Rob Guest Endowment winner Blake Bowden will star in Moonshadow

The producers of Moonshadow, A New Musical have announced five of their principal cast members today, just weeks before tickets go on sale for the 2012 premiere.

Winner of the 2011 Rob Guest Endowment, Blake Bowden, and 2011 Green Room Award Nominee Gareth Keegan, will take on the leading roles of Pat Matthew and Stormy in the production which is set to open at Melbourne’s Princess Theatre on May 31 this year.

Joining them in the other principal roles will be Gemma-Ashley Kaplan (Lisa), Jolyon James (Moonshadow) and Robert Grubb (Mr Hojja). Although auditions are still taking place, it is understood that full casting will be finalised soon.

Moonshadow, a new musical fantasy written by Yusuf, weaves together some of the classics he penned as Cat Stevens together some new songs. Hits such as Father & Son, Wild World, The First Cut is the Deepest and, of course, Moonshadow will feature in the show which has been described as “the summit of the life’s work of this most profound songwriter.”

After a number of workshops and a recent audition series in Australia, the World Premiere of Moonshadow opens at the Princess Theatre on 31May, 2012. This $5 million production will have an Australian cast and creative team, together with Sweden’s top musical director, Anders Albien.

Tickets On Sale Monday 5 March

Ben Lewis and Anna O’Byrne. Image by Matt Edwards

I have just found myself crying as I finished watching the DVD of Love Never Dies. Two years ago, when I rushed home, eagerly unwrapped the Original Cast Recording of that show and spent a good four hours listening to it on repeat – I would never have expected this to be a plausible moment!

A common saying on Broadway, is that Hitler’s punishment, had he survived, should have been to send him out on the road with a musical in trouble. Two years ago that looked to be Love Never Dies. Now, with this fantastical DVD of the Australian production selling to a rapturous international market, suddenly it seems not only marketable but a potential hit! And it’s no small wonder – there has never – not ever! – been a more spectacularly well made film of a staged musical.

In the last decade, Hollywood re-embraced the musical movie with blockbusters and critical darlings like Moulin Rouge and Chicago setting the tone for what promised to be a bright new future for the Hollywood musical. It then set about and did its best to wreck the very premise of the argument for the genre with a panoply of stinkers, misfires and flops that begged the question of why anyone had cared in the first place.

This production of Love Never Dies offers bright hopes for the future. With sweeping cinematography, a masterful capture has been created of Love Never Dies at the Regent in Melbourne. The lush orchestrations, the lavish costumes and set and all of the dazzling effects and artifice that make the production such a joy to behold on stage (at Sydney’s Capitol Theatre now) are displayed to brilliant effect. While such filmed performances are generally rendered stagey, slow and with the appearance of over-wrought over-acting – an astonishing thing has been done with this film.

When I first saw Love Never Dies in Melbourne last year, I instantly hailed the performers in that cast as the hardest working company on the Australian landmass. And they are remarkable on film! With brush strokes elegant, fiery and resolute, they create a magnificent performance of a very entertaining show! And here many people (myself included) have underestimated Love Never Dies throughout the course of its troubled and controversial history. There is a great deal to be said for what a company of world class artists can do with a show. The Australian production of Love Never Dies is a visionary masterpiece and living, breathing proof that the Australian music theatre industry is capable of defining the standard on an international scale.

Anna O’Byrne as Christine and Ben Lewis as Phantom

Ben Lewis is a world class Phantom with an utterly spectacular voice on fantastic display. And what a star is born in his leading lady! Anna O’Byrne is radiant in one of the finest performances we are likely to see on any Australian stage this generation. And once again, my hat is resoundingly off to Sharon Millerchip. She takes the most difficult character in the show and crafts something so utterly captivating – we can only hope Broadway doesn’t steal this triumvirate of stars from us for too long.

Suffice to say – not a single member of the cast delivers any less than their all throughout the production. Not a single member of the principles or the ensemble is any less than glowing. They are going to receive international attention for their efforts and rightly so.

As to the DVD release, one can only hope it marks a shift in the market.

DVDs of musicals being performed on stage are not a new thing. But, again, I’ll say it – there has never been one this good before!

Already Andrew Lloyd Webber has been quoted as saying he would like to make a similar film of his lost musical Sunset Boulevard – and let the international Norma Desmond casting war begin again.

But it would be good to see musicals archived like this in the future. How many shows are lost (especially in Oz) with nary a cast recording to preserve them for future generations?

Here is the acid test. Love Never Dies closed early on the West End and had its Broadway transfer cancelled – and yet here we have this DVD, resplendent in its reflection of our capacity to create something beautiful.

