The dress code for the Brisbane Premiere of Moulin Rouge! The Musical is ‘Spectacular Spectacular’, which is entirely appropriate given what a glorious spectacle the show is in its every aspect. From the moment audience members enter QPAC’s Lyric Theatre, the aesthetic abundance means that there is much to absorb in Derek McLane’s lavish set…
Inspired by the tale written by Danish author Hans Christian Andersen in 1837, director Rob Marshall’s (Mary Poppins Returns) take on The Little Mermaid is the story of an outsider who is embraced. Set in the 1830s in and around the waters of a fictitious Caribbean Island, Ariel (Halle Bailey) is a spirited mermaid with…
Half a century on, the Rocky Horror Show remains a delightful, bizarre and engaging romp that encourages audience participation. Opening night of the 50th anniversary Melbourne production saw plenty of “shout outs” from enthusiastic patrons, acknowledged by narrator Myf Warhurst. With music, lyrics and book by Richard O’Brien, the musical is a tribute to the science fiction and…
If there were really such a thing as time travel, it wouldn’t be all that hard to convince even the most astute music listener that the new album from The Lemon Twigs was a long-lost product from 1967, perhaps the one original copy hidden away in a time capsule until now. That year, the Beatles…
Tony Burge, who assumes the role of lead FBI agent Carl Hanratty chasing boyish con man Frank Abagnale Jr. excels in Cloc’s production of Catch Me If You Can. He is strong vocally and as an actor, with a fine command of comic timing, which is a key ingredient in the musical. With book by Terrence McNally,…
A brilliant slice of musical theatre, Once has an inspiring, ear and eye pleasing balance of heart and humour. Based on the 2007 movie by John Carney, it concerns a struggling Irish musician on the verge of giving up and an effervescent Czech woman. The latter (Stefanie Caccamo) sees the guy (Toby Francis), guitar in hand, singing…
Rolling Thunder Vietnam is a deeply emotional, richly rewarding musical and narrative experience that takes you to the heart of the highly divisive Vietnam War. Featuring 20 of the most affecting songs of the era, Rolling Thunder Vietnam prizes open the hopes and fears of the young soldiers who went into battle. It also looks at the…
At several points on this monumental 9th album from singer/songwriter Lana Del Rey, she reports that “When you know, you know.” Yet after numerous listens to this album that no less than pop superstar Taylor Swift recently described as “brilliant” and “extraordinary,” adding that her collaborator on the song “Snow on the Beach” from her…
Three disaffected young men are at the centre of punk rock band Green Day’s rock opera American Idiot. The story is expanded from its album of the same name, (released in 2004) and also features music from its 2009 album 21st Century Breakdown. The band – formed in 1986 by lead vocalist and guitarist Billie Joe Armstrong and…
A riotously fun, thoroughly entertaining musical for our new, enlightened times, & Juliet picks up Shakespeare’s Romeo & Juliet where it ended and kicks it up a gear. It does so after the Bard himself (Rob Mills) is challenged by his wife Anne Hathaway (Amy Lehpamer), who has suffered as second fiddle to his writing for…
