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In Conversation With Playwright Betty Sweetlove

Image: Betty Sweetlove photographed by Karina White.

Geoffrey Williams spent some time with Mparntwe (Alice Springs)-based playwright Betty Sweetlove, whose first play The Nestmakers will enjoy its world premiere season at Darwin’s Brown’s Mart Theatre in March.

Original Yellow Wiggle Greg Page Joins Annie Cast

Producer John Frost for Crossroads Live today (Jan 29) announced the role of President Franklin D. Roosevelt in the upcoming Broadway musical Annie will be played by Greg Page, the original Yellow Wiggle in the children’s entertainment group, The Wiggles. The new Australian production plays at the Capitol Theatre from 25 March, before moving to Melbourne’s Princess Theatre from July.

Seymour Centre Celebrates 50 Years With 2025 Season

Image: Cowbois, photo by Pollyanna Nowicki

Sydney’s Seymour Centre’s 50th year begins with the launch of the annual Seymour Season, a set of five events including three international plays and two locally produced works, presented in partnership with independent Australian theatre companies.

Catching Stars

Peter and the Starcatcher had a profound impact on Coral Drouyn when she saw it on Broadway … now she is excited to explore the Dead Puppet Society’s take on the show in this first Australian production.

Once upon a time the world was a kinder place, and we believed in dreams and lived in hope. We imagined Never-Never Land, but got stuck with Never Land:

Never show your emotions.

Never offend anyone.

Never give a sucker an even break.

Never tell anyone your dreams in case they think you’re crazy.

Angelina Thomson Joins Guys & Dolls on Sydney Harbour as Miss Adelaide

Opera Australia has announced Angelina Thomson will play Miss Adelaide in its brand-new production of award-winning Broadway musical Guys & Dolls when it opens at Handa Opera on Sydney Harbour on 21 March.

Director Shaun Rennie is looking forward to getting started on rehearsals with his cast now complete.

Karis Oka To Play Lydia Deetz in Beetlejuice The Musical

Michael Cassel Group, Warner Bros. Theatre Ventures, and Langley Park Productions have announced that the role of Lydia Deetz, the peculiar and quick-witted teenager with a penchant for the afterlife, in BEETLEJUICE will be played by Karis Oka. 

Pick of the Plays 2025

In 2025 The Bard is back, along with some blockbuster Australian plays, world premieres, classics updated and Indigenous works. David Spicer picks some of the highlights. 

 

All the world’s a stage for Shakespeare in Australia in the year ahead.

 

Musicals in 2025

Unpublished

A swag of hit Broadway and West End musicals never before seen in Australia will wend their way around the country in 2025, alongside some old favourites to tap the nostalgia buttons.

 

The post Covid era, along with high interest rates, combined to encourage conservative choices by musical theatre producers. The year ahead is the most innovative in a long time.

 

2024 Sydney Theatre Award Winners Announced

Image: Tamsin Carroll in August Osage County. Photographer: Brett Boardman

The winners of the 2024 Sydney Theatre Awards were announced tonight (January 20, 2025) at a star-studded ceremony, with 28 Awards presented, shared between 16 productions which played on Sydney stages during 2024. Almost 500 members of the Sydney theatre community gathered at the York Theatre, Seymour Centre to celebrate.

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