul), The Phantom of the Opera (Feb 2024).

La Trobe Theatre Co: Newsies Jr (Feb), Shrek (Aug).

Footlight Productions (Geelong): Fiddler on the Roof (Jan).

Off The Leash Productions: The Laramie Project: Ten Years Later (Mar/ Apr), The Children (Jul/Aug).

CenterStage Geelong: West Side Story (Jun).

Warragul Theatre Company: Jekyll & Hyde (May).

Wonthaggi Theatrical Group: School of Rock (Mar), Dusty (May/Jun).

Holiday Actors: Shrek (Jan).

Leongatha Lyric Theatre: The Producers (Jun/Jul).

Maffra Dramatic Society: Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (Aug).

Echuca Moama Theatre Co: Shrek (May/Jun).

Tasmania

Hobart Rep: Anne of Green Gables (Apr), The Winslow Boy (Jun), Let’s Kill Agatha Christie (Jul/Aug), The Glass Menagerie (Oct), Jingled (Dec).

Burnie Musical Society: Chicago (Aug).

The Old Nick Company: Grease (Feb), Uni Revue.

Encore Theatre Company: Priscilla Queen of the Desert (Mar).

Gilbert & Sullivan Western Australia’s Iolanthe.

Photo: Nicholas Madeley.

South Australia

Adelaide Repertory Theatre: Who’s in Bed with the Butler (Apr), An Ideal Husband (Jun/Jul), Noises Off (Aug/ Sep), Treasure Island (Nov).

Tea Tree Players: Rumours (Feb), Only an Orphan Girl (Apr), The Appleton Ladies’ Potato Race (May/Jun), 2061 A Space Idiocy (Jul), Cosi (Aug/Sep), The Vicar of Dibley Christmas (Oct), Robin Hood & the Babes in the Woods (Nov/Dec).

The Metropolitan Musical Theatre Company of SA: Nunsense: The Mega Musical Version (May), 42nd St (Oct).

Marie Clark Musical Theatre: Hot Shoe Shuffle (Jul).

Galleon Theatre Group: Hope and Gravity (May/Jun), The Duck Variations (Jun), Grow Up Grandad (Oct/Nov).

Noarlunga Theatre Company: Competitive Tenderness (Apr/May).

Northern Light Theatre Company: Catch Me If You Can (Mar/Apr).

St Jude’s Players: The Wisdom of Eve (Apr), Mr Bailey's Minder (Aug),

The Gilbert & Sullivan Society of SA: A Chorus Line (May/Jun).

Blue Sky Theatre: The Scarlet Pimpernel in the garden (Jan).

Therry Dramatic Society: Four Flat Whites in Italy (Mar/Apr), Betty Blue Eyes (Jun).

Hills Musical Company: Kiss Me, Kate (Apr/May), Carrie (Nov).

The Stirling Players: Speaking in Tongues (Mar/Apr), The Flick (Jul), Accidental Death of an Anarchist (Sep).

University of Adelaide Theatre Guild: The Tempest (Mar), The Wonderful World of Dissocia (May), Kissing The Witch (Aug), Ink (Oct).

Adelaide Youth Theatre: Frozen Jr (Jan), West Side Story (Jan).

Zest Theatre Group: Freaky Friday (Mar).

Riverland Musical Society: Musical Mixtape

South Coast Choral and Arts Society: Gypsy (Oct).

Western Australia Primadonna Productions: The Lion Kids Jr (Feb).

Stirling Players: Of Mice and Men (Feb), Absurd Person Singular (Apr/ May), Seven Little Australians (Jul), Not a Clue (Sep) Lizzie’s A Darlin’ (Nov/Dec).

Melville Theatre: Plaza Suite (Feb/ Mar), Quiz (May), Little Shop of Horrors (Aug/Sep).

Garrick Theatre: Golden Pathway Annual (Mar), My Brilliant Career (May), The York Realist (Jul), Man and Boy (Sep) The Boyfriend (Nov/Dec).

KADS: No Exit (Mar), Here on the Flight Path (Jun), Witness for the Prosecution (Aug/Sep), The Actress (Nov/Dec)

Roleystone Theatre: The Odd Couple (Apr/May), A Gentleman’s Guide to Murder (Jul), Sweet Charity (Sep/Oct), Shakespeare in the Park As You Like It (Nov), A Terry Pratchett production TBA (Nov/Dec).

Darlington Theatre Players at the Marloo Theatre: Wind in the Willows (Feb), Through the Lines (Apr/May).

Scarlett O'Hara at The Crimson Parrot (Nov).

Willoughby Theatre Company’s Mamma Mia!

Photo: Grant Leslie.

Much Ado About Nothing (Jul), One Act Season (Sep).

Wanneroo Repertory: The Greening of Grace and 150 Years of the Roman Empire in 20 Minutes (Mar), Do Not Disturb (May), Dusty (Jul), Tartuffe (Sep), Company (Nov/Dec).

Murray Music and Drama: Behind Closed Doors (Mar), I’m Sorry the Bridge Is Out. You’ll Have to Spend the Night (May), The Matchmaker (Jul), The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee (Nov).

Stray Cats Theatre: Grease (May), Macbeth (Jul), Disney’s The Little Mermaid (Nov).

AIM Art in Motion: Once Upon a Mattress (May), Be More Chill (Jul), Starkids Trail to Oregon (Oct).

Old Mill Theatre: Rabbit Hole (Feb), Private Lives (Apr), The Man From Earth (Sep/Oct), Pride and Prejudice (Nov).

Gilbert and Sullivan Society of WA: HMS Pinafore (May), Ruddigore (Oct).

Laughing Horse Productions: The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee (Feb), Les Misérables (Jul).

Graduate Dramatic Society: Richard III (Mar), A Normal Heart (Nov).

Harbour Theatre: Lunenburg (Mar), Surviving Jeanette (Jun), Banging Denmark (Sep) Trivial Pursuits (Nov/ Dec).

Midnite Youth: Cosi (Mar), A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Jun), Robin and the Sherwood Hoodies (Sep), Grimm (Nov).

Colour Blind Theatre: 13 (Mar).

New Zealand Showbiz Christchurch: That Bloody Woman (Jul).

Manukau Performing Arts: 13 The Musical (Apr).

New Plymouth Operatic Society: We Will Rock You (May/Jun), Seussical Jr.

North Shore Music Theatre: Wicked (Mar).

Variety Theatre Ashburton: The Wizard of Oz (May).

North Canterbury Musicals: Grease (May)

Musical Theatre Dunedin: Jersey Boys (May), Legally Blonde (Aug).

Whangarei Theatre Company: The Shawshank Redemption (Mar), Sister Act (Jun).

Harlequin Musical Theatre: School of Rock (Apr/May), Little Shop of Horrors (Aug).

Tauranga Musical Theatre Inc: Newsies Jr (Jan), Jekyll & Hyde (Apr), High School Musical 2 (May), Matilda Napier Operatic: The Producers (Apr/ May), Disney Moana Jr (Jul).

Blenheim Musical Theatre: Priscilla Queen of the Desert (May).

Butterfly Creek Theatre Troupe: Henry IV, Pt 1 (Mar).

Detour Theatre, Tauranga: The Hardcase Hotel (Mar/Apr), Dolphin Theatre (Auckland): Kiwifruits (Feb/Mar), One Act Play Festival (Apr), Glengarry Glen Ross (Jun/Jul), Kimberley Akimbo (Aug), Misery (Sep/ Oct), Rehearsal for Murder (Nov/Dec).

Ellerslie Theatrical Society: The Father (Mar).

Elmwood Players: The Princess and the Pirate King (Jan), Keeping Up Appearances (Apr), Big Big Sky (Jul), Array ’23 (Aug), 12 Angry Men (Jurors) (Sep/Oct).

