Musicals in 2023
Image: Euan Fistrovic Doidge in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.
Musical theatre across Australia in 2023 promises a mix of blockbuster revivals as commercial theatre recovers from the last couple of years, interspersed with some recent big hits from Broadway and the West End, and a healthy number of new Australian works. Scroll through this feature to see what's new in musical theatre, what continuues to tour, what old favourites are set to return, and some exciting intimate productions.
Tina – The Tina Turner Musical
Image: Ruva Ngwenya in Tina - The Tina Turner Musical. Photo by Daniel Boud
When Tina Turner was first asked for permission to use her songs for a musical, she said no. Thankfully she warmed to the idea because not only does she have a spectacular back catalogue of songs, but her life story is remarkable.
As per the lyrics to Nutbush City Limits, she was raised in a backwater town in Tennessee on Highway Number Nineteen, which did not have much more than a church house, gin house, schoolhouse, and an outhouse.
Tina Turner defied age, gender and race to become a global success. On Broadway, Tina ran either side of the pandemic for just over a year, getting the thumbs up from critics for its experience as simply the best rock concert.
Opened at the Theatre Royal, Sydney in May.
Click here to read about the Australian cast
Click here to read David Spicer's review
Click here to read about 2024 tour dates
Elvis: A Musical Revolution
David Venn Enterprises (Cruel Intentions: The ‘90s Musical, The Wedding Singer, Bring It On: The Musical) will produce the professional premiere of Elvis: A Musical Revolution set to tour Australia in 2023. Presented in partnership with Authentic Brands Group (Authentic), owner of Elvis Presley Enterprises.
Elvis: A Musical Revolution is a new bio-musical exploring the extraordinary life of the award-winning cultural icon and rock ‘n roll superstar, Elvis Presley.
The Australian premiere will open at Sydney’s State Theatre from July 2023, before rocking into Melbourne’s Athenaeum Theatre from September 2023.
Read Martin Portus' review of the Sydney season.
Mamma Mia!
Image: Mamma Mia! Australian cast. Photographer: JSam Bisso
Mamma Mia! returns to the Sydney Lyric from May for a limited season, featuring 22 of ABBA’s greatest hits, including “Dancing Queen”, “Voulez Vous”, “S.O.S.” and “Take a Chance on Me”.
This 2023 production is a re-staging of the 2017 production, which featured the original work of an Australian creative team.
Mamma Mia! opened at the Sydney Lyric in May Seasons at the Lyric Theatre QPAC, Brisbane in August and the Princess Theatre, Melbourne from October follow.
Click here to read about the Australian cast.
Click here to read Frank Hatherley's review
Beauty and the Beast
Image: Shubshri Kandiah and Brendan Xavier. Photographer: Julie Adams.
Shubshri Kandiah has grabbed the mantle of Australia’s leading lady by scoring the role of Belle in the new production of Disney’s Beauty and the Beast, hot on the heels of her leads in Cinderella and Aladdin. In the hit musical she will attempt to tame the Beast, played by Brendan Xavier.
Beauty and the Beast was the first Disney venture onto Broadway, where it ran for 13 years.
Famous for its beautiful sets and props, the production has been given a digital refresh with 3D sets and a tunnel of night blossoming pink roses.
Broadway World described it as “a cinematic experience with a colossal wow factor in its visual aspects. Projections, shadow-play, a mechanically impressive set, and gorgeous dance numbers deliver a stunning show where delicate music-box moments sit alongside large musical ones.”
Opened at the Capitol Theatre Sydney in June 2023.
Click here to read more about Australia's new Belle and Beast.
Read about the full Australian casting announcement
Click here for Melbourne and Brisbane seasons announcement
Wicked
One of the cutest songs in Wicked goes “Popular! You're gonna be Popular!” That’s the experience of producers on Broadway, where it has been flying high whilst other long running musicals are closing.
Stars of the original Australian season of Wicked – Rob Mills (Fiyero) and Lucy Durack (Glinda) - are ambassadors for the professional return season.
Durack said securing the role of Glinda was “life changing”, whilst Mills still marks the anniversary of his successful audition because he was “dancing through life until he found my real purpose” in musical theatre.
Lucy Durack lauds Wicked for being “a story of female friendship. How women can support women and make each other better?”
