Here’s the latest news in the Weekly Wrap!
CURRENT SHOWS
NEW SOUTH WALES
Capitol Theatre: Priscilla, Queen of the Desert
Hayes Theatre: Gypsy
Sydney Lyric Theatre: The Book of Mormon
Sydney Opera House: Assassins
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VICTORIA
Athanaeum Theatre: Bring it On
Her Majesty’s Theatre: Beautiful: The Carole King Story
Regent Theatre: The Wizard of Oz
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WESTERN AUSTRALIA
Crown Theatre Perth: Mamma Mia!
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WHAT’S HAPPENING AROUND AUSTRALIAN THEATRES?
Helpmann Award nominations announced
Monday, June 17th saw the announcement of the nominations for the 2018 Helpmann Awards which will be held in Sydney on July 15th and 16th. Leading the nominations is new Australian hit, Muriel’s Wedding with 11 nominations.
For a full list of nominations, information on awards to be presented on each evening and how to purchase tickets head to http://www.theatrepeople.
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Trifecta of shows announced for Australia
Announced this week, Sydney is set to enjoy a trifecta of musical theatre hits over the next two years. The Kander and Ebb masterpiece Chicago will open at the Sydney Lyric Theatre in 2019; the worldwide hit musical Saturday Night Fever will open at the Capitol Theatre in 2019 and the Australian premiere of the Broadway smash hit Waitress will open at the Sydney Lyric Theatre in 2020.
Theatregoers can sign up to waitlists at:
Chicago: https://
Saturday Night Fever: http://
Waitress: http://
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Tony Sheldon celebrates 1900th show as Bernadette
Congratulations to Australian theatre legend Tony Sheldon who celebrated his 1900th show as Bernadette in Priscilla, Queen of the Desert on Wednesday, June 20th. Sheldon has portrayed the iconic role in the original Australian production as well as on the West End and Broadway.
Priscilla, Queen of the Desert is currently playing at Sydney’s Capitol Theatre with further tour information available from https://
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Gypsy Cloak
The Gypsy Cloak is a theatre tradition and honour handed from show to show. The cloak itself is presented to the ensemble member who has performed in the most shows and this week it was presented to Darren Tyler who can currently be seen in The Wizard of Oz. Tyler has performed in over 20 shows.
Congratulations Darren!
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Steve Danielsen to sing Anthem at 2nd Origin match
Book of Mormon’s Steve Danielsen (also known for his portrayal of Fiyero in WICKED) will perform the Australian National Anthem in front of a crowd of 75,000 ahead of the second State of Origin game at ANZ Stadium, Sydney on Sunday, June 24th. Televised coverage commences at 7:50pm QLD time on channel 9.
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CAST ANNOUNCEMENTS
Cry Baby
Joining the previously announced cast of Cry Baby http://www.theatrepeople.
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Funny Girl
If the star studded line up of stars wasn’t enough to entice you into seeing Funny Girl- The Musical in Concert at the Sydney Opera House next month then allow us to introduce the extremely talented ensemble members.
Valerie Bader (The Letdown, Dead Lucky) as Mrs Strakosh, Ryan Gonzales (Kinky Boots, The View Upstairs) as Eddie Ryan, David Whitney (The Merry Widow, My Fair Lady) as Florenz Ziegfeld, Jr., Leslie Bell (Chicago, Victor/ Victoria), Nadia Coote (Strictly Ballroom, Singin’ in the Rain), Matt Douglass (Matilda, Curtains), Danielle Everett (Phantom of the Opera, Singin’ in the Rain), Todd Goddard (Georgy Girl, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang), Nigel Huckle (Hello, Dolly!, Les Miserables), James Maxfield (My Fair Lady, Xanadu), Laura Murphy (Muriel’s Wedding, Grease), Thern Reynolds (We Will Rock You, Miss Saigon), Ashleigh Rubenach (Singin’ in the Rain, Anything Goes) and Melissa Russo (Bring it On, The Beautiful Game).
Funny Girl plays from July 12th to 14th with tickets available from https://www.