Hawera Repertory Society: Shakespeare’s Women (Mar/Apr).

Howick Little Theatre: Home, I’m Darling (Feb/Mar), The Book Club Play (Apr/May), Precious Little (May/Jun), A Murder is Announced (Jul), Wait Until Dark (Sep), Howick Little Plays (Oct), Old Love (Nov/Dec).

Papakura Theatre Company: Noises Off (May)

Stagecraft Theatre (Wellington): Breadcrumbs (Feb), Pride & Prejudice (May), Gabriel (Jul), Abandonment (Sep), The Lady Demands Satisfaction (Dec).

Shoreside Theatre (Auckland): Shakespeare in the Park (Antony and Cleopatra and The Merry Wives of Windsor (Jan/Feb).

Ipswich Little Theatre’s Golf, Marriage And Other Murderous Matters.

Photo: Ipswich Photography Studio.

On Stage A.C.T. & New South Wales

A.C.T.

Goldilocks and the Three Bears by Jordan and Peter Best. Echo Theatre. Dec 15 18. The Q, Queanbeyan. theq.net.au

A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. shake & stir theatre. Dec 20 24. Canberra Theatre. canberratheatrecentre.com.au

Circus of Illusion. Jan 14 & 15. Canberra Theatre. canberratheatrecentre.com.au

Velvet Rewired. Feb 8 12. The Playhouse, Canberra Theatre Centre. canberratheatrecentre.com.au

To Barbra With Love. Feb 10 & 11. Canberra Theatre. canberratheatrecentre.com.au

Agnes of God by John Pielmeier. Canberra Rep. Feb 16 Mar 4. canberrarep.org.au

Downtown The Mod Musical by Philip George and David Lowenstein. Queanbeyan Players. Feb 24 Mar 5. Belconnen Community Theatre. queanbeyanplayers.com

New South Wales

Cinderella. By Richard Rodgers & Oscar Hammerstein II. New book by Douglas Carter Beane Opera Australia & John Frost for Crossroads Live. Until Jan 8. Sydney Lyric Theatre. cinderellamusical.com.au

Moulin Rouge. Book by John Logan. Carmen Pavlovic, Gerry & Val Ryan and Global Creatures. Ongoing. Capitol Theatre, Sydney. moulinrougemusical.com

Come From Away. Music, Lyrics and book by Irene Sankoff and David Hein. Rodney Rigby and Junkyard Dog Productions. Until Jan 29. Theatre Royal Sydney. comefromaway.com.au

RBG: Of Many, One by Suzie Miller Sydney Theatre Company. Until Dec 17. Wharf 1 Theatre. sydneytheatre.com.au

60 Stage Whispers

COVID-19 Update

Readers are advised to monitor public health advice in their jurisdiction and check with the relevant theatre group, venue or ticket outlet for specific performance impacts, cancellation or rescheduling information.

Blaque Showgirls by Nakkiah Lui. Griffin Theatre Company. Until Dec 17. SBW Stables Theatre. griffintheatre.com.au

Chase Me, Comrade! by Ray Cooney. The Guild Theatre, Rockdale. Until Dec 10. guildtheatre.com.au

The Jungle and the Sea by S. Shakthidharan and Eamon Flack Until Dec 18. Belvoir Street, Upstairs Theatre. belvoir.com.au

The Tempest by William Shakespeare. Sydney Theatre Company. Until Dec 17. Roslyn Packer Theatre. sydneytheatre.com.au

Picasso at the Lapin Agile by Steve Martin. Castle Hill Players. Until Dec 10. Pavilion Theatre, Doran Drive, Castle Hill. paviliontheatre.org.au

Things I Know to be True by Andrew Bovell. New Theatre, Newtown. Until Dec 17. newtheatre.org.au

Carmen on Cockatoo Island. By Bizet. Opera Australia. Until Dec 18. opera.org.au

The Wharf Revue: Looking For Albanese by Jonathan Biggins, Drew Forsythe and Phil Scott. Soft Tread. Until Dec 23. Seymour Centre. seymourcentre.com

A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens, adapted by Hilary Bell. Ensemble Theatre. Until Dec 30. ensemble.com.au

Trevor Ashley’s Moulin Scrooge! Dec 1 18. Reginald Theatre, Seymour Centre. seymourcentre.com

A Very Naughty Christmas by Dan Venz and Alister Smith. Woodward Productions. Dec

21 23. Riverside Theatres Parramatta. riversideparramatta.com.au

Christmas Spectacular A Magical Wonderland. Dec 22 & 23. State Theatre, Market Street, Sydney statetheatre.com.au

Velvet Rewired. Dec 22 Feb 5. Studio, Sydney Opera House. sydneyoperahouse.com

Amadeus by Peter Shaffer. Red Line Productions and Sydney Opera House. Dec 27 Jan 21. Concert Hall, Sydney Opera House. sydneyoperahouse.com

Great Opera Hits. Opera Australia. Jan 1 Mar 17. Joan Sutherland Theatre, Sydney Opera House. opera.org.au

Sydney Festival. Jan 5 29. sydneyfestival.org.au

Don Giovanni by Mozart. Opera Australia. Jan 5 Feb 17. Joan Sutherland Theatre, Sydney Opera House. opera.org.au

Antarctica by Mary Finsterer and Tom Wright. Sydney Festival. Jan 5 8. Carriageworks. sydneyfestival.org.au

Girls & Boys by Dennis Kelly Sydney Festival. Jan 5 15. Seymour Centre. seymourcentre.com

Sun & Sea by Rugilė Barzdžiukaitė, Vaiva Grainytė, and Lina Lapelytė. Sydney Festival. Jan 6 8. Sydney Town Hall. sydneyfestival.org.au

Afrique En Cirque. Kalabanté Productions / Sydney Festival. Jan 6 15. Riverside Theatres Parramatta. riversideparramatta.com.au

Hide The Dog. Drama Theatre, Sydney Opera House. Jan 6 8. sydneyoperahouse.com

Blanc de Blanc Encore. Strut & Fret. Jan 7 Mar 4. The Grand Electric, 199 Cleveland St, Surry Hills. strutnfret.com/blancencore

Room by James Thierrée. Sydney Festival. Jan 11 25. Roslyn Packer Theatre, Walsh Bay. sydneyfestival.org.au

La Bohème by Puccini. Opera Australia. Jan 12 Mar 11. Joan Sutherland Theatre, Sydney Opera House. opera.org.au

Manifesto. Stephanie Lake Company. Sydney Festival. Jan 12 15. Carriageworks. sydneyfestival.org.au

Christie Whelan Browne: Show People. Sydney Festival. Jan 12. Wharf 1 Theatre. sydneyfestival.org.au

Werk It. Sydney Festival. Jan 12 22. Seymour Centre. seymourcentre.com

Big Fish. Music & Lyrics by Andrew Lippa. Book by John August Sydney Youth Musical Theatre. Jan 13 to 21. Hornsby RSL Club symt.com.au

An Evening With Ursula Yovich. Sydney Festival. Jan 13. Wharf 1 Theatre. sydneyfestival.org.au

Paul Capsis in Dry My Tears. Sydney Festival. Jan 13 & 15. The Neilson ACO Piers 2 & 3. sydneyfestival.org.au

Disney Moana Jr. by Lin Manuel Miranda, Opetaia Foa’i and Mark Mancina. Ballina Players. Jan 13 22. ballinaplayers.com.au

Just $50 a month to reach thousands of theatre goers. Contact Stage Whispers for details.

On Stage

Janet’s Vagrant Love is a work 20 years in the making. Elaine Crombie (Pitjantjatjara, Warrigmai and South Sea Islander) delivers raw and intimate songs and experiences, punctuated with wicked one liners and sharp observations. Playing Downstairs at Belvoir Street Theatre from January 19 22 as part of the 2023 Sydney Festival. sydneyfestival.org.au

Online extras!