Wicked opened at Sydney Lyric Theatre in August.
Image: Courtney Monsma and Sheridan Adams in WICKED. Photographer: Jeff Busby
Read about Australia's new Glinda and Elphaba here
Read about additional casting here
Read David Spicer's review of the Sydney opening
Miss Saigon
Opera Australia will present Cameron Mackintosh’s new production of Boublil and Schönberg’s Miss Saigon at the Sydney Opera House in August 2023, then Her Majesty's Theatre, Melbourne, from October, and in Adelaide during January 2024.
From the creators of Les Misérables, Alain Boublil and Claude-Michel Schönberg, Miss Saigon is a winner of 70 major theatre awards including two Olivier Awards, three Tony Awards and four Drama Desk Awards, and has been seen by 38 million people and performed in 15 different languages, in over 32 countries and 350 cities.
Image: Seann Miley Moore as The Engineer, Bryce Li as Tam, and Abigail Adriano as Kim in Opera Australia's 2023 production of Miss Saigon at the Sydney Opera House. Photographer: Daniel Boud
Click here to read about the cast
Click here to read more about Miss Saigon.
Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar & Grill.
Zahra Newman plays Billie Holiday. It’s 1959, in a bar in South Philadelphia. The production is crafted as a woozy late-night concert in a rundown venue, which is one of Billie Holiday’s legendary last performances.
As she sings her set (‘Taint Nobody’s Business If I Do, Strange Fruit, What a Little Moonlight Can Do, Easy Livin’, God Bless the Child, and more) she shares the story of her life - a bit risqué, humorous, political, ecstatic, tragic.
The Hollywood Reporter described the production as having “salty humour, joy, bitterness and plummeting despair, that sense of suffering as a constant companion permeates and elevates Lanie Robertson's slender yet affecting bio-play with music.”
A co-production between State Theatre Company South Australia (August), Belvoir Street Theatre, Sydney (September) and Melbourne Theatre Company (October).
Read our review of the Adelaide season
Bananaland
Following Ruby, a 21-year-old idealist, and her unintentionally hilarious protest band ‘Kitty Litter’, Bananaland, composed and written by Kate Miller-Heidke and Keir Nuttall, is one of the headline productions of the Brisbane Festival in September.
Bananaland will also play at Riverside Parramatta as part of the Sydney Festival from January 3 - 14, 2024.
Moulin Rouge! The Musical
Photographer: Michelle Grace Hunder.
A dazzling jewel and spectacle of lavish staging and music.
Stage Whispers’ Patricia Di Risio wrote: “Truth, beauty, freedom and love are the mantras of the characters in the original film and each of these elements is echoed in the stage version. The show is incredibly truthful in its adaptation of the spirit of film by replicating and enhancing its colour and vibrancy.
“The transition to the stage is truly remarkable and demonstrates an enormous commitment to the beauty that runs through the story and its setting. The staging is nothing short of breathtaking.”
Continues at the Capitol Theatre Sydney until January 28, then plays Perth in February, and Brisbane in May, before returning to Melbourne’s Regent Theatre from August 23.
Read our review of the Sydney season
Mary Poppins
Family entertainment with some jaw dropping special effects.
Brisbane’s Streetscene wrote about the opening night at QPAC, “Mary Poppins is almost outrageous in its extravagance and splendour. There are sprinkles of that classic Disney 'how did that happen?!' stage magic throughout the entire show, huge musical numbers, towering set pieces, and an unmistakeable charm.
“The iconic Cherry Tree Lane house, perhaps the most impressive set piece in the show, folds open and closed like a gigantic dollhouse, providing a sense of childlike whimsy throughout.”
On stage at the Lyric Theatre QPAC until January 15. Opening at Her Majesty’s Theatre, Melbourne on January 29, then playing Adelaide (July) and Perth (September).
Chicago
Image: Chicago cast members Asabi Goodman, Zoë Ventoura, Anthony Warlow, Lucy Maunder and Peter Rowsthorn. Photographer: Juliet Taylor
Murder, greed, corruption, exploitation, adultery, treachery … and All That Jazz … so begins the international multi-award-winning musical, Chicago, returning to Australia in November.
Chicago will play at Crown Theatre, Perth from November, the Lyric Theatre QPAC from January 2024 and at Her Majesty’s Theatre, Melbourne from March 2024.
