Vocally astonishing, soprano Georgia Wilkinson’s voice is equally at home operatically (where she could shatter glass) and in musical theatre. After six years in straight opera, over the past three and a half years she has moved into musical theatre. In the latter, she has starred internationally as Christine Daaé, the lead female protagonist in…
The staging, dancing and choreography are next level, as Troy Sussman makes Tevye his own in a virtuoso display in this triumphant revival of Fiddler on the Roof. The emotionally fraught journey resonates big time in a critically acclaimed production direct from the West End. “Fiddler” is set in 1905 in the tiny village of…
Is the world pure evil? For global Jews, October 7 (2023) certainly made it appear so. It was the 21st century Holocaust. Creator and composer Ari Jacob and co-writer Josh Gurgiel have taken that concept and turned it into a modern day reckoning. It is a parallel story to the flood in the Old Testament…
Craig McLachlan makes a triumphant return to the big stage in a mad-capped cabaret show in the Black Box Theatre at Spiegel Haus Melbourne. As the star attraction, one should never forget what a natural and talented performer he is. McLachlan sings up a storm and acts up beautifully. He leans heavily (and commendably) into…
A powerhouse performance by Conor Beaumont as serial killer Patrick Bateman leads the way in this slick production of American Psycho: A Musical Thriller. Bateman only feels truly alive when he is taking an axe, meat cleaver, drill, nail gun, chain saw or long barrelled gun to his hapless victims. This sick puppy’s mantra is…
Aussie-born Helen Reddy’s 1972 signature song I Am Woman, that reached number one on the US Billboard Hot 100, may have been the ultimate girl-power anthem. But long before, Australian women were fighting for equal rights. In 1965, Merle Thornton (Sigrid Thornton’s mother) and Rosalie Bogner chained themselves to the bar of the Regatta Hotel…
Such a special sound at an unforgettable concert that is well worth travelling far and wide to see and hear. Mellifluous vocals reach deep into your soul. In short, it feels like a warm embrace of gentler times – of yesteryear. Every one of the 24 songs is simply so enticing in the hands of…
The voiceover at the start of the show speaks volumes. “How old were you when you stopped playing?” The reference is to imaginative and unstructured play, to make believe, if you will. Young children, in particular, have it in spades. It happens automatically, intrinsically. In short, it takes very little effort. But as one grows…
The distinctive rasp and soul are there in abundance, as is the rhythm. In fact, syncopation is very much in her wheelhouse. Macy Gray and her most attractive sounding “wigged” band mates and backing singer and warm up act, soul and R & B singer Emi Secrest, are as one. Gray, resplendent in orange, has…
It is so silly, so over the top and so funny. If slapstick and physical humour are your bent, this has it in spades. Nineteen years after the outrageous Mel Brooks musical comedy opened on Broadway, Young Frankenstein comes to St Kilda’s Theatre Works. It is based on Brooks’ and Gene Wilder’s 1974 film that…