Elaine Crombie delves into the creation of Janet’s Vagrant Love. Scan or visit fb.watch/h2ChwSXzyD

Blue by Thomas Weatherall. Belvoir / Sydney Festival. Jan 14 29. Belvoir Street Upstairs. belvoir.com.au

Love From a Stranger by Agatha Christie. Genesian Theatre. Jan 14 Feb 18. 420 Kent Street, Sydney. genesiantheatre.com.au

The Spongebob Musical. Book by Kyle Jarrow. Songs by various artists. Gosford Musical Society Juniors. Jan 17 21. Laycock Street Theatre, North Gosford. gosfordmusicalsociety.com

Paradise or the Impermanence of Ice Cream. Indian Ink Theatre Co / Sydney Festival Jan 17 22. Riverside Theatres Parramatta. riversideparramatta.com.au

The Insect Circus. String Theatre. Sydney Festival. Jan 17 22. Seymour Centre. seymourcentre.com

Happy Meal by Tabby Lamb. Darlinghurst Theatre Company / Sydney Festival. Jan 17 22. Eternity Playhouse. darlinghursttheatre.com

The Artist by Thom Monckton. Sydney Festival. Jan 18 22. Seymour Centre. seymourcentre.com

Holding Achilles. Legs on the Wall and Dead Puppet Society. Sydney Festival. Jan 19 22. Carriageworks. sydneyfestival.org.au

Janet’s Vagrant Love by Elaine Crombie. Sydney Festival. Jan 14 29. Belvoir Street Theatre. belvoir.com.au

Hubris & Humiliation by Lewis Treston. Sydney Theatre Company. Jan 20 Mar 4. Wharf 1 Theatre. sydneytheatre.com.au

A Broadcast Coup by Melanie Tait. Ensemble Theatre / Sydney Festival. Jan 26 Mar 4. ensemble.com.au

Advertise your show on the front page of stagewhispers.com.au Stage Whispers 61

On Stage New South Wales

Forgotten by Kate Whittaker. Lost Voices. Jan 27 28.

Riverside Theatres Parramatta. riversideparramatta.com.au

One Woman Show. Liz Kingsman. Feb 1 19. Playhouse, Sydney Opera House. sydneyoperahouse.com

Cruel Intentions: The ‘90s Musical. Created by Jordan Ross, Lindsay Rosin and Roger Kumble. Based on the movie by Roger Kumble. David Venn Enterprises. Feb 2 12.

Riverside Theatres Parramatta. riversideparramatta.com.au

Blessed Union by Maeve Marsden. Belvoir, in association with Sydney WorldPride2023. Feb 2 Mar 12. Belvoir Street Upstairs. belvoir.com.au

The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde, adapted and directed by Kip Williams. Sydney Theatre Company. Feb 3 18. Roslyn Packer Theatre. sydneytheatre.com.au

A Few Good Men by Aaron Sorkin. Castle Hill Players. Feb 3 25. The Pavilion Theatre, Castle Hill Showground. paviliontheatre.org.au

Chorus! Opera Australia. Feb 4 Mar 10. Sydney Opera House. opera.org.au

Hairspray. Book by Mark O’Donnell & Thomas Meehan. Music by Marc Shaiman. Lyrics by Scott Wittman & Marc Shaiman. Based upon the New Line Cinema film written & directed by John Waters. Crossroads Live. From Feb 5. Sydney Lyric Theatre. sydneylyric.com.au

Faulty Towers The Dining Experience. Interactive Theatre International. Feb 7 11. Utzon Room, Sydney Opera House. sydneyoperahouse.com

Jumpers for Goalposts by Tom Wells. New Theatre, Newtown. Feb 7 Mar 4. newtheatre.org.au

The Mirror. Gravity & Other Myths. Feb 9 Mar 11. Drama Theatre, Sydney Opera House. sydneyoperahouse.com

The Farndale Avenue Housing Estate Townswomen’s Guild Dramatic Society’s Production of Macbeth by David McGillvray & Walter Zerlin, Jnr Lane Cove Theatre Company. Feb 10 26. The Performance Space at St Aidan's, 1 Christina Street Longueville. lanecovetheatrecompany.com

Joseph And The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice. From Feb 11. Capitol Theatre, Sydney. josephthemusical.com.au

Choir Boy by Tarell Alvin McCraney. Riverside’s National Theatre of Parramatta / Sydney WorldPride Feb 14 Mar 11. Riverside Theatres Parramatta. riversideparramatta.com.au

Camp by Elias Jamieson Brown. Siren Theatre Company / Sydney WorldPride. Feb 15 Mar 4. Seymour Centre. seymourcentre.com

To Kill A Mockingbird. Adapted from the Harper Lee novel by Christopher Sergel. Wyong Drama Group. Feb 15 23. Red Tree Theatre, Tuggerah. wyongdramagroup.com.au

And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie. Thriller. Maitland Repertory Theatre. Feb 15 Mar 5. 244 High Street, Maitland. mrt.org.au

Matador. Bass Fam Creative / World Pride Amplified. Feb 16 26. Riverside Theatre Parramatta. riversideparramatta.com.au

The Resistance by Kip Chapman. ATYP / Auckland Theatre Company. Feb 16 Mar 11. The Rebel Theatre. atyp.com.au

Sex Magick by Nicholas Brown. Griffin Theatre Company. Feb 17 Mar 25. SBW Stables Theatre. griffintheatre.com.au

Dead White Males by David Williamson. Arts Theatre Cronulla. Feb 17 Mar 25. artstheatrecronulla.com.au

The Rainbow Tree. Fat Fruit. Darlinghurst Theatre Company / Performing Lines / Sydney WorldPride. Feb 18 & 19. Eternity Playhouse. darlinghursttheatre.com

The Rocky Horror Show by Richard O’Brien. From Feb 19. Theatre Royal, Sydney. theatreroyalsydney.com

Adriana Lecouvreur by Francesco Cilea. Opera Australia. Feb 20 Mar 7. Sydney Opera House. opera.org.au

All The Sex I’ve Ever Had. Created by Mammaan Diving Reflex and Darren O’Donnell Darlinghurst Theatre Company / Sydney WorldPride. Feb 21 26. Eternity Playhouse. darlinghursttheatre.com

Rapture by Joanna Murray Smith. Pymble Players. Feb 22 Mar 19. Pymble Players Theatre, Cnr Mona Vale Rd and Bromley Ave, Pymble. pymbleplayers.com.au

Party Piece by Richard Harris. Woy Woy Little Theatre. Feb 24 Mar 12. Peninsula Theatre, Cnr McMasters and Ocean Beach Road, Woy Woy. woywoylt.com

Cosi by Louis Nowra. Wollongong Workshop Theatre. Feb 24 Mar 11. Workshop Theatre, 190 Gipps Rd, Gwynneville. wollongongworkshoptheatre.com.au

Get Smart by Christopher Sergel. Based on the series by Mel Brooks and Buck Henry. (Comedy). The Players Theatre, 33a Lord Street, Port Macquarie. Feb 24 Mar 12. playerstheatre.org.au

Macbeth by Williams Shakespeare. Bell Shakespeare. Feb 25 Apr 2. Playhouse, Sydney Opera House. bellshakespeare.com.au

Just $50 a month to reach thousands of theatre goers. Contact Stage Whispers for details.