If you haven’t seen it, see it! If you haven’t bought it, buy it! And if you haven’t seen the show at the Capitol yet, this film I can guarantee will only make you want to.

Love Never Dies is on sale everywhere on DVD and will play at the Capitol Theatre for a limited season until April 1. Don’t miss out!

Starring West End and Broadway music theatre star Ruthie Henshall and over 20 of Australia’s leading names in musical theatre (to be announced shortly), this one-off performance of Side By Side By Sondheim is raising funds for the White Ribbon Foundation — Australia’s campaign to stop violence against women.

Producer, Enda Markey says he hopes to raise $100, 000 for the foundation.

“I wanted to pick a charity that I really believed in. I had been aware of their work for a while, but they are kind of an underdog — a lower profile charity — so we wanted to do something to raise that profile”, Markey explained.

This once-only appearance at the Theatre Royal will mark Henshall’s Australian debut — don’t miss this historic event!

To access the pre-sale offer, which opens at 9am today (Thursday 23 February) simply click on the link below:

AussieTheatre - Side By Side By Sondheim Pre-Sale Offer

In a statement today, Les Currie, producer of the new Australian musical announced that “due to an unprecedented demand for more performances, the Glen Street Theatre season will be extended for an extra week, in turn foregoing the Theatre Royal season.”

The extra performances at Glen Street Theatre are:
Tuesday 28 February, 7.30pm
Wednesday 29 February, 8pm
Thursday 1 March, 7.30pm
Friday 2 March, 8pm
Saturday 3 March, 2pm and 8pm

The show was scheduled to begin performances at the Theatre Royal, King St Sydney from 29 February and play through until 24 March, 3 weeks after the ‘extra’ shows will now conclude at the Glen Street Theatre.

It is understood that the show will still play seasons at Gosford’s Laycock Street Theatre and Riverside Theatres, Parramatta before heading interstate.

Featuring more than sixteen original songs by writer and composer Joanna Weinberg, Every Single Saturday stars Maria de Marco, Christopher Horsey, Scott Irwin and Katrina Retallick.

Every Single Saturday is the second show this year to withdraw from a scheduled season at the Theatre Royal, with Rock Of Ages pulling the plug on their Sydney season late last year.

Nominated for 9 awards, Minchin’s new musical Matilda also took home the awards for Best New Musical, Best Choreography and Best Set Design categories — more than than any other production at this year’s ceremony.

The musical, which transferred from Stratord-upon-Avon to the Cambridge Theatre on London’s West End earlier this year, is an adaptation of the well known children’s story by author Roald Dahl.

“With 35% of the votes in his category, Australian comedian Tim Minchin, making his musical debut providing the show’s music and lyrics, was a commanding winner for London Newcomer of the Year.” said Whatsonstage.com

Minchin, a graduate of the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts (WAAPA) responded:

“I’ve been around for a bit but newcomer implies that I like doing new stuff and that the industry expects me to keep doing stuff in the London theatre world, which I really hope I can do.”

Congratulations to Tim and the team in London — fingers crossed we see Matilda on Australian shores soon!

Bloodland will play at QPAC for 5 shows only

AussieTheatre is thrilled to announce that we are giving away a DOUBLE PASS to see the opening night performance of Bloodland at QPAC, Brisbane on Wednesday 14 March.

Bloodland is a Sydney Theatre Company and Adelaide Festival production in association with Bangarra Dance Theatre and will be showing at QPAC for five performances only.

The production is what QTC Artistic Director, Wesley Enoch describes as “one of the most complex cultural projects created in recent time.”

Stephen Page, Artistic Director of Bangarra Dance Theatre and award-winning choreographer, collaborates with writer and actor Wayne Blair on this landmark work.

Outsider, Cherish, will be your guide through a community torn in two, divided by bloodline. This is Cherish’s place, this is where she hides away from the real world, speaks to imagined friends and is visited by ghosts of relatives long dead. At the centre of the story is a young couple; two lovers united in their devotion but separated by clan. Theirs is a tale of social dysfunction, black on black conflict and the difficulties of observing traditional lore in a community permeated by western values.

Read more about Bloodland here

Enter competition below to win a DOUBLE PASS to Opening Night (Wednesday 14 March, 7:30pm)

Ruthie Henshall

AUSSIETHEATRE EXCLUSIVE

BREAKING NEWS:

AussieTheatre.com can confirm that acclaimed international music theatre star, Ruthie Henshall will be making her Australian debut at Sydney’s Theatre Royal this April, in a very special charity event for the White Ribbon Foundation.

