Rock’n’Roll Musical to Premiere at Beenleigh

Rock’n’Roll Musical to Premiere at Beenleigh

Beenleigh Theatre Group (Qld.) is set to stage the World Premiere full-production of BILLY BUCKETT – A Rock ‘n’ Roll Love Story, at the Crete Street Theatre, Beenleigh, from April 26 to May 11, 2013.

What happens when a young man from the wrong side of the tracks dreams of rock’n’roll stardom?  Will he get his big break and top the charts?  Can he woo the girl of his dreams?

Will he ever be good enough to win over her class-conscious parents?

Set in 1959 England at the dawn of rock ‘n’ roll, BILLY BUCKETT is described as a musical with drama, pathos, and a delightfully daffy British sense of humour, set amongst the colourful era of Teddy-Boys & Judies.

Written by Waterford-based singer-songwriter Jay Turner, the musical has been a 25-year labour of love.  “I wrote the story back in 1987, based on people I knew when I was growing up,” Jay Turner says. “I thought it was a book, but then realized it was actually more likely a stage or screen-play.  Since I was a musician, turning it into a musical seemed the logical step.”

Turner set about writing songs to accompany a first-draft script by British playwright Peter Cann.  A local youth theatre in Hereford, England, staged the show in its raw form, without a live band or chorus. The following year, the group performed another short season by popular demand.

“Audience response was amazing. People just loved the songs and related to the story,” recounts Turner.  However sending it off to publishers brought little joy.  The musician shelved the project and focused on his burgeoning career as a performing and recording artist on the international folk-acoustic circuit.

Fast-forward to 2010 and Turner, now living in South-East Queensland, had another crack at sending the script and soundtrack off to publishers. Bingo – a UK publisher was keen to sign up BILLY BUCKETT.  But there was much work to be done. With the assistance of Jay’s drama-trained partner Cath Mundy and script-editor Katrina Graham, the script was given a total overhaul.

“I gave most of the songs a make-over and even wrote new songs to fit the upgraded script,” Turner adds. “ I wanted to bring out an essentially British aesthetic to the setting and the music, whilst telling a timeless tale of hope, loss, love and redemption.”

Several live readings were staged to help refine the shape, the story and the characters. In 2012 Beenleigh Theatre Group signed up to produce the first full production of this new version BILLY BUCKETT, prior to sending off to the publishers. Turner and partner Mundy are co-directing, with assistance from award-winning Director & Dramaturg Ros Johnson.

“We’re blessed with a brilliant creative team and a top-notch cast and band. For us, seeing the show come to full realization after years of hard work, is a dream come true.”

The Story follows the journey of Billy Buckett (Stephen Dorrington), a young man from the wrong side of the tracks who dreams of stardom (‘Mind Over Matters Blues’).

While he chases success, Billy needs to make a living so moves to Wickford, a small sleepy town in Essex, to apply for a job as an auto-mechanic.

It is here that Billy meets the vivacious and beautiful, Janette Burns (Lauren Innis-Youren), fresh out of boarding school.  Jan empathises with Billy and captures his heart (‘Tender Is The Night’) but true love finds opposition in Jan’s father, powerful businessman Arthur Burns (‘Self-Made Man’), played by Ian Maurice.  Burns wants the very best for his middle-class daughter - and marriage to some go-nowhere ‘grease monkey’ was not part of his plan.

Aided and abetted by the un-PC garage-foreman Big Ted (‘A Girl Is Like A Car’) played by Doug Rumble, and Jan’s best friend, the rebellious Maureen (‘Feather On The Wind’), played by Allison Nipperess, the young lovers carry on a clandestine love affair.

But when the secret slips, the consequences are devastating.  Jan and Billy enter separate worlds of heartbreak and confusion (‘What’ll I Do’).

Billy fights back the only way he knows how - through rock ’n’ roll (‘Wreck Out Of My Heart’).  But can he find the happiness he craves?  Not if Arthur Burns can help it.

The music rides the 50’s pop-pendulum from toe-tapping, hand-clapping, get-to-your-feet-and-dance numbers like ‘Dynamo’, ‘Daddy’ & ‘Who Were You With’, to the stunningly romantic ‘Tender Is The Night’, the soulful ‘Feather On The Wind’, and the reflective epiphany of ‘Photographs and Memories’.

Venue: Crete Street Theatre, Beenleigh

Dates: 26 April – 11 May 2013

Times: Fridays -  7:30pm. Saturdays -  2:00pm and 7:30pm

Ticket Price: All tickets $25

Bookings:www.beenleightheatregroup.com/ Beenleigh Information Centre on 07 3287 1377

www.facebook.com/BillyBuckettTheMusical

http://www.billybuckett.com

http://www.mundyturner.com

Image: Billy Buckett Band with creator Jay Turner. Photo by Vincent Swift.

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