62 Stage Whispers

Queensland

Mary Poppins. Music & Lyrics: Richard M. Sherman, Robert B. Sherman, George Stiles and Anthony Drewe. Book: Julian Fellowes. Disney and Cameron Mackintosh. Until Jan 1. Lyric Theatre, QPAC. 136 246. qpac.com.au

First Casualty by Christopher Johnston. Queensland Theatre. Until Dec 10. Bille Brown Theatre, South Brisbane. queenslandtheatre.com.au

The Venetian Twins by Nick Enright and Terence Clark. Villanova Players. Until Dec 11. Ron Hurley Theatre, Seven Hills. villanovaplayers.com

The Nutcracker. Queensland Ballet. Until Dec 23. QPAC. 136 246. qpac.com.au

One Man, Two Guvnors by Richard Bean, based on The Servant of Two Masters by Carlo Goldoni. Brisbane Arts Theatre. Until Jan 14. artstheatre.com.au

A Very Naughty Christmas by Dan Venz and Alister Smith. Woodward Productions. Until Dec 17. La Boite Theatre. laboite.com.au

Disney’s The Little Mermaid. Music by Alan Menken. Lyrics by Howard Ashman and Glenn Slater. Book by Doug Wright. Arts Theatre Brisbane. Dec 10 Jan 28. artstheatre.com.au

A Cracker Kransky Christmas. The Kransky Sisters. Dec 13 24. Cremorne Theatre, QPAC. qpac.com.au

Babushka Regifted. Metro Arts and Little Match Theatre. Dec 14 17. New Benner Theatre. metroarts.com.au

Jingle. JACs Entertainment. Dec 15 23. Brisbane Powerhouse. brisbanepowerhouse.org

Roald Dahl’s The Twits. shake & stir theatre co. Dec 20 24 Concert Hall, QPAC. qpac.com.au

Six The Musical by Toby Marlow & Lucy Moss. From Dec 30. Playhouse, QPAC. 136 246. qpac.com.au

Alan Cumming is Not Acting His Age. Jan 5. Concert Hall QPAC. qpac.com.au

BLUSH Circus for grown ups. From Jan 6. Cremorne Theatre QPAC. qpac.com.au

The Brothers Grimm Spectacularthon by Don Zolidis. Javeenbah Theatre. Jan 6 21. javeenbah.org.au

Mother Goose. Pantomime by Limelight Scripts. Noosa Arts Theatre. Jan 7 22. noosaartstheatre.org.au

Slava’s Snowshow. Jan 11 15. Concert Hall, QPAC. qpac.com.au

Cruel Intentions The ‘90s Musical by Roger Kumble, Jordan Ross and Lindsey Rosen. David Venn Enterprises. Jan 19 28. HOTA, Gold Coast. hota.com.au

Hamilton Book, music and lyrics by Lin Manuel Miranda. Inspired by the book Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow. Michael Cassel Group. From Jan 27. Lyric Theatre, QPAC. hamiltonmusical.com.au

Family Values by David Williamson. Queensland Theatre. Jan 28 Feb 18. Bille Brown Theatre. queenslandtheatre.com.au

The Last Five Years by Jason Robert Brown. Gold Coast Little Theatre. Jan 28 Feb 18. gclt.com.au

To Barbra With Love. Elise McCann and Katie Noonan. Feb 3 & 4. Concert Hall QPAC. qpac.com.au

Forget Me Knot by David Tristram. Tugun Theatre Company. Feb 9 25. tuguntheatre.org

Chicago. Music: John Kander. Lyrics: Fred Ebb. Book: Fred Ebb & Bob Fosse based on the

play by Maurine Dallas Watkins. Spotlight Theatrical Company, Benowa. Feb 17 Mar 18. spotlighttheatre.com.au

The Thin Man a Lux Radio Play. New Farm Nash Theatre. Feb 17 Mar 11. The Brunswick Room, Merthyr Rd Uniting Church, New Farm. nashtheatre.com

The Wharf Revue: Looking for Albanese by Jonathan Biggins, Drew Forsythe and Phillip Scott. Soft Tread. Feb 21 25. Playhouse, QPAC. qpac.com.au

Mother and Son by Geoffrey Atherden. Toowoomba Repertory Theatre. Feb 21 Mar 4. toowoombarep.com.au

Victoria

Hamilton Book, music and lyrics by Lin Manuel Miranda. Inspired by the book Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow. Michael Cassel Group. Until Jan 15. Her Majesty’s Theatre, Melbourne. hamiltonmusical.com.au

J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter and the Cursed Child by Jack Thorne, based on an original new story by J.K. Rowling. Re imagined one part production. Ongoing. Princess Theatre, Melbourne. au.harrypottertheplay.com

A Christmas Carol. Adapted by Jack Thorne. Until Dec 29. Comedy Theatre, Melbourne. christmascarolaustralia.com.au

Joseph And The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice. Until Jan 28. Regent Theatre, Melbourne. josephthemusical.com.au

Sunshine Super Girl by Andrea James. Melbourne Theatre Company. Until Dec 14. Southbank Theatre, The Sumner. mtc.com.au

A Simple Act of Kindness by Ross Mueller. Red Stitch. Until Dec 11. redstitch.net

The Woman in Black by Stephet Mallatratt. The 1812 Theatre. Until Dec 10. 1812theatre.com.au

Monsters. Created by Matthew Lutton, Stephanie Lake and Emme Hoy. Malthouse Theatre / Stephanie Lake Company Until Dec 11. Merlyn Theatre. malthousetheatre.com.au

Herd by Peta Murray and Lachlan Philpott. Theatre Works and Wrecked All Productions. Until Dec 10. Theatre Works. theatreworks.org.au

Art by Yasmina Reza. The Basin Theatre Group. Dec 1 11 The Basin Theatre. thebasintheatre.org.au

The Merry Wives of Windsor A new musical adaptation of the play by William Shakespeare. Melbourne Shakespeare Company. Dec 2 24. Rose Garden at the St Kilda Botanical Gardens. melbourneshakespeare.com

Millicent Sarre is Opinionated. Dec 12 17. The Butterfly Club. thebutterflyclub.com

Untitled Ange Arabatzis. Dec 12 17. The Butterfly Club. thebutterflyclub.com

Carols in Minor Keys Piano Punk. Dec 21 23. The Butterfly Club. thebutterflyclub.com

The Boy From Oz. Music and Lyrics by Peter Allen. Book by Nick Enright. PLOS Musical Productions. Dec 31 Jan 8. Frankston Arts Centre plos.asn.au

Madagascar The Musical. Based on the DreamWorks Animation Motion Picture. Book by Kevin Del Aguila. Original Music and Lyrics by George Noriega & Joel Someillan. Jan 4 15. Comedy Theatre, Melbourne. ticketek.com.au

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On Stage

Sunday by Anthony Weigh. Melbourne Theatre Company. Jan 16 Feb 18. Southbank Theatre, The Sumner. mtc.com.au

Murder A New Beginning by Peter Eddy and Ian Robinson. Smile Theatre Co. Jan 20 27. Shirley Burke Theatre, Parkdale. Midsumma Festival. Jan 21 Feb 12. midsumma.org.au

Wittenoom by Mary Anne Butler. Red Stitch. Jan 25 Feb 19. redstitch.net

The MILF and Mistress by Jane Montgomery Griffiths. Theatre Works / Midsumma Festival. Jan 27 Feb 4. Explosives Factory, St Kilda. theatreworks.org.au

tick, tick…BOOM! By Jonathan Larson. StoreyBoard Entertainment. Feb 1 12. Comedy Theatre, Melbourne. ticktickboomthemusical.com.au

All My Sons by Arthur Miller. Williamstown Little Theatre. Feb 8 24. wlt.org.au

Prima Facie by Suzie Miller. Melbourne Theatre Company. Feb 8 Mar 25. Fairfax Studio, Arts Centre Melbourne. mtc.com.au

Family Values by David Williamson. Lilydale Athenaeum Theatre. Feb 9 25. lilydaleatc.com