(Yes, you read correctly. Ruthie. Henshall.)

A one-off charity performance of the popular musical revue Side By Side By Sondheim, featuring Henshall and a dazzling array of some of Australia’s most popular and acclaimed stage performers, will take place on Friday 20 April.

Producer Enda Markey is thrilled to be presenting Henshall, one of the world’s  leading music theatre performers, in her first Australian stage appearance.

“I have been a huge fan of Ruthie for many years. She is one of my favourite voices of all time and she really gets this kind of material”, he said.

Henshall has starred in some of the most successful musicals of the past twenty-five years on Broadway and London’s West End, including Les Misérables, Chicago, Miss Saigon, Crazy For You and Stephen Sondheim’s Putting It Together. The winner of an Olivier Award (London’s highest honour in theatre) as well as the “Theatregoers” award for Most Popular Musical Actress in the past twenty-five years, Ruthie has also appeared in as Fantine in the 10^th Anniversary Concert Version of Les Misérables, (broadcast on television) and the Hey Mr Producer series.

Side By Side By Sondheim is a musical revue which celebrates the earlier work of legendary Broadway composer and lyricist Stephen Sondheim, and Ruthie Henshall knows Sondheim’s material inside out.

“I mean, she’s done Sondheim on Broadway!”, Markey quipped. “And this is also a really great opportunity to get somebody down here who wouldn’t be performing in Australia otherwise.”

This one-of-a-kind concert is being staged to raise money for the White Ribbon Foundation, Australia’s campaign to stop violence against women.

“I wanted to pick a charity that I really believed in. I had been aware of their work for a while, but they are kind of an underdog — a lower profile charity — so we wanted to do something to raise that profile”, Markey explained.

Joining Ruthie on stage will be more than twenty of Australia’s leading names in musical theatre, set to create a truly magical evening that is not to be missed. While the full line up of Australian performers will be announced imminently, AussieTheatre can reveal at least one Australian celebrity who will be joining Ruthie on stage at the Theatre Royal.

Andrew O’Keefe, Australian entertainer, television personality and Chairman of the White Ribbon Foundation will (aptly) be performing as one of the ‘Narrators’ for the evening.

Only 1000 seats available for this charity event, and tickets are set to sell out fast. Tickets will be on sale from Monday 27 February, but AussieTheatre readers can take advantage of a special pre-sale offer from 9am Thursday morning (23 February).

“We are hoping to raise $100, 000 for the charity”, said Markey.

Don’t wait until the last second, don’t wait until the full line up is announced (which we can assure you, sounds magnificent) — with only 1000 seats available, you wouldn’t want to miss this star in action.

For a sneak peek of Ruthie singing the Sondheim classic Send In The Clowns (A Little Night Music), take a look at the clip below.

Theatre Royal, Sydney

Friday 20 April at 8pm

Tickets from Ticketek

Tel: 132 849

E: www.ticketek.com.au

Tickets: $120/$150*

www.sidebyside.com.au

Festival Director Andrew Ross describes the World Theatre Festival as:

“not just about ‘theatre’ but about ideas, story-telling and the chance to connect with other people who are interested in the world around them”.

The World Theatre Festival 2012 includes main stage performances along with forums, masterclasses and a new Festival Lounge with free live music and Wi-Fi, at the Brisbane Powerhouse from 16 – 26 February 2012.

The following is a run-down of the second week of the festival:

AND THE BIRDS FELL FROM THE SKY (UK)

And The Birds Fell From The Sky

Escape into another world with Il Pixel Rosso’s And the Birds Fell From the Sky – an innovative theatre experience where only two audience members can take part, armed with video goggles, MP3 players and a set of instructions.

With your eyes and ears completely hijacked and liberated, you will find yourself surrounded by a wild and anarchic fictional world of the Faruk clown, in which you are cast as the main character. As the narrative unravels, your new reality will become even more immersive through live interactions that engage your sense of smell, touch and movement through space.

Duration of show: 15mins
Performance Dates: 17–26 February

BUNNY (Melbourne)

A stage. Some booze. A pile of clothes. A dream-like path that appears strange and slightly mad. Two men lose control yet don’t seem to care.

Darkly comedic and subconscious, this work creates its meaning through piecing together the unobvious. Selected by Brisbane Powerhouse as the winner of the 2011 “Innovation in Theatre” Award, and nominated for two 2011 Green Room Awards, BUNNY is a simple yet sharp production based on the power of dialogue.

