News

When Antoinette Halloran sweeps onto the Queensland Conservatorium Theatre stage as Hanna Glawari in Franz Lehar’s immortal The Merry Widow she’ll finally be graduating, as she puts it, “from little girls to women.” Up until now her impressive career has seen her play all of the young girl roles: Adine in The Elixir of Love, Pamina in The Magic Flute, Josephine in H.M.S. Pinafore and Gianetta in The Gondoliers amongst others.

The nine Australian principal cast members of Hairspray The Musical, to open at the Princess Theatre in Melbourne, on Saturday 2 October, have been announced.

Local Buderim based playwright Bruce Olive took home top honours in Noosa Arts Theatre’s National One-Act Playwriting Competition during June, winning Best Play with his chilling drama God Willing.

Mr Olive beat a very competitive field of 55 entries from right around Australia, and took home $2500 prize money.

Inspired by the Mumbai Hotel bombings, God Willing explores the motivations behind terrorist activities. A young female terrorist grapples with her conscience as she holds a pregnant aid worker hostage.

More than twelve months after its spectacular Sydney Premiere, the curtain will come down on Wicked at the Capitol Theatre for the last time on September 12, 2010. “After more than two astonishing years in Australia, 866 glorious performances seen by well over a million people, it will be time for WICKED to close,” said John Frost, Australian Co-Producer of Wicked. “Sydneysiders have only 12 more weeks to see one of the most successful shows in theatre history at the most perfect theatre it could play in, the glorious Capitol Theatre.”