Night Must Fall by Emlyn Williams. Peridot Theatre. Feb 9 19. Clayton Community Centre Theatrette. peridot.com.au

Confusions by Alan Ayckbourn. The 1812 Theatre, Upper Ferntree Gully. Feb 9 Mar 4. 1812theatre.com.au

Agatha Christie’s The Mousetrap. John Frost for Crossroads Live Australia. From Feb 17. Comedy Theatre, Melbourne. themousetrap.com.au

Victoria,

The Ladykillers by Graham Linehan. Heidelberg Theatre Co. Feb 17 Mar 4. htc.org.au

Ladies’ Day by Amanda Whittington. Malvern Theatre Co. Feb 17 Mar 4. malverntheatre.com.au

The Effect by Lucy Prebble. Mordialloc Theatre Co. Feb 17 Mar 4. Shirley Burke Theatre, Parkdale. mordialloctheatre.com

The Revlon Girl by Neil Anthony Docking. Brighton Theatre Co. Feb 17 Mar 3. brightontheatre.com.au

Fortune’s Fool by Frederick Stroppel. Strathmore Theatrical Arts Group. Feb 23 Mar 4. stagtheatre.org

Two and Two Together by Derek Benfield. The Basin Theatre Group. Feb 23 Mar 5. thebasintheatre.org.au

The 39 Steps by John Buchan. The Mount Players. Feb 24 Mar 12. Mountview Theatre, Macedon. themountplayers.com

Jersey Boys. Book by Marshall Brickman & Rick Elice. Music by Bob Gaudio. Lyrics by Bob Crewe. CPAC Musical Theatre. Feb 25 Mar 4. Cardinia Cultural Centre. cpacmusicaltheatre.com

& Juliet Music: Max Martin. Book: David West Read. From Feb 26. Regent Theatre, Melbourne. andjuliet.com.au

Tasmania

Elf The Musical. Songs by Matthew Sklar and Chad Beguelin. Book by Thomas Meehan and Bob Martin. Launceston Musical Society. Dec 15 23. Princess Theatre Launceston. theatrenorth.com.au

Robin Hood by Les Winspear. Big Monkey Theatre Jan 3 22. Royal Tasmanian Botanical Gardens. bigmonkey.com.au

Cinderella A Pantomime Musical by Sally Daly. Star Rae Productions. Jan 19 22. Earl Arts Centre, Launceston. theatrenorth.com.au

South Australia

Ghost Stories by Jeremy Dyson and Andy Nyman. Realscape Productions. Dec 7 31. Dunstan Playhouse. ghoststoriestheshow.com.au Hairspray. Book by Mark O’Donnell & Thomas Meehan. Music by Marc Shaiman. Lyrics by Scott Wittman & Marc Shaiman. Based upon the New Line Cinema film written & directed by John Waters. Crossroads Live. From Dec 27. Festival Theatre Adelaide. hairspraymusical.com.au

The Mousetrap by Agatha Christie. John Frost for Crossroads Live. Dec 31 Jan 8. Her Majesty’s Theatre, Adelaide. themousetrap.com.au

Disney Frozen Jr. Kristen Anderson Lopez and Robert Lopez. Adelaide Youth Theatre. Jan 18 21. adelaideyouththeatre.com.au

The Scarlet Pimpernel in the garden. Blue Sky Theatre. Brook Road Garden, Victor Harbour, Jan 13 15; The Cedars, Hahndorf, Jan 20 22; Wittunga Botanic Garden, Blackwood, Jan 26 28 blueskytheatre.com.au

An American in Paris. Music: George Gershwin. Lyrics: Ira Gershwin. Book: Craig Lucas. GWB Entertainment & The Australian Ballet. Jan 24 Feb 12. Her Majesty’s Theatre, Adelaide. americaninparis.com.au

Mono. John Wood, Emily Taheny and Max Gillies. Bunbury Productions. Feb 1 5. Dunstan Playhouse, Adelaide Festival Centre. adelaidefestivalcentre.com.au

Mourning Tea by Angus FitzSimons. Bunbury

Productions Pty Ltd. Feb 1 5. Dunstan Playhouse. adelaidefestivalcentre.com.au

The Goat or, Who Is Sylvia? By Edward Albee. State Theatre Company South Australia / Sydney Theatre Company. Feb 10 15. Dunstan Playhouse, Adelaide Festival Centre. statetheatrecompany.com.au

Adelaide Fringe. Feb 17 Mar 19. adelaidefringe.com.au

Rumors by Neil Simon. Tea Tree Players. Feb 15 25. teatreeplayers.com

Adelaide Festival Mar 3 19 adelaidefestival.com.au

Western Australia

In Bed With the Bishops by Rob Selzer. KADS. Until Dec 10. British Comedy. KADS Town Square Theatre, Kalamunda. kadstheatre.com.au

42nd Street by Harry Warren, Al Dubin, Micheal Stewart and Mark Bramble, Wanneroo Repertory. Until Dec 10. Limelight Theatre, Civic Dve, Wanneroo. limelighttheatre.com.au

A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens, adapted by David Edgar. Harbour Theatre. Until Dec 11. Camelot Theatre, Mosman Park. (08) 9255 3336. taztix.com.au

Snow White (The Off White Version) by Yvette Wall. Irish Theatre Players, Until Dec 17. Modern pantomime. Irish Club of WA, Subiaco. 0406 906 553. trybooking.com/CDNSY

Six by Toby Marlow and Lucy Moss. Until Dec 18. Rock musical. Crown Theatre. sixthemusical.com.au

Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie, adapted by Tom Whalley. Zealous Productions. Dec 22 30. Traditional pantomime. The Regal Theatre, Subiaco. ticketek.com.au

Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare. Fremantle

64 Stage Whispers

Just $50 a month to reach thousands of theatre goers. Contact Stage Whispers for details.

Tasmania, South Australia & W.A.

On

Theatre Company. Dec 29 Jan 21. Shakespeare in the Park touring production Leeuwin Estate, Margaret River; Bunbury Amphitheatre, Bunbury Senior High School; Albany Historic Whaling Station; Saw Avenue Amphitheatre, King’s Park. fremantletheatrecompany.com

Madagascar the Musical by Kevin Del Aguila, Joel Somellian and George Noriega. Sellador Worldwide. Jan 19 26. Family musical. Crown Theatre. madagascarthemusical.com.au

Happy Meal by Tabby Lamb. Roots and Royal Theatre, Plymouth. Feb 9 11. The Rechabites Hall, Northbridge. (08) 6488 5555. perthfestival.com.au

The Lion King Jr by Elton John, Tim Rice, Roger Allers and Irene Mecchi. Primadonna Productions. Feb 10 11.

