Here’s the latest news in the Weekly Wrap!
CURRENT SHOWS
NEW SOUTH WALES
Capitol Theatre: Wizard of Oz
Lyric Theatre: Beautiful: The Carole King Musical
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QUEENSLAND
QPAC Lyric Theatre: Mamma Mia !
QPAC Concert Hall: The Rocky Horror Show
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VICTORIA
Chapel off Chapel: Falsettos
Regent Theatre: Priscilla, Queen of the Desert
State Theatre: Dream Lover: The Bobby Darin Musical
The Princess Theatre: The Book of Mormon
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WESTERN AUSTRALIA
Crown Theatre: American Idiot
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WHAT’S HAPPENING AROUND AUSTRALIAN THEATRES?
School of Rock announces Australian tour
Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Broadway and West End smash hit, School of Rock will rock Melbourne’s Her Majesty’s Theatre from October 2018.
Based on the 2003 film of the same name, with a screenplay by Mike White the musical follows Dewey Finn (portrayed in the movie by Jack Black) an out-of-work musician who pretends to be a substitute teacher at a prestigious prep school. After identifying the musical talent of his students, Dewey forms a band in an attempt to win the upcoming Battle of the Bands contest.
Audition and waitlist information can be found at https://au.
VIDEO: SCHOOL OF ROCK AT THE TONY AWARDS
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The View Upstairs extends their season
Due to popular demand, the upcoming Australian Premiere of the hit Off-Broadway musical, The View Upstairs, an additional week of performances of this provocative new musical, written by Max Vernon has been announced. The show commences on 8 February at Hayes Theatre, Sydney with tickets now available until Sunday 11 March.
Tickets can be purchased from www.hayestheatre.com.au
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OPENING NIGHTS
Priscilla, Queen of the Desert
Melbourne’s Regent Theatre taken over by sparkles, stunning frocks and a pink carpet as the bus pulled into town on Wednesday, January 30th for the official opening night of the 10th anniversary Australian tour of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert.
Tony Sheldon, David Harris and Euan Doidge lead the cast as Bernadette, Tick and Felicia respectively. The theatre felt more like a sports stadium when a riotous standing ovation broke through the audience at the bows.
A full review can be found at http://www.theatrepeople.com.
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Falsettos
Friday, February 2nd saw StageArt’s production of Falsettos open at Chapel off Chapel in Prahran.
Falsettos is about a charming, intelligent, neurotic man named Marvin (Don Winsor), his ex-wife Trina (Sarah Shahinian), his lover Whizzer (Sam Ward), their about-to-be-Bar-Mitzvahed son Jason (Ben Jason-Easton), their psychiatrist Mendel (Nick Simpson-Deeks), and the lesbians next door, Dr Charlotte (Francesca Arena) and Cordelia (Jenni Little).
The show is a funny and poignant look at the dynamics and people that make up a modern family.
Tickets are available from https://chapeloffchapel.
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PERFORMANCES
Anthony Callea and American Idiot at the Tennis
Sunday, January 28th saw Anthony Callea (Grease) perform the Australian National Anthem before the Australian Open men’s final while American Idiot‘s Sarah McLeod performed the Green Day hit Good Riddance.
Congratulations Anthony and Sarah!
VIDEO: SARAH MCLEOD AT AUSTRALIAN OPEN https://www.facebook.com/
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CELEBRATIONS
Virginia Gay
Tropfest is the world’s biggest short film festival and January 31st saw the announcement of this years 16 finalists just three weeks out from the event which will be held at Paramatta Park on February 17th, 2018. Among the films is Paper Cut, a suspenseful comedy thriller about a rogue printer. The film is written and directed by Virginia Gay (Calamity Jane).
For further information head to https://www.tropfest.org.au
Chookas Virginia!
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OPENING SHOWS
NEW SOUTH WALES
Hayes Theatre: The View Upstairs (February 8th)
Capitol Theatre: Mamma Mia! (February 11th)
Lyric Theatre: The Book of Mormon (February 28th)
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QUEENSLAND
QPAC Lyric Theatre: Aladdin (February 20th)
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VICTORIA
Chapel off Chapel: Gilligan’s Island (February 15th)
Her Majesty’s Theatre: Beautiful: The Carole King Story (February 16th)
Comedy Theatre: American Idiot (February 23rd)
The National Theatre Melbourne: A Little Night Music (February 28th)
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WESTERN AUSTRALIA
Crown Theatre: The Rocky Horror Show (February 17th)
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CLOSING SHOWS
NEW SOUTH WALES
Capitol Theatre: Wizard of Oz (February 4th)
Lyric Theatre: Beautiful: The Carole King Musical (February 4th)
–
QUEENSLAND
QPAC Lyric Theatre: Mamma Mia! (February 4th)
QPAC Concert Hall: The Rocky Horror Show (February 11th)
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VICTORIA
The Princess Theatre: The Book of Mormon (February 4th)
Chapel off Chapel: Falsettos (February 11th)
The National Theatre Melbourne: A Little Night Music (March 3rd)
Chapel off Chapel: Gilligan’s Island (March 4th)
State Theatre: Dream Lover: The Bobby Darin Musical (March 4th)
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WESTERN AUSTRALIA
Crown Theatre: American Idiot (February 11th)
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AUSSIES ABROAD
Caroline O’Connor
Caroline O’Connor (Anastasia, Anything Goes) will be playing the role of Anna in the Southwark Playhouse production of Rink which opens at the South London venue in May.
Rink is a Kander and Ebb musical (Cabaret, Chicago) about an Italian housewife, Anna who runs a dilapidated roller-skating rink on the boardwalk of a seaside resort who have decided to sell the rink to developers.
O’Connor understudied the role of Angel, Anna’s estranged daughter in the 1988 production.
The season runs from May 25th to June 23rd with tickets available from https://
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CATS
Congratulations to the cast of CATS who last night performed their 200th show on the South Korean tour. The show is currently running at the Sejong Center for the Performing Arts, the largest arts and cultural complex in Seoul. The South Korean tour has had over two million visitors.
