Without doubt Kinky Boots is the best new musical in years. It has everything: a great story line, wonderful characters, and toe-tapping music that moves the plot along. It’s such a joyful and refreshing spectacle to watch. I loved every damn minute of the two hours of music, dance, and drama. On top of all…
After seasons in Sydney and Brisbane, The Bodyguard: The Musical has taken up residence at Melbourne’s regal Regent Theatre. It’s based on the hit 1992 film starring Kevin Costner and Whitney Houston. The stage production debuted in London’s West End on 5 December 2012. The story concerns a former secret service agent turned bodyguard, Frank Farmer (Kip…
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…
Characterised by soaring vocals, Jesus Christ Superstar is a bold and moving version of Jesus’ betrayal and crucifixion. With no spoken dialogue (it’s all sung), the show is set to wow audiences anew. That’s just what it did nearly 50 years ago when composer Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyricist Tim Rice got together. It debuted on Broadway in 1971,…
The Bodyguard plays a significant role in the lives of many a thirty- and forty-something woman. For many of us, it was the first blockbuster movie we saw as teenagers, and it certainly features heavily in the soundtrack of our lives. I don’t know how many times I sang those Whitney Houston tunes at the…
Superb, power-packed performances are the hallmark of Paris: A Rock Odyssey. This dynamic concert tribute is a version of a show co-written by the late, great Jon English (who passed away in March 2016). His son, Jonathan, is in the orchestra and the last number specifically acknowledges Jon, with a large full-screen video headshot being the…
I’m really not ashamed to admit that I’m always looking forward to watch a live-action rendition of a Disney cartoon. We’ve seen a few of those already passing by. One more succesful than the other. Or better, one I liked more than the other. Maleficent, The BFG and especially The Jungle Book were, in my…
Merrily We Roll Along is based upon a 1934 play of the same name by George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart. George Furth (book) and Stephen Sondheim (music and lyrics) retained the basic structures and themes of the play but updated it to cover the period from 1957 to 1976. The musical starts in New York…
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…