Duration: 60mins, no interval
Performance: 22–26 February

THE METHOD GUN (USA)

The Method Gun

From New York to LA to Brisbane – The Rude Mechs bring us a loaded gun and the world’s most dangerous acting technique. The show explores the extreme teachings of Stella Burden, actor-training guru of the 60s and 70s, whose method ‘The Approach’ aims to add sex, death and violence into every moment on stage. Whether her ensemble is engaged in kissing or crying practice or a revealing monologue, Stella’s teachings are at the forefront of their minds. That is, until she mysteriously disappears into the South American jungle leaving her fervent followers distraught. Do they continue rehearsals for their nine-years-in-the-making production of Streetcar Named Desire? Or do they faithfully await her return?

Kooky with a lot of charm, The Method Gun captures the ecstasy and excesses of performing, the dangers of public intimacy, and the

Notes: Recommended for people aged 15 years and over. This production contains nudity and the sound of live gunfire.
Duration: 90mins, no interval
Performance Dates: 22–26 February

MEN (USA)

Direct from New York City and led by LE TIGRE’s JD Samson, MEN bring their notorious fusion of politics and danceable beats to Brisbane.

MEN blends a mix of synthy electronic beats, impressive guitar loops and lyrics about credit card babies, radical surgery and prosthetic sex.

MEN’s debut record, Talk About Body, was released on IAMSOUND Records. The band has toured across the globe, supporting the likes of Peaches, Gossip, and CSS.

Duration: 60mins
Performance Date: 24 February only

THE LADY FROM THE SEA (India & Australia)

The Lady From The Sea

Cinematic projections, live music and tonnes of sand will help bring an epic version of Ibsen’s classic love triangle with India’s award-winning Abhinaya Theatre Company and Brisbane’s own Topology.

Set in no particular time or space against a beautiful live score by Robert Davidson, The Lady from the Sea delves into the internal anguish, conflicts and confusion implicit in romantic relationships.

A meditative and poetic adaptation of the original play by Henrik Ibsen, The Lady from the Sea observes the three main characters of a husband, wife and a stranger. The stranger, once engaged to the wife, has a compelling power over her and has returned to take her away. Her husband gives her the freedom to choose between staying with him and leaving with the stranger.

The Lady from the Sea harnesses the infinite possibilities offered by the modern stage, and is punctuated by stunning animation to create a moving space installation.

Notes: In Malayalam with English surtitles.
Duration: 70mins, no interval
Performance Dates: 24–26 February

SCRATCH WORKS AT WORLD THEATRE FESTIVAL 

Scratch Works is an initiative that allows the audience to see shows as a work in their early stages of development. The ideas may not be fully formed. The script may not be fully finished. This is theatre at it’s most vulnerable.

The following are the Scratch Works for the second week of the festival:

TALES OF THE UNDERGROUND
Creative Regions (Regional QLD)

Tales of the Underground explores the social impacts of mining through the experiences of three playwrights-in-residence in the ex-boom towns of Mount Morgan, Mount Perry and Cracow.

Given only three weeks, the playwrights uncovered the stories that shaped the history of these communities – tales of vision, dedication, sacrifice and madness – and examined what can be learned from these mining towns of the past.

Duration: 45min play readings
Performance Dates: 25 February

THE TROUBLE WITH HARRY
Cre8ion (Sydney and Brisbane)

Eugenia becomes Harry. Harry meets Annie. Trouble ensues. 

The Trouble with Harry is the thrilling new play by award winning Australian playwright Lachlan Philpott. Join us for the premiere reading of this work, which tells the story of Eugenia Falleni, the notorious ‘ManWoman’ of Sydney in the early 1900’s.

Enjoying a unique place in Sydney’s bawdy history, Falleni’s story continues to fascinate. An Italian immigrant, Falleni lived much of her life as a man — Harry Crawford, the notorious ‘ManWoman’ of Sydney in the early 1900’s and served time in prison for the murder of her own wife.

Developed as part of the PlayWriting Australia National Script Workshop, this work takes an idiosyncratic look at the Falleni story, questions versions of this history and looks at contemporary debates and assumptions surrounding gender.

Duration: 90mins, no interval
Performance Dates: 22–24 February

MURDER

Erth – Visual & Physical Inc (Sydnet)

Inspired by Nick Cave’s song cycle, Murder Ballads, director Scott Wright uses dark puppetry to uncover our obsession with the ultimate taboo. 

Murder, explores homicide in pop culture, folklore, fantasy and fiction. Choreography, animation, projection and puppetry create a mysterious atmosphere where you will “stumble” upon murderous events as you walk with the production.

