“Our three shows this year comprise an Australian premiere, Sugar, an all Australian musical, The Boy From Oz, and one of the greatest classics from the Broadway stage, Rodgers & Hammerstein’s The King And I

Starring in our 12th season of musicals are many of Australia’s best known names in the musical theatre business, and once again, we have hired this country’s leading creative artists to stage them for you.

Chairman Jeanne Pratt AC and the stars of Season 2010

Todd McKenney is making his debut with The Production Company as Peter Allen in The Boy From Oz. Amanda Harrison returns to the company to play Liza Minnelli. Amanda has played Elphaba in Wicked for the past eighteen months. David Harris will play the role of Greg and Robyn Arthur will be Marion Woolnough. This new spectacular concert version of The Boy From Oz, originally created by Nick Enright is directed by Australian show biz legend Nancye Hayes. John Foreman is musical director and Andrew Hallsworth is choreographer.

Todd McKenney and Amanda Harrison star in The Boy From Oz

I have always wanted to stage The King and I for you. One of the most popular
musicals ever written, it stars Chelsea Gibb as Anna, Juan Jackson as The King, with Silvie Paladino as Lady Thiang. Young stars Adrian Li Donni and Emily Xiao Wang will play young lovers Lun Tha and Tuptim.  Terence O’Connell directs this new staging and Alana Scanlan choreographs. Musical direction is by Rodgers and Hammerstein specialist Peter Casey.

Adrian Li Donni, Silvie Paladino, Chelsea Gibb, Emily Xiao Wang and Juan Jackson will star in The King And I

We are finishing the year with one of the great comedies, Sugar, based on one of my all time favourite movies, Some Like It Hot, starring Jack Lemmon, Tony Curtis and Marilyn Monroe. Music is composed by Jule Styne, whose works include Gypsy and Funny Girl.

Helpmann Award® winners Mitchell Butel and Matt Hetherington will play the comic dual roles of Jerry (Daphne) and Joe (Josephine). In the role of the sexy songstress, Sugar Kane, is Christie Whelan fresh from her huge success in the role of Janet in The Drowsy Chaperone. Adam Cook, artistic director of the State
Theatre Company of SA returns to direct and Christopher Horsey will
choreograph.

Matt Hetherington and Mitchell Butel in SUGAR (Some Like It Hot)

With this new season I am so proud to be promoting local creative talent in new stagings of these three brilliant musicals. For the last twelve years we have offered professional engagements to hundreds of artists living here in Melbourne. We have the pleasure of watching many of them go on to major careers in this industry.

Equally important, we are entertaining tens of thousands of people with a thrilling musical theatre experience. We do everything possible to make these musicals as affordable and accessible as we can, with the cost of a subscription to all three shows as little as $102, less than the cost of ticket to a single performance
of most commercial musicals!”

All pictures: Jim Lee