Philip Quast and Anne-Maree McDonald

Celebrating a career of more than 40 years treading the boards, Philip Quast presented a relaxed evening of stage favourites – from Candide to Les Misérables, with plenty of surprises in between. As he is now semi-retired from musical theatre and stage performance, Philip now teaches at the National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA) with accompanist Anne-Maree McDonald (or ‘AM’ as he affectionately calls her), who added cheeky cabaret chic to her virtuoso performance on the piano. You could listen to Philip Quast’s stories about working on Broadway, in the West End and at the Sydney Theatre Company (with Hugo Weaving and Richard Roxburgh in Waiting for Godot!) for hours and, even though his work has made him an international star, he genuinely retains the humbleness of the farm boy who grew up on the poultry farm in Tamworth. The giveaway star quality is that voice – it would have been a waste to leave it on the farm calling to the chooks!

As Philip reveals, the songs and the shows he has appeared in are reminders of milestones in his personal life, and the string of mementoes makes for a moving show. He describes his decision to retire from the stage after appearing as Ben Stone in Sondheim’s Follies, after which a serendipitous meeting with his theatrical idol, British Theatre Director Peter Brook, squared the circle for him as Brook’s comments reflected that the performance was perfect. His rendition of the song from that production, ‘The Road You Didn't Take’, was particular poignant. I loved his stories about working with Bryn Terfel in Sweeney Todd and working with Stephen Sondheim backstage over sips of whisky to learn the finer points of musical writing.

A special surprise guest, Luke Kennedy, added a spark mid-way through the set for Neville and Archibald’s duet, ‘Lily’s Eyes’ from The Secret Garden. It was a standout performance. One other surprise piece was an interactive performance of Play School’s ‘Wiggly Woo’, in which the audience participated in the singing and dancing – I’m telling you the Concert Hall was packed and everyone was up on their feet. It was nice to hear the mention of Philip’s Play School co-star, Noni Hazelhurst (another of our National Arts Treasures), receive a round of applause too. As the performance drew to a close, we were treated to more star pieces, including ‘Stars’ from Les Misérables. But the standout for me was the encore of ‘I am what I am’ from La Cage Aux Folles.

As it was billed at the recent Australian Musical Theatre Festival, this partnership performance with the lovely AM is really ‘An Intimate Soiree’ cabaret style performance which would have been perfect for a smaller venue. For the Concert Hall, it would have been great to see some photos and projections of the casts and colleagues to illustrate some of Philip’s anecdotes. The guest spot by the wonderful Luke Kennedy was right on track, but it would have been lovely to add more of these moments to showcase the songs and the productions (and the performer’s family history), to fill the larger venue space. But I can see this show returning to festivals and events in the future, so while their NIDA students have the benefit of their experience and talent for the moment, I hope Philip and AM won’t leave it too long to get back on the stage where they belong. 

Beth Keehn