Read more about the cast of Chicago
& Juliet
This new jukebox musical features songs penned by writer Max Martin, the wizard behind glittering chartbusters performed by Britney Spears, Backstreet Boys, Katy Perry and more.
The musical poses the question, what if Juliet’s end was actually a new beginning? Shakespeare is persuaded by his wife Anne Hathaway to change Romeo and Juliet’s ending.
Juliet goes on a wild trip from Verona to Paris with Anne, May and Nurse.
An unlikely love triangle unfurls and (spoiler alert) Romeo miraculously comes back to life.
Time Out said, “The plot is fun provided you refuse to take any of what happens seriously. It’s basically Romeo & Juliet rewritten into a sort of woke panto.”
& Juliet played at the Regent Theatre, Melbourne from February 26 to Julty 29, 2023.
It arrives in Perth in December 2023, then Sydney in February 2024.
The Rocky Horror Show
A brand-new Australian tour will kick off global celebrations in honour of iconic Rock ‘N’ Roll musical The Rocky Horror Show as it marks its 50thAnniversary in 2023, starring Jason Donovan as Frank N Furter and Myf Warhurst as The Narrator.
Richard O’Brien says, “Back in the 1970’s when someone asked me to entertain the Christmas staff party at the EMI Film Studios and I turned up with a song called ‘Science Fiction Double Feature’, who would have known this was the germ of the idea to turn into today what is The Rocky Horror Show.”
“To be celebrating 50 years is beyond my wildest expectations - from the humble beginnings back in 1973 at the Royal Court Theatre in London. There is no better fitting place in the world than Australia to launch this 50th Anniversary Tour with over 14 productions since its very first production in 1975.”
At the Theatre Royal, Sydney from February.
Festival Theatre, Adelaide in April
Atheneaum Theatre, Melbourne in May.
Read Coral Drouyn's feature story
Read Coral Drouyn's review of the Gold Coast season
Hayes Theatre Co.
Murder for Two
Murder for Two returns for a Special Christmas edition from Decenber 1.
Hayes Theatre Co has announced the two performers who comprise the cast of the upcoming musical comedy Murder for Two - musical comedians Gabbi Bolt and Maverick Newman. Directed by Hayes’ Co-Artistic Director Richard Carroll (Calamity Jane, Once, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes), Murder for Two hits the Hayes stage from 4 August.
Murder for Two is described as “a musical comedy to die for, an outrageous blend of music, mayhem, and murder. In this hilarious 90-minute show, two performers play 13 roles – not to mention the piano – in a rip-roaring parody of classic murder mysteries.”
Coming in 2024
Grease
Image: Joseph Spanti as Danny and Annelise Hall as Sandy, Photographer: Benny Capp.
A Revival of Grease is set to debut as Melbourne’s summer musical at Her Majesty’s Theatre from January 2024 and the Capitol Theatre, Sydney from March 2024!
Read the Grease casting announcement
Final Grease casting announced
West Side Story
Opera Australia (OA) has announced that West Side Story will return to the Handa Opera on Sydney Harbour stage in 2024, along with renewed partnerships with Dr Haruhisa Handa’s International Foundation for Arts and Culture and Destination NSW.
Sunset Boulevard
A brand-new lavish production of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Tony Award winning musical Sunset Boulevard will premiere in Melbourne in May 2024 at the Princess Theatre followed by a season at the Sydney Opera House in August. This newly imagined revival will mark Sunset Boulevard’s first return to Australia in almost twenty years.
Making her global debut in the role, Sarah Brightman will star as Norma Desmond in what marks her first theatrical role in more than three decades.
Candide
In May 2024, South Australia’s flagship theatre and opera companies will come together for the first time in more than a decade, along with the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra, to present a concert version of Leonard Bernstein’s beloved comic operetta and existential vaudeville, Candide.
Image: Candide will star Hans, Caroline O'Connor, Annie Aitken, Alex Lewis and Mitchell Butel.
Dear Evan Hansen
In October / November, the Sydney Theatre Company is joining forces with Michael Cassel Group to bring the Tony-Award winning Broadway musical Dear Evan Hansen to Australia for the first time. Directed by Dean Bryant (Fun Home, Hubris & Humiliation) and featuring music from Grammy and Academy Award-winners Benj Pasek and Justin Paul (La La Land, The Greatest Showman).
