Milk and Honey First in a Jerry Herman Triptych.

Magnormos commence their Jerry Herman Tryptych at the Melbourne Recital Centre next Monday, July 4 with the popular Broadway composer / lyricist’s first musical, Milk and Honey.

This is the first of three ‘concert staged’ book-in-hand presentations over three consecutive Monday evenings. Dear World (July 11) and Hello, Dolly! (July 18) follow.

Jerry Herman is well-known as the composer / lyricist of hit Broadway musicals Hello, Dolly!, Mame and La Cage aux Folles. A five-time Tony Award-nominee, winning on two occasions, for Hello, Dolly! and La Cage aux Folles, in 2009 he received the Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre.

Herman burst onto the Great White Way in 1961 with Milk and Honey as Broadway’s youngest creator of music and lyrics. The story centres on a group of lonely Jewish- American widows hoping to find romance while on holiday in Israel during the nation’s early days of independence, and features the songs “Shalom”, “I Will Follow You” and “Chin Up”. The sweeping ballads and rousing choruses show the beginnings of Herman’s theatrical style.

A Jerry Herman Triptych follows the successful A Sondheim Triptych in 2010.

“A Sondheim Triptych was only intended as a one-off, to celebrate the 80th birthday of Stephen Sondheim” says Aaron Joyner, Magnormos Founder and Artistic Director. “However it was so successful and well received that we quickly started thinking about other writers that we could honour. As one of the most successful composer/lyricist to have written for the musical theatre stage, and being so different in style to Sondheim, Jerry Herman is the perfect writer for our 2011 triptych, and I am especially delighted to present these three musicals. Magnormos has staged many ‘first works’ of international composers, so Milk and Honeywill give our audiences a chance to see how Jerry Herman’s career began with this wonderfully evocative and romantic score. Dear World,in a newly revised format is a powerful chamber musical that contains some of Herman’s best stand-alone songs. We conclude with one of the world’s favourite musical Hello, Dolly!,in order to cover the full range of Jerry Herman’s outstanding career.”

Magnormos, a Melbourne-based independent theatre company, is celebrated nationally with its unique and ground-breaking commitment to the advancement of Australian musical theatre. Established in 2002, Magnormos’ first production was an original Australianised adaption of Stephen Schwartz’s Working.Magnormos has premiered a number of international works including Saturday Night, Flora the Red Menace, archy and mehitabel,The Thing About Menand [title of show]. Australian works include world premieres of Life’s A Circus, Love Equals and The Beauty Spot, revivals of Mary Bryant, A Bunch of Ratbags and Dutch Courage and the Melbourne premiere of The Hatpin. Another Magnormos initiative is the Ozmade Musicals concerts.

More Details: http://www.magnormos.com/jerryhermantriptych.htm

Book at www.melbournerecital.com.au or call the Box Office on 03 9699 3333.

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