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The Boy From Oz
The critically aclaimed award winning musical The Boy From Oz will open at Melbourne’s State Theatre in August and joining the previously announced cast members including Rohan Browne as Peter Allen and Caroline O’Connor as Judy Garland are Loren Hunter (Dusty) as Liza Minnelli, Matthew Manahan (Brigadoon) as Greg Connell, Robyn Arthur (Singin’ in The Rain) as Peter’s mother, Marion Woolnough and Francis Greenslade (Winners and Losers) as Dick Woolnough.
Also announced this week were Baylis Carson (Dusty) as Sheena, Josie Lane (Little Shop of Horrors) as Karen, Phoenix Mendoza as Linelle, David James as Wally Bell, Belinda Hanna Reid as Josie Mann and Nathan Pinnell as Chris Bell. The Ensemble members include Luke Alleva, Amy Berrisford, Nadia Coote, Zoe Coppinger, Kiana Daniele, Jan Di Pietro, Joe Donovan, Matt Douglass, Alex Given, Melanie Hawkins, Joe Meldrum, Priscilla Stavrou, Jordan Turner, Jessica Vellucci and Celina Yuen. The role of Young Peter will be shared by Hudson Sharp and Lenny Thomas.
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Thomas Lacey to join the cast of Grease
Joining the cast of Grease, The Arena Experience in Brisbane as head T-Bird, Danny Zuko will be Thomas Lacey. Lacey is best known for his roles as Scott Hastings in the Australian stage musical production of Strictly Ballroom and and Ben in Dance Academy.
Grease, The Arena Experience plays at the Brisbane Entertainment Centre on July 14th with tickets available from https://www.
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Tony Llewellyn- Jones named as final She Loves Me cast member
Tony Llewellyn-Jones (My Fair Lady) has been announced as Mr Maraczek, the owner of a perfume store in Budapest, Hungry in the Hayes Theatre Company production of She Loves Me.
She Loves Me revolves around Budapest shop employees Georg Nowack (Rowan Witt) and Amalia Balash (Caitlin Berry) who, despite being consistently at odds with each other at work, are unaware that each is the other’s secret pen pal through lonely-hearts ads.
The show runs from August 24th at the Hayes Theatre Company in Potts Point, Sydney. Tickets and further information are available from https://hayestheatre.com.
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OPENING NIGHTS
Assassins
Having previously played at Hayes Theatre, Assassins opened for a return season at Sydney Opera House’s Playhouse where it will run until July 1st 2018. The show set in a fairground shooting gallery to which nine incongruent patrons are enticed by a Proprietor who offers a prize to those who are prepared to shoot the President of the United States. Some succeed – among them, actor John Wilkes Booth (David Campbell) who
Tickets and further information can be found at https://www.
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OPENING SHOWS
NEW SOUTH WALES
State Theatre: Sleeping Beauty (July 13th)
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QUEENSLAND
Entertainment Centre: Grease- The Arena Experience (July 14th)
QPAC Lyric Theatre: Beautiful (July 13th)
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VICTORIA
Comedy Theatre: Sleeping Beauty (June 29th)
Princess Theatre: Mamma Mia! (July 10th)
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WESTERN AUSTRALIA
Crown Theatre Perth: Aladdin (July 19th)
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CLOSING SHOWS
NEW SOUTH WALES
Hayes Theatre: Gypsy (July 7th)
Sydney Opera House: Assassins (July 1st)
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QUEENSLAND
Entertainment Centre: Grease- The Arena Experience (July 14th)
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VICTORIA
Athanaeum Theatre: Bring it On (June 23rd)
Comedy Theatre: Sleeping Beauty (July 8th)
Her Majesty’s Theatre: Beautiful (July 1st)
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WESTERN AUSTRALIA
Crown Theatre Perth: Mamma Mia! (July 1st)
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AUSSIES ABROAD
Australian performers shine at West End Live
Congratulations to the Australian performers who took part in the London Theatre Community’s festival of theatre West End Live over the weekend. Joining the multitude of both established and up and coming performers on stage were Suzie Mathers (I Wish My Life Were Like A Musical), Ben Lewis (Phantom of the Opera), Daniel Downing (Kinky Boots) and Seb Witt (Sylvia Young Theatre School).
VIDEO 1 – SUZIE MATHERS (FROM 6.05)
VIDEO 2- BEN LEWIS (FROM 4.32)
VIDEO 3- DANIEL DOWNING (FROM 3.38)
VIDEO 4- SEB WITT