Click here to read more about the STC season
SIX The Musical
Image: SIX Australian Cast 2021-23. Photographer: James Morgan – Getty Images
SIX The Musical returns to Australia in 2024, playing at Melbourne’s Comedy Theatre from August, Theatre Royal Sydney from October and at QPAC’s Playhouse in Brisbane from January 2025.
RENT
LPD Productions has declared there is “no day like today” as it announced the multi-Tony Award winning rock musical by Jonathan Larson, RENT, will embark on a national tour in 2024. The musical will commence in Brisbane in January 2024 followed by seasons in Melbourne, Newcastle, Perth and Canberra
Groundhog Day The Musical
GWB Entertainment have announced that Groundhog Day The Musical will make its Australian premiere in Melbourne, where it will play exclusively at the Princess Theatre, for a strictly limited season from January 2024.
Sweeney Todd
Photo from Sydney Opera House season by Daniel Boud.
Once, there was a barber who had it all — a happy life, a beautiful wife. But it all ended in a savage act of betrayal. Enter Sweeney Todd, “the demon barber of Fleet Street”. From Stephen Sondheim and Hugh Wheeler, gothic horror masterpiece Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street arrives at Art Centre Melbourne’s Playhouse from 14-21 September, conducted by Phoebe Briggs.
This co-production with New Zealand Opera has already played seasons in Wellington, Auckland and most recently at the Sydney Opera House.
My Brilliant Career
The Melbourne Theatre Company will present a new musical version of My Brillian Career based on the novel by Miles Franklin, with a book by Sheridan Harbridge and Dean Bryant, music by Mathew Frank and lyrics by Dean Bryant from November 7 to December 18 at Southbank Theatre, The Sumner.
Hayes Theatre Co
The Hayes Theatre Company, under the artistic direction of Richard Carroll and Victoria Falconer, is celebrating its 10th Birthday in 2024, with its first full year subscription season since 2019.
The season encompasses Zombie! The Musical, the new show from Laura Murphy (The Lovers, The Dismissal); the Australian premiere of the subversive, hilarious and surprisingly moving Ride The Cyclone; and a co-production with Griffin, Flat Earthers: The Musical, featuring the queer electro-pop stylings of theatre-comedy provocateurs Lou Wall, Jean Tong and James Gales.
These Hayes productions will be complemented by several other musicals presented by independent producers - The Hello Girls (Heartstring Productions), Tell Me On a Sunday (Michelle Guthrie), Little Women (Joshua Robson Productions) and Irving Berlin's Holiday Inn, along with Neglected Musicals seasons of Promises, Promises and They're Playing Our Song.
Click here to read more about the Hayes Theatre Co season.
Closed Productions.
Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat
Way way back, many decades ago, young Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice teamed up for a pop cantata for a prep school. Between 1968 and 1984 the musical was expanded and developed.
The latest production from the London Palladium, which opened in Melbourne during November, celebrates the mix of musical styles including jazz, pop, rockabilly and even the Can Can.
Expect lots of colours, from red and yellow to green and brown etc., with sets ranging from the desert hues of Canaan to the blingy modern surfaces of the Pharaoh’s palace in Egypt.
The energetic dancing is led by triple threat Euan Fistrovic Doidge as Joseph, alongside Paulini as the Narrator. Trevor Ashley is set to steal the show in his cameo as Pharoah when the show lands in Sydney.
Playing at the Regent Theatre, Melbourne during December and January, then the Capitol Theatre, Sydney from February 11 to April 16, 2023.
Click here to read our Melbourne review
Click here to read our Sydney review
The Phantom of the Opera
Photographer: Daniel Boud
A stunning set and beautiful singing of one of the most successful musicals of all time.
Stage Whispers’ Carol Wimmer wrote, “It has always had the feel of an opera. The macabre theme. The evocative music. The operatic characters. The little bits of comedy. The sad ending. Paul Brown’s new set – and Maria Bjornson’s original and still exquisite costumes – add the “opera” that is promised in the title.
“This is a production that anyone who hasn’t been to the opera before will love – and those who have loved The Phantom will love just as much.”
Closed at the State Theatre, Arts Centre Melbourne until February 18.
