Stage Briefs

XANADU THE MUSICAL SKATES INTO SYDNEY!

Matthew Management in association with Hayes Theatre Co today announced the cast of the smash-hit Broadway musical comedy XANADU, based on the 1980s classic cult movie, which plays in Sydney from Thursday 12 May 2016 for a strictly limited season.

New Spelling Bee for Melbourne

Get out your dictionaries! The Tony Award winning musical comedy, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee is heading to the Melbourne’s Lawler Theatre for a strictly limited season from March 30 to April 10, 2016, in a new production from the Vic Theatre Company.

Cast Announced for Victorian Premiere of Dogfight

Doorstep Arts has announced the cast and creative team set to deliver the Victorian Premiere of the award-winning musical Dogfight, with music and lyrics by Benj Pasek & Justin Paul and a book by Peter Duchan, in May 2016.

The whole damn world might change tomorrow. So we go for broke today.

Cancer Council Official Charity Partner of The Sound of Music.

The producers of the new stage production of The Sound of Music announced today (20th January, 2016) that Cancer Council will be the official charity partner for the Australian tour.

Bucket collections at selected performances across the season and proceeds from final dress rehearsal performances in Brisbane and Melbourne will raise funds for Cancer Council’s work in cancer support, research, advocacy and prevention.

Deliah Hannah to Play Grizabella in Adelaide and Perth

The Producers of Andrew Lloyd Webber's CATS have announced that Deliah Hannah will play the role of Grizabella in the Adelaide and Perth seasons of the West End revival production of CATS. The show commences in Adelaide on Friday 18 March at the Festival Theatre and in Perth on Saturday 16 April at the Crown Theatre.

Stoney End: The Songs of Laura Nyro

An intimate, seductive and soulful exploration that revisits the work of singer-songwriter Laura Nyro, Stoney End reimagines this artist’s songbook in a theatrical and musical event. Melbourne-based performing artist Hilary Watts presents Stoney End: The Songs of Laura Nyro; featuring a varied collective of musicians and a quartet of vocalists, launching at Midsumma Festival 2016.

Mike Walsh Fellowships 2015

Mike Walsh OBE gives Fellowships to Graduates of NIDA, WAAPA, & VCA

The Mike Walsh Fellowships enable young theatre practitioners to travel overseas to further their knowledge and experience in their chosen fields of theatre before returning to Australia to pursue their careers. In 2015, the twentieth year of the awards, the Fellowships have been given to eight graduates of the National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA), the Victorian College of the Arts (VCA), and the Western Australian Academy of the Performing Arts (WAAPA).

Major Fellows:

Emily Sheehan Wins 2015 Rodney Seaborn Playwrights Award

The Seaborn Broughton and Walford Foundation (SBW) has announced that Emily Sheehan is the winner of the 2015 Rodney Seaborn Playwrights Award for her play Hell’s Canyon.

The $20,000 award for the development of a play or other approved performing arts project attracted 70 submissions from across Australia. Common themes in submissions this year included domestic violence, family interaction in an electronic age, migration, drugs and indigenous issues.

Delta Goodrem for Brisbane Season of Cats

Producers of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s CATS announced the news that Delta Goodrem will play the role of Grizabella in the Brisbane season of CATS commencing on Friday 29 January at the Lyric Theatre, QPAC.  Ms Goodrem, who has starred in the production since its Sydney opening on Friday 30 October, will sing Memory, one of the most well-known songs of all time.

Saturday Night Fever – StageArt Cast Announced

StageArt has announced the lead and ensemble roles for their West End revival production of Saturday Night Fever.

Mike Snell (Strictly Ballroom, Wicked, Legally Blonde, The Boy From Oz, Winner of Channel 10's I Will Survive) will play Brooklyn heartthrob Tony Manero, Sheridan Anderson (West Side Story, Pippin, Our House) will play Stephanie his dance partner.