Community Theatre

Adelaide Catches Saturday Night Fever

Together with the songs and sound of the Bee Gees, John Travolta’s unforgettable characterisation of Tony Manero ensured huge success for the 1977 movie Saturday Night Fever and had the whole world disco dancing. It has also been a huge hit for musical theatre since creator Robert Stigwood adapted it for the stage back in 1998. Adelaide’s Matt Byrne Media will present the SA Premiere of the iconic musical this July. Lesley Reed reports.

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All My Sons for Heidelberg

Heidelberg Theatre Company (Vic) presents All My Sons, by American playwright Arthur Miller, also known for his later works Death of a Salesman and The Crucible, from July 7 to 22, 2017.

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Secret Garden Musical Blooms in Perth

THE stage musical adaptation of The Secret Garden is set to blossom anew at Melville Theatre during July 2017.

Written by Pulitzer Prize-winner Marsha Norman and Lucy Simon and directed by husband-and-wife team Katherine and Justin Freind, it is based on the beloved classic children’s novel by Frances Hodgson Burnett.

The Secret Garden tells the story of 10-year-old Mary Lennox, orphaned while living in India, returning to England to live with her embittered uncle Archibald, whom she has never met.

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The Accidental Director

Margaret Olive stumbled into directing by chance, when her theatre company needed to fill a sudden “vacancy”.

“What was a girl to do?” she said. “I couldn’t see them cancelling a show so I said I would have a go!”

Margaret is about to direct her 2nd production The Murder Room for Hunters Hill Theatre (NSW) in July 2917.

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Female Odd Couple in Redland City

UPDATE: Following a successful opening weekend, this Saturday night’s performance on 10 June of The Odd Couple: the female version is now sold-out. Three performances are still available.

MATES Theatre Genesis (MTG), Queensland, is bringing a very famous comedy about a mismatched pair to Redland City during June 2017.

The Odd Coupleis one of playwright Neil Simon’s contemporary classics. His characters, Unger and Madison are known by generations of television viewers and theatre patrons.

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High School Musical at Roleystone

IT’S been described as “Grease for Generation Y” and a modern adaptation of Romeo and Juliet – Disney’s High School Musical is coming to Roleystone Theatre (WA) in June and July 2017.

Directed by Lys Tickner and Brogan Smirke, it follows a week in the lives of East High students who are learning the highs and lows of being teenagers, finding out where they fit in.

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Stripped Back Rent for RMS

Rockdale Musical Society's May / June 2017 production of RENT has stripped back the show to its barest elements, bringing the issues and characters to the forefront, allowing the cast to bring the stage to life.

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When your show is controversial

Director Meg Day addresses some common reservations about the darkly hilarious Heathers - the Musical, ahead of its June 2017 production at Miranda Musical Society.

“Great theatre is about challenging how we think and encouraging us to fantasise about a world we aspire to” (Willem Dafoe).

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Cloudstreet on Perth Stage

THE classic Australian novel Cloudstreet by Tim Winton will open its pages onto the Old Mill Theatre stage from June 16, 2017.

Adapted by Nick Enright and Justin Monjo and directed by Brendan Ellis, it spans 20 years in the lives of the Pickles and the Lambs, two families thrown together by fortune in a large, haunted house in Cloud Street, Perth.

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The King and Son

Brisbane’s Savoyards Musical Comedy Society stages the Rodgers and Hammerstein classic The King and I, with its story of forbidden love, overcoming what is expected of you, clashing cultures, and tradition, from June 17, 2017.

The script and lavish score keep an eye on themes of change and history repeating itself. The past / present / future dynamic of the show has found its parallel in Savoyards Musical Comedy Society Inc’s 2017 production of The King and I.

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