Click here to read our review.
Rodgers + Hammerstein’s Cinderella.
Photographer: Jeff Busby
In this production, the fairy tale is turned on its head, with Cinderella choosing to save the Prince from a corrupt Rasputin-like advisor.
“This is a sparkling production which will delight children and engage adults.
“Cinderella (Shubshri Kandiah) and Topher (Ainsley Melham) both sing with tight vibrato and have a natural on-stage chemistry reviving their theatrical romance from Aladdin. They also lead the gorgeous choreography including a showstopper at the ball when all the ladies are held aloft.” - David Spicer.
Closed at Sydney Lyric Theatre on January 29.
Read Coral Drouyn's feature story on this 'FairyTale for All Time'
SIX The Musical
Photographer James P. Morgan.
A high octane take on history, SIX, is the pop fuelled remix of the history of the six wives of Henry VIII.
The women transform from Tudor Queens to Pop Princesses as they tell their rebellious tales.
Closed at QPAC, Brisbane on February 19.
Read ouur review of the QPAC season
Rolling Thunder Vietnam
Stage Whispers’ Peter Pinne wrote that “Rolling Thunder Vietnam is an explosive, raw and visceral experience - a look at the Vietnam War using a collection of rock‘n’roll songs of the era and a narrative culled from personal stories and letters from the front.
“It follows the enlistment experiences of Johnny, a young man from a drought-stricken farm in Queensland, his love for his sweetheart Sarah, and his friendship with his American marine buddy, Thomas.”
The show’s extensive 2023 tour will include the Gold Coast, Brisbane, Toowoomba, Caloundra, Newcastle, Sydney, Wollongong, Perth, Adelaide, Frankston and Melbourne.
Read more about the casting of this touring production.
Click here to read an interview with author Bryce Hallett
Sweeney Todd
With generous servings of greed, lust, and vengeance, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street is headed to the Sydney Opera House this winter, from 22 July to 27 August, 2023.
Image: Ben Mingay and Antoinette Halloran. Photographer: Daniel Boud.
DIVAS
Following the success of her previous one-woman shows, Pennsylvania Avenue, The Show Goes On and Songs For Nobodies (a hit in both Australia and London), Bernadette Robinson is returning to Australian stages with the World Premiere of her post-pandemic solo tour-de-force, DIVAS.
DIVAS will open at QPAC, Brisbane on 20 July then travel to Sydney Opera House opening 3 August then to Fairfax Studio, Melbourne from 24 August 2023.
Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812
Darlinghurst Theatre Company will present the Australian premiere of Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812, which opens at Eternity Playhouse on 9th July, running until 20th August. Directed by Dean Drieberg (Hamilton) Tony Award nominated electro-pop opera is based on a scandalous slice of Tolstoy’s War and Peace.
Click here to read about casting
Bloom
A new production from Working Dog - the creators of The Castle, Frontline and The Dish – Bloom is a musical about the scheming owner of an aged care facility who decides to cut costs by offering university students free board if they work as carers. The book and lyrics are by comedian Tom Gleisner. The composer is Katie Weston.
Midnight
Photographer: Wayne Taylor Photography.
Midnight - The Fairytale Begins… a new Australian musical loosely inspired by the Cinderella story, is a World Premiere romantic comedy from John Foreman and Anthony Costanzo, featuring an additional song by Kate Miller-Heidke.
Ella, a feisty, funny and passionate young heroine doesn't want or need a so-called Prince Charming. The Prince, enchanted by this alluring stranger, suddenly finds himself in uncharted territory and quickly learns that Ella is like no other. Can he prove his worth before the magical stroke of Midnight?
The stars of Midnight include Lucy Durack, Verity Hunt-Ballard, Thomas McGuane, Matt Lee and Kristie Nguy.
Premiering at Melbourne’s Comedy Theatre in June.
Click here to read more about Midnight
Read David Spicer's feature article
Not Finished With You Yet!
Image: Dinesh Mathew, Lauren Gunsen, Christie Whelan Browne and Rohan Browne.
The World Premiere of the Australian production of NOT FINISHED WITH YOU YET! will open with a preview performance on Monday 6th March 2023, at the Alex Theatre, St Kilda, playing until Sunday, 2nd April from Tuesday to Sunday, with matinees Saturdays and Sundays.