Youth musical. Pinjarra Civic Centre. trybooking.com/CCCZY

The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee by Rachel Sheinkin and William Finn. Laughing Horse. Feb 10 18. Koorliny Arts Centre, Kwinana. laughinghorse.asn.au

Bikutsi 3000. Blick Bassy. Feb 10 14. Africa re imagined. Studio Underground, State Theatre Centre of WA, Perth. (08) 6488 5555. perthfestival.com.au

Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck. Stirling Players. Feb 10 25. Drama based on the novella. Stirling Theatre, Innaloo. trybooking.com

Seven Sisters by Roma Yibiyung Winmar and WA Youth Theatre Company. Perth Festival and WAYTCO. Feb 10 Mar 4. A Noongar Story told under the stars at various locations. (08)

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

Cyrano is a love letter to hope, to overcoming loneliness, to language and desire and the irrepressible magic of theatre and to the hot mess that is the human heart. Virginia Gay serves up a joyous, gender flipped retelling of Edmond Rostand’s classic play, presented by Black Swan State Theatre Company of WA in association with Melbourne Theatre Company. Cyrano plays at Heath Ledger Theatre from February 17 to March 5 as part of Perth Festival 2023. perthfestival.com.au/events/cyrano

6488 5555. perthfestival.com.au

Wind in the Willows by T. James Delich, from the novel by Kenneth Grahame. Darlington Theatre Players. Feb 10 Mar 4. Marloo Theatre. trybooking.com

Rabbit Hole by David Lindsay Abaire. Old Mill Theatre. Feb 10 25. oldmilltheatre.com.au

The Strange Case of Doctor Jekyll and Mr Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson, adapted by Kip Williams. Feb 11 19. His Majesty’s Theatre, Perth. (08) 6488 5555. perthfestival.com.au

Plaza Suite by Neil Simon. Melville Theatre Company. Feb 17 Mar 4. Melville Theatre, Sock Rd, Palmyra. meltheco.org.au

Cyrano by Virginia Gay, after Edmond Rostand. Black Swan

State Theatre Company. Feb 17 Mar 5. Gender flipped retelling of Cyrano de Bergerac. Heath Ledger Theatre, State Theatre Centre of WA, Perth. (08) 6488 5555. perthfestival.com.au

Equations of a Falling Body by Laura Boynes. Perth Festival Commission. Feb 21 26. Studio Underground, State Theatre Centre of WA, Perth. (08) 6488 5555. perthfestival.com.au

Moulin Rouge! The Musical by John Logan and Justin Levine. Global Creatures. Feb 21 Apr 9. Australian Musical, Crown Theatre. moulinrougemusical.com

Carmen by Bizet. West Australian Opera. Feb 24 25. Outdoor opera with 150 performers. WACA Ground Perth. (08) 6488 5555. perthfestival.com.au

Stage Whispers 65

Virginia Gay. Photo: Brett Walker.

THIS is a unique version of the classic Dickens tale. David Wenham makes a delightful transformation from the grumbling cantankerous Scrooge into a warm hearted caring person. This production keeps its focus on the need for the wealthy to share their good fortune, and this is also evident in the way the performance closes with an acknowledgement of the important work of charities such as foodbanks, especially at Christmas.

The set is illuminated by numerous evocative lanterns, but the dark and gloomy nature of the period is well preserved. The costumes are equally sombre yet beautiful in their detail. The performance is delivered with good humour and impeccable timing and avoids the tendency to give the festive season a sugary coating. There are some genuinely tender exchanges between the characters, especially between Scrooge and Tiny Tim (Theo Watson Bonnice). The staging is cleverly extended into the entire auditorium and creates a real feel good atmosphere, while the three women ghosts create a formidable ethereal presence.

The music is performed with delicacy and finesse and employs a range of instruments including the hand bell, creating some very heavenly melodies. The graceful combination of singing, dancing and music gives the show a great sense of authenticity and makes it highly accessible. Jack Thorne’s version of A Christmas Carol ushers in the festive season in a sober and considerate manner that is in tune with the times.

Patricia Di Risio

66 Stage Whispers More reviews can be found at stagewhispers.com.au/reviews

A Christmas Carol A version by Jack Thorne. Conceived and directed by Matthew Warchus. Comedy Theatre, Melbourne. Nov 18 Dec 29.

Online extras!

Catch all the buzz from the opening night of A Christmas Carol youtu.be/mhgTB8gJk6k

David Wenham as Scrooge in A Christmas Carol

A Practical Guide to Self Defence

By Hung Yen Yang. National Theatre of Parramatta. Director Dom Mercer. Riverside Theatre. Oct 20 29. THE National Theatre of Parramatta’s aim is to produce work that “reflects the diversity of Australia today through contemporary and bold performances”. Hung Yen Yang’s A Practical Guide to Self Defence does all of that and more.

A first generation Australian Chinese boy is growing up in Wollongong. He’s bullied by the white kids; cancelled by racist teachers; blamed when he uses his martial arts training to fight back. He’s even bullied in Hong Kong, where his mother enrols him at a local school to learn Cantonese in his Summer holidays. Back in Sydney, he works harder at school and gets to university where he’s bullied yet again! And you can imagine what happens when he applies for jobs …

Online extras!

Meet the makers of A Practical Guide To Self Defence. Scan or visit youtu.be/OXyFBC0W3xA

Edric Hong and Alan Zhu play the father, the son, the mother, the grandmother, the young bullies, the teacher, the university bullies, the school principal in Hong Kong, and the Hong Kong bullies. They also show family photos and lots of advice on power point displays … and demonstrate various martial arts!

They are on the ball every minute. There is no time to re think! And they never miss a cue, verbal or physical, in this ingeniously written ‘Australian’ story.

Dom Mercer’s direction ensures the warmth and humour of Yang’s writing does not overshadow the hurt and frustration the young Hung Yen faced, nor the lasting effect it had on his life. In the hands of Mercer and his two talented, fit and fleet footed actors, Yang’s story is charmingly and very powerfully told.

Carol Wimmer

More reviews can be found at stagewhispers.com.au/reviews Stage Whispers 67

Photo: Jeff Busby.

Edric Hong and Alan Zhu in A Practical Guide To Self Defence Photo: Noni Carroll.

Oil

BLACK Swan State Theatre Company’s Oil is a beautifully presented production, acted with strength and vitality. It tells a fascinating story.

Oil looks at the history of the ‘age of oil’ as if it spanned the lifetime of a single person, albeit one whose lifetime spans a good deal more than one would usually expect playing with time and space in an interesting way. We meet our protagonist May as a pregnant farmer’s wife in Cornwall in the late 1800s as she discovers the wonders of oil for heating and lighting a symbol of hope in a dark existence. We next find May in the early 1900s living with her young daughter in the Middle East as the British oil industry begins to take hold. By the 1970s May and a now teenaged daughter are back

in England, where May is running her own petroleum company. By the present day, May and daughter Amy have a complex and fraught relationship with oil, before we have a final glimpse of these women, thirty years in the future.

Zoë Atkinson’s sliding door set design magically and elegantly transports the audience through time and place and she has created costumes that instantly set the mood and era in each scene with fabulous use of colour. Sensitively and cleverly lit by Matthew Marshall, the production also features evocative composition and sound design by Melanie Robinson, and clever animation from Steve Aiton. Director Adam Mitchell and the design team have co ordinated to make a production with outstanding design throughout that is a wonderful canvas for the strong performances.

Central character May is played with strength and power by Hayley McElhinney, in a sensitively nuanced

68 Stage Whispers More reviews can be found at stagewhispers.com.au/reviews

By Ella Hickson. Black Swan State Theatre Company. Directed by Adam Mitchell. Heath Ledger Theatre, State Theatre Centre of WA. Nov 5 27.

performance that anchors the show beautifully and allows us to share May’s journey. Her excellence is matched by Abbey Morgan as Amy a wonderfully complex oppositional performance that shines throughout.

Oil features strong supporting performances, with some actors fulfilling some interesting symbolic doubling. Michael Abercromby is steadfast and solid as May’s husband Joss, whose reappearances throughout provide interesting metaphors. Violet Ayad is strong, tripling the roles of Annie, Ana and Aminah and St John Cowcher also performs effectively in three roles as Thomas, Mr Thomas, and Tom.

Will Bastow, just finishing at WAAPA, makes an impressive professional debut as William Whitcomb and Nate, with classmate Tinashe Mangwana quickly establishing his professional career, playing Mr Farouk very well. Will O’Mahoney is solid as Samuel and Officer

More reviews can be found at stagewhispers.com.au/reviews

Samuel, and Polly Low brings character and depth in her brief stage time as Ma Singer. Grace Chow is lovely as Fanny, and packs a great theatrical punch as Fan Wang in the final scene.

