Musicals in Tandem at 45 Downstairs
Vic Theatre is set to produce two shows at Melbourne’s 45 Downstairs in November and December 2016, The Gathering and The Last Five Years.
This presentation will see two shows play in the same theatre at alternating times.
THE LAST 5 YEARS which opens on the 25thNovember is based on a couple, once inspired by each other’s dreams, trying to stay connected as their paths begin to divide? Jason Robert Brown’s 2001 musical, The Last 5 Years, returns to Melbourne with an all-star duo of two-time Helpmann Award winner Verity Hunt-Ballard (Sweet Charity, Mary Poppins) and Josh Piterman (CATS, West Side Story).
The Last 5 Yearstells the story of two twenty-somethings who fall in – and out – of love. Jamie (Piterman), an up-and-coming writer, struggles to balance his sudden success with his increasingly tumultuous love life. Meanwhile, Cathy (Hunt-Ballard), an aspiring actress, deals with the frustrations of her own career while watching her husband succeed from the sidelines. Jason Robert Brown's much-loved musical looks forwards and backwards at the ups and downs of modern love and life.
“Josh and Verity are both dear friends of mine, and I’m really grateful for the opportunity to work on this piece with them. 45 downstairs is a beautifully intimate space, which will really serve this production.” - Chris Parker - Director
THE GATHERING.Thanks to the support of the City of Melbourne, Belinda Jenkin and William Hannagan are thrilled that their show will have its first professional staging in Melbourne produced by Vic Theatre Company and directed by Chris Parker at 45 Downstairs from November the 26th until December the 11th under the new name of The Gathering.
The cast features Joel Granger, Olivia Charalambous, Daniel Assetta,Hannah Sullivan McInerney, Daniel Cosgroveand Shannen Alyce-Quan.
The Gathering by William Hannagan and Belinda Jenkin, first premiered in 2011 as ‘House Warming’ and was praised by critics as being ‘smart and spirited…musically complex…multi layered and accomplished…news, fast moving, impressive musical story telling’ (The Age), and ‘heart-warming to wrenching, to youthfully optimistic all in the same show’ (Theatre Press). In 2014, HouseWarming was presented in New York at Theatre Row, 42nd Street as part of the New York Musical Theatre Festival, with the support of Arts Victoria and the Anna Sosenko Trust.
The story is set on a dark and windy night. A summer storm is brewing. Six young friends gather for their first night in an old, rickety house - and the promise of a new start. It’s a house haunted by atrocities from the past, a house where no one’s secrets are safe, where any one of their histories could tear this group apart. But Tom is determined to fix his past mistakes: right old wrongs and revive old relationships. He won't run away. Not again. Will these friendships survive the night or will the whispering walls cause a rift no amount of shared history can overcome?
"The Gathering is the future of Music Theatre in this country. Smart, Slick and Witty, it’s a new voice for the new generation" - Glenn Ferguson - Vic Theatre Company
Photographer: James Terry.
SEASON DETAILS
The Gathering
Venue: 45 Downstairs, 45 Flinders Lane, Melbourne
Dates: 26th November to 11th December
Times: November – 26th 4.00pm, 27th 3.00pm, 30th 7.30pm
December – 2nd 7.30pm, 3rd 8.30pm, 4th 3.00pm, 6th 7.30pm
8th 7.30pm, 10th 8.30pm, 11th 7.30pm
Tickets: $38-$42
Bookings: fortyfivedownstairs.comor 03 9662 9966
Running time 2 Hours 20 Minutes – Including 20 min Intermission
The Last 5 Years
Venue: 45 Downstairs, 45 Flinders Lane, Melbourne
Dates: 25th November to 11th December
Times: November – 25th 7.30pm, 26th 8.30pm, 27th 7.30pm, 29th 7.30pm
December – 1st 7.30pm, 3rd 4.00pm 4th 7.30pm, 7th 7.30pm,
9th 7.30pm, 10th 4.00pm, 11th 3pm.
Tickets: $45-$50
Bookings: fortyfivedownstairs.comor 03 9662 9966
Running time: 1 Hour 30 Minutes – No intermission
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