The leads will feature married couple Christie Whelan Browne who will play Kate and Rohan Browne, who will play Rupert who will play a married couple.
Hairspray
The new production staring Shane Jacobson, Todd McKenney, Rhonda Burchmore, Asabi Goodman and Bobby Fox is to set to shake and shimmy its way around Australia.
Stage Whispers’ reviewer Michael Brindley wrote, “It’s not often that you find yourself part of an audience that is so totally into a show as the audience for Hairspray. It’s immersive. It’s their show and they seem to know it backwards. Almost every song and every artist are greeted with applause and roars of anticipatory approval.
“Music theatre – and American music theatre in particular – may not be your thing, but with this much talent, oomph and pizzaz on stage, you may be converted.
“Jacobson’s interactions with Todd McKenny’s Wilbur, especially their dance number, ‘You’re Timeless to Me’, are both funny and touching.”
Following its Melbourne season, Hairspray plays in Adelaide during December and January, then Sydney from February.
tick, tick…BOOM!
Hugh Sheridan will star as Jonathan Larson in tick, tick…BOOM!, the autobiographical off-Broadway rock musical by the Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award-winning composer of Rent, Jonathan Larson.
Just prior to the opening night of Rent, creator and composer Jonathan Larson tragically passed away before the first public performance. But, before Rent, Larson had created another musical tick, tick…BOOM!
Opening at Melbourne’s Comedy Theatre from February 1, before a limited season at QPAC’s Playhouse in Brisbane from March 1, and a season at Sydney Lyric Theatre in April.
Bat Out of Hell – The Musical
Jim Steinman’s Bat Out of Hell – The Musical, featuring Jim Steinman and Meat Loaf’s greatest hits, commences a national tour in Sydney in on January 27, 2023 and plays arenas in Perth, Adelaide, Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane.
The international cast of 22 is led by 4 principal performers and includes Australian Kellie Gnauk in the role of RAVEN. Kellie grew up in Jilliby on the Central Coast of NSW and moved to the UK many years ago to perform in the West End.
Madagascar
Photographer - David Hooley
Adapted from the DreamWorks animated movie, this family musical with an international cast is brought to life by colourful sets, and new songs that the producers say will inspire everyone to “move it move it” in the aisles.
The story commences in the Central Park Zoo, where Marty, a Kim Kardashian shaped zebra breaks free of the bars and tedium of captivity. His lion, giraffe and hippo mates follow him on a cargo ship back to Africa.
A rogue band of puppet penguins hijack the ship with the up-ended crate washed up on Madagascar.
Theatre Scenes New Zealand wrote that “The puppets underpin the narrative – their characters’ tone and humour are fantastically and delightfully peppered throughout.”
Madagascar opened in Sydney in December, followed by January seasons at Comedy Theatre Melbourne and Crown in Perth.
Click here to read our Madagascar review.
Into the Woods
Belvoir will present a brand-new production of Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine’s Into the Woods, thirty-five years on from its Broadway premiere.
Directed by Eamon Flack, the production will feature a cast of 12 including Tamsin Carroll, Esther Hannaford and Justin Smith.
This musical masterpiece begins, of course, with “Once upon a time…” By the end of the opening number not one, but six, fairytale plots have intertwined, as Cinderella, the Baker and his Wife, Little Red Riding Hood and Jack of beanstalk fame all head into the woods in search of love, happiness and wisdom.
A co-production between Hayes Theatre Company and Belvoir Street Theatre, Into the Woods plays from March 18 – April 23.
Read more about the 2023 Belvoir season
On A Clear Day You Can See Forever
Image: On A Clear Day. Photo credit: Harvey House & Kenney Designs.
In March at Sydney’s Seymour Centre Squabbalogic will present On A Clear Day You Can See Forever, a revamped adaptation of the ‘60s Broadway musical and cult Barbra Streisand film. Starring Jay James-Moody and Blake Bowden On A Clear Day follows the neurotic David Gamble, who enlists the services of psychiatrist and hypnotist, Dr Mark Bruckner, in an effort to quit nicotine, but soon gets caught in an otherworldly love triangle as the doctor discovers inside David the presence of a charming woman who died decades earlier. On A Clear Day features all-new musical arrangements and brings a fresh queer twist to a classic tale.
