And she has liftoff...

By all reports, Mary Poppins' first preview tonight in Melbourne has gone off without a hitch, leaving audiences spellbound.

The full ensemble has therefore finally been revealed.

It consists of: Mitch Fistrovic, Leah Howard, Adam Murphy, Troy Sussman, Jack Webster, Natalie Alexopoulos, Justin Anderson, Sarah Bakker, Carrie Barr, Louise Bell, Dion Bilios, Angelique Cassimatis, Dean Coach (Swing), Nicholas Eaton, Benjamin Giraud, Mark Hill, Kirsten King (Dance Captain/Swing), Sarah Landy, Michael Lindner, Stephen McDowell (Swing), Liam McIlwain, Victoria Rimington, Anne-Lee Robertson, Christina Tan and Drew Weston.

EDIT: Ms Carrie Barr has since left the production due to illness. It is believed she has been replaced by Lisa Sontag.


The Banks Children will be rotated between 5 couples of children.

Jane: Victoria Borcsok, Hayley Edwards, Zoe Gousmett, Scout Hook and Sara Reed
Michael: Mark Balas, Callum Hawthorne, Trent Heath, Kade Hughes and Kurtis Papadinis,

Wicked update

There are to be several more cast changes within Wicked before the Brisbane season opens.

Dance Captain James Maxfield has an injury requiring surgery. He will be out for 6 months and it is unclear whether he will ever return. It is expected Ryan Sheppard will become the new Dance Captain.

Ensemble member Deanna O'Leary will also not be making the treck north.

New Elphaba Understudy Samantha Hagen will start in the next month. It is believed she will take Renee Armstrong's track as a 2nd understudy. It is not believed current understudy Zoe Gertz will be leaving.

Lead witches Jemma Rix and Lucy Durack have signed on for the Brisbane season.

Corny Collins Cover

Two weeks out from Hairspray rehearsals commencing, producers are still struggling to find suitable ensemble members. In particular they are looking for a Corny Collins cover.

Wickedness no longer

In Wicked-related news today, we have learnt that recent auditions have been held in Sydney and Melbourne. Among the positions needing filling are one female ensemble, one male ensemble/Fiyero cover and a Glinda Standby.
Present Glinda Erin Hasan will not be continuing with the tour, leaving at the end of the Sydney run.
We have previously confirmed Mike Snell and Renee Armstrong to be departing to join Hairspray, so these other positions would be to replace them.

Remember my name in October

It has been confirmed today that as we previously said, Fame will go into the Capitol Theatre in Sydney, from October 9th, with Press Night on October 14.

Tickets are currently on sale on Showbiz. Ticketmaster will release seats on Monday, July 12th. When chosing tickets, keep in mind the stage at Melbourne's Regent Theatre was extremely high. Seats in rows A-D of the Capitol would be highly recommended.

There will be many cast changes, due to cast members leaving for other productions. The audition process is in it's final stages, with an offer being made to a Melbournian-based actress for the role of Mabel.

Big girls don't cry... over ticket prices.

With Jersey Boys in it's last month in Melbourne, tickets for the Sydney season have been released and they don't come cheap.
Producer seats have increased from $200 in Melbourne to $250 in Sydney to accomodate for the smaller venue. With approximately 600 less seats than in Melbourne, ticket prices have been forced upwards.
Our tip for buying Jersey Boys tickets is to look at some of the cheaper price brackets instead of looking at 'Best Avaliable'. By doing this, tickets in the 2nd row were found for $135 instead of the premium $165 for much further back. Despite the prices, ticket seem to be selling very well, with Showbiz sold out for the first 6 weeks.

Jersey Boys will be closing in Melbourne on July 25th and transferring to Sydney's Royal theatre. Previews start from September 3rd, with Opening Night September 18.
Expect to see some new faces within the cast.

More Hairspray

The Musical Insider can now confirm that Wicked cast member Mike Snell will be in the ensemble for Hairspray.
All the best to him!