SUMMER SEASON FOR
THE BOY FROM OZ
Jeanne Pratt AC, Chairman of The Production Company announced that The Boy From Oz is to return to the Arts Centre’s State Theatre in January 2011. Todd McKenney, who will star as the legendary Peter Allen in this summer season, said “This show has given me so much joy over so many years, and I’m excited to be coming back to this great role in a spectacular new concert version.”
Jeanne Pratt said “This month’s performances of the show have completely sold out. I’m delighted to respond to the demand for tickets with a summer season which will open on January 5 and run through to January 16. I can’t think of a better show for our company’s first return season in the State Theatre.”
The January season goes on sale at 9am on Friday, August 13.
Directed by Nancye Hayes with John Foreman as musical director and Andrew Hallsworth as choreographer, this spectacular new concert version features many of Peter Allen’s best loved songs, including Quiet Please There’s a Lady on Stage, Everything Old is New Again, Tenterfield Saddler, I Honestly Love You,
I Still Call Australia Home, Don’t Cry Out Loud and the show stopping I Go To Rio.
The Boy From Oz is widely regarded as Australia’s most popular musical. It ran for a total of 766 performances over two years in the late 90’s and was the first Australian musical to enjoy a sell out season on Broadway.
STATE THEATRE – THE ARTS CENTRE
On sale Friday 13 August book on 1300 182 183, at the Arts Centre or www.theartscentre.com.au
51 Comments
I would love for Todd McKenney and The Boy from Oz to come to Sydney. As a child I went to see The Boy from Oz at Her Majesty’s Theatre and now I would LOVE to take both my daughter and son to see him in the show. They watch Dancing with the Stars every Sunday night, but we just can’t get to Melbourne to see it… he played this role superbly.
I will cross my fingers that they come to Sydney soon.
Please tell me that The Boy From Oz is going to be touring Australia. I would love it to come to Brisbane or even better still to Townsville. Any chance that this will happen??????
Please bring Boy from Oz to Sydney. I love Todd in this show. I have waited many years for this.
I live in Northern NSW, and a group of us go to shows on the Gold Coast and also Brisbane…..we would love you tobring The Boy From Oz up this way…
PLEASE,PLEASE,PLEASE,PLEASE,PLEASE,PLEASE,PLEASE,PLEASE,PLEASE,PLEASE,PLEASE,PLEASE,PLEASE,PLEASE,PLEASE,PLEASE
COME TO ADELAIDE
live in perth WA is the BOY FROM OZ coming to WA
What an awesome version of I Go To Rio on DWTS tonight!! I loved it!!
Congrats Todd McKenney, is there any chance this will come to Sydney?? Please please please!!!!
I would really love to see the boy from oz but I live in Queensland so please bring the show to queensland
Would love to see Todd in Boy from OZ in Sydney
Please bring the show to the Gold Coast or Brisbane…….. We would love to see Todd as the Boy from Oz… We saw Todd last night on DWTS and would luv to see the whole show.
I would dearly love to see The Boy from Oz starring Todd McKenny. I hope and pray that the show could be coming to Brisbane.
I too watched Todd on DWTS last night.
He “glowed” ! What a totally different character when he performs.
Yes please ! Do tour nationally. Gold Coast would be great but willing to
travel up to Brisbane.
The Boy From Oz is a show that my husband & i would love to see..Please come to Brisbane
I too watched Todd on DWTS on Sunday night and absolutely loved it Having watched a local production here in Brisbane with my g/daughter in it, I would LOVE for the stage show to come to Brisbane in the near future. Please tell me it is going to tour here
PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE COME TO PERTH
My partner would love to see this live show …he is a dancer and can so enjoy and appreciate all there is to see in this terrific production…the only hick up we live in cairns …we are often forgotten this far north but so many of us would love to see the show …please try to come closer ..xx thanks
yes please put the show on in brisbane Would love to take my Mum to Boy from Oz starring Todd McKenny,
Please bring the show to Sydney Todd.I have been to see you perform twice at Star City and walked away wanting more.Your a fabulous entertainer and you should do more.So come on bring it to the city of Sydney
Please please bring The boy from Oz to brisbane. I’m sure it would be an absolute sell out…….Please
As much as I love Hugh Jackman, Todd’s interpretations of the Boy from Oz, far outweigh Hugh’s. Please bring the boy from oz to Brisbane or the Gold Coast, PLEASE. I need to get another hit of it, with Todd in the lead role. Good on you Todd, go get em boy.
Please bring Todd McKenny and The Boy from Oz to Adelaide, we would love to welcome such a wonderful production, if it doesn’t sell out here I will eat my hat!
Please bring Boy from Oz to Adelaide, I would love to see it….PLEASE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Would love the Boy from OZ to come to Adelaide we live at Roxby Downs and find going to Melbourne etc so expensive but SAdelaide is achievable. I am sure a lot of other SA rural people feel the same way!
