Forty years on, the winner of 11 Tony Awards remains so much rambunctious fun. This all-new Australian production stars five-time Helpmann Award winner Paul Capsis in the lead role of Albin. By his side is renowned singer and actor Michael Cormick (Beauty and The Beast, The Phantom of The Opera) as husband Georges. Georges and the flamboyant,…
There is something wicked and subversive about storybook villains rising and trying to rewrite their fate. That’s the premise of the world premiere musical Villainy. Druzilla (Olivia Charalambous), one of Cinderella’s ugly stepsisters, who bemoans the fact that she is always walked over, is hosting a party. Mind you, the atmosphere is hardly festive. In the house are several…
Talk about playing mind games with words. Seventeen years after MTC staged this Tony Award winning musical comedy, Saltpillar Theatre has brought it back to tickle our funny bones again. It is, indeed, hilarious, more than a touch silly and really fun, but not without pathos. All the young contestants in The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling…
Subterfuge and skullduggery abound, with the Russians and the Allies at loggerheads during the Cold War in Chess: The Musical. The maneuvering is intense, the stakes are high at the World Chess Championships. With music by Benny Andersson and Bjorn Ulvaeus of ABBA, and book and lyrics from Tim Rice, CLOC has put on a tremendous production. The…
Bananaland opens in the wake of Covid’s decimation of the performing arts sector. Only the determined can survive, and lead singer of Kitty Litter, 21-year-old Ruby Semblance (Maz McKenna) is certainly determined… uncompromising in her pursuit to have society wake up and also realise her unconventional onstage artistry. It’s all quite tongue-in-cheek as along with…
Hijinks abound in the witty, irreverent, farcical hit musical A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum. A world first, all-female identifying cast of 10 give voice to a comedy that has its roots in Roman times. It is feel good material, with plenty of laughs along the way. Pseudolus (Charmaine Gorman) is a wily…
What is your anthem? It’s an early question that not only leaves audience members pondering, but sums up the central premise of Shake and Stir’s uplifting new work, Tae Tae in the Land of Yaaas!, appearing as part of Brisbane Festival. More than a favourite tune, a person’s anthem is a theme song declaration of…
Bernadette Robinson’s new theatrical offering, Divas is currently on at the Sydney Opera House. In her own words, she has chosen “10 extraordinary singers from incredibly different styles… I just made it as diverse as I could.” In her one-woman show with a three-piece backing band, Robinson unleashes all her singing, acting and comedic talents…
Based on a true story, injustice and antisemitism are at the core of the powerful musical Parade. It is 1913 and we are in Atlanta, Georgia. That is where Leo Frank (Aaron Robuck) has moved from Brooklyn to be with his wife Lucille (Montana Sharp) after her uncle offered him a good job. Leo is a hard-working, conservative…
A new Australian musical, Bloom hits the right notes. The delivery of effective aged care remains a contentious issue that has brought great consternation to many, before, during and after the COVID-19 lockdowns. Writer Tom Gleisner has taken that and run with it to create a humour-filled portrait of a facility for the third generation in desperate…
