A Chorus Line: New Australian Production

Sydney, Perth and Brisbane  Dates Announced.

Sydney, Perth and Brisbane seasons have now been announced for the new Australian production of A Chorus Line, which has already played successful Adelaide and Melbourne seasons. 

Limited seasons have been announced for Sydney's Capitol Theatre, for 21 performances from July 20, 2012, for 20 performances at Perth's Burswood Theatre, from October 20 and for 21 performances at the Lyric Theatre, QPAC from November 16.

This new Australian production of Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award-winning musical A Chorus Line opened at Adelaide Festival Centre’s Festival Theatre on December 31, 2011. So successful was the Melbourne season at Her Majesty's Theatre, which opened on February 4, 2012, that it extended for an additional week, until March 10 instead of the originally scheduled March 3.

With more than $2million worth of advance sales for the first three weeks of the Melbourne season, the final seats for the limited season were released for sale on December 15, 2011, well ahead of their planned release, for the initially planned 35 performance season from February 28 to March 3, 2011.

The production is touring in Asia prior to the Sydney season.

In addition to the previously announced casting of the roles of Zach (Josh Horner) and Cassie (Anita Louise Coombe), the rest of the cast has been announced.

They are Gerrard Carter (Larry), Mark Hill (Don), Stephanie Grigg (Maggie), James Maxfield (Mike), Leah Lim (Connie), Rohan Browne (Greg), Debora Krizak (Sheila), Karlee Misipeka (Dianna), Ashley McKenzie (Bobby), Monique Salle (Bebe), Will Centurion (Al), Renee Armstrong (Judy), Sian Johnson (Kristine), Hayley Winch (Val), Scott Morris (Mark), Euan Doidge (Paul), Mitchell Hicks (Roy), Jakob Ambrose (Tom), Mark Strom (Frank), Joel Hewlett (Butch), Samantha Dodemaide (Lois), Amber Jean Thomas (Vicky), Meghan O'Shea (Trisha), Alice Ramshaw (Dance Captain) and Heath Keating (Swing).

Josh Horner (Billy Elliot on Broadway, Tivoli, Dirty Dancing, Dancing With the Stars) will play formidable Broadway director, Zach. Josh says “This role of Zach really speaks to me. You see people giving their heart and soul and you are in control of their dreams. I’ve been on both sides of that role so A Chorus Line mirrors perfectly my life as a dancer.”

Starring as Cassie is Australian star of the West End, Anita Louise Combe who made her first professional appearance on stage as Sillabub in the Australian Premiere Production of Cats followed by Cosette in Les Miserables. Anita is one of the few people in the world to date who has played both roles of Roxie Hart and Velma Kelly in the production of Chicago in the West End. Anita created the role of Stephanie Mangano in the World Premiere Production of Saturday Night Fever opposite fellow Australian, Adam Garcia and played Betty in Sunset Boulevard in London and Toronto.

This new production comes direct from Broadway, directed and re-staged by Baayork Lee, with  Musical Supervisor Peter Casey, produced by Tim Lawson and TML Enterprises.

A Chorus Line was originally conceived, choreographed and directed by Michael Bennett, featuring a book by James Kirkwood and Nicholas Dante, with music by Marvin Hamlisch and lyrics by Edward Kleban.  Director Baayork Lee has been involved in A Chorus Line since 1975, first as a dancer in the original Broadway cast creating the role of Connie, through to directing the show in the U.S. and now in Australia. 

Adelaide Festival Centre CEO and Artistic Director Douglas Gautier says ”We are very much looking forward to presenting A Chorus Line as our summer musical.  It will be a great night out for those of us who loved it the first time around, and it’s exciting  to be able to introduce it to a whole new generation of theatre goers”

Producer Tim Lawson says “We are thrilled with the amazing pool of talent the auditions have uncovered. Selecting the final cast has been incredibly exciting and audiences are going to be blown away by the dynamic mix of new discoveries and highly established stars."

A Chorus Line tells the tale of 17 dancers desperately auditioning for eight stage roles in a musical. Its origin stems from when Bennett started taping interviews with New York dancers sharing their feelings and frustrations.

The original production of A Chorus Line opened at the Public Theatre’s Newman Theatre in 1975 and transferred to Broadway’s Shubert Theatre later that year.  It won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama, nine Tony Awards, including Best Musical, Score and Book, and the New York Drama Critics Circle Award.  It ran for nearly 15 years, closing in 1990 after 6,137 performances.  A Chorus Line remains the longest running American musical in Broadway history.

Further Reading

Our interview with Gerrard Carter.

Our Review

Musicals in 2012 and Beyond

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