Please bring this amazing production to Adelaide. Please!!!! I already have about 10 people that want to buy tickets if it does and I haven’t even asked any of my friends yet!!!!
I saw Todd in “The Boy from Oz” years ago and he was fantastic. Having seen Peter Allen in concert many years ago I can truly say Todd is a living tribute to the performer – his showmanship & pizazz as well as sheer talent. I would love this production to come to Sydney.
I just know The Boy from Oz will be a sell out all over Australia. Please bring it to Brisbane My daughter and I watched DWTS as well and were so disappointed to hear the show is only on in Melbourne – we will be first in line to see it here in Brisbane Please bring the show to Brisbane
Come on bring The Boy from Oz to Perth WA or organise some really good deals for West Australians to see the show in Melbourne.
You must bring the show to Adelaide!! It would be fantabulous!
PLEASE PLEASE,PRETTY PLEASE ,BRING “BOY FROM OZ” To Sydney as we will be hopefully 1st in line to receive our wonderful tickets for a much appreciated live show.
PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE COME TO SYDNEY WOULD BE FANTASTIC
Pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeease come to Adelaide – so few true song and dance men of your calibre around!!!!
Hello is the Boy from OZ coming to Brisbane and if so when? or will it be in Sydney in the near future.
Thanks
Jocelyn Hobday.
The best poll of Election day 2010. Todd McKenney for Peter Allen or Hugh Jackman?. Let me tell you it is McKenney by a mile. I was lucky enough to see Todd play Peter Allen in the original production and have seen clips (Tony Awards etc) of Hugh doing Boy from Oz and the performances were both strong. As all my friends know I avoid Arena Productions like the plague so it will come as no surprise that the cast was a revelation for me, having not seen Fem Belling’s Liza or Christen O’Leary’s Judy. Whilst I stand by my original claim that Angela Toohey ‘was’ Liza and Chrissie Amphlett was scary in that she virtually ‘channelled’ Graland in the original, these two newer cast members are very strong and amazing also. It was always going to be hard to fill the high heels of the original two stars, Fem and Christen do the Company proud.
As for Todd he is “to die for”. I can now say he has grown into the role even more. His vocal production and resonance is so much better than the nineties performance and his dancing is as good as ever (it was Award winning then!). He is fitter than I have seen him in years and keeps the young hoofers on their toes also. His Rockettes-line is precision, and whilst I have seen Jackman kick higher, McKenney knows that the secret to ‘the line’ is not height but the evenness with the girls and the differing heights of the dancers. It has to be mirror across the row. This one is… a true Rockette’s moment.
Nancye Hayes direction is also masterful. She knows dance and how to sell a show.
Robyn Arthur’s Marion is magnificent. Whereas originally one felt Perryman was wasted in this role, by the sensible and clever re-writing and re-working of the book, Marion is given the powerful position narratively the script needed. And when she gets “Robbie’s Turn” it is worth the wait, literally bringing the house down. Well done girl…. you are spectacular!
David Harris is also better placed by the re-working, as Greg becomes more foregrounded. By removing the pretence of Boy from Oz being a traditional ‘book musical’ and moving towards a more modern ’sung-through libretto’ with the only linear breaks occuring as Todd’s Peter works the audience, cabaret-style, the production itself shines and glitters in a way the original did not.
The I still call Australia Home and Rio routines last time felt forced and ‘un’-integrated, this time they flow from the patter and narrative more cohesively… they belong and fit at last. That was my biggest complaint in the original. This allows Todd McKenney to ‘become’ Peter and to work the audience as he, Allen, used to do (remember Up in One at the Maj anybody?) And whilst Peter’s American twang grated on me, and his Vegas gyrations seemed so over-wrought at the time, both play well now in the new century when replicated by McKenney.
This is an all-star vehicle and whilst the Production Company and Jeanne Pratt would like to sell all the shows as such, this time it is true. The power of the production comes from its commitment to the production. The set is functional and minimal, yet the sparkling backdrop… perfect, allowing the focus to be on the performers at all times. We do not come away singing the sets and costumes this time… and even Rio is a tad toned down in colour palate and much for the better. The period costumes from Bandstand, to seventies NY Village to the unbiquitous legwarmers for the cattle call, everything is perfect.
I cannot go past the wonderful Fosse-esq choreo for Liza… ah, the white gloves and bowler hat! Belling is great and we recognised instantly the red fringed-dress and the vest with cuffs. This is a Minelli-esq moment not to be missed. I think if Liza saw this peoduction she would fall in love with it all over again.