Murder is a visceral, stimulating, engaging experience, shaped by Erth’s signature visuals. Better known from their family-friendly repertoire, Murder is not such a play.

Duration: 10mins, no interval
Performance Dates: 23–26 February

A SPECTACULAR OF SORTS

Monsters Appear (Brisbane)

An amalgam of eisteddfod zest, melancholic gaud and shameless theatrics, and inspired by Edward Gorey’s The Gashlycrumb Tinies, this showing is rough, black and ridiculous.

Ivan and Juniper feel hopelessly unprepared. They’re in charge of a tribute – they must re-enact a list of alphabetised but altogether unfortunate events. The set is unfinished, the room is too small and the audience is arriving sooner than expected. Ivan and Juniper must rise to the occasion. This is storytelling at its darkest and most strange – it’s A Spectacular of Sorts…

Duration: 30mins, no interval 
Performance Dates: 24–26 February

Download the Festival Program: www.worldtheatrefestival.com/program

“Sidney Myer is best known for founding the Myer department stores but one of his greatest legacies was his support for the arts in Australia,” said Carrillo Gantner, Chairman of the Trustees for the Sidney Myer Fund, which offers a prize pool of $150 000 for the three awards.

“[He] believed that the arts could not be separated from life and that it was the duty of every society to support its artists. The Sidney Myer Performing Arts Awards reflect this belief, paying tribute to outstanding excellence in drama, comedy, dance, music, opera, circus and puppetry.”

The Awards not only celebrate past achievements for either a single outstanding performance or a sustained contribution, consideration is also given to the potential of an individual or group to continue in their contribution to Australian society through the performing arts.

The three Sidney Myer Performing Arts Awards are:

Individual Award $50,000
Group Award $80,000
Facilitator’s Prize $20,000

Eddie Perfect — winner of the Sidney Myer Performing Arts Individual Award

Actor, comedian, composer Eddie Perfect (Offspring, writer and star of Shane Warne The Musical, ) has taken out the Individual Award, worth $50, 000 just hours before a 2011 Green Room Nomination for his cabaret Misanthropology was announced. It seems today is a perfect day to be Eddie!

Perfect told the Sydney Morning Herald today that he has more projects on the go, as well as a second child.

”I’m working on two separate musicals — one is a very black and dark musical comedy about a chapter of Australian history that is yet to be pinpointed. I’m reading a whole load of books, such as the establishment of the colony to the Eureka Stockade — events that have been treated previously in an earnest way,” he said.

This year, the winner of the Group Award was Adelaide based Windmill Theatre, described by the Trustees of the Sidney Myer Fund as ‘a national treasure and ground breaking children’s theatre company’.

Artistic Director of Windmill Theatre, Rosemary Myers said, “The funds associated will allow us to develop some new projects we’ve had in the wings. In particular, one important aspect of our company vision is to keep exploring ways of inhabiting new media spaces to reach a broader audience base with the work we create.”

Darwin based record company Skinnyfish Music has won the Facilitator’s Prize ($20, 000) for its dedication to promoting the music of Indigenous Australians.

*(Performing Arts are defined to include all aspects of creation and performance of all forms.)

The Bodyguard Musical

Another movie is set to be turned into a musical.

Move over Ghost, Legally Blonde, Shrek and Catch Me If You Can - a new musical adaption of the 1992 Whitney Houston, Kevin Costner film The Bodyguard is on its way.

Due to open at the Adelphi Theatre on the West End in November of 2012, the show will star the Tony Award winning Broadway performer Heather Headley (Original Nala — The Lion King and Original Aida — Aida) who confirmed her casting on her facebook page:

So, let’s talk about London.… Yes! I’ve been offered the role of Rachel in the musical version The Bodyguard. Very Honored! The script has been rewritten a bit and it’s very interesting. Needless to say, the music is great (they’re using many of the songs of Whitney’s catalogue) — - very challenging, but great. We’ll start on the West End in London and then we’ll move to Broadway (if all goes well — - I think it will). Anyhow, give me your thoughts. What do you think about this one? To be or not to be — - that is the question.…Heather Headley - Facebook.com

Headley has also confirmed on her website, heatherheadley.com, that she will be returning to London for a workshop of The Bodyguard in March.

The show itself, with a book by Alex Dinelaris (Zanna Don’t), has been in the works for well over a year, but with the sad passing of the film’s original star Whitney Houston recently, it seems that commercial attention has increased. The film is synonymous with one of her biggest hits, “I will Always Love You”, which will no doubt be a show stopping moment in the musical.

Update: There is also now an official The Bodyguard the Musical Website.