Read more about the Seymour Centre's 2023 program.
Cruel Intentions
Image: Kelsey Halge as Annette Hargrove (centre) and cast. Photographer: Nicole Cleary
David Venn’s Australian professional premiere production of Cruel Intentions: The ‘90s Musical, based on the 1999 cult film, continued its national tour in 2023.
The movie was adapted from the classic 1782 French novel Les Liaisons Dangereuses.
The soundtrack includes The Verve’s “Bittersweet Symphony” and other throwback classics by Boyz II Men, Christina Aguilera, Backstreet Boys, Goo Goo Dolls, *NSYNC and Britney Spears.
Cruel Intentions: The ‘90s Musical played on the Gold Coast at the HOTA, Home of the Arts from 19-29 January, before returning to Sydney in collaboration with Riverside Theatres, Parramatta from 2-12 February, and its return to Melbourne’s Athenaeum Theatre from 16 February.
Driftwood The Musical
Following its premiere at Chapel Off Chapel in 2022, Driftwood - The Musical returns in 2023, beginning at Chapel Off Chapel from 3 – 20 May then touring to Sydney’s Glen Street Theatre from 24 – 28 May, Riverside Theatres, Parramatta from 31 May – 4 June and Eternity Theatre, Darlinghurst from 6 – 18 June.
Driftwood - The Musical tells the story of the Austrian/ Australian sculptor Karl Duldig and his artist-inventor wife, Slawa Horowitz-Duldig. We follow their lives in pre-war Vienna, the family’s narrow escape from Nazi Austria, Slawa’s ingenious invention of the foldable umbrella, and the incredible chain of events that took place after miraculously escaping the Holocaust and rebuilding their careers as artists in Melbourne.
www.driftwoodthemusical.com.au
Hamilton
Photographer: Daniel Boud.
The revolutionary musical which fuses hip hop and musical theatre styles, based on the real-life story of American Founding Father Alexander Hamilton, continued its Melbourne season until January 15, before transfers to QPAC in Brisbane from January 27.
It is high art and high entertainment, featuring a dynamic young cast with many first-timers in lead roles.
Be warned though, it moves at a cracking pace, so a little homework before you arrive by listening to the album, reading a biography, or watching the streamed version on Disney will make the experience more satisfying,
Come From Away
Photographer: Jeff Busby
“From the moment the strongly Celtic influenced music starts and the cast take the stage, singing Welcome To The Rock, with appropriate Irish foot stomping, you know you are in for something special,” wrote Stage Whispers’ reviewer Coral Drouyn.
“It is impossible not to be moved by the extraordinary story of the 38 planes that had to be diverted from Mainland USA to Gander in Newfoundland on Sept 11th when the Twin Towers were attacked.
“You may have gathered that I loved this production and put this in my list of top three shows of all time.”
Come From Away continued at Sydney’s Theatre Royal during January, before touring to Newcastle, Adelaide, Perth, Canberra and New Zealand.
Read our review of the 2022 / 2023 Sydney season
The Dismissal The Musical
Following a successful workshop production in 2019, Squabbalogic will present the full, world premiere production of The Dismissal at Sydney’s Seymour Centre in August - a rollicking, razor-sharp musical account of the epic constitutional crisis that led to Gought Whitlam’s 1975 prime ministerial dismissal.
Read more about the Seymour Centre's 2023 program.
Velvet Rewired
Photographer: Daniel Boud
The Sydney season in the Opera House Studio of Velvet Rewired, the celebration of the glitz and glamour of the disco era, plays until 12 February 2023.
Marcia Hines reprises her role from the show Velvet as the “Diva”.
Velvet Rewired continues the story of a young man on his path to self-discovery as he returns to the club seeking redemption. Craig Reid returns as “Hula Boy” and Joe Accaria as the DJ and mix-master. Rounding out the cast are Tom Sharah as “Country Mike”, aerialists Beau Sargent and Harley Timmermans, German skating duo Sven and Jan, with Jacinta Gulisano (The Voice 2018) and Sasha Lee Saunders as the “Sirens”.
