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Monday, September 26, 2011

An Officer and A Gentleman Official Casting

The casting for An Officer and A Gentleman was officially announced today.
Several of the names mentioned in our August casting blog post have succeeded in winning roles.

These include Ben Mingay and Amanda Harrison in the lead roles of Zack Mayo and Paula Pokrifki respectively. Kate Kendall and Alex Rathgeber were also announced as landing roles. Ensemble casting will be announced soon, but we understand Bert La Bonte will play the role he originated in the workshop, that of Gunnery Sergeant Emil Foley.
Zahra Newman has also been cast in the ensemble.

Mary Poppins Cast Updates

This week is set to be a busy one on Cherry Tree Lane.

6 months into the Sydney season and it is time for a significant cast change.

As we have reported earlier, Verity Hunt-Ballard is taking time off in order to recover from an injury. We believe it is a repetitive strain injury (RSI) to her shoulder caused from the harness required to fly and constant use of the umbrella.
Scarlett Strallen has been flown in to help out before the Brisbane season. She watched a performance last weekend and will start rehearsals this week.
She will play the leading role between Wednesday the 5th of October and Sunday the 27th of November.

Marina Prior has now left the company, with Pippa Grandison taking over as Mrs Banks, playing her first 'unofficial' performance last week.

Several ensemble changes are also about to happen.
Glen Oliver will come from Wicked to replace Justin Anderson, with Justin heading on the Wicked Asian tour.

Jennifer Peers will replace Anna Lee Robertson as Miss Lark, understudying Miss Andrew

David Spencer will replace Troy Sussman as Von Hussler, also understudying Mr Banks and the Park Keeper.

Jodie Harris is replacing Christina Tan in the ensemble, as well as Mrs Banks, Miss Lark and Bird Woman understudies.
Monica Swayne will be an onstage swing and new understudy for Mary Poppins.

And finally Philip Quast has been cast in Yes, Prime Minister, so will also not be continuing on the Australian Tour.

Sunday, September 18, 2011

Trouble on Cherry Tree Lane

Mary Poppins star Verity-Hunt Ballard has injured herself. The full implications of her injury are unknown, however it is a shoulder injury and was not sustained during a specific performance. She will be taking a period of time off from the show to attempt to fully recover before the tour. It is believed a performer from the West End will be flown in to help out during this time. Once her replacement has been rehearsed, Verity will most likely not be performing in the show for the next 6 weeks.

Marina Prior is also set to leave the show on Sunday the 25th of September, with Pippa Grandison replacing her for the remainder of the Australian tour.

Edit: We have now been informed that Scarlett Strallen will be the one flown in to perform while Verity is recovering.

Monday, September 5, 2011

Another Musicals Update

Hairspray will be closing on the 25th of September, 2 weeks earlier than initially announced. The show has been playing to houses of 400-500 people, well under their capacity of about 2,000. Cheap seats are now available everywhere, go and see it before it's too late.
While producers are looking to tour the show internationally, for now the show will go into storage.


An adaption of Doctor Zhivago is currently auditioning for a Korean language version. The show will be adapted and recast for performance in Korean. Us here at the MI are just very glad we don't have to do a Russian accent in Korean...

The King Kong workshop had a setback recently when the rig collapsed. It is not believed anyone was injured, however it is inconvenient. The workshop was held recently, with Lisa-Marie Parker in the lead role of Anne.

A new musical, Dream Lover, based on the life of Bobby Darin is in workshops this week, being directed by Simon Phillips. Actors in the workshop include Hugh Sheridan as Bobby, Christy Sullivan, Robert Grubb, Sheridan Harbridge, Trisha Noble, Christen O'Leary

Legally Blonde casting is still underway, however quite a few roles and most of the ensemble has now been cast. There are quite a few performers also currently on hold for it. A formal cast announcement will not be made until February. The venue for the show has been subject to much rumour of late. It is becoming more and more likely to play in the Lyric theatre instead of the Capitol.

Rock of Ages will be closing on Sunday the 6th of November in Melbourne. It will do a very quick turnaround to get into QPAC in Brisbane by the 12th. It will play about a month in Brisbane moving into Sydney's Royal from about the 14th of January.

Love Never Dies will close on he 18th of December, with final tickets on sale now. It will open in Sydney's Capitol on Friday the 13th of January. The cast and creatives are getting ready for a DVD recording of the show to happen next week.

As we tweeted several months ago Chitty Chitty Bang Bang is expected to open in Melbourne in late 2012, produced by Tim Lawson.
Tim is currently auditioning for A Chorus Line, which is expected to open in Adelaide late 2011.
Sister Act will also make it's Australian premiere in Melbourne in 2012, according to Theatrepeople.com.au


John Frost announced the full cast of Annie earlier this week. It includes Lisa Bluthal, Tony Farrell, Anna Freeland, Todd Goddard, Emma Hawthorne, Luke Joslin, Jayde Kirchert, James Lee, Samantha Riley, Stephanie Silcock, Brianne Turk, Rod Waterworth, Jack Webster and Matt Young.
This is in addition to the other cast members already announced: Anthony Warlow, Nancy Hayes, Todd McKenny, Chloe Dallimore, Julie Goodwin and Alan Jones.
It will open in Brisbane in April and Melbourne's Regent Theatre in May 2012.


September will see the release of both the MTC and STC seasons. Rumour suggests STC will possibly picking up the MTC's production of Next to Normal. STC will be launched on the 23rd of September and MTC on the 27th of September.

Mary Poppins will close on the 17th of December in Sydney before a 6 month tour to Brisbane and Perth. An international tour is on the cards but Adelaide is not expected to have a season at this stage.

And finally Wicked will play it's last Australian show this Sunday evening, 3 years after first opening in Melbourne. The show will head to Singapore in December.