Interval gossip on opening night would suggest that this production is a little divisive, but for me, the unconventional structure, amazing design, captivating story, and outstanding performances especially in the central roles make this a winning production Kimberley Shaw

Stage Whispers 69

Online extras!

Director Adam Mitchell discusses Black Swan State Theatre’s production of Oil youtu.be/gEgzmr7Figg

Black Swan State Theatre Company’s Oil Photo: Daniel J Grant.

Cyrano

By Virginia Gay after Edmond Rostand. Directed by Sarah Goodes. Melbourne Theatre Company. Southbank Theatre, The Sumner. Sep 24 Oct 29

EDMOND Rostand’s 1897 play has been constantly revived, translated, and adapted and now by Virginia Gay in the title role. On stage, we see another stage bare, shabby, empty because just one of the things this very original adaptation is about, is theatre itself.

Gay takes Rostand’s play and makes a new thing and her gender switch is not just for the hell of it. Her Cyrano dominates with, yes, sheer panache, but there is no nose just a series of witticisms about it. There’s debate about old stories, new stories and why and how we tell them, about sexuality and body image, and the way the smartest people can fall for a hunky body; and the way we create a persona to protect ourselves from shame and hurt.

Three of the cast make up a subversive Chorus: Chorus 1 (Milo Hartill) is the relaxed and supportive observer; Chorus 2 (Robin Goldsworthy) is the romantic traditionalist, yearning for the old swash and buckle and tragedy. Chorus 3 (Holly Austin) is the young newcomer who questions the original and intervenes. But such is the pace, wit, and lively performances that we are drawn in when Cyrano meets voraciously intelligent Roxanne (Tuuli Narkle) and we feel her pain when Roxanne falls in instant lust for soldier Yan/Christian (Claude Jabbour).

Director Sarah Goodes brings complete assurance to a text that turns from jokes to poignancy and back again,

and she makes great use of the spaces on Elizabeth Gadsby’s stage within a stage. Gay was determined not to follow Rostand’s tragic ending which would’ve meant a ‘kill your gays’ ending. Goodes advised, ‘Well, it’s out of copyright… write your own.’

Michael Brindley

The Pitmen Painters

By Lee Hall. Therry Theatre. Arts Theatre, Adelaide. Aug 18 27.

THE Pitmen Painters won the 2008 Evening Standard Best Play award and tells a true story, set in Ashington, England. It says much about art, and explores the inescapable intersections with class and politics, capturing the common hunger for self improvement when most boys left school and were coal miners by 13.

The play is about miners, with no formal artistic training, who became celebrated artists. Director Geoff Britain has sprinkled comedy lightly, paying attention to its message of class struggle and expectations. Jack Robins, as Oliver Kilbourn, stands out portraying a humble, warm and talented man, committed to their political principles. Andrew Horwood becomes Harry Wilson, the hard core socialist skilfully linking issues to class struggle. Sam Wiseman as George Brown grounds the group in rules and regulations, a self effacing man who stood for and by his fellow members. Adam Schultz as Jimmy Floyd creates a lovable, realistic aspiring painter, adding lightness and humour and Liam James portrays the Young Lad, an important voice used to challenge and

70 Stage Whispers More reviews can be found at stagewhispers.com.au/reviews

MTC’s Cyrano

Photo: Jeff Busby.

represent the group’s future.

Chris Leech as teacher Robert Lyon is believable as the man ultimately responsible for enabling the group to realise their potential. Nicholas Mitchell and Anita Canala are unlikeable characters, both undertaking them comfortably and underlining the class divide. Veronika Wlodarczyk as model Susan Parks uses humour well.

Sound and projection effects are impressive, adding dimension and clarity by providing access to the artists’ work. The script is wordy and accents are not consistent, but dialogue can be completely understood.

This play celebrates ‘Art as a journey that can last a whole lifetime’ and is a well drawn piece of contemporary theatre.

Jude Hines

The Tempest

By William Shakespeare. Sydney Theatre Company. Roslyn Packer Theatre. Directed by Kip Williams. Nov 15 Dec 17.

HERE is the world’s most famous playwright, William Shakespeare, at the height of his powers and at the end of a remarkable career.

And to ensure it all goes to modern plan, director Kip Williams has inserted some textual changes, especially as far as Caliban is concerned. Guy Simon plays the rickety character as dispossessed, rather than overtly ugly and evil. This Caliban loves his tiny country and ends up owning it, thanks to Richard Roxburgh’s Prospero.

Roxburgh spends most of his time climbing up and down the enormous rock, designed by Jacob Nash, that represents the island on which he has spent the past 20 years in company with his daughter Miranda (Claude Scott Mitchell) and elderly sprite Ariel (Peter Carroll), who constantly gives off smoke through his tights.

From his rock he summons up the tempest that deposits the ship that carries his brother/sister, the King of Naples (Mandy McElhinney), and his/her son Ferdinand (Shiv Palekar) on the magical shore. Gender differences are discarded in this rendition.

Kitted out in a hooded jacket, Richard Roxburgh is unlike the usual headmasterly Prospero instead he relishes his position making the world go in his favour.

Frank Hatherley

In The Heights

Words & Music: Lin Manuel Miranda. Book: Quiara Alegria Hudes. OCPAC. Director: Melanie Xavier. Memorial Great Hall, Melbourne. Sep 16 23.

OCPAC’s Victorian amateur premiere of In The Heights is a flawless performance.

Melanie Xavier’s’ effective design, including a bodega and hair salon, is set against the backdrop of the George Washington Bridge. Dazzling lighting by Peter Anesbury enhances the excitement of the dance numbers. Sound by Marcello Lo Ricco is crystal clear, allowing the audience to

hear every word. Choreography by Joel Anderson is breathtaking and spotlights each dancer's individuality. The band, under the direction of Benjamin Samuel, is tight and performs impeccably Branford Gruar (Usnavi) is electrifying in the titular number. Ninna Aguirres’(Nina) rendition of 'Breathe' was spine tingling. Maverick De Leon (Benny) had the audience grooving during 'Benny's Dispatch'. Teresa Giansiracusa (Vanessa) sings 'It Won't Be Long Now' with both spirit and fragility. Jennifer Biggs (Abuela Claudia) stopped the show with her moving rendition of ‘Paciencia Y Fe’. Sharon Wills (Daniela) delivers a powerhouse vocal on 'Carnaval Del Barrio'. Poignant moments involving Nathan Fernandez and Jade Bohni (Kevin and Camila) had the audience in tears. Sean Rentero (Piragua Guy) was popular with the audience as he sang about ice cream. Nabs Adnan’s (Sonny) comedic timing stole every scene. This production raises local theatre to new 'heights' and may just be the best amateur show I've seen in 45 years!

Jonathan Cox Things I Know To Be True

By Andrew Bovell. Melville Theatre Company. Directed by Vanessa Jensen. Melville Theatre, WA. Oct 28 Nov 12.

ONE of the best plays of the year, Melville Theatre Company’s incarnation of the Australian family drama Things I Know To Be True, is a well directed, superbly acted production.

The story of one family, we ride with them through big events, in a story that, while often dark, has beautiful moments of light, hope and humour. A believable family with a shared history that resonates well.

Vanessa Jensen’s set design of the Price family home and yard is black and white and open, allowing audiences to fill the blanks sensitively lit by Lars Jensen. Costuming by Michelle Sharp is true to character. Production values are simple but beautifully realised giving this show polish without bells and whistles an understated and very appropriate choice.

Phil Barnett is excellent as patriarch Bob Price, down to earth with a clear love for his family. Natalie Burbage is outstanding as wife Fran, giving a performance that runs the gamut of emotions, but is always truthful and layered.