Disney's Winnie the Pooh
Inspired by the beloved books by A. A. Milne and the classic Disney featurettes, Disney's Winnie the Pooh: The New Musical Stage Adaptation has arrived in Australia! See Disney’s iconic Winnie the Pooh, Christopher Robin and their best friends Piglet, Eeyore, Kanga, Roo, Rabbit, and Owl (oh… and don’t forget Tigger too!) in a beautifully crafted musical stage adaptation featuring stunning life-size puppetry.
Touring Australia from July 12 to October 1.
Urinetown
Photographer: Jane Duong
Urinetown is a musical satire of the legal system, capitalism, social irresponsibility, populism, bureaucracy, corporate mismanagement, municipal politics and musical theatre itself.
Urinetown was nominated for 10 Tony Awards, winning three, including Best Book and Best Original Score.
Played from Jan 11 at Hayes Theatre Co
Gentleman Prefer Blondes
Gentleman Prefer Blondes tells the raucous and subversive story of Lorelei Lee and Dorothy Shaw - two smart young single women with a burning desire for experiences that aren’t supposed to be available to them within the laws and conventions of the 1920s. Starring Emily Havea and Georgina Hopson.
Played from Feb 16 at Hayes Theatre Co
I Want it That Gay
Written by and starring Cara Whitehouse and Anna Gambrill, I Want it That Gay is a queer comedic cabaret featuring popular music hits from the 1990’s and 2000’s – with a rainbow twist! A Sydney WorldPride 2023 Event, resented by Pride Amplified in association with Hayes Theatre Co on Feb 26 and Mar 5, 2023 at Hayes Theatre Co.
Metropolis
The basis for Fritz Lang’s 1927 film, Thea Von Harbou’s masterpiece of atmosphere and expressionism illuminates parts of the story lost on the cutting-room floor.
In 2023, the Little Eggs Collective will turn one of the most influential science fiction novels of all time into a live theatre experience. With a brand new, completely original score, a cast of ten will premiere this adaptation in April/May 2023.
Played from April 21 at Hayes Theatre Co.
The Lucky Country
A chamber musical (music and lyrics by Vidya Makan in collaboration with Sonya Suares) that digs deep into the idea of Australia, identity and belonging.
Joseph, a 13-year-old Thitharr Warra boy, clashes with his teacher about Australian history and goes on a journey led by his totem bird – a sea eagle. The five piece band features a didgeridoo.
Starring Joseph Althouse and Vidya Makan.
Played from May 26 at Hayes Theatre Co.
City of Angels
Joshua Robson Productions the smart and stylish film noir musical, City of Angels. Playing at Hayes Theatre Co from 23 June 2023, the Tony Award winner captures the gritty sights and sounds of Hollywood’s classic detective movies, set to a brilliant, jazzy score by Cy Coleman, with lyrics by David Zippel and a book by Larry Gelbart.
In the late 1940s, Stine, a bookish writer of detective stories, struggles to adapt his crime novel into a workable screenplay. As Stine tries to maintain some integrity in the backstabbing world of Hollywood, his protagonist, a hardboiled private eye named Stone, fights for survival in a city full of criminals and opportunists. The stories are told on a split stage: Stine’s world is in full colour, while Stone’s appears in black and white.
Played from Jun 23 at Hayes Theatre Co
Click here to read about the cast
Six spellers enter… but only one speller can leave a champion! At least the losers get a juice box…
The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee is an hilarious take on adolescence, parenting, teachers, and the
P-A-N-D-E-M-O-N-I-U-M of the world of competitive spelling bees. Centred around a very eclectic group of six mid-pubescent teens, the show effortlessly weaves its way through the motivations and hopes of each competitor as they vie to take home the spelling championship of a lifetime! But which speller will avoid the soul-crushing ‘ding’ of the bell that signals the end of their time in the competition?
Hayes Theatre Co' production of Stephen Sondheim musical A Little Night Music, which played in October 2023, with the namesake of Hayes Theatre Co, Nancye Hayes playing the role of Madame Armfeldt for the third time in her illustrious career.
Playing the role of Desiree Armfeld is Blazey Best, with Leon Ford as Frederik Egerman, Melanie Bird as Anne Egerman, Jeremi Campese as Henrik Egerman, Josh Robson and Erin Clare as Count Carl-Magnus Malcom and Charlotte Malcolm, Kiana Daniele as Petra and Pamelia Papacosta as Frederika Armfeldt.
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