What a legacy the Swedish pop group ABBA has left the world! That was my overwhelming sentiment while watching the fun of Mamma Mia! unfold at Capitol Theatre in Sydney. It’s a heartwarming romp that gets better until the final three crowd-pleasing numbers. The whole audience is on its feet clapping its hands and dancing to…
Disney’s Aladdin is simply a mind-blowing visual experience that had the audience in ecstasies that resembled an old time US revival meeting as they screamed, cheered, and gasped in adoration. With American accents it was Disney all the way with feel, audience pitch, values and quality. For me, after an adult life time involved in…
The sophisticated operatic farce, A Little Night Music, is set in 19th Century Sweden. It follows the misadventures of a set of illicit lovers and their spouses who come together for an idyllic weekend in the country. The show deals with issues of forbidden love and infidelity, sexuality, gender, class, lost love and regrets. Lawyer…
Three disaffected young men are at the centre of Green Day’s rock opera American Idiot. The story is expanded from their album of the same name, (released in 2004) and also features music from the 2009 album 21st Century Breakdown. Lead vocalist and guitarist Billie Joe Armstrong and bassist Mike Dirnt formed Green Day in…
A microphone or two, a stool, a modern armchair, an elegant dark dress and that voice honed to perfection. This is the incomparable talent of Bernadette Robinson in The Show Goes On. Through 75 minutes, the indefatigable Robinson (Songs for Nobodies) showcases some of the finest female musical talents of the 20th century. She has…
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…
Esther Hannaford, take a bow. What a star! Beautiful: The Carole King Musical is a showcase of all that is great about musical theatre – joyful and triumphant, with Hannaford front and centre. The music is outstanding – hit after glorious hit – with superb voices to match. The story is wonderfully crafted – lovingly populist, with…
Sydney based alt-country singer-songwriter Imogen Clark has been busy lately, revealing plans to release her new album Collide on 27 April 2018, dropping her catchy new single and video “Your Anything At All” and listing so many tour dates it’s impossible not to get out and see her. Collide is Clark’s second album and was produced by Australian music legend Mark Lizotte…
David Campbell was born to play Bobby Darin, such is his command of the character and vocals in Dream Lover. He fits seamlessly into the highly demanding role, which requires a great deal of energy and non-stop movement. While the musical contains many numbers I was familiar with, it matters not. In Campbell’s hands –…
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…