Being small in stature herself, O’Leary nails the fragility of Garland and this time the ‘ghost character’ whites are so effective. There was not a dry eye in the house for “Quiet Please, There’s a Lady on Stage”, “I’d Rather Leave While I’m in Love” and “Don’t Cry Out Loud”. Judy’s “Taught by Experts” and “All I wanted was the dream” were mesmerizing also.
The songs themselves take on a more powerful place in the popular music canon when combined with the force of these renditions, coming from the State Theatre stage. And John Foreman’s small stage orchestra brings all the power of a full traditional pit orchestra to the score.
I can’t ever remember having raved so much about a production. Perhaps only the original Les Mis in Sydney. I cannot wait to go back in January if it isn’t already sold out. This show deserves to run and run and take on the McIntosh staples… we Aussies can match it with the best.
As for the vote… Jackman versus McKenney… for me it is McKenney all the way.
Would love to see The Boy from Oz in Adelaide? Is that going to happen?
Claire
Please bring the production to Brisbane!
Here here Carol-Anne. Ten years on and Todd was still brilliant. Friends who also saw Hugh Jackman in this role said Hugh couldn’t hold a candle to Todd. Tenterfield Saddler was a brilliant performance by Todd it actually bought a tear to my eye. Well done Todd you have my vote.
I live in Qld and loved watching Dancing with the Stars, when Todd did his Boy from Oz number I was blown away. I get goose bumps everytime I hear “Still call aust home” it should be our national anthem. Are you going to bring the show to Brisbane please?
Please……. Please bring The Boy from OZ to Brisbane. We don’t want to miss out on this wonderful, fantastic and amazing production!!!
I like many others from Brisbane and surrtounding areas, make another plea for your production to come here pleaseeeeeeeeeeeee
Would love to see Boy from Oz come to Brisbane/Sydney with TODD…. Couldn’t get tickets to Melb.
Will this happen????????????????????????
Please, please bring the Boy from Oz to Perth. I am sure that it will be a complete sell out!!!!
Please please PLEASE could you bring The Boy from Oz with Todd Mc Kenney to Sydney…we would LOVE to see it. I am sure ti would be a sell out!
My mother and I saw this the last time with Todd as lead role and so want it to come to Sydney to see again. Please bring it to Sydney.
We here in Perth are utterly desperate for you to bring Todd & Oz back here !!!! There are plenty of us who would be intending to attend multiple nights. Please consider His Majesty’s Theatre for better acoustics and a more intimate atmosphere where every seat in the house has a great view. Please for all our sakes – avoid Burswood Theatre – it is cavernous and basically only the first 10 rows can see anything and in a lot of cases the sound doesnt travel any further back either.
Do we need to beg ? we are more than prepared to do so !!!!!!
My partner and I saw “The Boy from Oz” last night and it was brilliant! This is the 3rd time that we have seen this production by The Production Company and we did notice some subtle changes. It seems that some of the costumes are more bright, colourful and lavish – certainly a plus. We also noticed the drop down screen with the footage of Peter Allen (in the 2nd act) has gone. I wonder as to the reasons why, as we felt this did add to the overall experience. Anyway, outstanding performances by all the cast. Todd McKenney (as always) is the standout. I could not imagine anyone else being able to play this role anywhere near as well as what Todd can. Alex Rathgeber (as Peter’s partner, Greg) was excellent. He sings beautifully and the “I Honestly Love You” scene was particularly touching and emotional. Well done to all concerned with this production. Just as an aside, is there any chance that The Production Company” might do “La Cage Aux Folles” anytime soon?
We attended the first night of return season of The Boy From Oz on Wednesday night. It is fantastic that the company has chosed to give it a return season. I remember seeing the show 13 years ago or so. Also saw Hugh Jackman play Peter and I must admit that Todd was born to play this role. In fact the whole cast is outstanding, especially Christine O’Leary and Fem Belling. We are returning in February to see it again. My partner and I are huge supporters of The Production Company and haven’t missed a show for the past 7 years. Any chance of making ‘La Cage Aux Folles’ part of next year’s line up?
I have never written in a foru before…but I don’t know how else I can send the message that I want to send to the people that need to hear it…
Please please please….Can you bring Todd and the boy from Oz to Adelaide!! I won’t rant any more…just please please come!!
ABSOLUTELY AMAZING SHOW THIS WEEK IN MELBOURNE. TODD McKENNEY YOU ARE A STAR. AN ABSOLUTLEY AMAZING PERFORMANCE AS PETER ALLEN, WITH A BIT OF YOU, FOR FUN. I STILL SAY, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE COME TO ADELAIDE. LOVE TO YOU ALL.
DI XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX
Thank you Jeanne Pratt for speaking to me at the show
TERRIFIC TALENTED TODD..THE PERFECT BOY FROM OZ WHICH I SAW YESTERDAY. I GIVE HIM A 20/10
Please, please come to Adelaide. You will be booked out in a very short time.