Among my favourite TV shows growing up were the household staple of comedies: Get Smart (1965-70), I Dream of Jeannie (1965-70), Hogan’s Heroes (1965-71) – and Gilligan’s Island (1964-67). So with a great sense of excitement, I ventured into Chapel off Chapel to see my childhood memories revived in Gilligan’s Island: The Musical. I felt wary…
With a highly-demanding, entirely sung bed, Falsettos is hard work. The show was nominated for seven Tony Awards, including Best Musical, for its original Broadway production in 1992 and claimed two (for Best Book of a Musical and Best Original Score). The story centres around a dysfunctional Jewish family. Marvin married Trina and they had…
Sally Robbins and Steven Bradbury featured in two of the most notorious moments in Australian Olympic history. Robbins is known as “Lay Down Sally” because she gave up and lay back in her boat 250 metres from the finishing line during the women’s eights’ final at the Athens Summer Games in 2004. She was reviled for…
Beauty may only be skin deep, but not according to the ethos of the four fine looking gentlemen who constitute the GLEAM (Good Looking and Aesthetics Movement) team. Their mantra is that you have to look good to feel good and vice versa. The shallow bunch featured in Beautiful Things: A Really Good Looking Musical consists of a…
Since it began five years ago, StageArt has built a richly deserved reputation for bringing top-flight musical theatre to this country. Four time 2010 Tony Award winner (including Best Musical), Memphis The Musical is its latest and one of its best. Music and lyrics are by David Bryan (the keyboard player for Bon Jovi), with lyrics and book…
The life and troubled times of pop diva Britney Spears make for compelling and scintillating entertainment in the hands of one of Australia’s finest musical theatre performers, whose comic timing is impeccable. Christie Whelan-Browne (The Drowsy Chaperone) is dynamite. Britney Spears: The Cabaret, by award-winning writer/director Dean Bryant (Sweet Charity), is a satirical look at…
Family, cultural heritage, religious observance and aspiration are the focus of The Perfume Garden. This reworked comedy was first performed a decade ago. Now, colourful Bollywood dance numbers – nine in all – have been added to the mix. Six beautifully adorned sari-clad women are joined by a beaming and elegant man. The women first appear…
A big voice with strong vocal range, a dynamic personality, good humour, reflections about the world and homespun philosophy greet those who venture into Chapel off Chapel in a tribute to two prodigious talents with Bowie & Mercury Rising. Couple that with a highly accomplished pianist/keyboard player, in the form of creator Warren Mills. The award-winning…
Luke is a young man in his 20s who is a true believer – in God that is. He’s a committed Christian and a man who prays. He falls for a 40-year-old hypochondriac, Adam (Darren Redgate), who is an atheist. Next Fall, by American playwright Geoffrey Nauffts, is set in New York and portrays the ups and…
Warm, witty and engaging, Ordinary Days is a contemporary musical about making real connections in a city that never sleeps – New York. It is about our search for meaning and purpose, and how to celebrate beauty and the simple things in our everyday lives. The longer it went the more I embraced and fell…
