The desire to break free of an abusive relationship is at the heart of Waitress, which is based on a 2007 independent film of that name, which starred Keri Russell. Jenna Hunterson works as a waitress and prolific baker at Joe’s Pie Diner in a small town in America’s South. She is trapped in an…
F. Scott Fitzgerald’s classic 1925 novel is reimagined for the stage in a fusion of ballet, tap and jazz. BIG Live is a welcome new voice in the performing arts – a ballet company where tradition meets innovation. Alongside narration of the tragic Gatsby storyline is a stunning score, bold choreography, striking sets and costuming,…
Opening night saw Melbourne embrace the power, the passion and the perfection of one of the world’s great entertainers, Michael Jackson. Driven by his hard-edged father, Joseph, Michael sought excellence – faultlessness. That is behind his approach to his 1992 Dangerous World Tour, which plays out in rehearsals, as well as in a nostalgic look…
Lovers Orpheus (Noah Mullins) and Eurydice (Eliza Soriano, filling in for regular Abigail Adriano) find out the hard way that if you deal with the devil, there will be hell to pay. In a nutshell, that is the conceit in the cautionary tale Hadestown, a most appealing musical. Orpheus, the son of a muse who…
Superlatives hardly do justice to the magnificent staging of one of Disney’s all-time favourites, Beauty and the Beast, which has been revised and enhanced. The striking sets and glorious costuming set the scene for a joyful celebration of song and dance … and the Hollywood ending that everyone wants to see play out. Fast-moving advances in technology…
A superb production breathes new life into the multi award-winning story of vice that is Bob Fosse’s Chicago. We’re in the roaring Twenties. Married to the dim-witted Amos, chorus girl Roxie Hart is enraged when Fred Casely breaks off an affair and shoots him dead. She tries to pin the murder on her hapless husband, although that backfires. Sent…
Senior high in the US in the late 1950s is re-energised in the colourful new production of Grease The Musical at Her Majesty’s Theatre. It is set in fictional Rydell High School (named after pop singer Bobby Rydell). That is where Australian blonde beauty Sandy Dumbrowski unexpected bumps into her summer love, the too cool for school,…
Cameron Mackintosh’s spectacular new production of Miss Saigon has stormed onto the Her Majesty’s Theatre stage, captivating an enthusiastic audience anew. It last played at the same theatre 16 years ago. Miss Saigon is a deeply emotional work, featuring soaring vocals and exemplary production values – sound, lighting, choreography and visual effects. Based on Giacomo Puccini’s 1904…
Anthony Lapaglia and Alison Whyte shine in a superb rendition of one of the finest plays of the 20th century, Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman. It won the 1949 Pulitzer Prize for Drama and the Tony Award for Best Play in the same year. It is an incendiary look at the American Dream, which relates to…
A blood curdling scream at 2:22am sets the scene for a ghost story with a twist. Eleven months ago Jenny (Gemma Ward) gave birth to daughter, Phoebe. She and her astronomer husband Sam (Remy Hii) have also moved into a large, old home, which they bought from an Italian widow. They are in the throes of painting the…