Ruhama Rowe gives a strong performance as oldest daughter Pip especially in monologues and showing ramifications of difficult decisions. Thomas McCracken, whose character Mark holds perhaps the biggest secret, charts a difficult journey with dignity and understanding. Thomas Dimmick is strong as Fran’s favourite son Ben, and his character development makes for interesting viewing. Marie Ève Cigna completes the cast beautifully as youngest child Rosie, whose perspective is perhaps closest to that of the audience and her warm portrayal draws us into this complex, flawed and fascinating family.

An expertly produced, well written drama. An Australian story that resonates strongly with the audience.

Kimberley Shaw

72 Stage Whispers More reviews can be found at stagewhispers.com.au/reviews

In The Heights

Photo: Ben Fon.

The Wharf Revue Looking For Albanese

By Jonathan Biggins, Drew Forsythe, and Phillip Scott. Seymour Centre, Sydney. Nov 17 Dec 23, and touring.

IT’S still called The Wharf Revue, but after two decades it’s moved inland and sits happily in the York Theatre, Seymour Centre

Seemingly energised by a new PM on the block, Looking for Albanese begins with four open mouthed fairground clowns mocking the desperate hopes we invest in this new government. And concludes with the Labor gang excitedly clicking their fingers through the Inner West Side Story, as Albo sings “Let’s Wait”.

This year there are far more hits than misses in the scripts and lyrics from writer/ performers, Jonathan Biggins and Drew Forsythe, who also direct, and Phillip Scott, also musical director. Regular Mandy Bishop is the fourth performer. She artfully stomps through “Big Spender” as Allegra Spender; and as Jacqui Lambie boot

scoots through “Convoy”; and all four do a ghoulish mockery of the ultra conservative US Supreme Court swaying to The Supremes.

The vintage caricatures are still there, like Biggins as Keating, Bishop as Gillard and Scott as Rudd, the three ex PMs awkwardly meeting outside a Labor conference. And Forsythe’s hysterical Pauline Hanson and Bob Katter.

The Wharf Revue maintains its capacity to sometimes be just tender or thoughtful, as in Forsythe’s moving song “Ghost Soldier” about the waste of Australian lives in Afghanistan. And as Finance Minister Katy Gallagher, Bishop reminds us that no one likes a woman in a razor gang; and even Biggins’ speech to Down Under as a laudable King Charles III has some good advice.

The show is studded with short film clips, this time an hilarious revamp of ABC TV’s You Can’t Ask That, with a parade of horror world leaders.

Never mind the misses. It’s a hoot, a super talented foursome showing no sign of growing weary, and seemingly well supported by new producer Jo Dyer who after the last election went from aspiring Independent to political satire.

Martin Portus

RBG: Of Many, One

By Suzie Miller. Sydney Theatre Company. Wharf 1 Theatre. Oct 29 Dec 3, 2022.

HEATHER Mitchell delivers a tour de force in Suzie Miller’s masterful new play about Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the late legal firebrand of the US Supreme Court.

For 90 minutes, it’s a riveting journey with RBG from age 13 to 87, as Mitchell also makes split second shifts to voice 30 other characters, including three American Presidents.

As she waits feverishly by the phone for President Clinton to appoint her, or not, RBG remembers her Jewish childhood marked by grief and poverty, and her moving escape into opera.

She rises quickly to be top student at Harvard, and then battles in court for significant civil rights achievements.

The rule of law, over everybody, is her road to equality. Impassioned and witty, she still sticks to rational argument and due process and a firm belief in the division of the judiciary from the executive. In one big mistake, the prospect of a Trump presidency drives her to speak out and she must apologise.

In a masterpiece scene, Obama, over lunch, gently explored whether she might retire, allowing him to squeeze in appointing another progressive woman judge. RBG actually died just weeks before the 2020 Presidential election, and Trump happily replaced her with a religious conservative.

Suzie Miller’s play wonderfully splices this quick parade of scenes and characters, big and small, and memories, grand and domestic, and through it all, the most tender love affair RBG has with her husband. The translucent Mitchell inhabits them all. Her quicksilver shifts are finely

74 Stage Whispers

More reviews can be found at stagewhispers.com.au/reviews

The Wharf Revue Looking For Albanese Photo: Vishal Pandey.

supported by the clarity and focus of Alexander Berlage’s lighting and Paul Charlier’s beautiful sound. Priscilla Jackson artfully directs clockwork changes of props and scenes, against David Fleischer’s sparse but enveloping design.

Miller shares RBG’s passionate feminism and love of legal debate. And it’s central to her current huge success, now overseas, with Prima Facie. Landmark cases advancing the rights of women are well delineated in RBG: Of Many, One. I missed, though, not going deeper into her feminism and politics by knowing of other, related civil rights cases, which in the Supreme Court motivated her famous RBG Dissenting Decisions. RBG called them her voices to the future.

Martin Portus

STC’s RBG: Of Many, One.

Photo: Prudence Upton.

Recently I “auditioned” for a big budget production that included expensive costumes, singing, dancing, lines to learn, laughter and tears.

Preparation commenced over a year before the performance to select the venue, music, and set design. The role I went for was described on the notice as “father of the bride”, and as no one else turned up I got the part (I was worried about the postman, but he was a no show).

The leading lady was also the artistic director, with a passing interest in sticking to a budget.

My involvement could best be described as supporting actor and co treasurer. Alas, I had no control over any of the pre planning, with my role assigned to be the official wallet opener.

The production was called The Wedding of Rebecca Spicer to David Politzer

Yes, I must admit it was a serious case of nepotism in the casting, as the lead role of bride went to my eldest daughter, and further, she chose her sister Jordan to be one of the bridesmaids. I blush also to admit that my wife Ruthie played the weeping mother of the bride, and my son Joshua and mother in law Margaret

were given the roles of flower boy and girl.

Lest you think that my daughter did not deserve the lead role, I should point out that she went to both AIM and NIDA. I introduced her to the Performing Arts and we have sung very nice duets over the years, including one from The Pirates of Penzance when she was about five.

There was drama at the final (non dress) rehearsal which we held at the venue. The partner of one of the principals wanted to know why they did not get one of the supporting roles on the main stage. Words were exchanged and the partner walked out!

The whole production was almost called off the next day by the artistic director, but was saved by the intervention of the mother of the bride.

Tickets were hard to come by and available only to friends and relatives. Unusually there was no fixed price of admission, just some suggestions on a registry.

The big day arrived. The wardrobe and make up was held in our house with the principals taken to the venue in a limo.

The first act of the production was held outside in the Botanic Gardens,

and with Sydney’s weather this year this was a big gamble. We were relieved and delighted to be greeted by glorious sunshine.

The official part of the performance culturally resembled the wedding scene in Fiddler on the Roof, but thankfully the writer did not cast any Cossacks.

The leading lady looked sensational and the on stage chemistry between her and the leading man was sizzling. Those cuddles and kisses looked real.

Act 2 was in a dinner theatre format in a glasshouse overflowing with beautiful flowers. The catering was way above the usual theatre restaurant fare.

Audience participation in the crowd dancing scene was exceptional. The choreography was energetic, but the leading lady fell over once due to a complete lack of rehearsal in her costume, that had arrived just days before. Being a trooper, she picked herself up quickly and recovered well for the showstopper a love duet and dance by the leads.

It brought the house down.

Mazel Tov!

David Spicer

Musical Spice

THEATRE GOING

Congratulations to every company and school which managed to keep theatre going in very difficult times, and commiserations to those who had to cancel.

The Centre Stage Event Company in Albury had to postpone twice to navigate COVID 19, then had to navigate rules from two different states, to get its production of We Will Rock You to the stage.

A high school in the COVID 19 free bubble of The Northern Territory miraculously got a production of The Great Australian Rock Musical up at the peak of the crisis.

Chookas to companies resuming disrupted seasons and wishing everyone a safe return to the theatre.