Community Theatre

Phantom in Brisbane

When Savoyards opens their production of Phantom of the Opera on 25 May 2013, it will not only be the Queensland premiere of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s most popular work, but also the second amateur production of the musical in the world.

With a cast of 52 and a 27 piece orchestra it’ll be one of the largest productions Savoyards have ever mounted in their 52 year history and will play for 14 performances at the Iona Performing Arts Centre, Wynnum.

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Spelling Bee Musical for Canterbury

Canterbury Theatre Guild (NSW) presents The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee from April 19.

Spelling Bee is a one-act musical comedy by William Finn (A New Brain, Falsettos, Elegies), conceived by Rebecca Feldman, book by Rachel Sheinkin and additional material by Jay Reiss.

The show portrays a spelling bee at the fictional Putnam Valley Middle School. Six quirky adolescents compete in the contest run by three equally quirky grown-ups.

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Rocking ‘The Dream’ at Normanhurst

A chance conversation two years ago has lead Normanhurst Uniting Church Musical Society (NUCMS) Director Ian Wesley on an adventure which culminates in May the year with the Australian premiere of A Midsummer Night’s Dream: The Rock Musical.

Directed by Ian Wesley and Mel Hogan, with musical direction by Isaac Reefman and choreography by Mel Hogan, NUCMS presents A Midsummer Night’s Dream: The Rock Musical from May 10 – 25, 2013.

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Hotel Sorrento Heads for Home

Hotel Sorrento by Hannie Rayson is being performed on stage in the town of its inspiration and origin this April, for the first time since it was written and published in 1990. The story was based on the lives of three sisters who grew up in Sorrento, but the degree to which it adhered to the facts of their lives is mostly unknown.

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Les Misérables Returns to Chatswood

Les Misérables returns to the Chatswood stage after an absence of 20 years when Willoughby Theatre Company revisits the grand musical theatre epic from April 10.

Based on the novel by Victor Hugo, the Broadway, London and international hit Les Misérables will now be seen at Chatswood’s magnificent new theatre, The Concourse.

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He’ll be there, inside your mind, at the National Theatre, St Kilda.

Melbourne’s CLOC Musical Theatre is preparing to launch its 2013 season in May with a huge coup – the WORLD amateur premiere production of Lord Andrew Lloyd Webber’s legendary masterpiece The Phantom of the Opera.

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Steaming at Castle Hill

It’s 1981 in London’s working class East End … and in the Turkish Room at the local Public Baths, six women gather to share laughter, tears and the drama of their lives in Steaming, Nell Dunn’s hit play staged this April by the Castle Hill Players (NSW).

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Disco Zombies Invade WA in Horror Comedy

BE warned: zombies will be on the loose this May – and they’re accompanied by disco music.

Pop culture, apocalypse mayhem and the decade fashion forgot come together in Maul of the Dead, a dark horror comedy presented by Phoenix Theatre and Dark Psychic Productions (WA) from May 10.

Written by Mitch Brian and directed by Jayde Clark and Shaun Griffin, the show is set in the late 1970s and embraces a treasure trove of horror film clichés as ravenous hordes descend upon an abandoned shopping mall.

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Party From Hell in Mike Leigh Comedy at Limelight

WITH pineapple and cheese at the ready and Donna Summer on the stereo, Abigail’s Party is a 1970s English class comedy that’s been described as the “social get-together from hell”.

Directed by Karen Tropiano at Limelight Theatre (WA) from April 4, Mike Leigh’s play follows a simple premise: Beverly invites two new neighbours over for drinks with divorcee Sue, whose 15-year-old daughter Abigail is having a party next door.

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From Jakarta to Javeenbah Theatre: Director Dawn China.

British black comedy The Anniversary, opening at Javeenbah Theatre (Qld) on March 22, may mark British ex-pat Dawn China’s directorial debut for the Gold Coast company, but she has an intriguing theatrical background.

Since moving to Australia in 2004, Dawn (pictured left with twin sons Ben and Paul) has embraced her new home at Javeenbah Theatre after a life of travelling the world.

“My husband’s career took us to Indonesia, where I first discovered theatre with the Jakarta Players, a group of expatriate theatre lovers.”

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