INTERNATIONAL NEWS AND REVIEWS
AUSTRALIA
& NEW ZEALAND
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AUSTRALIA
THEATRE NEWS & REVIEWS
kindly provided by
Peter Kemp
For DIRECT CONTACT for what's on in OZ - contact Peter direct at:
publicity@pktheatre.com
Victoria:
The
Production Company Presents
The
King & I.
The King of Siam wants
to bring Western culture to his country and engages Anna Leonowens,
an attractive English schoolteacher, to serve as tutor to his many children and
wives. Anna and her young son come to the Royal Palace in Bangkok and there
begins a unique and moving love story.
Cultures and hearts collide as the King defends his traditions while Anna tries
to bring change to his family and his world.
Season: July 14 –
18.
The Production Company
The King and I
Director: Terence O’Connell
Choreographer: Alan Scanlon
Musical Director: Peter Casey.
The Production Company chose Rodgers and
Hammerstein’s The King and I to open the 2010 season. A
popular choice and resulting from the bookings an extra week was added.
A simple yet very effective stage set
consisting of a circular three level central platform with steps wide enough to
be used as seats.
For Anna’s arrival by ship a sail
was lowered from the fly tower and for all other scenes such as the palace, the
ballroom, garden and the Small House of Uncle Thomas.The
orchestra was split in two on each side of the stage,
this worked well and for a change one could hear the singers.
A story based on the life of Anna Leonowens who was hired as a governess by King Mongkut of Siam for his 39 wives and 82 children. Anna was
given a wonderful interpretation by Chelsea Gibb who had an excellent on stage
chemistry with Juan Jackson who played the King of Siam. Jackson was a good
balance to Gibb , has a good stage projection and
caught the essence of the King comfortably.
Silvie Paladino was Lady Thiang
a very good portrayal with a remarkable voice. The Kralahome
(prime minister) who did not want a western person much les
a lady to have so much power was played by George Henare
also an excellent portrayal.
The two young lovers were Tuptin played by Emily Xiao Wang and Lun
Tha by Adrian Li Donni.. Both had a wonderful rapport with beautiful contrasting
voices and really capturing the young lovers even though it could be death if
caught.
Lucas Tang was Prince Chululongkorn
the heir to the throne. A positive stage projection and a
young man who captured all the finer nuances of the role.
The children were played by two teams, the
gold team and the red team. Opening night saw the gold team with Thomas New as
Louis Leonowens. New captured the character as
envisaged projecting well and worked well with Gibb and Tang.
The children ranged from many ages and for
some it was the first time on the professional stage. A great asset to the show
and the future of theatre
An enjoyable evening if entertainment with
a highlight of the ballet of The Little House of Uncle Thomas. A smooth flowing ballet with simple sets enhanced by
the costuming.
The King and I was a great success with the audience and although a simplified version
the settings and costuming all added to the standard of the production.
The
Boy from Oz.
This is the dazzling,
funny and touching story if the great Australian entertainer Peter Allen, from
his humble beginnings to his meteoric rise to fame s
an international star. Singing in country pubs from age 11m he survived family
tragedy to become a local TV star at the age 16. Discovered by Judy Garland, he
married her daughter Lisa Minnelli and went on to become a beloved performer
and Oscar winning songwriter.
Season: August 18 – 22.
Sugar
Based on the film Some Like it Hot, Sugar is the
story of Joe and Jerry, two musicians in the prohibition era who unwittingly
witness a gang slaying. To stay alive, they are forced to disguise themselves
as women and play in an all female orchestra. They become Daphne and Josephine
and embark on a tour with Sweet Sue and her band, the Society Syncopators. Trouble comes in spades when Joe (Josephine)
falls for the sexy songstress, Sugar Kane and Daphne (Jerry) is pursued by a
many times married millionaire.
Season: September 29
– October 3.
HAIRSPRAY the Musical
Monday June 28 saw the
launch and announcement of the latest musical to come
to
The producers, Paul
Dainty and Joel Pearlman together with Director David Atkins and Chorographer
Jason Coleman said that they were delighted to announce the nine Australian
principal cast members who will star in this entertaining musical.
Starring in the lead
role of the girl with big dreams and big hair, Tracy Turnblad
is newcomer Jaz Flowers Growing up in Gippsland,
studying and completing her Bachelor of Arts in Music Theatre at
Playing the role
of the heart throb of The Corny Collins Show Link Larkin is Jack
Chambers. Jack earned a place in Australian entertainment history when he was
crowned the first So You Think You Can Dance winner in 2008.
Accomplished and
well-known actor Grant Pro recently seen in the MTC production of The Drowsy
Chaperone will perform as
The glamorous role of
Velma Von Tussle will be performed by Marney McQueen
remembered best for her role as
Corny Collins, the
outrageously dashing host of the local TV dance show is to be played by Scott
Irwin a well known leading man of the Australian stage.
The Queen of Baltimore
is radio DJ, Motormouth Maybelle
and she will be played by Cle Morgan.
Hairspray first opened on Broadway
on July 18, 2002 and played for six and a half years until January 2009. It is
basically a fun musical and winner of 30 major awards including Tony Award for
best Musical (2003), Tony Award for Best Original Score (2003), Olivier Award
for Best New Musical (2008) and a Grammy Award for Best Show Album (2002).
Opening in
Call Ticketek:
1300 795 012 or book on www.ticketek.com.au
The Malthouse
Theatre
Human
Interest Story.
Guerin confronts a daily
reality saturated with the unceasing transmission of news. Political riots,
celebrity lifestyles and our neighbour’s backyard are broadcast into our
homes to watch during dinner. Concern over the kid’s lunches or home
renovating competes with our compassion for flood and earthquake victims and we
switch from one to the other as easily as changing channels.
Broadsheet headlines that make us reel today may well line the kitty litter
tomorrow, but what does it mean to have satellite bulletins passing through us
as inescapability as the air we breathe? How does the media’s unending
flow of words and images shape us?
Season: July 23 – August 1 Venue: Merlyn Theatre
Sappho
2700 years ago, Sappho
is the world’s first love poet, the tenth muse of the ancient Greeks, and
the inspiration for many lovelorn writer and songster since. But history
catches up with her, and over time Sappho becomes just a gap to be filled with
the lusts and desire of each new generation.
Sappho … in 9 fragments is a roller coaster tour de force
through two and a half millennia of Sappho’s story weaving together the
strange tale of her fragmented reception with a contemporary love story in her
own words. As a timeless Sappho relives her uses and abuses through history, in
the modern world a heart-broken young woman tries to piece together the
fragments of sexual awakening.
Season: July 30 – August 21. Venue: Beckett Theatre.
Theatre
Works
Hedda
Hedda is a brutal examination
of six peoples’ attempt to find their ideal place in the world. Life and
our decisions can lead us to the brink at any time. Hedda
examines a timeless question fundamental to existence; but how can we find
individual purpose and happiness?
Season: August 5 – August 22
Chapel off Chapel
Pizza Man
Sound familiar?
It’s time. Revenge
must be exacted for all the wrongs done to these two women. A man must pay.
Enter Eddie. A war hero, a cocky, vulnerable all round nice
guy. A Pizza
This very black comedy
starts right here.
Season: July 9 – 18.
Sydney
Theatre Company
August;
Beverley Weston has
disappeared. His wife Violet has hit the pain killers…hard.
With Mom and Dad in
crisis there’s no alternative but for the reluctant family to reunite and
descend on their rambling country house in
Now that
Season: August 13 – September 19
NEW ZEALAND
NEWS and REVIEWS
(kindly provided by John Curry)
For more details or individual advice/help - email:
GPowner@aol.com